Watching Ryu's gentle caress of the Bloodied Steed, Tae felt frozen in place. She found it too difficult to resolve the Ryu who was a breath away from striking her down for a mere grumbling stomach with the Ryu who was delicate and caring.
Ryu would never describe himself as a caring person, nor did he have some innate sense of justice. If he did, he probably wouldn't have let Amarice's ex-lover die. After all, he was an innocent man seeking revenge for a past betrayal, yet Ryu felt nothing watching him be backstabbed by the Ruin Master.
However, when it came to those he had a relationship with, any slight against them was a slight against himself. He had already bound the Bloodied Steed as his second beast partner. Though their bond had yet to deepen, Ryu's heart trembled when he realized the crimson horse held on so long in respect of their relationship. Ryu saw this valiant horse as one of his own. Seeing it in this state made his eyes flicker with rage.
"I'll name you… Nemesis."
The Bloodied Steed's hoof rose and slammed into the cobbled stone below. Cracks of spread furiously from the center of his strike and hot steam blew from its nose.
'Ailsa, help me.'
Ailsa didn't respond with words, but immediately helped cross the steed into the ethereal realm, making it simple for Ryu to pass its large body into the Incubator. As for the scene of a massive Fourth Order beast disappearing, he didn't bother with it. After all, it wasn't a weird sight for a beast tamer to have a Beast Pocket. In the Outer Ring, it might be a shock. But it was commonplace here.
'Take good care of him.'
Tae blinked in shock. "You managed to keep your spatial ring? Though my grandfather warned Captain Zu from breaking the rules, it is part of protocol to confiscate the items of all prisoners…"
Ryu didn't care to respond to her question. "You were saying…?"
Tae frowned, looking toward the place the Bloodied Steed came from. "The Basteel Clan won't take kindly to your actions. Too many people witnessed what just happened."
"I don't care."
Tae grit her teeth, feeling irritated beyond belief. "You can't even stop my Clan from locking you away for half a year! The Basteel Clan is ten, no, twenty times more powerful than we are! How can you…!"
In the end, Tae had no choice but to stop her words. Ryu's cold, piercing gaze made her shiver. She felt like if she said one more word, she would lose her life here.
"You were saying…?" Ryu repeated.
After a pause, Tae took a deep breath, trying to recollect herself.
"… If you want to buy mundane items, it's best we go to the Armament Guild. It's not far from here, follow me."
Tae solemnly turned her gaze from Ryu, focusing on the task of guiding him.
The Armament Guild was a merchant association and had many hubs of trade across the Immortal Planes. In all likelihood, they were simply too uninterested in the business of the Outer Ring to appear there, but Looming City was just barely qualified. In fact, Looming City's Armament Guild was the only one of the Inner Ring. Only it took on enough human traffic to entice the Merchant Heads.
It wasn't long before Tae and Ryu had made their way to a large bustling center, only to be stopped.
"The minimum cultivation required for entry is the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm. Please turn back, Qi Refiner." A guard clad in silver armor stopped Ryu expressionlessly. There wasn't any disdain in his eyes, it looked like he was simply doing his job.
Ryu looked back at the guard without much emotion. In a moment, his blood surged under a slight flex of his body. A coursing vital qi wrapped around him, causing a hidden pressure to tear through the surroundings.
At that moment, the expressionless guard's eyes flashed with an indiscernible light.
"My apologies, please enter young sir."
Ryu didn't say much, directly entering. As he expected, it was much more difficult to discern Body Realm cultivation than Qi Realm cultivation. Though Ryu's qi density was comparable to the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm requirement, the guard still stopped him. However, despite Ryu's body cultivation still being in the Pulse Tempering Realm, the guard couldn't parse it.
According to the standards of this Armament Guild, Ryu shouldn't be able to enter unless he reached the Vessel Tempering Realm. This made sense considering the guard's previous logic. But, the guard obviously wasn't as good at separating Body Realms.
