The horrid shrieks of an infant bird rang through the Death Worm.
Though Ailsa's heart ached for the little one, she knew that she couldn't afford to stop. It was impossible to tell when Ryu would gain such a large influx of Essence again. Or, more accurately, it was difficult to tell if next time such a large amount came, if they would still have the luxury to spend it on anyone but Ryu.
At this moment, the Little Lightning Hawk was in a unique stage of growth. He was still in his infancy and had great room for growth. But, by the same token, he was also running out of time.
Little Rock was greatly talented due to a wisp of Ancient Roc blood. But, it was ultimately still just a wisp. The journey toward thickening this Bloodline was a long one...
At least, it normally would be.
Little Rock benefited from Ryu and Ailsa's relationship, essentially gaining a free Cultus Faerie for himself. And, the results spoke for themselves. The little one had already vastly improved since meeting Ryu.
But, it wasn't enough.
Little Rock was unfortunately beneath Ryu's shadow. As time went on, the difference between them only grew.
Little Rock might have already entered the Sixth Order. But, as a beast still within the Heaven Grade in terms of combat prowess, it was no match for Ryu who was currently battling a Sixth Order beast of the Sovereign Grade. To make matters worse, this was a Ryu who had yet to use his recent upgrade in strength. By now, the difference was even more exaggerated.
If Little Rock wanted to continue to be Ryu's partner, he had to improve and he had to do so quickly.
As more and more of Little Rock's foundational bloodline was burnt away, the more sorry the situation of the infant Lightning Hawk became.
His resplendent scales began to peel off one after another, his cries became weaker and eventually, he couldn't even call out in pain anymore, his large body convulsing on the ground.
Fluttering silver feathers fell from his body, foul black blood dripping from his pores.
Just when Nemesis thought he would escape such a fate, his body was soon racked by pain as well.
The Crimson Steed couldn't help but look toward Ailsa with a wounded expression that seemed to say: 'i thought we were friends.'
"Sorry little one, but compared to Little Rock, you need to improve even more..."
Nemesis might have awakened an amazing talent, something that was especially great considering Little Rock had yet to awaken even one. But, the Adept Body Talent had a glaring weakness Ailsa never mentioned.
As powerful as it was for a beast to be able to perfectly control all functions of its body, it was only as powerful as the original functions were to begin with.
It had to be remembered that although Nemesis could steal talents, he was limited by what his body could handle. The weaker he was, the more useless his ability became.
Of course, none of this even mentioned the most glaring weakness of the Adept Body Talent, and that was the fact it was a Sin.
Ultimately, the best way for Nemesis to improve was by Ryu becoming a Summoning Necromancer. However, that didn't mean there wasn't any room for improvement without this.
Ailsa chose to take this opportunity to widen the base of Nemesis' foundation, paving a path for his future.
"Focus, little one. Little Rock still needs your help or else this process will be even more difficult."
Nemesis neighed and snorted in pain, but still did the very best he could.
Ailsa thought of Little Gem but sighed in the end. If the solution to a curse called down by the Heavens was so simple to cure, it wouldn't be much of a curse at all.
Compared to Nemesis and Little Rock who only happened to have decent talent and needed to be properly groomed to reach an adequate level of strength, Little Gem was a talent that could stand toe to toe with Ryu even without her help.
Unfortunately, the little one's curse was no better than Ryu's once False Spiritual Foundation. Except this time, there was no Sky God waiting to save her.
Ailsa shook her head.
'One thing at a time. I am Ailsa Cultus. If I can't think of a solution, no one can.'
Ailsa began to exude an air of superiority no inferior to Ryu. In fact, at that moment, she even seemed to be even more arrogant than that thick headed Life Partner of hers...
**
Ryu stood in the skies, feeling his body suddenly undergoing massive changes. He immediately understood that this must be Essence.
Ryu didn't bother to leave Osiris.
For one, there were penalties he didn't want to suffer for leaving outside of a special abode. One would suffer damage to one's soul that was nearly impossible to heal. As much as this all seemed like a game, it wasn't. Osiris was practically connected right to his vitality.
