Ryu reappeared, standing firmly upon his fourth step. In truth, he had put in more effort than he expected for such an early step, but he didn't show any of that fatigue now. After all, the Phoenix Martial Forms focused heavily on recoverability. Although Ryu had used it as a cheap trick to agitate the wind, the underlying benefits remained the same.
"Grandpa, isn't Ryu great?" Yaana clapped, her small, delicate palms reddening under the strain. It seems she had forgotten that just moments earlier, she too had expected Ryu to lose.
The old General could only roll his eyes. She hadn't even married yet, but she was already taking the side of the man she liked in all things.
'Just when did this little girl fall so deeply? I can count the number of times these two have met on a single hand. This is clearly just a childish infatuation.' Unfortunately, even if the old General knew this, there was nothing he could do. He had already experienced raising two daughters before, he knew there was nothing he could do but wait it out.
"This is impossible…" Elder Cato, Princess Isla's husband, mumbled under his breath. "Stepping into the air, even with a light type movement technique, should only be possible after reaching the Circle of Perfection. How is it possible to reach such a level in less than two years?"
King Tor grit his teeth. Even for Common Grade techniques, reaching the Circle of Perfection was difficult even for Qi Refinement realm experts who could practice Black Grade techniques. For King Tor, it would take him at least one year of diligent practice to take a Peak Common Grade technique from the Entry level to the Circle of Perfection. For Ryu to accomplish this feat as a Pulse Opening realm expert in less than two years was unheard of on the Mortal Plane!
However, the reality was before them. None of them knew how Ryu learned these things either. Common Grade techniques were often traded between the four Sects, so Ryu's current movement technique was one they had all seen before. In fact, it originated from the Nature's Emblem Sect.
"[Gliding Cloud Steps] …" An elder standing beside Amell Tor exclaimed softly. "Brother Amell, your Tor Clan is notoriously terrible at using this technique. It requires one to be exceptionally light on their feet in order to sense its quintessence. How did you manage to birth a grandson who could bring it to the Circle of Perfection?!"
What the elder didn't say was that this technique had a hidden flaw that was difficult to decipher within it. This made it difficult to comprehend fully without first becoming an Heir of Wind. It was because the Natural Order Sect had their Wind Pavilion that they were able to classify this technique of the Peak grade. If not, it was only as good as a Middle Common Grade technique.
The issue was that Ryu wasn't an Heir of Wind! With their experience as elders, they would know if he was. So how did he get around this flaw?
In truth, this was a sort of open secret. Although Sects traded Common Grade techniques amongst each other, and sometimes even did so for Black Grade techniques, they would often purposely leave flaws behind so that their opposition couldn't make perfect use of the technique.
This meant that there were only two explanations. Either Ryu somehow got his hands on the complete technique, or that Ryu was once in a thousand year genius capable of correcting the flaw himself!
Of course, the answer was the latter. The mysteries of Ryu's Heavenly Pupils were so dense and deep that even he hadn't delved into them all. But, what he did know was that for him, finding the flaw in a mere Common Grade technique and fixing it was as easy as flipping over a hand. Due to his eyes, it didn't require extensive research or experience, he could accomplish this feat by instinct.
It had to be said that the higher grade a technique was, the less Ryu would be able to rely on instinct and the more he would need time and experience. But for a Common Grade technique, this wasn't a problem.
Realizing that he had made a fool of himself, Cayden could only complete his third action with his head held down. Due to the injury he suffered carelessly, he didn't dare to wantonly follow the original plan to attack Amory's steps. He needed time to recover first, so he settled for climbing his own first step.
The reality was that he could have used his own faction to help him in attacking Amory's step, but the problem was that he had never built one. This whole time, he had planned on support his First Brother, he didn't care about becoming King.
Unfortunately, this meant that he could only attempt to conquer steps alone. Obviously, he couldn't use Amory's Dragon Corps or else he would make an even larger fool of himself, not to mention exposing his and Amory's alliance.
Although it seemed like Ryu had already done so, there was still a looming benefit of the doubt. If used appropriately, Amory could take advantage. Who knows, maybe even Ryu wasn't certain and just decided to sow discord.
Ryu smiled to himself, seeing through the thoughts of his opponents. Like he had said from the very beginning, no matter whether they advanced or retreated, they were playing into his hands.
After Cayden climbed his step, it was Third Prince Jedrek's turn to advance.
The crowd was surprisingly invested in his performance. If they couldn't tell by now that there was a hidden undercurrent ravaging the Tor Bloodline, they would be fools. Everyone wanted to see how this final Tor descendant would perform.
In typical Jedrek fashion, he took his time. His appearance seemed lazy and unambitious, in fact, he hadn't even spoken a word since the start of these Coronation Games… Still, his actions still contained a hidden, inexplicable sharpness to them.
Without hesitation, he immediately called upon the upper limit of ten warriors. Unlike Amory's warriors, they were all Pulse Opening Realm experts! Each was dressed in extravagant golden armor and outfitted with Black Grade swords and spears. The expense of such a feat was unimaginable!
The crowd didn't fully understand what happened until Jedrek stormed through his first three steps with absolute ease.
Jedrek had done nothing from start to finish. In fact, he didn't even take command of his own warriors. Instead, he allowed one of the ten he called upon to do so. His approach was far different from Ryu, Amory or even Cayden's. He simply highlighted his greatest strength: Wealth!