BANG!
A tempest of wild winds surged in the surroundings. Blinding silvery light spilled out from between Ryu's fingers, slicing into the surroundings like blades of sword qi.
They slowly faded as Ryu's body rose up from the ground. His broken arm snapped back into place, the hole in his chest just barely closing up as he rose to his full height.
He exhaled a light breath as he took in the world.
It had been a long time since he had seen it through this lens. All of these swirling colors, the fantastical images and flickering portraits that displayed the Heavens' each individual stroke of genius.
Everything slowed, walking by frame by frame.
The air around Ryu fogged, his palms flipped over to reveal two enormous boxes.
BANG! BANG!
He pierced them both into the ground, his actions slow and meticulous. It was as though he couldn't be bothered to care about anything going on around him, as though nothing other than his task at hand was worthy of his attention. Even this supposed Throne wasn't worthy of his attention.
The twin boxes split in two, revealing a resplendent array of rainbow lights. Crystals seemed to shimmer and fall around the oppressive aura of a pair of Origin Grade weapons whipping into the surroundings.
Ryu's hands grabbed for, his fingers wrapping around the two shimmering polearms, pulling them out.
The simple action caused cyclones of wind to rage in the distance, two mountain sized weapons that might have weighed as much as a planet suddenly becoming enveloped by Ryu's Northern Heavenly Wind to the point where they were nothing more than two easily malleable feathers.
Their crystalline polearms shimmered, their blades radiating blue light.
A single slice through the air cut through the ground for several kilometers, making it feel as though neither would be satisfied unless the whole of the Shrine Plane was severed in two.
Ryu gazed upon these two blades and then in a baffling display, he put them back.
"I thought I might need them, but it seems I've overestimated you. If you can survive ten moves, I'll let you taste my blade," Ryu said lightly.
Dreame blinked for a moment but didn't say much. Or, maybe he was quite frankly too lazy to say much of anything at all.
He pointed another finger, this one flexing another margin harder than the last, and he pressed it forward.
Space split and an invisible beam of energy appeared before Ryu in the blink of an eye. Or, rather, it was invisible to most. To Ryu, though…
It was as clear as day.
"Death Acupoint."
Ryu's finger stretched out, a sharp claw swirling with Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.
BANG!
Dreame blinked again, his head tilting.
Ryu didn't move a single inch backward, his figure didn't even so much as sway. An attack more powerful than the one that had just blasted through his chest was dealt with so easily?!
Ryu took a step forward, his figure vanishing. When he appeared once more, he was already standing right before Dreame, his finger stretching out once again.
"Death Acupoint."
Dreame's pupils constricted, his figure retreating explosively. It felt like no matter what he did, Ryu's attack would land on a vulnerable spot and his life would be forfeit. The feeling was so overwhelming that he had retreated before his mind could even register what was happening.
BANG!
Dreame's shoulder erupted into a rain of blood, a wound as deep as bone appearing.
He seemed to lose control of his qi for a moment, his stomach and chest bulging wildly, but he quickly reined control back in. Even so, the looks of horror those watching felt was unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
They all knew that Ryu wielded the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, and they most definitely new what kind of power <Death Acupoint> wielded but… How had Ryu already awakened it?! They could just barely accept that Ryu was only in his 20's and had somehow entered the Path Extinction Realm, but how could they also accept this?!
Just a single poke at the air and a genius like Dreame had almost undergone cultivation deviation. Anyone else would have truly died instantly.
"Oh?"
Ryu's brow raised. He seemed surprised that Dreame had survived a single attack despite the fact he had said he would give the latter ten. The arrogance that dripped from him knew no bounds.
"It seems I missed a bit."
Ryu snapped his fingers.
His lightning gauntlets had already dispersed, but he was a Son of the Kunan Clan, lightning… was never something he would run out of.
An arc of blue lightning fell from the skies. It was wild and unbridled, something that felt simply uncontrollable to the masses. And yet, it docilely fell into Ryu's palm, concentrating into the form of a needle.
In those moments, Ryu seemed calm and serene. Compared to his previous rampage, he was like a completely different man, but this wasn't because his rage had simmered or faded…
He should probably thank Dreame, the latter had made him remember his grandfather's words. He had been so infuriated that he had forgotten himself, even to the point of making a mistake as stupid as not unsealing his own pupils.
With his eyes sealed, he hadn't even had a normal cultivator's eyesight. He was practically going in blind.
And, because he was used to using <Third Perspective> as opposed to his Spiritual Sense, he hadn't even considered using the latter.
All this time, he had been fighting with two hands and a leg tied behind his back, all because he had let the fury climb to his head.
Not again.
Let the World feel your Fury…
… But only when you want them to.
"Death Acupoint."
Ryu flicked a finger, causing the needle to whistle across the skies. Space didn't even seem to register that it had passed by until it was long gone, causing a delayed split that shook the air.
It appeared before Dreame in the blink of an eye, piercing through his collarbone.
The world seemed to pause for a moment…
And then the Throne of the Martial Gods imploded.