[Bonus chapter for 200 golden tickets]
City Lord Loom was frozen in shock. Maybe if it was just Ryu who turned out to be a Throne, it would be alright. But he was even more shocked by his own grandnephew. He had such a talent in his Clan, and he wasn't even aware?
Unlike Ryu and Matheus, he couldn't see through the strength of the Thrones in any detail. However, he didn't need to, to understand the shocking reality of it all.
Thrones represented the peak talents of the martial world. Though not all peak talents would be Thrones, there was no such thing as a talentless Throne!
City Lord Loom felt a deep sense of regret in an instant. He had gone so far to pull Ryu to his side, even crossing his own moral code, when these matters could have ended by relying on his grandnephew…
"Brother…" The Loom Clan Patriarch looked toward his younger brother. "… Why didn't you tell me?"
But, in that moment, he saw an expression on the Grand Elder's face that surprised him. Grand Elder Loom was actually shocked by Matheus' display. Clearly, he hadn't been aware either!
"It seems the Heavens wanted to play a joke on us…" Grand Elder Loom laughed bitterly. "… If Little Matheus hid this from us all, he had to have a reason to do so…"
"You aren't a match for me…" Matheus said lightly. It wasn't that he wanted to ignore his grandfather's words, but rather that Grand Elder Loom was correct. He obviously had his reasons for keeping this a secret.
"I'm aware." Ryu said without much reluctance. "But the gap may not be as large as you believe…"
Ryu's response actually made the calm Matheus smile. "A worthy Throne, indeed."
Ryu didn't feel much grief, but that didn't mean he wasn't inwardly burning. Even though Matheus was several decades older than him, would the so-called Martial Gods that arrogantly took over his Shrine Plane stop ageing just for him?
Any loss was frustrating to him, even when it was at the hands of figures like City Lord Loom. However, he had learned to ignore that fire in his belly and aim his ire toward improvement, just like he had for the crystalline jade's fourth floor.
Ryu could easily see through Matheus' cultivation. He was a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert. Judging by his vitality, though he was older than one hundred years old, he wasn't quite two hundred years old either.
To put this into perspective, if born on the Blossom Plane, a step above this Pedestal Plane, Matheus as is would be adored as a heaven shaking genius. Even on the Shrine Plane, though he wouldn't be among the very best, not many would dare to offend him. Yet, this young man was born in this mere Inner Ring! To say his accomplishments were impressive was understating it.
In truth, Ryu wasn't completely helpless against Matheus. If he used his three Impose Realm comprehensions, he could battle anyone within the Fifth Order rank of strength. The issue was that as a Throne, Matheus' combat prowess was several levels above normal individuals. If Ryu could battle above his cultivation, why couldn't Matheus do so as well?
But this was only a surface issue… The true reason Ryu knew he didn't stand much a chance was because…
"I didn't expect to meet a fellow Necromancer on one of my rare trips back home. But why do I feel like you aren't much of a Necromancer at all?" Matheus said lightly.
In that moment, everyone understood. The sinister dark aura around his Throne, his need for secrecy, it all made sense… How could he expose his ties to the Necromancer Guild while his Clan resided within Zu Clan territory? The only reason he revealed this now was because it seemed that without him, his Clan had ironically been pushed to the point of recruiting another Necromancer.
It seemed he had been too lowkey. But, it was surprising that this Necromancer happened to be a young man no less talented than himself.
Ryu didn't respond. Instead, two shadows suddenly manifested before him.
"Fifth Order corpse puppets! And they're both of the Peak Dao Realm!"
The elders and ministers felt a stifling aura they couldn't ignore. They found themselves not unable to look away from the corpse puppets themselves… but rather the weapons in their hands.
They both wielded a glaive, and though they had yet to brandish it, a blood thirsty domain seemed to whip around them, eager for battle. Each had a beautiful violet finish and radiated the aura of an Earth Grade weapon. It seemed after months of training, Ryu's Silver Thirsting Ore had taken a step forward while the New Moon Ore of their weapon bodies shone with vigor.
