Ryu sent a glance toward the two Zu Clan Ancestors before directly ignoring them. His actions truly had a way of infuriating everyone around him. Not only were the Zu Ancestors enraged, but even Host Minn who was looking forward to Ryu's look of despair felt completely stifled.
"Yasuo, what do you think?"
Yasuo Zu was the name of the Peak Immortal Ring Zu Ancestor. Though the two travelled together, there was a clear difference in status between them. Kioshi, the weaker Zu, could only look toward him to dictate their actions.
Yasuo and Kioshi hovered just a kilometer from Ryu and Host Minn's battle. Such a distance was akin to a single step for them, but it was still far enough away that they didn't impede the flow of the battle. They clearly sought to quietly pressure Ryu from a distance.
"Kioshi… Aren't our deaths already guaranteed…? What is it that we can do? Little Esme was not only a great talent… But she's elder brother's beloved daughter. If it wasn't to fix that abrasive personality of hers, she would have never been sent out to struggle with the rest of us at all.
"Our only choice is to atone for this with our lives…"
This was the bitter reality of the martial world. It was neither Yasuo or Kioshi's fault for Esme's death. They had been tens of thousands of miles away at the time. However, it just didn't matter.
"Then… We can only go all out."
One would never imagine that this was a conversation two Immortal Ring experts would have about a Divine Vessel Realm expert.
Though Ryu was calm on the surface, the moment he saw the duo surge forward to join the battle, he knew he couldn't meet them head-on.
Host Minn was nothing more than a joke. He would crumble before another Immortal Ring expert. However, the Zu Ancestors were definitely far above his level. Even if they were the same cultivation realm as him, they could crush Host Minn, let alone the fact they were levels above.
'Little Rock…'
A majestic silver-plated bird appeared below Ryu.
"Don't even think of running!"
Run? Ryu would have sneered at Host Minn's words if it wasn't for the situation.
"[Immortal Sakura]."
In an instant, even as Little Rock was enveloped by a green glow, the skies became a beautiful winter wonderland.
A gorgeous Immortal Sakura with a canopy that stretched just over a hundred meters appeared around Ryu. Its delicate bark was covered in sparkling ice crystals, washing the domain over with a cold breeze that made Ryu feel comfort to the depths of his soul.
"Freeze!"
Ryu's gaze brightened as a transparent blue flame set his Immortal Sakura ablaze. The dichotomy of solid ice crystals and glittering blue flames captured the heart.
However, no matter how beautiful these flames were, Host Minn and the two Zu Ancestors felt as though they had been dropped into a pit of ice water. They were chilled to the core, their skin becoming filled with goosebumps in the blink of an eye.
Ryu pushed his defenses to the upper limit, pressing forward in an attempt to take Host Minn's life before the two Zu Ancestor's reached his side.
'Little Rock…'
Understanding Ryu's intentions, Little Rock flapped his gorgeous wings. His speed was so quick that he seemed to teleport through the skies, closing the distance on Host Minn's retreating figure in a flash.
The things Ryu learned during his year of training were numerous, but he had only learned one beast taming technique: [Heart Linked as One].
This technique was one countless beast tamers would cause a bloody war over. Yet, very few could get their hands on it… That said, as a Clan of Mental Realm Masters, the Zu Clan had many beast tamers in their long lineage. How could such a prestigious Clan not have such a technique?
[Heart Linked as One] allowed a beast tamer and a beast to share their skills with one another. Currently, Ryu had only mastered the lowest tier of this technique since he hadn't spent much time on it. As such, he couldn't share in Little Rock's affinities or skills. However, what he could do was share his Inheritances with Little Rock to a small extent.
As a result, Ryu no longer had to actively cover Little Rock with his Wind Inheritance as he had done in the past. Their connection was much deeper. Rather than Ryu doing all of the work, Little Rock and he shared the burden as one. It was thanks to Ryu sharing his Rebirth Flame's ability with Little Rock that they were able to escape Ancestor Ember.
Unfortunately, [Heart Linked as One] didn't allow the sharing of Bloodline Talents no matter how high the level of mastery. But Ryu was confident enough in his own talent to not need such a thing. He had learned the technique purely to share his strength with his partners!
As a winged beast, Little Rock already had great affinity with wind, albeit less than he did with lightning. However, the results were devastating nonetheless!
The timing was perfect. Host Minn had finally become too arrogant, believing that with two more helpers coming to take Ryu's life, the battle was as good as over. In fact, believing that Ryu would run, he had taken the initiative to run forward, not thinking for even a moment that Ryu would come after him first.
'Die.' Ryu's glaive swung at the unsuspecting Host Minn.
The strike was savage and unbridled. The blazing Rage Fire pitted against the backdrop of sparkling ice crystals made for an awe inspiring, if not dangerous, scene.
"Heaven, Earth, Fire, Thunder, Mountain, Lake – [Six Trigram Shell]!"
Six curved triangular shields suddenly appeared before Ryu's strike. They each were made of a transparent bronze, faint ancient runes pulsing on their surfaces.
'Chanting?' Ryu's brow furrowed, a reverberating impact sending a mighty shockwave through his arm. His already opened wounds split further, scattering blood into the air. 'Retreat.'
Little Rock stopped his forward momentum in an instant, accelerating backward.
Chanting was the ability of a Mental Realm Master to exponentially increase the strength of their Visualization through the use of their Inner Voice. It seemed like Yasuo was speaking normally, but the truth was that he was simply opening his mouth. It was his soul that was speaking.
This reality made it obvious why Ryu hadn't learned or used this ability. It required one to birth their soul into a great enough State of Maturity!
When a soul was birthed, it would be nothing more than a baby. The same common-sense logic thus followed. How could a baby speak? The fact that Yasuo's soul could Chant meant that his soul was far beyond the entry levels…
Ryu's heart couldn't help but turn cold.