"So you do know her!" Dob's expression became several times more sinister.
He had had a belly full of hatred for Ryu for a long time now. The trio had wasted months travelling from their usual stomping grounds all the way here, only to somehow lose Ryu entirely.
They were, of course, citizens of the True Martial World. But, as with many who couldn't hack it in this world, they left to find opportunities elsewhere. Some of them would get lucky enough to stumble onto chances and come back stronger than ever. But, the lucky chance that should have been for them was snatched away by Isemeine!
This was the real reason why they were so infuriated. Every time Dob thought about it, he ground his teeth down another layer. It was suffocating to the point he found it difficult to breathe.
But the bottom rung of the True Martial World cultivators, joining a Sect or powerful Clan was impossible. The only path they had was to try and steal from lower level worlds.
Much like Sacrum, other lower level worlds often had astounding treasures. Their only flaw was that they were formed beneath weak Heavens, but such a weakness could be fixed so long as the one who gained them returned to the True Martial World and invested a bit more.
Sometimes, if you were really lucky, an investment wouldn't even be necessary. Just time and patience would be enough. And, so long as the powerful cultivators of the True Martial World left to smaller worlds, they could extend their lives by thousands of times with ease.
In such a case, they would just need a good hiding place and patience. In fact, there was even an entire business model centered around this where the most trusted bank of the First Heaven would safely store such things for you!
By now, though, it had already been over a hundred years since their run-in with Isemeine, it was impossible to tell where she was or what she had done with their lucky chance. The harshest truth was that Isemeine might be far beyond what they could handle now due to that very lucky chance itself!
Dob wasn't willing to admit this to himself just yet, but he knew that this was likely the truth. He wouldn't be foolish enough to go after Isemeine after all this time even if he ran into her, but he definitely wanted to vent some hatred and frustration.
"Just die!"
Dob was so furious that he didn't even consider anything else and just attacked, having every intention of killing Ryu.
Ryu's eyes narrowed. The aura of a Quasi Dao Pedestal Realm threatened to overwhelm him.
He had somewhat forgotten that this was no longer Sacrum. He couldn't leap over three realms of cultivation to do battle like he could in the past, and he also didn't have his eyes which was a negative to his overall combat strength. This didn't even mention the fact he couldn't casually use his Bloodline Talents or his Chaos Qi either.
However, there was good news. He still had his powerful soul, and Dob and his companions couldn't be considered geniuses. In fact, because they had spent so long touring smaller worlds, their cultivation realms had actually regressed and their foundations became poorer as a result.
The Silver Star Visualization stirred and Ryu shifted, his body vanishing and reappearing…
A mere half meter away?
Ryu shook his head and sighed. It seemed that his comprehension of the Silver Star Visualization wasn't deep enough to travel any further. But, this much was still enough to dodge Dob's attacks.
Ryu glilded backward, activating his movement technique <Whispering Petals> to about 0.1%. Even so, his speed was so fast that he left after-images in his wake, widening the distance to 10 meters in the blink of an eye as he pulled out his bow.
In what looked like one swift motion, Ryu released three arrows at once, each spiraling upon the other and fusing into one just as they appeared before Dob's chest.
Dob, who hadn't expected a mere Half-Step Path Extinction Realm pup to be able to dodge in the first place, was taken off guard. And that movement technique, what was that?!
They knew that Ryu had gone to buy techniques before he boarded, but that was definitely a Dao Charm technique just now. It couldn't be that Ryu had learned a Dao Charm technique to Initial Success in just a few months, right?!
Dob felt a cold sweat trickle down his back, but he still roared and punched out, shattering Ryu's arrows like they were glass.
"Surround him!"
Dob's junior brothers, or more accurately, lackeys, were in the Seventh and Eighth Path Extinction Realms respectively. So, when they acted, they did so with ferocious speed, their steps gliding atop the thick snow as though it was solid ground.
Ryu's eyes flickered with a green color, the eight trigram diagram appearing once more. This region was too dangerous to have a prolonged battle. He would crush them swiftly and leave them no path of retreat!
With his diagram, Ryu was able to mask his Inheritances as though they were Daos, hiding away the true talents of his Bloodlines as though they came entirely from his own comprehension. And, once he unleashed them, the power was not small!
The Water Rune in the eight trigram diagram blazed to life, a furious blue color shooting out from Ryu as though beams of light.
He pulled his bowstring back once more, the dark gold of his Glove of Order leaping to action as it transformed from a glove to gain the scales of a black dragon and form a gauntlet once more.
A radiant blue arrow took form, sparkling ice shards falling from it like radiant crystals.
Ryu released that subtle feeling blooming in his heart.
The eyes of the trio widened, their hearts trembling. They couldn't understand the profundity of Ryu's arrow, but something about it screamed danger to them!