Sarriel blushed profusely hearing Ryu's almost commanding words. Yet, she still obediently floated over and stepped onto Little Rock's back. She immediately felt as though much of her strength had been restrained, the arcs of golden lightning sapping away much of her power. But, it felt more numbing than painful.
The young men of the cohort immediately felt a belly full of rage. But, with a single flap of his wing, Little Rock had already vanished, appearing more than ten kilometers away. The speed left even the elders of the Moonlight Blossom Sect feeling numb. Could they even catch up to such a speed?
'That beast… is of the Sovereign Grade at worst…'
The more they learned about Ryu, the less things seemed to make sense. There was no way that a Yang Lightning beast of that caliber could be born in this world of Yin. Just where the hell had Ryu come from?
But, if he really was from another world, why wasn't he being rejected by the Faith of their Moon World? It didn't make any sense no matter how they thought about it.
The best explanation was that his Throne came from one the Sects or Clans of their Moon World, only then would he be able to simultaneously come from an outside world and also not be rejected. However, they simply didn't recognize such a Throne.
"Let's go, everyone." Xanfyr said with a smile.
This time, the group was being led by Xanfyr, Zulfiqar's master, and Balroth, Niel's master.
At that moment, though, the youths were all looking toward Niel with daggers coming out of their eyes. Toward this, Niel could only chuckle with a hint of embarrassment on his face.
He had gone out of his way to try to get these youths to accept Ryu long before he came. But, not only had he not even really succeeded, Ryu didn't bother to try to ingratiate himself and simply slapped all their faces.
"Alright, alright. There's no need to look at me like that. I already tried to warn you all that Junior Sister Sarriel liked him, but what did you all say? I'm more heartbroken than all of you."
A young man named Jarwin snorted. "You know that's not the problem, Senior Brother Niel."
It was clear to them all that Ryu had only done this to assert his dominance. He saw their thin veil of hostility and didn't even bother to deal with it, choosing to snatch the woman they all wanted for himself without even lifting a finger. He just said a few words and she obediently followed afterward. How could they not feel humiliated?
"Fine, I get it. Ryu isn't a very social person and he takes the slightest slights to extremes. We're soon going to all have to be working together toward the same goal and you've all seen personally his level of talent. If we want a better chance at surviving against the likes of the Nightingale Mansion, the Black Winds Kingdom, or, most importantly, those freaks of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, we will have to come together as one.
"Isn't that right, Zulfiqar?"
From start to finish, Zulfiqar was the only one who hadn't begun staring daggers at Niel. In fact, his gaze had never left the sight of Ryu's retreating back. For him, Sarriel was only an extremely small part of it. Though she was quite pretty even in comparison to others of her cultivation level, she was still lacking in comparison to the women he had his eyes on. And, she was far lacking in status.
Of course, Zulfiqar only thought this way because he had never seen through Sarriel's disguise. But, his main ambition would still be to crush Ryu beneath his feet. This humiliation that had been welling up in his chest for several months now… He would repay it in full.
Niel shook his head and sighed. After he had said his peace, everyone boarded the massive carriage and shot into the distance. But, even at their fastest speed, they couldn't catch up with Ryu and Sarriel.
…
Sarriel sat cross legged beside Ryu, a strong blush on her face. It only seemed to become deeper the longer Ryu spent in silence.
"… Wh… Where's Ailsa?" Sarriel finally squeezed out these words.
"You don't need to worry about that." Ryu replied.
His words didn't seem to be too cold or too warm. They could only be considered to be lukewarm.
After leaving the range of the other youths, Ryu's current mood could be considered to be balanced. His heart felt lighter than it had a few days ago, but he still had some faint worries. Of course, his top priority now was still finding the Dew he needed to help Ailsa awaken.
Ryu hoped that with the abilities of the Tri Palace, he might chance upon it. After all, there was a reason why such a treasure had appeared within a world of Yin. It might very well have many treasures of this ilk for Ryu to take advantage of, and that was perfect.
Even if he couldn't find the exact treasure he needed, he didn't doubt that he would be able to find something of the equivalent level. Then he would be able to exchange it in Osiris for what he needed.
Truthfully, Ryu did have such a treasure on him already. The Spirit Seeking Lilies, namely the Golden Vein ones, would go for maddening prices at an auction. If it really came down to it and Ryu had no choice, he would trade a petal or two in.
However, even for Ailsa, these Spirit Seeking Lilies weren't easy to grow more of. The Silver Vein ones were relatively easier, but the Golden Vein, and especially Black Vein ones, were almost impossible. So, unless Ailsa's life was in danger or Ryu was left without a choice, he wouldn't casually bring them out.
As for his other treasures, they obviously couldn't be regrown at all, so it was impossible for him to give them up.
At this thought, though, Ryu's mind couldn't help but drift back to the Black Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies.