Ryu laid out his terms very simply.
He wasn't a fool. There was a difference between entering the Tri Palace with a key versus entering without one. Though Ryu had, obviously, never entered personally. Considering he had targeted this Palace from the very beginning, how could he come without even this basic knowledge?
The Three Pupil Eclipse Sect definitely had a few keys with them. Ryu believed that they had three. It wouldn't make much sense for such a Sect to hand out the only Key they had just like that. However, more was always better.
Originally, the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had sent out the key as a reward in order to balance a few things. Though they were the most powerful Sect, they were intelligent. Monopolizing the Palace for themselves would only lead to trouble. If wielding the strongest strength made one infallible, then there wouldn't be a history of rising and falling Clans and Sects.
However, now was a special case. Even if it caused some backlash, for the sake of monopolizing the best rewards of the Tri Palace, they wouldn't hesitate to offend the smaller Sects.
This clearly meant that they were confident enough in their own strength to weather such a storm should it come.
And, better yet, the person who owned the Key they were looking for didn't seem to be affiliated with any of the Sects.
The truth was that none of the believed that Ryu was leading the Moonlight Blossom Sect by the nose like the Sect seemed to be trying to say. However, that didn't matter. All that matters was that the Moonlight Blossom Sect couldn't go back on their words now without exposing themselves to be liars, resulting in Ryu effectively having no backers.
Wouldn't snatching the key be easy then?
However, Ryu didn't budge. As for receiving the reward he asked for… was that a joke?
The Moon World was a small world capped at the Dao Pedestal Realm. The Spiritual Herb Ryu needed was of the Higher Mystical Grade.
Mystical Grade Spiritual Herbs could only be used by those within the Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realm! As such, the Mystical Grade was already at the very upper limits of what this world could produce and one might only appear once every several trillion upon trillions of years.
The worst part of it was that Night Shade Dew was a Higher Mystical Grade Spiritual Herb. Even a Dao Pedestal Realm existence would have to be very cautious in consuming it. And, even if such a Yin dense world, the odds of it appearing as one of the already rare Mystical Grade Herbs in such a weak place was one in a million, if that.
When these factors were compounded, it quickly became obvious that it was simply impossible for the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to have such a treasure. In fact, even if by some miracle they did, it would be so valuable to them that they probably wouldn't be able to bear to use it.
Night Shade Dew was a Yin attribute Soul type Spiritual Herb. Who else other than Necromancers who relied on their Mental Realms could possibly want to absorb such a treasure any more?
Not only was Ryu asking for a Higher Mystical Grade Spiritual Herb. He was also asking for the one most valuable to all the Necromancers before him…
How could his words not cause a sudden silence to hang?
"But you're probably unable to do that, hm?" Ryu rose from his seated position.
In that moment, his plain black robes seemed to gain life. The Elemental energies of the world sang, crystallized particles of ice twinkling around him.
With every breath he took, the energies expanded and contracted. And, for but a moment, the chaotic energies of the vastness of space became as docile as a kitten.
"If that was all, I think it's about time now."
"~QI! QI!"
Little Rock flapped his wings just a single time. In a blink, his body became nothing more than a streaking bold of golden lightning that tore through the fabric of space. In the next instant, he appeared above the 12 Path Extinction Realm youths, his shadow casting a wide net over them all.
The short young man looked up, his gaze still placid.
"Feel free to come after me." Ryu said softly, his voice cutting through the slicing wind. "My name is Ryu."
Even though Ryu still didn't say his last name, everyone felt their hearts tremble in that exact instant. It felt no different from if Ryu had said that vaunted name… Tatsuya.
At that moment, they all knew. Even though he hadn't spoken it, they realized that if he had, it would have been a name that suffocated them all.
Little Rock's body flickered again, but this time, the little one appeared in front of the massive looming gates of the Tri Palace.
