Ryu had chosen to use the very same method he used to hide the specialness of his flames to hide the ability of his Ice Jade Crystal Body. There was no way that Ryu would give up the benefits of absorbing such Heavenly Favor for the sake of hiding himself from the greed of others. He would maximize his absorption by not just using his nose and mouth, but also his skin itself.
When the Heavenly Favor entered Ryu, he felt his mind shudder, his body entering a state of enlightenment that reminded him all too much of his Rebirth. In fact, it felt as though Ryu had only touched the tip of the iceberg of what his Rebirth could give him and his steps toward re-cultivation were only slowly unearthing the strength that he had rightfully deserved to command in the first place.
It was as though Ryu was undergoing the Rites once more, everyone watching silently as they caught on to exactly what was happening.
The first Rite… the second… the fourth… the sixth…
By this point, the elders were already watching with wide eyes. At this speed, wouldn't he…
The ninth Rite.
The moment Ryu hit this point, his body released such a blinding golden light that it fused with his red flames, making it look as though he had dipped himself in Ambrosia.
The Rite of Limitation.
The rumblings began to quake the mountain, the once stable footing shaking and almost throwing some high class cultivators off of their feet. The commotion began to go beyond just the Sect and began to influence the surroundings.
Undergoing the Rites while in the Awakening Realm wouldn't cause such a commotion. However, somehow undergoing the Rites while already being in the Immortal Ring Realm was a different animal all together. All of the effects were multiplying several times over as enormous qualitative changes were taking root in Ryu's body.
It was as though the foundation of a skyscraper was being forcefully changed and with every improvement, ten more floors were added. The commotion would be far greater than if you started with the foundational changes from the very beginning. In fact, even Ryu himself felt his body threatening to explode. It was his will power alone that kept him together.
Undergoing the Rites the first time had been difficult enough. But undergoing them with the pressure of his "skyscraper" weighing down on it was a different monster all together.
The elders, though, couldn't help but tremble. In their Sect, was there even a single one who had completed the tenth Rite?
When they looked toward one another, they already knew that the answer was no. As difficult as completing Rites were in Sacrum, in the True Martial World, it was like pulling teeth from a fully adult Dragon. You would maybe only start finding geniuses who had completed the tenth Rite in the fourth or five Heaven.
The elders were already shocked enough, but then…
The Rite of Perseverance.
Ryu roared into the skies, his veins popping out across his skin as his robes had long since been burnt to ash. The momentum of his roar startled the elders and the disciples. It felt as though a mighty dragon was being reborn right before their eyes, the sound alone making their hearts tremble and their knees buckle. However…
The Rite of Death.
Ryu's skin peeled away, entering the flames before being incinerated to ash.
The pain was unbearable, reaching levels that would make most want to smash their head against a rock and end it all. However, even with this being the case, Ryu didn't have a thought even once. He had completed the 13 Rites once before, and he would complete them again. The True Martial World was his stage, his ground to stomp upon and his skies to plunder.
Nothing would stop him.
The Rite of Origin.
The golden pillar turned into a bloody red, the impact expanding outward. The burning of Ryu's flesh dug deeper, peeling away at his veins and his muscles until even part of his bone could be seen. However, Ryu's mind itself was the picture of absolute clarity.
He refused to lose his mind to the struggle and the pain. If he did so, his Void Spiritual Sense would waver and the secrets he was hiding would be exposed for all to see.
These small, pitiful steps, that even a child of seven years old could take… he would take them again. Tall, strong and unbothered.
His 13 Immortal Ring glowed with a fiercer light, glowing with a radiance that seemed to rival even the pillar itself. The more steps forward Ryu took, the stronger it became and more enraged the First Heavens were. However, none of it mattered.
"I, Ryu Tatsuya, look down upon your 13 Rites."
The voice was steady and unhurried, yet it coursed with an unwavering arrogance that traveled across the Radiant Star Sect.
The rumbling of the skies increased, but Ryu had already stepped across the final threshold. As he had already said, there was nothing here that could stop him. If he had succeeded once, he would succeed again. He would never fail in something his 14 year old self had succeeded in. He would never take a step backwards.
The pillar of crimson slowly faded, leaving behind Ryu's beaten and ragged body. But, just as quickly as he had been injured, his body seemed to also begin to rapidly heal. First the Heavens would punish, but then they would reward.
Ryu's pristine body slowly pieced itself back together, his handsome features shimmering with an added radiance. He felt that just now, he had gotten several times more powerful.
Before, without his soul, he could probably only fight 3rd or 4th stage Path Extinction Realm experts at best. This was quite pathetic in his estimation since all the talents around him were Black Grade at the highest. This meant that if he was on a higher Heaven, he might only be able to fight those beneath him in cultivation.
Now, however, Ryu didn't feel like anyone at that level that was within the Path Extinction Realm could even touch the hem of his clothes.
And maybe the best part…?
His Bloodlines had somehow entered the Earth Grade. And his Meridians? They had crossed out of the Heaven Grade and entered the Sovereign Grade.
It seemed he had found another method and released himself of his shackles.