[Bonus chapter for 700 golden tickets]
"Grand Elder!"
Nemesis neighed into the skies with a satisfied arrogance. Who else could have been responsible for heading his humiliation if not for this very First Grand Elder beneath his feet? It was this very man here who noticed his talent and enacted all of those inhumane punishments all for the sake of making him lower his head.
Though he couldn't express his thoughts in human language, his intelligence was already no less than humans. In fact, he was quite a margin smarter than the average human, or else, his talent wouldn't be so frightening.
He originally chose to follow Ryu because his scent was quite pleasing. Plus, Ryu only used a wave of a hand to shatter the seal that had been placed within him by the Basteel Clan, so he was endlessly grateful and wanted to repay this debt. This was the reason why he waited through six months of humiliation at the gates of Loom City… All for the sake of thanking Ryu.
But, who knew that Ryu would already treat him like a brother to this extent? With Nemesis' intelligence, how could he not tell that Little Rock was far more suitable for this battle? Yet, Ryu had still called him out and even crippled this Grand Elder for the sake of letting him have the final strike.
Nemesis had without a doubt ingrained this favor in his heart.
Several red-eyed Basteel Clan elders and even their remaining Grand Elder's surged toward Ryu. However, Ryu seemed to have not noticed them at all.
'Alright, alright.' Ryu smiled, patting Nemesis' strong neck. 'I've heard your resolve. You go back now.'
Nemesis slipped into the Ethereal Realm before being replaced with Little Rock. With a single flap of the infant Lightning Hawk's wings, Ryu all but vanished, appearing outside of the encirclement of Basteel's and far above First Grand Elder Zu's head.
His twin daggers rapidly wrapped around his body, his halberd being held tightly in his hand.
He knew he didn't have much more time. Clans at this level most definitely had methods of telling when one of their most important members died. If not, how could the Zu Clan know that elder of theirs died? This truth would be even more so for a First Grand Elder like the one Nemesis just killed.
Even though both Nemesis and Little Rock had broken into the Lower Sixth Order, it was still the Lower Sixth Order. In order to face the Ancestor of the Basteel Clan, they would likely have to be reach the Seventh Order. Actually, with their talent, maybe not. However, that didn't change the fact Little Rock's Realm was still too low.
However, Ryu was confident in Little Rock's speed. If he factored his Wind Inheritance, he was even more so. So, with little hesitation, Ryu dove down toward Grand Elder Zu who immediately became flustered.
He sent a flurry of Spiritual Qi Arrows toward Ryu, but they were all sliced to oblivion by the latter's twin daggers.
How could he not panic? Every shattered arrow was another wound to his Mental Realm. To make matters worse, he had never spent much time on close combat. Why would he? He was a Zu!
Gritting his teeth, First Grand Elder Zu's Spiritual Qi surged. "[Minor Teleportation]!"
A rift opened, enveloping the Grand Elder and sending him over a kilometer away. Ryu immediately locked down on him and didn't hesitate to follow, however he found his path cut off by not only a flurry of Basteels, but Zus as well.
His halberd disappeared along with his Impose Barriers. A moment later, two spears appeared in his hand. If he was focused on dealing with many enemies… This was his ideal state!
'Heaven's Breath… [Monumental Pierce]!'
A bloody rain fell upon Mortal Qi Mountain. Ryu's twin spears became god-like weapons in the sky, moving swiftly in the wind and reaping life after life.
[Monumental Pierce] was a technique created with only a single move, but this single move held a deep level of profundity. Not only did it touch on Concepts of Illusion, but it also touched Concepts of Momentum and Amplification.
Usually, one would only find such profound laws within Inheritances. Finding them within a mere Black Grade technique was rare. The result was a technique Ryu favored greatly.
Despite the technique only being made of one move, [Pierce], this actually made Ryu favor it more. The simplicity made it applying it to a variety of situations very easy with Ryu's level of comprehension.
In fact, currently, Ryu used this technique even a tick above the Great Circle of Perfection Realm. He was able to apply his comprehension of [Lurking Shadow] and make it impossible to tell his real spear tip from the fake, thus making it far more lethal.
Despite being surrounded completely, Ryu's spear was far too enigmatic. And, now that he no longer restrained his Spear Inheritance to its Impose Barrier, it had become far stronger.
Cries of pain and despair rang out as countless Zu and Basteel elders fell beneath his spears.
"This…" In the distance, the Xie, Vinn and Croft Clan First Grand Elders were speechless. How were they supposed to respond to this situation?
This was exactly how First Grand Elder Zu was feeling. Unless these Basteel Clan swine, his Zu Clan had two Immortal Ring Ancestors… The problem was that they had both gone to the Core Region to lay down a path for them!
However, with him holding down the fort, and their detterance, who dared lay a hand on the Zu Clan? Yet this boy was so adamant about killing him! What was he supposed to do?
[Minor Teleportation] sapped a quarter of his Spiritual Qi in an instant. Coupled with the damage done to his Mental Realm already and he was teetering. He knew he had to buy time until Ancestor Basteel arrived, but with this kid's speed, he was feeling on edge.
Even as he was thinking, Ryu suddenly appeared before him again.
"[Ethereal Ripple]!" First Grand Elder Zu roared toward Ryu's descending spear.
An invisible barrier suddenly appeared, blocking what Ryu believed was a sure kill.
'So this is battling with a Mental Realm Master, huh…' Ryu's pupils immediately saw through the secrets of this barrier. 'A defense that exists in the Ethereal Realm but is able to ripple out to the Real Plane. It can block attacks while also minimizing damage to its main body, thus making it difficult to deal with. However…'
Ryu roared. But, this kind of roar was completely unlike one that should come from a human.
First Grand Elder Zu's body froze. He felt as though he was meeting a Primordial Beast, a mighty red dragon that loomed over the skies with arrogance that opposed the Heavens.
His [Ethereal Ripple] shield shattered, stunning him.
What Ryu used wasn't a technique at all, but nothing but his powerful body and his mind. Ryu's Dragon and Qilin blood had already begun reforming his flesh, allowing him to accomplish what normal humans couldn't. For example… roaring at a frequency a man shouldn't be able to reach.
[Ethereal Ripple] relied on Concepts of Resonance to appear both Ethereal and Real at the same time, taking benefits from both Planes. But, if one was able to shatter this balance, it was akin to nothing more than a fragile egg teetering on a thin edge.
Ryu's Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils immediately saw through this flaw and exploited it.
In an instant, Ryu's spear had appeared before First Grand Elder Zu. It seemed like only a moment later, a second Grand Elder would lose his life.
However, it was then this Grand Elder made a decision. Seeing his life about to end, he did something that made his heart bleed.
His Spiritual Qi surged… And broke into the Soul Birth Realm!
Ryu's eyes widened. With a thought, he forced Little Rock to retreat explosively.
The rage in First Grand Elder Zu's gaze was palpable. His eyes had reddened to the point of almost dripping blood as he glared at Ryu.
Everyone knew how foolish it was to break into the Soul Birth Realm before completing one's Immortal Rings. First Grand Elder Zu was actually just a few steps away from being able to breakthrough naturally having been at the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm, yet, in order to preserve his life, he had been forced to ruin his future.
His Spiritual Qi condensed. Rolling in from a sparse fog into a dense, dripping liquid.
"This blood debt… I, YOUKAI ZU, WILL MAKE YOU REGRET IT!"