To this, Tae didn't have much of reaction. Though Ryu used his Body to enter, Tae thought he used his Mental Realm. After all, someone capable of controlling so many Fourth Order corpse puppets was definitely of the Spiritual Endowment Realm, which meant Ryu had already opened his Spiritual Vessel, which would also give him the right to enter.
As for why Ryu decided to secretly expose his bodily strength, maybe only he and Ailsa who could read his thoughts knew.
The moment Ryu and Tae crossed the barrier, the once quiet atmosphere immediately became bustling and rowdy. Cultivators shouting across several dozen meters, heated bargaining in every corner, and endless rows of sharp eyes merchants were abound. Yet, it had an odd structure to it all.
However, Ryu hardly cared about this. Instead, he was thinking about something completely different.
'To think that such a small place has an Armament Guild Branch…'
He grit his teeth. He still had an account tied to his identity as the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan. As an Origin Grade Ruin Master, though he funneled most his funds back into the Tatsuya Clan, he was wealthier than most people could imagine. Yet, despite having these funds right before him, he didn't dare to touch them. Even though the Armament Guild swore perfect anonymity, he didn't dare trust it.
To have such a fortune before himself, yet not dare to touch it… Nothing could be more depressing. Ryu felt like ripping something apart.
If he could find a way to use these funds, his journey would become as easy as flowing water until at least the Path Extinction Realm…
Ailsa blinked. 'Oh? Armament Guild? My Cultus Clan has a few accounts…'
Ryu's footsteps froze. His gaze shifted, only to land on Ailsa's giggling figure. He knew well she could hear his thoughts, yet this little vixen dared to tease him like this.
'Just be patient Little Ryu. It's no good if I activate my funds on this Plane, after all, they're looking for you, my Life Partner right now. However, when we go to higher Planes, or a World where there's more Faerie activity, I don't mind my Little Ryu leaning on a Big Sister a bit.'
Hearing these words, Ryu calmed down and nodded. 'Thank you.'
Ailsa smiled, her small lips pecking Ryu's cheek. 'You don't need to thank me, what's mine is yours.'
Ryu's brow raised slightly. Ailsa seemed warmer than before, but he wasn't sure what happened. Before, though she was caring toward him, it felt like she was doing so more out of responsibility. It was like… To her, the Heavens chose him as her Life Partner, so she would make the most of it.
But now, it felt more genuine.
After a few more moments of thought, he still couldn't figure out why, so he let it go. Still, he inwardly sighed. If Ailsa's feelings were becoming realer, their relationship would be harder for him to handle.
Suddenly, an all-encompassing voice stopped his thoughts.
"The time is finally here, ladies and gentlemen! As you all know, the Armament Guild is famous across not just this Martial God Realm, but several hundred Realms across the Cosmos."
Ryu inwardly snorted. Martial God Realm? In his heart, this would forever be the Shrine Realm. It had always been named this in respect to Shrine Mountain, the ancient sturdy figure that stretched through their six Planes and protected them for countless generations. Yet they actually dared blaspheme their Protector Spirit by expunging its name…
The importance of names couldn't be understated, they were too tied to Fate and Faith. This wasn't a small slight…
"Though we built a branch in this Looming City, it hasn't been completed until now!
"Young geniuses across the Cosmos come to take part in our Armament Trial! There are nine legendary weapons, The Sword, The Staff, The Short Blade, The Battle Axe, The Saber, The Bow, The Spear, The Glaive, and The Halberd!
"The Ancestor of our Armament Guild believed that these nine treasured weapons and their Birthed Phenomena are the reason behind the rise of our Human Races against the Ancestral Beasts! They represent the innovation of genius of the Human Races! As such, on his death bed, my Ancestor swore to support geniuses of these paths!
"Come take our Armament Trial! Grasp your destiny! Perform well and you'll be rewarded beyond your imagining!"