Ailsa sat silently on Ryu's shoulder as though his thoughts had nothing to do with her. Her ruby-like eyes sparkled, lost in their own world. Ryu could only inwardly sigh. He had never lost a battle of words in this life or his last, but to think he would lose to someone who said no words at all.
Was this what it meant for their souls to share a wavelength? Could someone else have forced Ryu to admit his faults so easily? Ryu was unsure… The only other person to succeed was Elena. Elena was probably the only woman in existence before Ailsa to make Ryu put down his stubbornness.
However, Ryu felt that there was something deeper to this. It wasn't that Ailsa understood Ryu so well, although that might be it in part. It was more so… maturity. Ailsa had a level of maturity that was far beyond Ryu and Elena. Just how long had she waited for Ryu in order to foster such a mind state?
"Hmph." Ailsa pouted turning her head away from Ryu. "Even thinking about asking how old a woman is, is a punishable offense. How rude."
Ryu bitterly shook his head. Maybe she wasn't so mature after all. Well, at least she was speaking to him again.
"Thank you, Vio." Ryu bowed in respect to this small family of two. "I'll use them well."
Vio waved his hands as though trying to refuse Ryu's bow. He wanted to say something more, but before he could, Ryu had disappeared like a wisp of smoke. Bowing his head wasn't something Ryu did often. Even for his parents, it was a rare sight. However, Vio and his father had taught him a valuable lesson. They might be unaware of this fact, but Ryu was still grateful, nonetheless.
Ailsa smiled with satisfaction. An outsider might see her attempts to enlighten Ryu as her forcing her belief system upon him, but this wasn't her intention. She didn't want Ryu to suddenly believe that Faith was infallible. She only wanted him to understand that swimming against its current was far more difficult than he believed it to be. If he didn't learn this lesson early on, he would fall into an abyss he could never climb out of in the future.
This was the ability of Cultus Faeries. They couldn't just nurture strength, they could nurture the mind and the heart. What Ailsa had done for Ryu was more valuable than any powerup could be.
**
Ryu left Valor City behind, entering deep within its surrounding beast ridden forest. If others knew just how much money he had spent in the last few days, they might die shocked deaths. Even with all of the gold coins he had come with, he blew through more than ninety percent of it in the blink of an eye. But, it was very much worth it.
Ryu slid his black robes off before putting on a sparkling light blue skintight flexible armor. It was constructed with Ice Worm silk and was incredibly cool to the touch. Though the Ice Worm's silk was incredible tough and sturdy, not many could wear armor made of its material because the yin qi it emitted was fierce. If one wasn't careful, they could become a block of ice.
Luckily, Ryu had begun to cultivate Vital Qi while he waited for the Ember Clan father-son duo to complete his weapons. As a result, his slumbering bloodlines had partially awakened. With his Ice Phoenix blood beginning to come into its own, cold wasn't something Ryu would have to worry about in most cases.
Ryu breathed out. The layer of frost that had covered his eyelashes melting away in the wind.
After overlaying a new set of black robes to cover his defensive treasure, Ryu began to move once more, his movements filled with purpose. His destination? The Awoken Moon Sect. The very Sect Granny Miriam's younger sister called her own.
**
The Awoken Moon Sect. It was a land ravaged by cold year-round. However, if one looked around, you could find a surprising number of individuals trekking its perpetual winter landscape. If one looked once more, you might raise an eyebrow at the fact all of these brave individuals were men.
That said, if you had heard of the Awoken Moon Sect before, you would understand what was happening at a single glance. The Awoken Moon Sect was an all-female Sect. When this reality is known, one can either understand the situation, or become more confused.
The Awoken Moon Sect wasn't like other Sects which had strict and infrequent disciple accepting periods, it simply didn't have the luxury of doing so. According to rumors, the techniques and legacies of its Sect were incredibly difficult to grasp, and as such, there were a rare few that could be admitted. As such, the Sect held disciple exams once a month on the day and night of the full moon. And, when this day arrived, men from across the Outer Ring would gather, all to catch mere glimpses of the Femme Fatales hidden behind those tall, white and blemishless walls.
"These annoying loaches. Is there really a need for them to come here every month?" A beauty with a snarl that didn't match her appearance nearly growled out her words. It truly wasn't her fault, anyone would be annoyed beyond belief. "Don't they realize that they look more like dogs than men? A woman might like a bit of persistence, but too much is just disgusting."
The beauty was short in stature and quite petite. She didn't look more than fourteen years old, but she spoke in the vulgar fashion one might expect a disgruntled middle-aged divorcee to.
She stood on the tall white walls of their Awoken Moon Sect, trying to pick out the hopeful young girls in the crowd of hormonal men. She needed to make sure that none of those beasts harmed their delicate flowers, or else there would be hell to pay.
"Let's start filtering them out. Open the gates." A much taller, more mature disciple directly ignored the young girl's ravings. "Make sure not to let those who shouldn't be here in."
"Leave it to me senior sister. I'll definitely bust their balls properly." The teenage girl seemed more excited than she should have been. Who knew where she learned such words from…
She fluttered downward gracefully, snorting at the calls of admiration from the crowd of men. Though, it did satisfy her vanity a bit.
"This way kiddies!" The young girl completely ignored the fact that many of those who came were actually older than she was. "You vulgar beasts stay back, only those prepared to take on our Awoken Moon Sect's trials should come forward. You've seen your fill, you can leave now. We are a mighty Fifth Order Sect, not your playgrou – Hey you! What do you think you're do…"
The young girl froze. The gaze in Ryu's eyes almost didn't allow her to continue on with her normal rant. Maybe for the first time in her young life, she was speechless.