Secondly, leaving took time. Doing so in the middle of a battle with a Sovereign Beast was just asking for a harsher penalty.
And third and most important of all, he had Ailsa. Was there even a need to worry?
Strength coursed through his veins, the roar of beasts sounding throughout his body. The bellows of a Dragon and Qilin, the cries of a Fire and Ice Phoenix.
After a moment, even Ryu's eyes widened in shock.
'My eyes... My strength...'
The changes to Ryu's vision made him feel as though everything was playing in slow motion. The snapshots of the world became so vivid and clear that the world almost became a collection of still images in Ryu's mind.
Every detail bared itself, unable to hide from his sight.
But somehow, the changes to Ryu's strength shocked him even more. Before, entering the Monarch Realm was enough to ensure his victory. But now, it felt like he could trample over this so-called Sovereign with ease.
'It's actually so much...?'
Ryu's gaze brightened, looking toward the charging Rainbow Scaled Eagle.
At that moment, a sky shattering pressure erupted from Ryu. He stepped through the threshold of the Connecting Heaven Realm, the Chaotic Qi rushing through his meridians suddenly multiplying several times over.
If the previous Chaotic Qi Ryu could manipulate was akin to a lurking beast, this version felt like a flood dragon snapping away from its thick chains, shooting into the skies and swallowing the clouds.
Ryu's hair whipped about, a dense dark gold hanging around him.
Within his Mental Realm, a certain black hole began to greedily spin.
In that moment, the Rainbow Scaled Eagle made it to within range.
Ryu raised his Great Swordstaff, atmospheric qi swimming about his blade like a school of fish to food.
In his eyes, the reflections of all sorts of colors coalesced, but none was more prominent than red.
Soon, the qi became so dense that Ryu began to see runes dancing within them. If it wasn't for the fact he was in the middle of a battle, he would have been shocked to the point of freezing on the spot.
Just like what Ryu learned when he began to form his own Mental Realm techniques, all the fundamental laws of the Heavens were constructed first with the most basic of Runes. It was the combination of these Runes that formed the complex laws as they knew them.
For Ryu to be able to see these Runes simply floating in the skies like this with hardly much effort on his part...
'So this is the true strength of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils... No... This is just the beginning...'
Ryu's arm descended, smashing into the skull of the beast in an almost absent-minded fashion. But, the result was devastating.
The scales of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle were meant to be tough. It was about the only ability that these copy cats were naturally born with.
Yet, they split apart beneath Ryu's blade as though a hot knife through butter.
Ryu's blade didn't even consider pausing, running through the beast's head. The only resistance Ryu met was in the length of his blade running out.
The illusion of a Dragon God hung to his back, the embodiment of a halberd surging throughout his body.
But at that moment, Ryu suddenly had a vision of his mother.
She was a woman of incomparable beauty, a fairy on earth. She wielded two swords, her flexibility and dexterity beyond anything a normal expert could face.
The vision was so clear that Ryu felt as though he was right there.
If Ryu had had such a vision in the past, the shackles his weapons placed on him would have stopped him from even thinking of acting on it.
However, in that moment, he felt freer than he ever had, his Northern Heavenly Wind sunk into his pours, the heavy dark gold qi billowing around him.
Ryu's movements suddenly became swift and light. With his new strength, 10 000 000 jin in each hand might as well have been two feathers strapped to his wrists.
In one blink he was before the Rainbow Scaled Eagle. In the next, he had appeared to its back.
For a moment, it felt as though nothing at all had happened. But, not long later, numerous sword scars of dark gold energy shot through the underground lava cave.
The beast was diced in dozens of pieces, what remained of its body flopping to the ground... dead.
...
Outside the lava cave, a furious gathering of experts was taking place.
"He really didn't take us seriously! Does he think that a mere Cultus Faerie gives him the right to act so arrogantly?! Doesn't Team Leader have a Life Partner as well?!"
The indignant roars continued to sound as a war machine bore down on the cave.
They had to teach this kid a lesson, lest people think they were pushovers.