Everything was in a complete mess and the pressurized water even caused some cultivators to scream out in agony.
Ryu's descent started once more, but he found himself assaulted from all sides.
Ysmeros came from the front, some bastard of the Stone Clan assaulted him from the back, and now these strong pillars of water came from below, all of them seemingly wanting to shatter him like the Stone Clan individual had down the bird.
By now, all the other bird beasts had already flown up and away, there was no way for Ryu to get another one. His expression could only become frighteningly cold.
The newcomer of the Stone Clan was actually in the World Sea Realm and was shocked that Ryu was able to dodge at all. He had come purely because Ryu had killed not just one of his sons, but two of them, in addition to his nephew.
Despite the fact his Clan wanted him to wait it out and see how things would end, his temper wouldn't allow it. He had acted with the intention of killing Ryu in a single strike to avoid variables, but who knew that a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert could dodge him?!
Ryu activated his Northern Heavenly Wind and [Whispering Petals], using the impact's rush of wind to flash a half kilometer back in an instant. In a swift motion, he dodged out of the way of the pill of water and the Stone Clan elder. However, once the momentum was gone, he began to plummet toward the ground.
The eyes of the Stone Clan elder and Ysemeros widened.
Complete Success Dao Charm Movement Technique!
The realized at that instant that they couldn't let Ryu hit the water. For him, running across the water and even diving down and moving within it would be effortless. Truly powerful Movement Techniques wouldn't be obstructed by air, qi or water. Only if you ran into a powerful water cultivator would there be an issue.
If Ryu stayed on the surface, the World Sea Realm expert would, of course, be able to deal with him. But as a member of the Stone Clan, his antithesis was water to begin with. Plus, with all the commotion below, visibility would be difficult and Spiritual Sense would be difficult to rely upon if you weren't proficient with your soul.
Despite years of training, this World Sea Realm expert was still in the Peak Soul Refinement Realm, the Dao Pedestal Realm equivalent of Soul Cultivation.
Unlike in Sacrum where the Soul would just casually keep up with Qi Realm cultivation even without much effort, things were very much different in the True Martial World. If you had poor Soul Talent, it would be glaring. You would then have to rely on Soul Treasures of special Qi Realm techniques to protect this weakness, or else you would be easily taken advantage of.
Unfortunately, as someone of Sacrum, Ryu wasn't aware of this, or else he would have immediately begun launching soul attacks.
Due to his ignorance, he instead chose to retreat with as much speed as possible, his mind still flickering as he pulled his bowstring back.
In a moment of imminent danger, with two threats rushing after him with the goal of stopping him from entering the water, Ryu became frighteningly calm. He had danced on the line between life and death for too long to be fazed by this.
He had fought Sky Gods before, true ones! He had killed more than he could even count! Why would he fear this sort of trash!
That was when it suddenly clicked for Ryu and his heart seemed to release a roar.
He was an idiot.
Why was it that during his first attempt to comprehend the essence of the bow, he formed the Birthed Phenomena of his Dao?
Why was it that during the second attempt his Dao shattered the mold and reached the Hegemonic level?
Why was it that his Great Swordstaffs were so much more powerful than his bow? Wasn't it because he had created the foundation of his Dao using the sword?
Didn't it all come back to his Dao in the end?
Whether it was his bow or his great swordstaffs, he couldn't get their full potential out of them because he kept treating them as separate existences.
'The most important thing to a bowman was his eyes… This didn't mean literally… Grandpa said eyes and not heart or Spiritual Sense because when one's eyes looks toward something, that is what they are focused on.
'The eyes had limited vision. In order to look at someone, the pupils must shift, the head must turn, and sometimes even the body itself needs to be adjusted.
'I'm chasing after the essence of the bow, but how focused have I been on it?
'Early in my cultivation path, I abandoned it because I favored close combat. And even now, I picked it up again not for the sake of the bow, but for the sake of my grandpa…
'With such lack of focus, it's no wonder I keep accidentally grasping other things when I'm searching for its essence…'
Ryu suddenly smiled, his demeanor changing entirely. He could finally hear the bow in his hands.
His bowstring released.
The span of time between the release and the arrow connecting with its target was far too miniscule. It was as though Ryu had pierced out a sword instead of loosed an arrow. The separation between action and result was that short.
A hole appeared between Ysmeros' brows and he froze in the air.
"… How…?"
A Kingly aura soared out from Ryu in waves, beaming shimmering lights towering around him.
At that moment, both Jenneless and Varnon both snapped their heads toward Ryu's direction, their eyes widened in shock. Their chests rose in waves and their brows shot up. They couldn't seem to believe what they were seeing or sensing.
Ryu had become the existence his grandfather always believed he could be.
"Bow God?!"