[Bonus chapter for 550 golden tickets]
"Kneel!" Ryu roared.
A blood red Impose Barrier erupted, wrapping Ryu's glaives in an oppressive aura.
Ryu cared little for what City Lord Loom's cultivation was. Simply put, the middle-aged man was no match for him. Not all Peak Connecting Heaven Realm experts were created the same. In fact, City Lord Loom was only marginally stronger than Lucien, Annbar and Vygil.
The reason why was simple. While those three Core Region Geniuses all cultivated with Six Star Mortal Qi Techniques at worst, City Lord Loom had cultivated to his current Realm with a Four Star Mortal Qi Technique. From the very beginning, his foundation was worse.
Not only had he only been able to open four Qi Pulses due to this limitation, but he had also only been able to open four Qi Vessels as well. His cumulative foundation was far worse than those who used higher Star cultivation techniques.
Ryu only suffered at his hands a year ago because he was still too immature back then. Now that he had had more time to grow, a cultivator on the level of the City Lord couldn't enter his eyes.
In an instant, City Lord Loom's rage was flooded away by fear. It was an emotion he couldn't control, one brought about by a vast difference in control over the Natural Order.
His knees trembled. Even though he struggled to hold himself up just as Ryu had done all those months ago, he didn't have the latter's unyielding personality.
The heavy thud of him falling to one knee resounded through the silent mountain peak. Tae's muffled sobs were maybe the only inkling that there were others present at all.
Just as City Lord Loom was about to lose control of his only raised knee, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder that alleviated the pressure he was feeling.
"I think that's enough." Matheus said emotionlessly.
Ryu's gaze met Matheus', his only expression equally as expressionless. "Consider my sparing him the final repayment the Loom Clan will gain from me. Our ties are severed from this day forth. The next one among you who attempts to interfere in something they shouldn't… I will kill without hesitation."
Ryu brushed past Matheus, his glaive sweeping to one side and beheading Lucien's corpse. A moment later, another torn cloth was tied to the end of his glaive.
With slow, deliberate steps, he made his way to the female Zu Clan Elder. Though she tried to remain calm, it was becoming more and more difficult to do so.
If they cut off the feed now, it would be as good as admitting that they were no longer as good as Ryu. At the same time, if they didn't, it would be likely that this situation would only spin further out of their control.
They had believed that dealing with Ryu would have been easy. In fact, they could have potentially turned him into a Rogue Throne, thus further crippling the Awoken Moon Sect and killing two birds with a single stone. However, reality was harsh.
There was another matter that froze the female elder. Everything had happened so quickly before that she hadn't had time to think, but now that she thought back… hadn't Ryu completely neutralized her poison in just a few moments?
Cutting down and handling his grandfather's corpse seemed like a simple matter, but the truth was that there was a reason his corpse had been covered and why the burly man who staked the pole into the ground had been careful not to touch him. Yet, it had already been several moments but Ryu had shown no signs of wear and tear.
"The Loom Clan youth is correct. I think this is about enough."
The voice allowed the female elder to breathe a sigh of relief. Since the old man of the Core Region had spoken, Ryu would definitely die here. If he couldn't give the Core Region Clans an explanation, he too would suffer.
It was too bad though that Ryu's steps continued as though he had heard nothing.
"You…" The female elder took a step back.
Of the members of the Zu Clan, she had been the only one to appear personally this day. The Zu Clan hadn't planned on participating in The Selection at all. It was only due to some hidden matters that they entered the Mortal Qi Small Realm to begin with, and only because of Ryu that they appeared on this mountain peak.
Before, she hadn't thought much of this. But now, she was greatly regretting coming here alone.
"… You want to make an enemy out of my Zu Clan?"
Ryu's footsteps paused, but this didn't give the female elder the relief she was hoping to feel.
"I think you're misunderstanding something. Anyone who makes an enemy out of me is the one who's made a mistake.
"Minn Clan? Lao Clan? Ofera Clan? Basteel Clan? Inner Ring? Core Region…? None of it matters to me.
"A group of inconsequential trash that can only rule over the lowest Immortal Plane has never entered my eyes. And yes…"
Ryu's neck tilted, looking toward a fiery red-haired young man and the old overseer.
"… That includes your so-called Ember Clan. In another year's time, you'll see well just how little I regard your Core Region."
In that moment, Ryu had thoroughly enraged countless individuals. Even as the female elder was shrinking backward, numerous others had begun surging toward him with their full speeds. Whether it was the overseer, the Basteel Clan Patriarch, the remnants of the Minn, Ofera and Lao Clans, they all rushed toward him.
To others, their speed might have been fast, but to Ryu it was nothing more than a joke. They likely believed they could reach him before he did anything, but this couldn't have been further from the truth.
Still… Ryu had other things to think about.
He still had to find a way to leave this place after he slaughtered all of these people. The issue was that those beyond his current strength might very well already be making their way here.
In that case…
'Ailsa… Leave now…'
The moment the thought completed, Ryu's hand had already gripped the female elder's throat.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Mortal Qi Mountain erupted into a violent quake. In those instants of time, it felt as though the world itself was collapsing.
Others might not know what was happening, but Ryu knew well. The Mortal Qi Small Realm had just collapsed. Ryu had crippled the whole of the Inner Ring.