[Bonus chapter for 650 golden tickets]
"There's something wrong with this boy! Basteel swine, you take the vanguard, I will support you from the back."
If anyone else heard such words, maybe they would assume that the Zu Grand Elder was trying to take advantage of First Grand Elder Basteel. However, how could the latter not be aware that the Zu Clan specialized in mental attacks. Staying back to support was only natural for them!
A shout escaped the Basteel Grand Elder's lips as his aura surged. A metallic sheen raced around his skin as he crossed his arms over to block Ryu's strike.
However, First Grand Elder Basteel could have never imagined that the [Steel Skin] technique his Basteel Clan had been so proud of and even touted as their Core Teaching would be next to useless.
Ryu's halberd met the Grand Elder's forearm first, and the result was disastrous. The skin was broken through almost half an inch before being forcibly halted by what Ryu could only assume were the sturdy bones of this Grand Elder.
Unfortunately for the Basteel Clan, Ryu wasn't alone. Barely a split moment after his halberd made contact, Nemesis' spiral horn glowed with a blood red qi, piercing toward First Grand Elder Basteel's torso.
Ryu thought at that moment that everything was perfect. If he could get rid of one of them with such ease right from the very beginning, escaping was almost guaranteed. However… First Grand Elder Zu wouldn't just remain idle.
In an instant, numerous invisible arrows of Spiritual Qi pierced through the air.
Sensing the fluctuations, Ryu's expression turned serious. If it was under normal circumstances, this sort of mental attack would be what he feared the least. For one, the perpetual Visualization of [Immortal Sakura] in his Mental Realm made the space incredibly resistant to attacks. Secondly, his newly acquired [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] Visualization would made First Grand Elder Zu's life a living nightmare.
However, these weren't normal circumstances.
Ryu's [Divine Chaotic Annihiliation] was completely occupied by a minor wisp of Cosmic Qi. Ryu hadn't even begun to deal with the Immortal Qi ravaging his body, let alone having the energy to divert toward an attack of this magnitude. If he allowed these qi arrows to hit their mark, he would have no choice but to forcibly withstand them using his [Immortal Sakura] alone.
'My movement techniques in the sky are severely lacking and Nemesis isn't known for his movement speed…'
Time seemed to slow down as Ryu's mind ran in overdrive. His eyes darted around the battlefield as though he was trying to take everything in. Though only two had attacked, Ryu didn't have the luxury of ignoring the other experts of the Zu and Basteel Clans that were cutting off his escape routes.
Ryu knew it wasn't the smartest decision to bring out Nemesis for this battle, but he had done so anyway because he was taking Nemesis' feelings into account. He deserved revenge too.
With this thought, Ryu completely disregarded any thoughts of swapping Nemesis out for Little Rock. Instead, his gaze glowed with resolution.
A moment latter, two daggers that looked more like pieces of fine art than battle appeared in his free hand before he tossed them both into the air.
Ryu had neglected these daggers for a long time now, but he had never thought of using them to expand his capital despite the fact they were Unique Grade treasures. This was one of the treasures his wife had personally picked out for him on his thousandth birthday. He would never sell them.
Who knew that he would remember how useful they could be in this situation?
Ryu's eyes sharpened. '[Demonic Strings].'
Everything happened in an instant. Ryu's blow nearly severed both First Grand Elder Basteel's arms. A split second later, Nemesis' horn sought to drill through his torso. If it wasn't for the fact he was wearing a Higher Earth Grade Treasure, he truly would have been pierced through completely.
Ryu immediately went to follow up as the Grand Elder's body was sent blasting into the mountain range below, but his actions were met by a sneer from First Grand Elder Zu. Who knew that the latter's thoughts of a skewered Ryu would be thwarted by two black spined daggers with crystalline blue blades?
What made these pair of dagger so unique? It was that they had the capability of directly attacking with Spiritual Qi! Anyone who had a modicum of knowledge about the Mental Realm understood just how heaven defying such an ability was.
Whenever a Mental Realm Master primed themselves to attack, it required a Visualization. This Visualization would be projected from one's mind as a source and would thus be directly linked to one's Mental Realm.
What did this mean? It meant that when attacking with one's Mental Realm, one much be prepared to suffer some injuries themselves should things go wrong!
Ryu himself had suffered such a reality many times before. Whenever a petal of his [Immortal Sakura] was shattered, the damage would reverberate to his Mental Realm and he would be forced to cautiously heal these injuries.
However, these Unique Grade daggers completely leapt over this logic, completely destroying it. It could use Spiritual Qi to attack directly, and as such needed no Visualization and required no connection to one's Mental Realm. Normal weapons simply had no way of accepting Spiritual Qi because this qi type was considered to be partially within the Ethereal Realm! If one wanted to replicate this feat, one could only travel to the Faerie Realms and beg to be forged a weapon.
Simply put… Ryu could deal with Mental Realm attacks without putting himself at any risk!
Ryu's control over [Demonic Strings] had reached a godly level. His twin daggers snaked through the skies, being fed Spiritual Qi with his [Demonic Strings] as a bridge. Countless arrows were shattered, causing First Grand Elder Zu to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Even if he was prepared to lose a few arrows, losing so many at once made someone like him who had long become used to Mental Realm injuries feel endless pain.
However, the worst part was that Ryu was now completely unhindered in his path toward First Grand Elder Basteel.
The two mighty existences simply could not bring out their full strength against this teenage boy. Ryu had focused all of his strength into his six Impose Barriers, not even using his Inheritances to strengthen his attack. This allowed him to suppress the two to absolute extremes. They could hardly use fifty to sixty percent of their strength, let alone standing up to Ryu whose strength bordered on the Higher Connecting Heaven Realm.
"You can go off to see your grandson now." Ryu said coolly. "[White Serpent's Dance: Lurking Shadow]."
The spear point of Ryu's halberd suddenly vanished. Try as First Grand Elder Basteel might, he couldn't perceive it at all.
"GRAND ELDER!"
Those warriors who had completely surrounded Ryu only now reacted. Everything had happened so fast… How could they guess that the strongest existence in their Clan outside of their Ancestor would fall so quickly to a mere boy from the lower realms?
PUUU
First Grand Elder Basteel's eyes widened.
He crashed into the mountain below, looking at his abdomen in horror. Ryu's strike could have taken his life… But he had actually severed his Spiritual Foundation's connection from his meridians instead!
His qi began to leak at a rapid pace, flooding outward in a torrent. He simply didn't have Ryu's level of qi control, how could he deal with a matter like this?
A moment later, the low braying of Nemesis entered his ears. It sounded little different from the growls of an enraged beast.
A steel hoof raised in the skies, descending upon his chest with little hesitation.
First Grand Elder Basteel's last sight was Ryu's grime covered visage. However, he could only laugh in self-mockery when he realized that Ryu wasn't even looking at him as his life ended.