Ysmeros' head snapped in Ryu's direction, only to find that the latter had already brought out his bow once more.
"I've always been disgusted by the Hidden Blade Sect. To think that you'd try to establish a Dao based on something so cowardly. Hidden weapons? Poisons? Schemes and tricks? You think that you can climb to the apex with such garbage?"
Ryu's voice rumbled, the thoughts he had kept suppressed for so long rippling out in waves.
The bird he stood on the back of shot in the skies with a single flap before surging downward with a mighty speed.
SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!
Ryu released arrow after arrow, each formed of highly concentrated lightning. They were resplendently beautiful, looking as though they had been forged of pale blue steel.
Ysemeros' hidden gaze flashed with a sinister light. The words Ryu had just spoken were a huge taboo, a taboo that none had dared to speak before the might of the Hidden Blade Sect since they had established their might all those years ago.
Ysemeros had already wanted to kill Ryu due to the actions Elder Aika had taken. The prestige of the Hidden Blade Sect wasn't something a tiny True One Star power should ever think of trampling upon. However, now, he wanted Ryu's life for these words he dared to speak.
With a thought, Ysemero's wings flapped and he shot out of the range of Ryu's arrows. His robes flared outward, causing thousands of little mechanical bugs to surge into the surroundings, forming a net that quickly moved to block Ryu's exit routes.
Ryu inwardly shook his head. His skill with the bow was still not to his liking. If he had his grandfather's skill, how could even his semi-normal arrows be so easy to dodge?
It always felt like Ryu was on the edge of grasping the essence of the bow, but every time he got there, something would cause him to veer off the path. It almost felt like something didn't want him to comprehend it.
Of course, this would have been nonsense to most people. But for Ryu who had his comprehensions constantly falling back to the Ruler Realm again and again, it was a depressing reality he had to face. Even now, he wasn't 100% certain of what was causing it. He only knew that it either had to be related to his Meridians or the machinations of the Phoenix Sky God.
The first time Ryu was close to grasping the true essence, he made a breakthrough in his comprehension of his Heavenly Pupils and even formed his own unique Birthed Phenomena. In fact, that Birthed Phenomena was so powerful that he had yet to use it in battle as he hadn't been forced to that extent.
That sounded silly to say considering he had almost died just 1000 years ago, but in that battle, summoning his Birth Phenomena wouldn't have made a difference. This was because Ryu's Birth Phenomena was built off the completion of his Dao which was, at the time, in the Immortal Grades. In fact, it was still in the Immortal Grades. What use was it in a fight of Sky Gods?
The second time Ryu was close to grasping the true essence of the bow was actually about a year ago in the First Heaven during his test to enter the Radiant Star Sect. However, he instead ended up breaking through and evolving his Dao from a Dominion Dao to a Hegemonic Dao.
This time, he was determined to truly grasp the essence of the bow.
Ryu commanded the bird to explosively retreat, avoiding the surge of metallic bugs. He didn't fear Ysmeros, but that didn't mean he would let himself get enveloped.
His arrows whistled out at a faster and faster speed, but without the element of surprise he had been relying on during the selection, it became difficult even for him to land a hit. Even when he used force to make up for lack of skill, Ysmeros would instead choose to block rather than evade.
The two wildly clashed in the air, sparks of lightning and fire raging from one side, while a rain of metal and poison fogs cascaded from the other.
Considering the commotion in the surroundings, this was nothing more than a small blip. However to the surviving participants that were still falling to the ground below, this might as well have been a world ending level clash.
How could they and Ysmeros know that Ryu had killed the likes of Galemar in a single strike? If not for Ysmeros' use in tempering Ryu's bow, he would have long since died.
'I'm missing something… it's right there…'
Ryu's brows furrowed, his gaze flickering. His comprehension shouldn't be so poor, so why was he always obstructed at the final step? In fact, it felt like the closer he got, the less skilled his archery became. It didn't make any sense.
Compared to his Great Swordstaffs, why was his bow so lacking?
Ryu was even starting to get a bit frustrated. He had never run into such a problem before. Everything he picked up felt easy and smooth.
Was it because he was blind now? No, that shouldn't be the case. His Spiritual Sense was more than an adequate replacement and his grandfather's mention of the eyes wasn't meant to be taken literally. A powerful Spiritual Sense could also be the most important core of one's archery as well.
Just when Ryu was trying to figure out exactly where the problem lay, a suffocating feeling of danger made the hairs on his neck stand up.
Ryu's body flickering just as an enormous hammer construct smashed down as shattered the bird he stood upon to a rain of blood and gore.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Pillars of water shot into the skies as the first pieces of island collided with the waters below. The water curtains blotted out the skies, shooting up tens of kilometers.