BANG!
The clouds above cracked like glass, the energy keeping them together splintering like a porcelain doll.
Ryu crashed into the ground below, suddenly finding it impossible to continue standing on the raging winds. However, even as he coughed up a mouthful of blood and nearly crashed to his knees, he still glared upward.
It seemed that he had been correct. There was a core of energy up there, likely sent down by the Seventh Heaven to the First Heaven, which then targeted Ryu. Under normal circumstances, Ryu would have to wait for the energy to run out, and then he could be considered to have passed.
However, did Ryu seem like a person who would just obediently be a punching bag? So he just decided to destroy it, using its own power against it.
The best part was now that Ryu's Dao could be considered a Dao-Inheritance combo, the Glove of Order responded to it, allowing him to form arrows that were much larger than before. Unfortunately, it seemed to be quite draining on his Focus Qi.
Before, he had the prayer mat to supplement his Focus Qi, so he hadn't worried about it in years. But, now that his Inner World was sealed off from him, he lost its support as well, leaving him with only himself to rely on.
Ryu wiped the rest of the blood from his lip, his eyes narrowing as he looked off to the side. He hadn't been able to feel this person before, but he could definitely feel him now. This old-young man actually hadn't run away when his tribulation started?
Just as Ryu was thinking about this, a searing heat suddenly erupted upon his forehead, causing him to feel a pain that made even him roar out.
…
As Ryu was hesitating about his meeting with his mysterious man, Seven Heavens underwent a state of upheaval.
Just weeks ago, some fool had attempted to form a Hegemonic Dao, alerting the individuals of the higher Heavens. Lower Heavens might be ignorant, but those Sixth Heaven Clans and Sects close to forming Hegemonies, and of course, the Seventh Heaven Clans and Sects, were all in the know.
They all wanted an understanding of just who this person was, even if it was obvious they had failed. Someone with a Peak Dominion Dao was definitely not to be taken lightly, even by the families of the Seventh Heaven.
There were only a limited number of people who could have Hegemonic Daos, to begin with, and much of that number was claimed by individuals of the Eighth and Ninth Heavens. That meant most powerhouses of the Seventh Heaven also only had Dominion Grade Daos.
However, even for such people, forming a Lower Dominion Dao was already top tier. Someone who had a Peak Dominion Dao was definitely at the very top of the Seventh Heaven.
Unfortunately, it was quickly learned that this individual wasn't from the Sixth Heaven but rather from a much lower Heaven, making it especially difficult to track their Karma.
Many believed that this was an individual either from the Seventh or Sixth Heaven who knew they would be slaughtered for overstepping their limits and thus chose to endure a stronger tribulation and descend the Heavens, how else would someone capable of forming a Peak Dominion Dao die so quickly to a tribulation? It served them right.
The monopoly the powerful families had over the pinnacle level Daos wasn't a joke. If you didn't have the backing of a Sect or Clan near the top of the Dominion Grade, you'd be seeking death forming such a high level Dao.
However, what no one expected was for another to form a Hegemonic Dao just weeks later. And, it was once again someone from the lower Heavens!
It was impossible for everyone to agree that they were the same person. But, it didn't matter, just the fact that it happened again was shocking enough.
Everyone scrambled to find the location of this individual, the tribulation persisting for a much longer span of time.
However, after checking the Sixth Heaven, they found out that this person wasn't there. After checking the Fifth, they were once again found to not be there.
Just when they wanted to check the Fourth Heaven… The tribulation actually ended and all traces vanished!
The uproar shook the Seven Heavens.
At that moment, everyone below the Eighth Heaven with a Hegemonic Dao was branded.
…
Ryu's hand became like a block of ice, trying to stop the searing heat on his forehead from spreading any further. The Water Character in eyes shone brightly, but it was to no avail. It took half a day just for the pain to subside, and the result left him shocked.
On his forehead, an elaborate seal spread like a crown of thorns. It was seared in like a permanent tattoo, still pulsing with a blackish crimson light.
"… What the hell is this…?!"
The old-young man chuckled. "That, young one, is a tag."
"A tag?"
"Yes. Whenever Heavens below the Seventh exceed the number of allocated Hegemonic Daos, those seals will appear on all owners of a Hegemonic Dao, and they won't disappear until one of you dies."
Ryu frowned. "The Heavens do this?"
"Of course not. Truthfully, I lied to you again. The only Dao level with limitations are the Founding Daos.
"There are only allowed to be 3 Peak Founding Daos, 33 Higher Founding Daos, 333 Middle Founding Daos, and 3333 Lower Founding Daos. Of course, these numbers are ridiculous. There are less than a dozen people with Founding Daos in the whole of the True Martial World, if a single generation produced that many talents, who knows what the world would look like now?
"The other Dao level limitations are fabrications, formed by the Eighth and Ninth Heavens—"
The fury that spilled forth from Ryu's eyes caused the old-young man to halt his words. Clearly, he didn't need to say anything more, Ryu already understood.
A tag? This might as well have been a slave mark.