Ryu's hair began to wildly flutter about. At that moment, regardless of who it was that was present, they were able to feel the shift in the air. It was as though a behemoth was bearing down on them, ready to squash their ant-like existences to nothing.
Before Ryu, a towering gate had appeared. But, he seemed to be the only one the could see it.
It rose into the skies, its frame so large that it even seemed intent on smashing the entirety of the mountain range to dust.
Ryu's eyes became redder and redder as more threads of crimson accumulated within his irises. They swam about as though they had a life of their own, making it seem as though streams of ruby were swimming about in Ryu's silver eyes.
The Immortal Realms were where the true strength of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils began to manifest itself. Heaven and Earth Gate was the first ability Ryu had unlocked as a result.
Up to now, the abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils had been purely supplementary.
[Third Perspective] was a buffed Spiritual Sense. [Insight] was a branch ability from [Third Perspective] that gave Ryu some predictive abilities in battle, it was a large part of the reason his combat prowess was so great. [Focus] allowed Ryu to enter states of meditation with ease. [Lines of Fate] allowed Ryu to copy techniques that he had a strong Fate link to, and it also allowed him to assign probabilities during battle, thus making it a stronger version of [Insight]. This didn't even mention Ryu's passive ability to view Fate Stars when he so pleased, or the passive boost to his comprehension abilities…
The first ability that Ryu unlocked that could somewhat aid his battle prowess was [Ethereal Tapestry]. It allowed him to view the qi of the world in all sorts of swirling colors, thus increasing his affinity with using and controlling them. By proxy, this also gave him the ability to control atmospheric qi ahead of time.
But, the irony of this was that… This was a mutated ability. Thanks to the synergy between Ryu's Pupils and Ice Jade Crystal Body, this new ability was birthed, having never appeared before.
If one knew all of this, it wouldn't be a surprise if one thought that the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were just an auxiliary accessory, helping one to supplement cultivation speed. It would be hard to blame someone for coming to this conclusion.
But… Ryu knew better. And the fact he did was exactly the reason why he wasn't jealous of Sarrieth's abilities in the slightest. In fact, even if he could choose to swap his own eyes for Sarrieth's right now, he would never do so.
Ryu's aura continued to grow as he stepped toward the massive gates only he could see. The ancient depictions of wars and massacre on their outline made his heart palpitate, his blood boiling with anticipation.
The city beneath the gates were flattened under the aura of the Gate as though a Deity was descending. But, from the outside perspective of everyone else, it looked like Ryu was so powerful that a single step of his laid waste to a city.
The members of Violet Olive found themselves looking on in shock. The truth was that many of them had indeed wanted to turn on Ryu.
They knew that it would be foolish. After all, who knew if this mysterious man, Izril, was even telling the truth? For all they knew, he would turn on them the moment they lost one of their best trump cards. Since they knew they had such a treasure yet still dared to ask for it, they most definitely had a counter measure to deal with it. That said... humans often did foolish things when ruled by their fear.
But seeing how powerful Ryu was, they suddenly snapped awake. Even if they wanted to force him to hand it over… Could they?
BANG!
Ryu took another heavy step forward. With just one more, he would cross the threshold of Earth's Gate.
The Heaven and Earth Gate. It was hard to say if it was the most powerful ability of Ryu's Pupils. There were simply too many to choose from. However, what Ryu could say was that it was most definitely top five.
This ability was split into two Gates, both of which had to be crossed to be activated. But, the oppressive aura around the Gates almost guaranteed that no one would be able to stop Ryu from completing those steps.
What did the ability do?
It tapped into the strings of Karma and bent them to the will of the user, giving them strength they could never imagine.
The Heaven and Earth Gates allowed Ryu to strengthen himself by a factor of years, bringing himself to a later state of being. It allowed Ryu to age himself without suffering the adverse effects of this age.
The Heaven Gate was a total improvement. If Ryu wanted to strengthen himself by 100 years of training, he would step through the Heaven Gate and immediately acquire the strength he would have 100 years from now for a short duration of time.
The Earth Gate was a focused improvement. Ryu could focus on his qi control, his qi quantity, his body's strength, or even his techniques. By choosing one, he could age his experience in that path the instant he crossed the Gates.
However, as great as this was, what happened after the Gates closed is what made this ability so powerful. In the end, tidbits of information would linger on in the user's mind, thus allowing them to improve toward their future self even faster than before.
What did this mean? It meant that every time Heaven and Earth Gate was used, the results would technically stack, allowing the same aged time to be worth more while also speeding up training.
And… If this ability was synergized with the Origin Flame…
'What should I choose?' Ryu asked Ailsa.
Ailsa's gaze flickered for a moment before she made a decision.
'Choose Great Swordstaff techniques.'
'Are you sure?' Ryu asked. 'I can only improve myself by one year after unlocking the ninth seal. I'll need to unlock more to age myself by more.'
Ailsa smiled. 'Since when was one year a small time for my Little Ryu?'
Ailsa had another reason for making this decision. After watching Ryu's battle, she immediately knew how best to improve him.
Ryu's body flexed, his expressionless gaze looking up and meeting Izril's whose brow was now furrowed. It seemed that the happenings were out of Izril's expectations.
With that, Ryu crossed the final barrier.
BANG!
A flood of information tunneled through Ryu's mind. In the blink of an eye, he felt as though he had dedicated the last year to nothing but training his Great Swordstaff. As though a reclusive monk, it was all he had known.
Ryu eyes began to bleed as the qi around him grew more and more wild.
At that moment, two streams of energy erupted around Ryu.