Twelve figures flickered into and out of existence before they solidified. For a moment, they appeared to be no different from ghosts floating in the air, their fluttering robes making it difficult to see through their true silhouettes. However, soon, their images became as clear as day.
Six men and six women.
The men all wore deep violet robes that seemed to shimmer with the depths of the universe. The expanse of space itself was colored across its canvas.
Each of them wore white masks the covered their chins, lips and the bottom half of their noses and cheeks. It was as though they were intent on everyone focusing on nothing other than their gazes. Yet, despite being called the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, one could find nothing but a deep set of black irises reflecting back one's own image.
If you looked deeper, however… The subtle hues of a hidden violet could just barely be made out.
The women all wore the same beautiful robes, though they clung much tighter to their curves. As for their odd bottom half masks, they were instead of gentle golden color as opposed to the polished white of their male counterparts.
Each and every single one of them had entered the Path Extinction Realm. The trouble was, though, that there wasn't a single one of their elders in sight.
There was no doubt. These were the young geniuses of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.
The pressure these youths brought to the atmosphere was stifling. Just their mere presence alone force Nightingale Mansion, that had just had every intention of fighting it out with Ryu, come to a grinding halt.
The youths scanned the crowd, their eyes inconspicuously landing on Little Rock. As the only beast here not carrying a carriage, and especially considering his smaller than normal size, it wasn't a surprise that Little Rock pulled quite some attention.
"Which of you wields the Tri Key? Come forward."
The voice that spoke came out in a whisper. There wasn't a hint of nervousness hidden within it. Rather, it was as though this person couldn't be bothered to speak any louder, as though they should be grateful for the chance to strain to hear his voice.
Ryu obviously knew that this person was asking for him, but he didn't say a single word, let alone going forward. If it was a contest of who was more arrogant, this was never something that Ryu would lose out in. He was truly too lazy to even entertain it.
Even if a Dao Pedestal Realm supreme was here, being so close to the Tri Palace, and having the key in hand, Ryu didn't believe there was anyone who could stop him from entering. And, that was even if he chose not to rely on Little Rock's impossible speed.
By now, Little Rock had entered the Seventh Order and unlocked several Talents. The little guy's past self was nothing compared to who he was now.
Niel looked toward Ryu who had all but closed his eyes in meditation and smiled bitterly. He knew Ryu too well by now. The moment that young man used such a tone, it could be considered that he had already lost Ryu's cooperation entirely.
Niel didn't know what Ryu's background was, but whatever it was, it seemed to be enough for him to not even care about a genius of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.
"Hm…?"
The young man who had spoken also had his eyes half closed and had expected to see someone tripping over themselves to appear before him by the time he opened them. But, let alone seeing such a thing, not a single soul had moved.
The young man was quite a bit shorter than the geniuses around him, even up to a full head shorter. Yet, he didn't seem to notice this fact at all. His confidence seemed to give him a foot in height. Even the youths around him didn't seem intent on pointing this out. In fact, there was a faint hesitation in their eye whenever they looked toward this short young man.
By that point, it was obvious why he had been the one to speak. It seemed that he also happened to be the leader of the twelve youths that had come this time.
At that moment, all those who knew of Ryu's true identity looked over toward him. Such a massive shift in the atmosphere was impossible to miss, causing the 12 geniuses to immediately lock eyes onto Ryu.
Niel wanted to shed real tears at this point. He just wanted to know what happened to Nightingale Mansion but now he was caught in the crossfire of something he wanted nothing to do with. To make matters worse, he couldn't even back away now if he wanted to.
At this point, Ryu was tied with the Moonlight Blossom Sect. His actions reflected on them whether they wanted to admit this or not. It only made it worse that they had reported Ryu gone for so long, only for him to appear like this.
Despite the 12 gazes on him, Ryu remained unmoved.
"~QI!"
Little Rock's strong call shook the clouds again. The trembling of Cere grew fiercer and the Black Winds Kingdom's carriage threatened to fall from the skies as well.
Ryu sat on Little Rock's back in silence, not making any moved. His white hair fluttered in the wind, his black robes dancing with various energies from time to time.
Ryu had experienced being the in presence of several World Sea Realm experts. The gazes of a few Path Extinction Realm youths wasn't enough to faze him. But, inwardly, Ryu was calculating something.
'These 12… Are beyond the limits of the Moon World. Talents like this shouldn't be able to appear here. Has the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect made contact with the outside world?'
This thought wasn't necessarily impossible…
It was difficult for smaller worlds to connect with larger ones not because of some sort of stigma or barrier, but rather because they usually didn't have the foundation necessary to explore other worlds.
Whether it be finding coordinates, drawing maps, or even just physically moving from place to place, were all exceptionally tall tasks for such a small world. This didn't even mention the danger doing such a thing posed.
Small worlds might have been exactly that, small, but they were also hotbeds of resources. There were many Yin type treasures that could be found here that Ryu could never dream of finding even on his own Shrine World.
There was no Peak level World that wouldn't have several subordinate small worlds. In fact, the Moon World was just one of the Tatsuya Clan's many holdings.
All of this said, it wasn't unprecedented for a small world to succeed in such a thing. After all, compared to other small worlds, the Moon World still had an advantage in both cultivation and resources. And, obviously, there were more small worlds than large worlds. So, the idea that they would have found a world to exploit was more possible the more Ryu thought about it.
If the 12 geniuses knew how Ryu was thinking of their world in his mind, it would be wonder that they managed to keep their calm for so long.
The short young man looked Ryu up and down. But, his expression didn't seem to have any anger or rage on it. In fact, his indifference didn't shift in the slightest, even when he noticed that Ryu was only at the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm.
Sarriel held her hands over her mouth to do her best not to squeal. But it seemed like she might burst at any time.
Luckily, it was then that the elders of the Moonlight Blossom Sect came forward, seemingly in an attempt to alleviate the situation.
Xanfyr, Zulfiqar's master, and Balroth, Niel's master, came together as one.
"Juniors, our Moonlight Blossom Sect's temporary disciple does indeed have the key. If there's anything else you need, it can be discussed." Xanfyr spoke with his usual amiable smile.
His words very clearly emphasized 'temporary'. Being neither too forceful, obvious or overbearing, while also managing to keep his dignity as an Elder… This Xanfyr was truly not bad at speaking.
Balroth knew that he wasn't as good at speaking despite being of higher rank than Xanfyr, so he simply let the latter speak.
Toward Ryu, Balroth could only shake his head. Maybe a youth who could defeat a Path Extinction Realm expert while still in the Connecting Heaven Realm deserved to carry this sort of arrogance. But, that didn't mean that his Sect was prepared to withstand the brunt of the pressure such a thing came with. The fact that Ryu wasn't technically one of their own only made this decision easier.
"It's simple." The short young man continued to whisper. "We would like your temporary disciple to hand over the key. He will still be allowed to enter along with the rest of us and will also gain appropriate compensation. In addition –."
"Hand over a matured Night Shade Dew and I will hand over the Tri Key. If you cannot do this, I refuse."
Ryu's even voice cut the conversation short.