Ryu casually opened up a palm to the sky, causing his unused great swordstaff to shoot from his back and into his hands.
Just as unmoved, he raised his blade into the air, his expression placid.
[Rising Crimson].
At that moment, a huge surge of qi began to surge in from the surroundings. The commotion was so great that even the flying treasures of the Dao Pedestal Realm experts almost spun out of control, their formations dimming.
Just as casually, Ryu's arm swung down and the world was suffused with a curtain of crimson.
By the time everything cleared, there was nothing other than fluttering ash in the air, not a single sign of the previously roaring Dao Pedestal Realm expert was left to be seen.
Ryu shook his head. It seemed that he was a bit too eager. Using such a powerful saber technique on these people was too much, especially since he didn't hold back and used it to the Great Success level right off the bat. It was clearly overkill.
However, he had wanted to see what kind of power it held. Only by understanding yourself could you understand others.
When he fought that Earth Class Inheritor Disciple, he hadn't been pushed to his limits, but he wasn't far from them. He hadn't brought out his most powerful attack, which was the fusion of [Thirteen Soaring Azures] and [Roaring Sky Serpent]. And, he hadn't used his Soul Technique, which was probably his strongest trump card at this point. At least, it was the strongest trump card he could use out in the open.
Back then, Ryu felt that he could probably climb at least one more tier of strength if he truly went all out, without using the talents he couldn't expose.
Of course, his greatest reliance wasn't his talents, but rather, his Dao. This was the true reason he could jump so many cultivation levels. Even when he just used it passively, it was an enormous boost to his strength. But it could be considered to be activated, at least in part, all the time.
Now, his strength had taken another massive leap forward and he wanted to know where his limits lied. But it seemed that these enemies were too weak to test that.
Ryu landed on the ground, feeling the crimson soil beneath his feet.
What he was lacking most right now was defense. Who knew, maybe this opportunity would give him something interesting.
Since he was following his own path in all things, he didn't really feel like using Eska's Immortal Sakura anymore. If there was any Visualization he would focus on, it would be the Silver Star left by that mysterious Ancestor. It had a lot of secrets he had yet to delve into and it seemed to be high level even for the True Martial World.
In Ryu's estimation, this mysterious Ancestor had likely made quite a name for himself here and Ryu didn't mind taking advantage.
Ryu wasn't opposed to using the work of others. After all, it was only thanks to his Master that he could follow this path in the first place. He wasn't so obstinate.
But after seeing the kind of strength fusing his own unique path into one could bring, it was all he ever thought about. So, if he could self create something, he would prefer to take that path if it could be helped.
'There…'
Ryu's figure flickered, pushing [Whispering Petals] to an extreme. He felt like he was already just a hair away from the Great Circle of Perfection, but this small step felt like a huge chasm to cross.
Ryu soon found an entrance carved into the ground. It was definitely a new establishment as the previous entrances had been collapsed by the appearance of the Radiant Star Sect.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The first thing Ryu noticed was that because the tunnels were fresh and hastily constructed, there was simply no way for him to even think of using his great swordstaffs, at least not as freely as he normally would. And, in such a place, especially with such low vision and winding corners, the strengths of his bow were fairly useless as well.
However, Ryu didn't mind this as he stepped forward anyway. That said, he still made a mental note to add some close combat measures to his arsenal. He wouldn't always be in a situation where weapons were a viable choice, and there might even be some situations where he wouldn't even have a chance to draw his weapon to begin with.
Ryu didn't see much of anything for the first while. It turned out that most people were fairly deep, likely looking for what secrets this expert had left behind. Even if that individual hadn't cared much about what was here, given how much wider their scope was, even what they disregarded would be quite valuable.
Ryu's hands grasped out and a strong surge of radiant blue lightning formed. Sparks flew and grew like a tempest until he activated his Lightning God Talent and formed them both into what looked like solid blue daggers.
All the while, his steps didn't pause for even a moment, his casual actions carrying with them an air of dominance.
The moment he rounded a corner, he struck out, piercing someone through the neck and causing their body to erupt into a pile of ash, his lightning destroying them from the inside out.
As Ryu was focused on traveling deeper into the tunnels, careful all the while because he was well aware that such a closed cultivation ground must be filled with formations and traps to deal with the potential of interruption, news of these events began to spread through the Second Heaven.
The war itself was the headliner, but news of the changes to the Spiritual Ore Vein began to leak out.
At a moment like this one where all the youths of the Second Heaven were looking for tempering opportunities, this event caused them to become like moths to a flame.
The Metal Work Sect didn't have the prestige to make these individuals not dare to act, and the Radiant Star Sect most definitely did not.
A surging tide made their way toward a single location.