Ryu slowly rose, his aura quietly becoming more oppressive. The things that he had claimed for himself, he had no intention of allowing anyone to touch. If others thought they could just take as they please, they were in for a rude awakening.
Even if Ryu didn't have such an intimate connection with the Chaos Plane, he would never allow the exploration of an all new plane to fall into the hands of the Martial Gods.
A new Plane didn't just represent new land, it represented a wealth of resources that had never been tapped into, a wealth of treasures humans and beasts hadn't tread upon, and a whole host of Heavenly Laws that had yet to be explored.
This third and final reason was maybe even more important than the first two. While the idea of a vast land of untapped resources was enticing, to Ryu, who had just stepped on the road of comprehending his Dao, the idea of a Plane with laws of physics he didn't comprehend, Fundamental Runes he had never seen, and species and races he may have never thought could even exist, was more enticing than anything else. And, something about the Martial Gods getting their hands on such an opportunity made his skin crawl.
Ryu's hair fluttered wildly, his aura growing oppressive to the point that many on the battlefield could no longer ignore it. Griffins of the Eleventh Order and Martial Gods well into the World Sea Realm looked down toward this boy they had ignored to this point, believing that a simple glance would be enough for him to know his place. And yet, this wasn't what happened in the slightest.
Ryu took a step forward, gliding through the air and off of Little Rock's back.
At that moment, Ryu's white robes had long since been stained by his own blood, the twin daggers in his hands shimmering as he balanced them with his palm, the rhythmic tapping of his steps sending hollow echoes throughout the battlefield.
"My name is Ryu Tatsuya."
The clouds above clapped and the world below trembled. The floating islands threatened to fall from the skies, their bodies quaking and large pieces of rock and debris falling from their bottoms. It was as though the speaking of such a simple name had frozen all the qi of the world and constrained it to its inferior position.
"This is the Moon World, territory of my Ice Phoenix Clan."
The sonorous cry of a world shaking bird soared through the skies. A pillar of ice soared into the air and burst through the clouds before its tip expanded outward explosively forming the canopy of a glorious Immortal Sakura.
In that moment, the tree erupted into a blaze of ice-blue flames, each tendril dancing with gorgeous Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns and petals of violet fell from the skies.
At that very same time, a Throne of a radiant blue appeared, shimmering with sapphire gems that reflected with an ethereal sort of majesty that claimed attention from all corners. It was, without a doubt, the Throne of the Awoken Moon Sect.
The instant it was recognized, the women of the Sect watched on with wide eyes, the elders coming forward to see that the boy of all those years ago had grown to a peak they couldn't see any longer.
"You all have one of two choices."
Ryu's aura reached its peak, a crown glowing upon his head as his Emperor Phoenix Blood boiled, raising the strength of his Ice Phoenix Bloodline and his Ice Flames exponentially.
"The first is get the fuck off my world."
Ryu's blades cut across the air, gliding off each other's edges. The sharp sound of sharpening blades resonated through the battlefield, singing as an undertone to the sonorous call of Ryu's Phoenix Bloodlines.
"The second option is to stay and die."
Ryu's wrist flicked, one of his knives entering a reverse grip stance as a fiendish grin spread across his face. It was as though he was begging and hoping for them to take the second option, praying with all that he had that he would be able to taste blood on this day.
The highest ranked Griffins and Martial Gods looked down with narrowed gazes, their hearts trembling when they heard the Tatsuya name. The Tatsuya name had a completely different connotation to the Ancestral Beasts, and to the Martial Gods, it was one that they were all too familiar with.
At that moment, an uproarious laughter suddenly cut through the skies.
"YES! YES! YES!"
The words sounded as though they had come from a madman who was on the verge of no return, their minds lost to madness and chaos.
"THOSE BASTARDS SENT ME HERE AND YET THE JUICIEST PIECE OF MEAT STILL LANDED IN MY LAP, HAHA!"
Maybe the most shocking part about it all was that these words came from a woman, a shockingly beautiful woman at that. This might sound like a superficial assessment, but it was precisely this truth that made all of this so outrageous and shocking in the first place.
She looked like a woman who could only be drawn as the centerpiece of a work of art. She had long, flowing black hair that looked like a picturesque waterfall. She had shimmering ruby eyes that looked as though they had been plucked from a precious mine and carefully shaped and sculpted to enrapture the mind. Her breasts weren't overly large, but they still rippled and bounced beneath the white bands she strapped them down under, while her choice of dress exposed her toned belly to the world.
Her skin was quite dark, somewhere between a milk chocolate and a caramel, while her legs were exceptionally long, though hidden beneath traditional style black samurai kimono pants known as hakama.
From her neck hung a twin pair of sickles linked by a chain, her bare feet dangling in the air. Everything about her demeanor screamed wild and unfettered, her loud boisterous laughter only becoming the cherry on a very tall cake.
Even so, Ryu's gaze couldn't help but narrow. Even without trying, his gaze picked up a large mass of qi swirling about her perpetually as though she was the center of the universe. She didn't even seem to be trying, but every breath she took resulted in another large mass entering her lungs.
As quickly as it entered her body was as quickly as it dispersed, diffusing into every inch of her body in the blink of an eye.
She was like a living, breathing engine. Without even thinking about it, she improved step by step every moment she was alive, perpetually in a state of cultivation she wasn't even consciously aware of. Simply put, she was a raging T-rex in female form.
"Since you've announced your name, I will as well! I am Kaori! Demigod Apostle! I'm looking forward to killing you!"
Ryu gave Kaori another once over before tilting his head back and meeting Ailsa's gaze.
"You still want to fight."
Ailsa rolled her eyes, suddenly wanting to kick Ryu again. But, seeing as they were within public and her husband had just given such a cool speech, she couldn't possibly undermine him now, right?
"Of course!"
Ryu grinned. "Then, they're yours."
Ryu pointed a blade toward the Eleventh Order Griffins and World Sea Realm Martial Gods. At that moment, even Yaana was baffled, let alone everyone else. They really felt that he had lost his mind completely. Let alone the fact that Cultus Faeries didn't have great combat prowess, even if she did, how could she fight such experts?!
However, Ailsa was the only one who seemed to react with a smile.
At that moment, Ryu stopped stifling a connection he had been blocking all this time. The moment he did, a strong spatial fluctuation warped around him and a familiar Sky God appeared to his side.
"You finally stopped blocking me? What, you finally need my help?!"
Despite the words she spoke, Ryza was furious. What would have happened if Ryu died while she was gone? Wouldn't she be forever stuck at the False Sky God Realm!?
She hadn't originally thought of the problem, but after several months passed, and then Ryu's identity was exposed, she couldn't help but panic. At the very least, if she was here, she could sense approaching danger and run away with him to protect herself!
Just as Ryza was about to enter a tirade, though, Ryu cut her off.
"I'm about to start battling. Protect my wives while I'm away. You're probably weaker than them, but you should at least have some self preservation abilities."
"… Wha?"
Ryza couldn't wrap her head around what was happening before Ryu suddenly vanished, appearing above the skies and sending his pressure down in waves.
His grin returned, his blade pointed toward Kaori. His battle intent soared, his hair dancing in the wind.
"Demigod? Is that a downgrade from Martial God? Come taste my blade."