Bow God. Sword God. Spear God… The list continued to nine and formed the nine core weapons that stood above all others. These were all fearsome existences that stood in a league all to their own, and what connected them was only a single thing: establishing their Godhoods with their weapons mastery as a foundation.
This meant something very simple. Their Daos wouldn't be some grandiose, unexplored law of the Heavens, but would rather be among the nine most explored Inheritances there was. And it was precisely because of this that such existences were so impossibly fearsome!
Simply put, with every appearance of a new Bow God or Sword God, the appearance of the next was exponentially more difficult, and the next after that was even more so!
Why was it that Ryu had such difficulty taking the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons and dual wielding them, taking them down a path they had never experienced before? It was precisely because the karmic ties of the spear, glaive and halberd were so mighty that all the Spear Gods, Glaive Gods and Halberd Gods of the past refused to allow him to pervert their treasures weapons in such a way.
Every time a new such God appeared, it meant that they had forcefully shredded apart the wills of their predecessors and forged their own path anyway.
For such existences, even if their Dao was as simple as the use of a weapon, they were extraordinarily powerful. Not only were they proficient at killing existences above their level, but their Daos were also far more powerful than Daos at their same level as well!
In addition, should such an existence transcend and manage to become an Origin Sky God, their Dao would, without a doubt, become a Founding Dao! Not just any Foundation Dao, but one with a chance to become a Peak Founding Dao!
Bow Gods and their God counterparts were capable of forming exceptionally rare Daos which progressed with every step they took in their Godhood.
Upon becoming a Bow God at the Fragmented Sky God level, one would have a Common Dao. This Dao would become a True Dao when one became a False Sky God and a Lineal Dao when one became a True Sky God, so on and so forth.
But if one measured such weapon Gods by the grade of their Daos, there would be nothing but horror in store for your future. Bow Gods and their counterparts couldn't be measured by such logic. They broke the bounds and restraints of such grades by the very virtue of them establishing their Godhoods in the first place!
They had already fought and won against the wills of the mighty Sky Gods of the past as mere land immortals, how could they still be restrained?!
These were the most fearsome individuals in all of existence. Their combat prowess wasn't logical, their strength wasn't logical, and their attacks weren't logical. They broke the restraints of the Heavenly Laws around them and established their own!
The hearts of Jenneless and Varnon couldn't help but palpitate wildly. It was obviously impossible for Ryu to be a Bow God, he had yet to establish a Godhood and become a Sky God. But why was it… Why was it that his aura made their minds jump to this possibility immediately?!
The two had, of course, never met a Bow God or any such God before for that matter. However, the senses of cultivators were extraordinarily sharp, their memories were great, and their instincts were even greater.
The fact that this was their instant reaction meant that even if Ryu wasn't a Bow God, it was likely that he was already on such a path.
Of course, Ryu had no idea what this title represented. Plus, he had already established his Dao and planned to use it to form his Godhood. As such, he had no plans to become a so-called Bow God although the prospect of crushing the wills of Sky Gods before him was quite intriguing.
However, Jenneless and Varnon came to understand that this feeling of a Bow God that Ryu was exuding right now, or at the very least, the prelude to a genius that would become a Bow God in the future, came from his bowmanship resonating with his Dao… Their level of shock would be on a completely different level.
Becoming a Bow God was one thing. Being able to manifest the will of a Bow God through a Dao that seemed to touch upon a realm even beyond it was a different matter entirely.
Basking in such an incomparably marvelous feeling, Ryu finally felt that he felt like he could see the world through his grandfather's eyes. His heart bloomed and he felt as light as air. A slight hint of tears welled up in his eyes, but the rushing wind ripped them away just as quickly.
Ryu regained his composure and his expression became a frosty cold.
His bow shifted and it seemed to glow a resplendent golden light. His body became enveloped with the shadow of a godking. Even as he fell from the skies, he was towering and majestic, his bow aiming for the World Sea Realm expert threatening to take his life.
SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!
Ryu's arrows had gone from plain, ordinary attacks to gorgeous starlight being painted across a canvas. There was something absolutely marvelous about each stroke, as though just watching him guide the arrows through the sky was enough to pluck at the strings of the heart.
The expression of the Stone Clan elder changed and he rapidly sent out several blasts of his hammer.
Ryu shook his head. 'Seems like the gap is still too large, but this is enough…'
Ryu sent out several more arrows, his bowstring twanging like the strings of a zither. The melodious sound resonated with the Heavens, snatching power from it and powering it even further. He didn't even bother to use his Dao Charm techniques and waste his qi, he knew that it was a worthless endeavor.
The Stone Clan elder whose expression had changed was stunned once again. He had attacked all out because he felt an overwhelming sense of danger, flashes of Ysmeros' ending had played in his mind and he thought he would end up the same way.
However, to his shock, the air pressure of his hammer swing alone shattered all of Ryu's arrows.
That was when he realized that he had been tricked. Who cared how great Ryu's archery was? The gap was still far too large to be bridged just like this alone.
Unfortunately for the Stone Clan elder, it was already too late.
Ryu fell into the waters, disappearing beneath the roaring waves, his gaze still locked onto the Stone Clan elder who had wasted his final chance to catch him.
The moment Ryu entered the waters, he shrouded himself in his Void Spiritual Sense and became a bolt of lightning, using his Lightning Spirit Body for the first time since he came to this world. None could have expected that Ryu's greatest speed wouldn't be with a Dao Charm technique, but rather in becoming radiant blue lightning itself.
Although Ryu could go toward calmer sections of the water, he decided against it. It was best if he stayed in these rough patches. That way he would be difficult to spot and he could hide among the rubble and trees.
Like this, Ryu waited, his Spiritual Sense blanketing the surroundings and his mind focused on each and every minute change.
He already sensed the Stone Clan elder diving into the waters, but he stayed far from him, waiting in patient silence.
The battle above was still raging on and only seemed to be getting more chaotic. But Ryu was sure that there would be a great change soon. And just like that, there was.
The skies were suddenly filled with formation circles once again and the path from the Second Heaven was opened up.
The clouds split and several vortexes formed, revealing the forms of two mighty beings, one of which was from the Thunder Blaze Sect and the other of which was from the Carving Ice Sect. It was clear from this that Varnon and Jenneless had been the most frantic in getting their seniors to come and calm this situation, each of them with their own schemes and machinations.
"HALT!"
The voice of an old, wrinkled woman boomed. Even from his position in the waters, Ryu felt his soul shiver.
Despite the fact everything came to a halt, Ryu didn't make his presence known. He wanted to see how Elder Aika would deal with this situation. There was no need to put himself in danger needlessly.
If the Radiant Star Sect really was slaughtered to the last man here, he would have no ability to stop it. In that case, he could only silently slip away.
Ryu didn't feel any great loyalty to the Sect and this was beyond his ability to handle. He had a good impression of Elder Aika and Selheira, so he would help them. But as for the others, he simply couldn't be bothered.
Especially not that annoying old man.