Ryu watched this without much of a change in expression. Whether it was his lightning needle or Death Acupoint, one was bound to end in this result. However…
A boisterous laughter shook the skies.
Dreame's inner organs splattered about the surroundings, his blood coating the ground in red. And yet, he still laughed, his body rising up as though a string was being pulled along his chest.
His expression twisted, his tongue hanging out and a pair of black wings sprung out from his back. He looked every bit the part of a madman as he continued to laugh.
His hands reached out, stuffing bits and pieces of organs back into his body. It maybe the most ridiculous action one could take. It was either the desperate actions of a man trying to cling onto his life, or…
Dreame's injuries rapidly healed, his laughter shaking the skies. Before his skin could even heal over his newly formed ribcage, he shot forward like a ball out a canon, his wings flapping once to increase his accelerate by more than twofold.
His hands brandished themselves like claws, his tongue flapping wildly in the wind as he appeared before Ryu in an instant, his body pressed into a low crouch, ready to explode forward. But…
All he found was a placid and indifferent expression.
Ryu remained as unmoving as a stature. But, when he did choose to move, it was as though the world formed a tempest to follow along.
His stance shifted slightly and his knee drove upward.
Ryu's timing was simply immaculate, as though Dreame had teleported his jaw his the former's convenience, the sickening sound of bone shattering resounded as Dreame suddenly found himself shooting into the skies like a speeding bullet.
His tongue was sliced off by his teeth, half of his handsome face collapsed beneath the pressure, and he found himself sprawled out once again.
"That's three," Ryu said lightly.
His body flared up, his Dragon Soul appearing again as arcs of lightning fell from the skies. They fell around Ryu, following his gait and turning the land into a sea of sparking lightning.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Those in who had been too stupid to retreat far from this battle found themselves charred to ash, their lives forfeit before they even understood what was happening.
"Good. GOOD. GOOD! GOOD!!"
Dreame's roar shook the skies as he reached the peak of his ascent. Lightning cracked around him but didn't seem to bother to target him personally. But, Ryu continued without a care in the world, the sea of lightning around him becoming more violent with each passing moment.
As Dreame began to fall from the skies, he flapped his wings a single time, causing him to become like a meteor streaking down from the clouds above. A wreath of flames sparked around him, his blood and even some of his unhealed flesh peeling off of his body with each passing moment.
However, when he appeared before Ryu again, he found his face greeted by the back of a hand. The other side of his skull deformed, blood flying as he was slapped away.
Ryu didn't even spare him a single glance, his sea of lightning continuing to grow.
Dreame continued to attack like a wild and rabid animal, his howls coursing through the battlefield. However, every dull and careless counter attack by Ryu felt like another slap to the faces of the Martial Gods.
This was their champion, the greatest of their younger generation, the man they might have known was lazy, but a man they all respected nonetheless because none of them had the ability to defeat him at the same cultivation level or even beyond for more.
And yet here he was, being treated like a rag doll, an insignificant fly to be swatted away at Ryu's leisure.
Each attack cut into the hearts of the traitors, erasing the prestige of the Martial Gods piece by piece. Was this really the race of people they had bent a knee to? That they had obediently become lap dogs for?
BANG!
Ryu steps paused, the sea of lightning around him becoming such a raging torrent that it almost looked like a real sea. Everything it touched burnt to ash, unable to rise up again.
"That's nine."
Dreame rose up in the distance. The grin on his face was still the same, the forcefulness of his voice, albeit gargled by blood and flesh, was also still the same. However, he looked no different from a walking corpse.
His bones were visible from several areas, his face was practically unrecognizable, blood coated him from head to toe and his movements were only becoming slower.
Ryu reached a hand down, drawing it across his lake of lightning as though it was really water.
"Do you know why you'll never beat me despite that talent of yours? Despite the fact you've already grasped a Dao of your own?
"You could say that it's because in this state of yours, you can't even use your Dao properly. A Dao of concealment, of invisibility, of even forgetfulness, has the power to be quite powerful. But, when you aren't being lazy and unassuming, it's difficult to use, right?"
Ryu's gaze locked onto Dreame who seemed to be preparing for another charge.
"However, being unable to use your Dao isn't the reason you'll never beat me, if that wasn't already obvious by the fact I've given you the grace of not using mine just yet…
"The reason you'll never beat me is because you're lazy. You've never worked hard a day in your life. You've never faced hardship for even a moment.
"Your techniques are filled with holes, your resolve is weak and would fall with a single poke, and your foundation is far weaker than what it should.
"Did you really believe that you could beat me, by what…? Getting angry?"
A spark of lightning arched between Ryu's fingers before forming a new needle that was barely a tenth the size of the first one.
"This will be the tenth and final attack. I'll show you what just a single half of my Dao looks like.
"<Death Acupoint: Dividing Karma>."
Ryu flicked his finger, a bolt of miniature lightning racing across the skies.
Dreame's body froze, all his madness seemingly rushing out of his body.
He knew it immediately. This time, he would die.
On nothing more than instinct, his body turned and he began to run away. It was a sight not a single soul missed, a sight that would be engraved onto their very souls for a lifetime to come.
The mighty Throne of the Martial Gods was trying to run away.
An enormous swing of Faith shifted, the Martial Gods suddenly feeling as though they had lost a piece of themselves.
"STOP!"
Tybalt's voice roared out again.