[Bonus Chapter for reaching 50 golden tickets]
Despite the weakness in his knees, Ryu stood tall, his left arm holding the spear that pierced Bhishak's throat steady.
Ryu had never killed before. Or, rather, he had never killed a human before. Watching the life slowly flow out from the Death Guard almost felt surreal. He didn't feel any sense of guilt or remorse, he just felt a discomfort.
Believe it or not, this discomfort had nothing to do with Bhishak's fleeting life. Instead, it was only at that moment it really sunk into him that no matter what he did, Granny Miriam wouldn't be coming back. As things stood now, he could only do his best to honor her memory properly.
Bhishak's deep black eyes looked up to see Ryu's disdainful gaze. Even at the end, he could hardly fathom the move that took his life.
[Whipping Pierce] wasn't a move that was possible to pull off if wielding with both hands. Well, it was possible, but there were two possible less than pleasing outcomes. The first was in a case where a normal sized spear was used, thus resulting in limited effectiveness. If a hand choked up along the spear's polearm, the effect of curving the spear would be severely lessened, making it near meaningless.
The second outcome would result from a master using a spear that was already excessively long and flexible. Sometimes, these spears would reach three, four, even five meters in length and would be purposely designed to have incredibly flexible polearms. In that case, [Whipping Pierce] could be executed with two hands, but the accuracy would be lacking considering the length of the spear.
[Whipping Pierce] could only be used so perfectly with one arm!
However, that didn't mean that this technique wasn't incredibly difficult to use. Just the pressure on Ryu's wrist alone would have shattered it had Ryu had a normal bone structure. Luckily, the dexterity and flexibility provided by his Ice Jade Crystal Body helped him out tremendously.
Then there was the difficulty in controlling the technique itself. If Ryu used too little force, the spear wouldn't arch enough. If the curve was too small, then it would be impossible to have bent around Bhishak's defenses in that way. But, if the force was too strong, it was possible to miss the target entirely, or even snap a spear if it was as low quality as Ryu's current one.
All of these factors were matters that masters like Bhishak and the Spiritual Severing Realm experts watching understood. In fact, they were in complete awe. Even Amory who hadn't invested much time in combat and cultivation was floored, so much so that he completely blanked on what step to take next.
As things stood now, Ryu was still heavily injured with his right side being almost completely useless. In addition, those with sharper senses could see that there was a great deal of stress on his left arm after executing that technique, even more so than what he had experienced dual wielding. And, it was obvious that he could only just barely stand up on his own two legs.
With just under three hours remaining in their last five-hour attempt, one would think Amory still stood a chance. After all, he still had Ryu surrounded from all sides.
But, Ryu's piercing gaze placed too much pressure on their hearts. It somehow felt that even if he was limbless, with his heart pierced through, he would still find a method to victory.
In that moment, a small Soul Jade King Tor kept on his wrist shattered with an audible cracking sound. Soul Jades worked on a similar Parent-Child system the Visual Jades that recorded the Princes did, except this time, one half was the soul of a living being. Some forms of Soul Jades could also be used to form binding contracts between a Master and a Servant. The fact it shattered meant only one thing: Death Guard Bhishak had died.
King Tor clenched his fists, a pulse vein slowly occupying larger and larger real estate on his forehead. It seemed as though he could pop at any given moment.
By the time Amory recovered and ordered the troops to move in on Ryu, the situation had become helpless. A familiar tale of Ryu dancing on death's blade played before everyone's eyes.
No one knew when it happened exactly, but the crowd became overwhelmed by a sense of calm that was only possible when the victor was clear. It didn't make sense for them to feel this way. Ryu truly was too tired, too beaten, too cut up and bruised, but that seedling of confidence that only an undefeated legend could provide was blooming in full force.
Ryu made fools of what remained of the Dragon Corps. It was as expected, with his eyes opened, he was on an entirely different level. They had no doubt that had his eyes been opened this entire time, maybe not even a speck of dust would have landed upon him, let alone the injuries he suffered now.
With [Third Perspective], Ryu didn't need to rely on his depleted Spiritual Sense. And, since [Insight] could even predict a warrior like Bhishak's [Skim] to perfection, what did these second-rate warriors of the Cedar Clan's Dragon Corps have on him?
Time ticked. Three remaining hours became two, two became one, and finally, mere minutes trickled down to seconds, all for Headmaster Leopold's voice to ring out once more.
"This third and final attempt has come to a close! The winner, and undisputed first place closer of this third trial – Prince Ryu Tor!"
There was no expected fanatical cheering, or grandiose display. The man who won didn't even so much as smile as he looked up at the moons which had reached their highest points.
Suddenly, a loud whistle left Ryu's lips. A Second Order flying beast swooped down from the skies, catching many off guard.
King Tor's heart seized. He couldn't allow Ryu to leave like this, but how could he make such a public move against his son? Plus, how did that damned bird approach so closely without him noticing?!
However, when he lay eyes on it he suddenly understood. The Obscured Sky Falcon didn't have any real combat prowess, but its speed and concealment abilities outshone even many Third Order beasts… Not just King Tor, but even the crowd suddenly understood that if Ryu really wanted to cheat, he could have done so far more easily than he had. Who could have reached him if he simply sat in the skies?
There was no need to say that many tried to follow after Ryu that night, not a single one of whom had good intentions. Two Kingdoms wanted to assassinate him so that he couldn't lead the Tor Clan to greater heights, while his own 'father' wanted nothing more than to see his corpse. But, with the help of his cloak, what chance did they stand?...