"WHO DARES?!"
A booming voice erupted from the carriage, followed by its quick destruction. An enraged cultivator shattered the vessel into a rain of splintered wood and bent metal, his disheveled figure shooting into the skies while his reddened eyes scanned the culprits below.
If one looked closely, it was easy to tell that his image had once been elegant. But the tumble from the skies had definitely destroyed whatever semblance of that essence he once had.
Though he was a great expert, clearly seen by his ability to fly, the change had been too sudden. Before he realized what happened, his carriage was tumbling from the skies. Just a moment ago, he was chasing beauties, but now he had embarrassed himself to this extent.
"YOU DAMNED DRIVER!"
The young man's hand stretched outward, sending a surge of qi forward that pulled the poor driver's neck into his hand.
"Young Master Basteel, please…!" The driver struggled, his legs dangling from below. "Someone cut the reins and harness! It truly wasn't my fault!"
"Someone what?"
The young man surnamed Basteel suddenly calmed. If what his driver was saying was true, this might mean that someone equal to him in stature had taken action. After all, who else would dare to act against him if not such a person?
Just a few moments ago, he had been calling out to a carriage carrying three young ladies. Considering their beauty and the prestige of their Clans, he obviously had many competitors that might be unhappy toward his pursuit.
His thoughts only seemed more validated by the fact this person didn't attack him directly. Whoever could precisely cut the reins and harness of a carriage moving at such speeds was a great expert, yet they hadn't taken advantage of the moment to harm him. This was in line with the actions those Clan Scions would take.
Though they fought amongst each other quite frequently, they never went overboard, and most definitely didn't attempt to kill one another. That said, embarrassing him like this was well in line with their usual actions, causing his expression to grow solemn.
"Which young master has acted against me today? Will you continue to hide?"
Young Master Basteel looked toward the ground below, scanning the area to see who might have done it. But, all he found were awkward expressions that tried to avoid his gaze. The longer the perpetrator remained silent, the angrier the blood boiling his veins became.
"Y-young master… I – I." The driver tried to speak, but having been cut off from his air circulation for so long, he directly passed out, unable to stand it any longer.
"Hm?" Young Master Basteel released his grip and shook the driver awake.
"Young master, it wasn't one of them who did this."
The frown on the young master's face deepened.
"I… I couldn't see clearly, but it was definitely someone waiting in line who took action against young master. Someone of your stature would n –" The driver cut off his next words, remaining silent.
His next words were clear. No one of Young Master Basteel's stature would ever wait in line to enter the city. Young masters like him and the girls that entered before him entered and exited as they pleased. In fact, they didn't care for the population cap at all. It wasn't rare to see one of them entering the city after the daily counts were finished, only for some pitiful soul who had waited in line all day to be kicked out.
Unfortunately, for a city as large as Looming City, it had to be strictly controlled. If too many people were allowed to enter, it would lessen the prestige of the city and also lessen the enjoyment of visiting it. While normal people had to factor this into their actions, these Scions hardly cared.
Young Master Basteel turned his gaze to the Looming Guard who stood at the gates with an awkward expression.
"Is what he said true."
"Replying to Young Master Basteel… This is true." The guard cleared his throat.
Young Master Basteel's gaze turned toward the back of a man walking further and further into the depths of the city. Ryu hadn't even attempted to run after his actions, in fact, his gait was steady as could be as he walked forward without a care for those at his back.
Seeing this Young Master Basteel, who had been curious about who dared to attack him in this way without having status, felt his rage bubble back up. To so blatantly disrespect him yet not even run for your life, the level of arrogance more than rubbed him the wrong way.
"What is his name, I'm sure he was forced to leave it."
"This…" The guard wasn't meant to reveal such information so freely, or everyone would look down on their Looming City. But seeing his gaze, he had no choice. "… His name is … Ryu."
"Ryu?" Young Master Basteel frowned. For some reason, at that moment, he remembered his younger brother speaking to him about a man he met during his Herbology Exam. That young man called himself Ryu Tatsuya… Could it be?
"His last name?" The young master pressed.
"… He had none."
"None?"
The young master's eyes sharpened. There were too many people in the world. Of course many would share the same first name. Plus, there was no way someone with such a powerful last name would ever forsake his Inherited name by saying he didn't have one. Doing so was nothing less than slapping the face of your Ancestors.
"YOU NAMELESS BASTARD! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Young Master Basteel's voice boomed.
Hearing these words, Ryu's steps paused. His back stood tall like an ancient statue.
For a long while, he didn't say a single word. It was as though he was letting the words he just heard to seep into his very being.
However, as time passed, the pressure around him seemed to grow explosively. The air became heavy, the wind surging around him sharpening with each passing moment.
A baleful aura spiraled around his body. It seemed that someone wanted to die.