Ryu pushed himself to his limits, his legs feeling as though they were steadily becoming more like cement blocks instead of the flesh and blood they were meant to be.
The wind whipped against his skin, tearing into the ghastly, pulsating wound on his chest. One could only imagine the level of pain he was enduring. Every time his heart pumped to spur him onward, a gush of blood was spurt outward through the wound left by the dagger. A mortal would never be able to survive such a thing. In fact, neither should a mere Pulse Opening Realm expert like Ryu.
However, the Ryu of this second lifetime was no longer here. After settling his final accounts with the Tor Clan, the story of Ryu Tor had come to a close. What fueled him was no longer revenge for Granny Miriam, but a promise he made on a calm night more than nine hundred million years ago – a promise to his wife.
Ryu didn't know where Elena was now. He wouldn't even be absolutely certain that she was alive until his Mental Realm entered the Soul Birth Realm. But, this didn't shake Ryu's resolve in the least. If she was alive, he would do everything in his power to reach her. If she was dead, he would drown those responsible in blood before following after her. This place… This wasn't the place he, Ryu Tatsuya, was meant to die. Not here. Not today.
Headmaster Leopold's eyes trained on the fountain. Even without Ryu's Heavenly Pupils, it only took him a bit of focus to realize that this fountain was protected by a formation. This wasn't much of a surprise, after all, Formation Masters needed to cultivate their Mental Realm in order to see complete formations. This was obviously a step someone like Leopold already completed.
His brows knit. "Heaven Grade Formation. No… Not just any Heaven Grade Formation, but a Half-Step Mystical Grade Formation. Luckily, it's a small-scale formation and not a large one."
In truth, Ryu's worst-case scenario came true. The unassuming Headmaster Leopold was actually a mighty Connecting Heaven Realm expert, a step above even the mightiest Divine Vessel Realm expert of the Higher Mortal Plane!
However, one had to realize that Formations worked much like techniques and pills did. Their grade decided which cultivation realms they were effective against. A Common Grade Formation was effective for Awakening and Pulse Opening Realm Experts. This meant that an Earth Grade Formation was already effective against a Divine Vessel and Connection Heaven Realm expert like Headmaster Leopold!
Now, one can imagine why it took the Peak Spiritual Severing Realm experts of the three Kings several days to destroy the large-scale Earth Grade formation of the Natural Order Sect. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact there was no one manning the formation of the Natural Order Sect, it would have been impossible for mere Spiritual Severing Realm experts to do anything to it.
Still, Headmaster Leopold had a chance for two reasons. Firstly, this was a makeshift small-scale formation that had been modified recently, causing its grade to fall from its peak height to the mere Heaven Grade. This was something Ryu himself realized when he first analyzed the fountain at Opes Kingdom. And, secondly, a small-scale formation wasn't as robust as a large-scale one. Essentially, a small-scale formation was the equivalent in robustness to a large-scale formation one step down from its grade.
Without hesitation, Headmaster Leopold began to unleash attack after attack on the small-scale formation. When Ryu heard this in the distance, the faint light of hope grew even stronger because he realized that whoever was coming after him didn't have any knowledge of Formations!
Headmaster Leopold made a massive mistake. It was true that the fountain's formation was adjusted to accept the royal blood of the Tor, Opes, Viri, and Lantes Kingdoms. But, how could it not recognize Zu Clan blood as well? If he had taken a breath to think, the fountain would have easily allowed him to enter in exchange for a single scan. Yet, he was unaware! This gave Ryu valuable time.
Within the crystalline jade, the two Empresses and Emperors sat fairly complacently. But, as more and more time passed, their brows furrowed. They had clearly sensed that the jade became perfect, so why hadn't their descendant come to pay respects to them yet? Don't tell them that a mere Pulse Opening Realm boy escaped their net? That was impossible.
Unfortunately, they couldn't sense anything happening on the outside. If they moved too far from their Incarnation Jades, their souls would immediately start to dissipate. In fact, a Heavenly Punishment might even descend upon them.
"It seems we've underestimated this boy a bit." Malvor said plainly.
"Impossible." Flora said in her sweet voice. The dichotomy of how nice it sounded versus the killing intent? clear within it was too much for any sane person to handle. "After Big Sis gave him her [Immortal Sakura], his guard should have been lowered to the extreme."
"His guard has been up against us from the very beginning." Eska said blandly. "Have you ever seen a Pulse Opening Realm child receiving a technique from a Sky God remain so calm? He didn't even express any gratitude after accepting my [Immortal Sakura]."
The four Ancestors fell into silence.
In the outside world, Ryu had already shot through the Heavenly Body Sect, bolting down its mountains. Apprehension gripped his heart as he closed in on the Immortal Path. Due to the influx of Essence in the area, it was a hub for exceptionally powerful beasts. It wasn't impossible for a Fifth Order Beast King to appear here. There were even rumors of a Sixth Order Beast King.
However, Ryu had no choice. The moment he entered this holy land of nature, he realized that this might be even more dangerous than what was following him to his back. If even the Heavenly Body Sect didn't dare extend their territory's boundary into such a beautiful land, it was clear that even they could only bow their heads to whatever lived here.
At that moment, Headmaster's Leopold's assault on the fountain had continued for several hours. With a final shattering, the pitiful fountain was obliterated into fine dust particles, revealing a passage below.
It didn't take Leopold more than a split moment to find the fountain after raging over the missing crystalline piece. Without hesitation, he tore down the dark pathway, erupting out to appear among the remains of the Heavenly Body Sect.
He could sense a faint presence, so faint that he almost missed it completely. Every time he took his mind off of it for a moment, that presence would vanish. Ryu had a several hour head start. He had all the plans in the world. Yet, the moment Headmaster Leopold's Spiritual Sense trained on him with [Resonating Sense], it was already over. What did a several hour head start mean in the face of absolute power?
"Haha! To think that my opponent all this time would be this little Fourth Prince Tor!"