Matheus, though, hardly reacted to this change. Even half a year ago, Ryu's Mental Realm had already been strong enough to support a Sixth Order corpse puppet. The issue was that finding this corpse puppet was next to impossible. Connecting Heaven Realm corpses wouldn't just lay around waiting to be picked.
However, even if this was a limiter for Ryu, would it be for Matheus? The reason why Ryu knew his chances were slim was because he was certain that Matheus had at least one Sixth Order corpse puppet!
"It's as expected… Your Grave Qi is not bad, but you have no Death Heir comprehension. The aura of your weapons far exceeds that of your corpses. You'll never be able to bring out the true strength of your corpse puppets in this way. Why do you insist on being a Necromancer?"
Ryu's gaze didn't leave Matheus', but he didn't answer either.
Seeing that Ryu didn't answer, Matheus didn't press the issue either.
"There really is no need for us to fight. There's no problem with the both of us representing my Loom Clan. As things stand now, it's already impossible to… retract some things."
Tae avoided her cousin's gaze, still unable to look up from her own hands.
"I can also guarantee, granduncle, that Ryu didn't use any underhanded means. For now, my Mental Realm is still stronger than his…"
Hearing these words, though the City Lord breathed a sigh of relief, his feelings only became more complicated. This young man was truly too arrogant, couldn't he have explained this to him before? But… Seeing Ryu's Throne, he really did have the capital to be arrogant. It was no wonder why he never tried to rely on his status, what self-respecting Throne ever would?
"With you by my side, Ryu, hiding my strength will be more convenient. I'm still not yet strong enough to go against the Zu Clan, so I must continue to bide my time. As for those here…"
Matheus' aura suddenly surged. Before anyone could react, dozens of heads flew to the ceiling, washing the Grand Hall in blood. They couldn't understand how Matheus had down it, but a deep fear was suddenly etched into the hearts of the ministers and elders here.
"… Those who seek benefits from my Loom Clan but are traitors at heart only have one path." Matheus said coldly.
"This fight is no longer about this selection." Ryu said without much emotion.
"I see…" Matheus scanned Ryu's visage.
A moment later, his spatial ring flashed, revealing his own half mask. It calmly attached to his face, shrouding Matheus in a mysterious light.
"… You must know this, but a fight between Thrones is the best way to snatch Faith. Though you won't lose your Throne, it may very well drop a grade. I too am eager to raise my Throne to the Ninth Order, but I didn't want to take advantage of our age gap… But since you insist, I'll oblige..."
A cyclone of shadows suddenly appeared before Matheus. Though it was only one, Ryu felt that his two corpse puppets couldn't hold a candle to it.
'Corpse World…' Ryu's eyes narrowed.
One of the abilities of someone who had comprehended a Death Inheritance was the ability to form their own world of death. This world made it much more convenient to summon and unsummon corpse puppets… Whereas Ryu had to touch his undead to place them back into his spatial ring, Matheus had no need to do so. He could easily switch them in and out as he pleased.
However, this was only one of the benefits of forming a Corpse World…
A moment later, Matheus corpse puppet appeared, shimmering in a silver black. However, it wasn't a human corpse puppet, but rather a beast!
It had the strong sturdy shape of a platinum armored armadillo. Its body was five meters long and a silver armor extended from its nose, down the length of its back, and through its wide, two-meter-long flat tail.
Black shadows wafted from its joints, forcing the air around it to tremble.
'He's a Refinement Necromancer of the Armored Beast subbranch…' Ryu felt his heartbeat steady.
This corpse, it was of the Half-Step Sixth Order!
"My apologies, but this is already the weakest corpse puppet I can bring out. If you can defeat it with your own, I will withdraw from this battle…"
Matheus' calm voice filled the bloodied Grand Hall.