It only took Ryu a glance to see through [Swallow Six Senses]. With the Origin Flame, even if it was greatly weakened in this world, his memorization capabilities were still there, at least for a technique at this level.
The moment he grasped the method, his soul flourished, a dense sort of darkness wafting from his body.
The more slow and deliberate steps Ryu took, the more people seemed to notice what was happening. It felt like very quickly, the entire Inner Sect was alerted to exactly what was happening.
Ryu didn't need to guess where Merrick and Snyder were. Since he knew their rank, he knew exactly where they lived as well. He had already crossed over from the five digit rankings to the four digit rankings, his soul still at work and his steps not having hurried even a mesure. It was as though he was giving both Merrick and Snyder the opportunity to prepare.
Or, maybe, it was a chance to enjoy the last moments of their life.
When Ryu was about to cross from the four digit rankings into the three digits, he found a passageway blocked by several individuals.
Their purpose was quite clear. Most of them were only here to chuckle, laugh and spectate. They definitely had far too much pride to act together, at most only one or two of them would. But it was obvious the kind of event this would devolve into the moment Ryu showed his strength.
But he didn't care.
"Little Silk."
At that moment, the inconspicuous and gorgeous little butterfly on Ryu's shoulder flashed, her speed so fast that she appeared before them all in the blink of an eye, drawing a laser of blue across the air that was hardly perceptible.
In several fractions of a second, Little Silk disappeared and appeared once again several times. By the time one could complete a second blink, she was already back on Ryu's shoulder who had continued to walk forward slowly as though nothing had happened.
But in the moment, as Ryu took slow steps, several thin lines of ice blue were drawn across the skies.
Their faces were still plastered with smiles, not having even registered what happened. But then they started to slowly fall apart, the lines of ice blue severing their bodies into countless pieces.
As the severed cuts of their flesh fell to the ground, they froze. By the time they hit the stone tiles of the three digit rank section, they shattered to pieces, scattering the ground in shards of crimson.
Ryu stepped over them, the soles of his feet crunching away at what had used to be living, breathing humans. However, he couldn't be bothered to care.
The shock of those spectating from a far distance couldn't be described in words. Only a handful had been there the day that Ryu had killed the first time and most, although it didn't make sense, still subconsciously thought that Ryu's rumors were exaggerated. Would the elders really let a murderer who broke a taboo of the Sect off?
They felt that it was more likely that the disciple had died through some other means, or maybe Ryu had accidentally triggered a hidden illness within his target during a battle.
But now, seeing how Ryu hadn't even hesitated to command his beast to kill, they felt shivers run up thei spine.
Could it be that Ryu was truly immune to punishment? Was he not worried? Just what kind of background did he have for the Sect to so blatantly show favoritism and bias like this?!
Up ahead, Ryu finally spotted his targets. Or, rather, his Spiritual Sense long since had and he was only now truly in range. Despite this, his countenance didn't change. He carried the same cold look, the frigid and dark air around him threatening to suffocate the masses.
Merrick and Snyder had just been informed of what was happening and had come to take a look. They obviously didn't care much about Ryu's rage, they only wanted to see an amusing puppet dance before they taught him a lesson.
They didn't really think much before pulling their "prank". They just felt dissatisfied with what they had heard about Ryu, and since they didn't dare to kill him even after the words of the Grand Elder, they chose this route instead.
But none of this meant that they wouldn't enjoy this. The both of them were well beyond Ryu in cultivation and strength, they didn't believe that this matter would be difficult to handle in the slightest.
When they locked eyes with Ryu, deep sneers marked their faces. They had prepared quite an onslaught of jarring words for Ryu and they thought that he would have something to say as well. But to their shock, Ryu didn't say anything. He didn't ask if it was them, he didn't ask them why they had done such a thing, and he obviously hadn't come here to beg for forgiveness.
The moment Ryu saw them, he took another slow and deliberate step forward, his aura changing.
"[Swallow Six Senses]."
Right then, an overwhelming soul pressure shot forward, catching Merrick and Snyder off guard.
But they were also veterans of battle. When they saw that Ryu actually dared to use a Soul Technique against them despite his cultivation being so far below theirs, they almost burst into a fit of laughter.
They were almost in the Dao Pedestal Realm and they had long since entered the Soul Refinement Realm, the Path Extinction Realm equivalent of the Mental Realms. For an Immortal Ring Realm expert like Ryu, who only had a Soul Birth Realm soul to attack them… Wasn't he asking to be humiliated?
However, just as their sneers were turning into laughs, the wave of Ryu's soul pressure hit them like a rampaging storm.
At that moment, the manifestation of a man with grey skin and black robes appeared in the skies. His eyes were missing, his ears and tongue were cut off, his skin was covered in boils and no one could see any of his limbs beneath his thick and wide robes.
The moment it appeared, it was as though Merrick and Snyder were thrown into darkness.
Neither could even feel their heads being severed from their shoulders.