Ryu brought out a familiar key. Its tip was shaped like a triangular prism, each of its three sides drowned in complex rune patterns.
Ryu flicked his wrist, sending the Tri Key shooting forward like a blazing star.
In another blink, the bird and three figures vanished, leaving an overhanging silence.
"… First Brother, why didn't we stop him?"
First Brother was a term used by the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to denote rank. There was no 'First Sister', even for the strongest female. In fact, the strongest of the women was Third Sister.
The First Brother of this group of youths was the very same short young man who had spoken. As for the one who had spoken to him? He was Sixth Brother.
Sixth Brother had a right to be angered by the sudden change because the Key, had they taken it from Ryu, would have gone to him. Though he was ranked Sixth, he was also the one labeled with having the next best potential after First and Second Brother, along with Third Sister.
Unfortunately, Ryu actually refused and now there was obviously no Key for him. How could he not be infuriated?
"The Tri Key gives those that wield it a certain level of protection after entering the range of the Palace." First Brother replied plainly. "Let's go."
Without another word, the violet magic circle shifted and blazed a trail through the opening Ryu created.
Lagging behind, the carriages were stunned by the sudden change. Soon, they too rushed after. Unlike the members of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, they didn't have any Keys of their own. If they missed this opening, they would miss out on the largest shift of fate their Moon World had experienced in the last billion years.
"Go." Xanfyr said to the youths of the Moonlight Blossom Sect with a partially stiff expression. No matter how amiable he was, Ryu had definitely just slapped his face as well.
Within the Black Winds Kingdom group, there was an inconspicuous youth wearing long black robes and a half mask common of Necromancers. If one paid close attention to the youths around him, despite the fact his cultivation seemed to be lacking, they held an awe and respect for him that was held deep within their hearts.
This young man was none other than the Throne of the Black Winds Kingdom. But, what was particularly important about his existence was that he seemed to gaze toward Ryu's back with a hint of familiarity.
And how could he not? After all, even though Ryu didn't bother to acknowledge it anymore after cutting all ties with the Loom Clan… Technically speaking, this young man was gazing toward the back of his brother-in-law.
…
Little Rock appeared in a swirling portal. It felt as though they were all traveling through a wormhole, deep violets and harsh blacks spinning around in their surroundings. Without a choice, Little Rock could only continue forward, arcs of golden lightning dancing across his body.
Niel didn't have much of a choice but to follow Ryu. Toward such a result, he could only smile bitterly. Not only did he never find out what happened to Nightingale Mansion, he was probably marked as an enemy by the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.
To make matters worse, Sarriel was still making googly eyes at Ryu as though he was the most perfect being in all of existence. Wasn't this just too much?
"… Can you at least tell me what happened back there now?"
"That?" Ryu gave Niel a weird look. Why did he still care? "Little Rock suppressed their beast and caused them to fall from the skies."
Hearing Ryu talk about such a thing as though it was meaningless made Niel feel like he was the crazy one. Was that supposed to be normal? That was a beast on the level of a Sect Guardian!
Before Niel could lash out, feeling as though he was losing his mind, the long, swirling wormhole came to an abrupt halt.
"~QI! QI!"
Little Rock ripped through the final barrier, soaring into the wide expanse of skies that appeared above them.
Endless blue skies stretched for as far as the eye could see, leaving not a single cloud in sight.
However, oddly enough, there was no sun either. Rather, there was a large moon, so large, in fact that almost felt like one could reach out and touch it through the skies.
"… Where's the Palace?" Niel asked somewhat apprehensively.
"Things have changed." Ryu suddenly spoke, seeing through to the truth of this place in an instant. "This isn't the Tri Palace. It's the first level of the Nether Realm."
Though Ryu's voice didn't contain even an ounce of trembling, it carried a biting cold that made Niel choke on air.
Ryu had never thought he would come to this place so early. His heart constricted, his blood flow slowing to a crawl.
'Father… are you still alive?'