"I said say it again!"
Ryu's rage was like a tempest that swirled into the clouds above. Each strike was akin to reverberating earthquake, shaking the very foundation of Looming City despite his actions taking place outside its walls.
Young Master Basteel felt that his body had becoming nothing but mush. His bones cracked, his inner organs were jarred, and his eyes grew too swollen to see much of anything.
Ailsa rubbed her temples, sitting upon Ryu's shoulder. It seemed that no matter how jarring his movement, she didn't budge a single inch.
'How can a master of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons and an expert bowman suddenly forget how to use anything but his fists when he loses his temper… Ah, whatever, maybe it's better this way. If he really did use his best, this fool would have already died ten times over. What was he thinking, calling Ryu a bastard. Of the women in the world, he only cares for five. His wife, his big sister, his grandmothers and… his mother… idiot.'
In the distance, the carriage adorned by pristine white came to an abrupt pause.
"Where did that annoying brute go?" One of the three beautiful with a head of cascading brunette hair asked.
"Don't tell me you like that man, Erea." Another with blond hair responded.
"Don't be ridiculous, it's just convenient that I don't have to carry my purse around when he's here. Plus, I was feeling hungry, yet we're almost at our favorite restaurant and he hasn't caught up yet."
"The ground seems to be shaking." The third quiet beauty suddenly spoke, looking at the sea of people below. It was very clear that they were all headed toward the same direction, could something big have happened? That might also explain why that gorilla hadn't made his way here yet.
It didn't take the three beauties very long to decide to follow the crowd. They had only come to Looming City for some fun, anyway. Though there was a big event coming up, they were definitely very early. And, anyone who knew why Looming City was known as the entertainment capital of the Inner Ring understood exactly why this was as well.
Still, despite knowing they'd find entertainment when they made their way to this city, never did they expect the spectacle before them. Theron Basteel, First in line Heir of the Basteel Clan, was being beaten black and blue without even a hope of fighting back against an unknown masked man.
The first beauty who wondered where Theron had gone, Erea, suddenly erupted into a fit of giggles.
"Serves him right."
"I don't know who that young man is, but he's going to be in a lot of trouble very soon." The calmest of the three spoke again.
"Tae, don't be such a downer. Who cares what happens to him, just enjoy the show. Who knows, maybe he has some mysterious backer we're not aware of." The blond beauty responded.
"Unlikely…" Tae said calmly. "… He wears a necromancer half-mask, but there are no strong necromancer powers on the Pedestal Plane. How likely could it be that a Blossom Plane genius would come here?"
The blond pouted, feeling that Tae was correct.
"Don't pout Mao, you should have known better than to question Sister Tae's deductions in the first place." Erea teased.
"Hm?" Mao, who had just been pouting suddenly froze. "He's a Higher Spiritual Severing expert? How is that possible? Something doesn't seem right. No matter what, Theron is a half-step into the Divine Vessel Realm, there's no way he'd lose to someone two steps below him."
Tae and Erea frowned at these words. In fact, Erea thought that Mao might have made another mistake that Tae would soon correct. But, who knew that even her senses would find it hard to refute this?
"I'm afraid it's even more unbelievable than that." Tae said with a solemn expression. "He isn't a Higher Spiritual Severing Realm expert, he's a Peak Qi Refinement Realm expert, it's just that his qi density is the equivalent of someone on that stage."
Suddenly, Tae wasn't so confident in the idea that this necromancer wasn't from the Blossom Plane. She had mingled with the geniuses of the Core Region before… There was no way they could birth such a genius. It was impossible for them.
"In later cultivation stages, it's easier to tell realms apart because they're separated by comprehension. No one would ever mistake someone of the Dao Pedestal Realm for some of the World Sea Realm. However, it's more difficult in early stages because everything is so qi centric. Still, there are some key differences to pick apart…
"Those of the Spiritual Severing Realm not only have thicker qi, but also their qi also has a subtle sharpness gained after forming their Qi Blades. This man doesn't have this sharpness…"
The moment she finished speaking, Ryu gripped Theron's throat before standing to his full height.
"You really won't say it again?" He practically growled. "Then get on your knees and apologize!"
His arm swung downward once more, except this time, Theron was in his hand. He buried the young master knee first before slamming his head into the dry dirt below.
At that moment, the shifting feet of dozens of moving guards became very clear. The crowd of citizens split like the red sea, unwilling to get involved, but very eager to watch on. Everyone knew how dangerous the Looming Guards were, the only thing that could make them lower their swords were the young masters of the Inner Ring… But that was simultaneously one of the best reasons for them to raise them as well.
Everyone knew that of the Five Core Clan of their Inner Ring, the Basteel Clan was definitely the most overbearing, in large part to their special earth affinity blood. In all likelihood, this wouldn't end well. This young man was lucky that Looming City was under the control of the Zu Clan and not the Basteel Clan, or else he would have no hope of escaping.
"Halt! Necromancer, you've violated at least nine articles of our city's code. You are under arrest."
A captain of the guard stopped the twenty-four or so Looming Guards in their tracks, his eyes narrowing, clear disdain creeping through his features. Unfortunately, Mental Realm Master hated Necromancers because they survived their era of ostracization despite technically being Mental Realm Masters as well…