Rapidly heating and cooling air whipped around Ryu. It wasn't as though he had suddenly comprehended some Flame Natural Order, rather, his blood was simply running that hot.
His white hair steamed, flying outward through the volatile wind. His skin reddened, the pumping of his veins and the thumping of his heart grating on the psyches of all those who watched. Even Monalise, a mighty Ninth Order Ancestor felt her heart palpitate unwillingly as a deep fear took root.
She wondered if she had gone too far, if maybe the young master thought that she was insinuating that his fiancée betrayed his parents and him. She wanted to quickly explain herself, to say that that wasn't what she meant, but Ryu's words cut her off.
'Thank you for your words, Ancestor Monalise. You've always been kind to me, but the only way I can repay you is by striking you down.'
Monalise's eyes widened. She hadn't thought that the young master knew her name. Despite the vast age difference between them, the Scion of Shrine Plane Clan, a Shrine Plane Clan that stood even above others… A mighty Eleventh Order Clan… Was simply worlds above her. The fact he knew her name touched her in more ways words could express.
Ryu's blood boiled. Although his Ice Jade Crystal Body perfectly balanced his bloodlines, it could never change Ryu's strongest affinity. The reality was that Ryu had a natural sense for ice and lightning even an Elemental Faerie would bow their hands down in worship toward, but Ryu's affinity for fire was on a completely different level.
The Ancestral Beasts once ruled this Realm, but none were stronger in the path of fire than the Fire Dragon and the Fire Phoenix. Yet… Both of their bloodlines were within Ryu's body.
For the first time during this trial, Ryu's second hand touched the shaft of his weapon.
BOOM!
A violent aura flashed outward, rings of red-gold rampaging through the air. It seemed like, if for but a moment, Ryu's hair was no longer a pure white, but instead the striking red of his father and grandfather.
Ailsa's red eyes glowed. The Phenomena formed from Ryu's spear and glaive could be allowed to appear if it was truly necessary, even the Phenomena of the Northern Wind was just fine, but the one Phenomena that couldn't be allowed to appear was that of the Dragon God!
A mighty roar shook the castle of ice, freezing Monalise in place. She couldn't see the Phenomena, but she could feel it, a majestic beast the likes of which hadn't appeared in countless epochs. It bore into her soul, that basal, bestial desire for slaughter, an Emperor of all things that sat in the skies, bearing down judgement as he saw fit.
A bloody aura spiraled around Ryu, his silver eyes shifting to hold a distinct gold tint.
It shouldn't be forgotten. Ryu's Karmic Qi was spent. His neutral qi was dried up. His Mental Realm was sustaining great pressure after being continuously depleted and replenished by Ailsa. All of these things were true.
Yet, the power of the halberd exuded such a pressure that none of that seemed to matter.
Ailsa immediately took advantage of the rampaging red-gold Essence. She had never seen a mere Heir Grade Natural Order call down so much, but she had been prepared from the very beginning.
Ryu's screaming meridians were suddenly filled with qi as Ailsa nurtured him back to full health. He even felt that his pupils were once more brimming with power. It was only now Ryu truly understood the strength of a Cultus Sprite.
Calling down Essence using his Birthed Phenomena was one thing, but converting that Essence into his own strength beyond the strikes of his halberd was impossible. No one was capable of such a feat. Essence was the highest-grade energy of the Heavens and moved as it pleased, you couldn't manipulate it just because you felt like it, and definitely not with such ease.
The only reason Ryu could cultivate on the Immortal Path was precisely because that Essence was primed to reward those worthy. However, the Essence called down by a Birthed Phenomena was meant to be used by the Birthed Phenomena and the Birthed Phenomena alone. One shouldn't be able to take Essence meant to form halberd qi and suddenly turn it to another form.
However… Ailsa could.
Monalise was struck down. The elders thought they were hallucinating, they could have sworn they saw a smile on their Ancestor's face. What they could have never guessed was that a smile truly was there. It was a smile that could only be formed by an elder passing down a torch.
The battles Ryu continued to fight became a blur. None of the elders knew why – though they had their own guesses – but Ryu put away his halberd after Monalise's trial was passed. He continued to push himself, using their Ancestors as training dummies. The reality of the matter made the elders slightly bitter, yet happy at the same time. They really would have a Throne? How exciting.
The Ninth Order Ancestors fell one after another. Even after a Middle Spiritual Severing Realm expert appeared, Ryu's tactics shifted. A beautiful Sakura tree appeared above his head as a strong, two-meter-tall bow appeared in his hand.
It was a beautiful scene, akin to a light snow fall acting as the backdrop of a great battle, but the elders couldn't help but feel that Ryu was using their Ancestor for target practice. Also, why were his arrows so powerful? And why did his speed have to be so mind-numbing? If he fought like this from the beginning…
It couldn't be helped. Before, the arrows Ryu formed with the Glove of Order were already capable of killing a Lower Fourth Order Beast with a single strike, and that was back when his arrows were only formed by the combination of spear, glaive and halberd qi. Now, Ryu had learned a fourth qi thanks to his Northern Heavenly Wind. The power had shot up exponentially.
Still, Ryu began to slowly learn how to control the Glove of Order under Ailsa's guidance. He learned that he didn't have to go all out constantly. If he did, he would drain his Spiritual Qi too quickly. Instead, he learned to tap into one qi at a time, and even learned how to change the balance of qi.
By the time Ryu noticed that using Wind Qi alone made his arrows far quicker than he could have ever imagined, the final pitiful Ninth Order Ancestor, who stood as the most powerful in their Sect's history, was already a pin cushion.
There was no doubt. The third Throne of the Pedestal Plane had appeared.