Elder Aika seemed to have completely forgotten what she had just done and all her attention was turned to the fluttering snow owl in the skies.
The Hidden Blade Sect was still stewing in their own rage. Some of them even thought of shooting the bird out of the skies, something that would have been extraordinarily easy for any one of them, but when they thought about how easily a Fragmented Sky God had just died, and the fact Elder Aika seemed to be beaming toward this bird, none of them seemed to want to take the risk, at least not until they regained their numbers advantage.
"Oh, Little Air, you're here too. This is wonderful."
Elder Aika couldn't be bothered to pronounce Selheira's full name and had long since settled upon this nickname instead. She immediately seemed doubly excited when it was both Ryu and Selheira who appeared at once, almost as though she was greeting her own grandchildren.
"I should have known it was you from this beautiful creature. Come, come, let me take a good look at you two."
Selheira smiled gently and gracefully stepped down from her beast's back, allowing the old woman to cup and squeeze her face.
Many turned sharp gazes over, trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of what was beneath Selheira's veil, but maybe by coincidence or maybe due to the machination of the old woman, none of them could even see a thing.
Ryu sighed inwardly as he stepped down. He really didn't know what to do about this old woman, but she was more powerful than him by a large margin, even after his recultivation, so toward her he could only acquiesce.
The old Elder Aika, far more than a head shorter than both Ryu and Selheira, lay claim to one of their arms each, squeezing in between the two of them with a bright smile on her face, it was as though she was on the top of the world.
"This is too perfect," Elder Aika laughed, "If Little Ryu and Little Air become Dao Companions, wouldn't our Radiant Star Sect flourish for countless cycles? Come, don't be shy, how long have you two been together? No, no, how far have you two gone? No need to lie to this old lady, I'm just a little bit curious.
"I've done my time, I have a lot of tips and tricks for such a young and budding romance…" Elder Aika pulled on Ryu's arm and whispered her next words into his ears. "… Don't let the gentle smile and demeanor fool you, Little Ryu. All women have a wild side, if you want to be a real man, you have to bring it out. If you're honest with this old lady, I'll teach you a few skills."
Ryu was speechless, not even knowing what to say. This Elder Aika was a bit too wild, no?
Despite the fact she had "whispered" into Ryu's ears, how could Selheira not hear everything with her cultivation? Any normal woman upon hearing such words would probably flush down to the torso, but Selheira only smiled and laughed gently.
"Don't be like this, Granny Aika. We have to be respectful of Ryu and his wives, making such jokes is a bit inappropriate."
If anyone else had such words, they would have probably sounded quite crass and reprimanding, but when Selheira spoke them, it seemed to diffuse any sort of tension there might have been.
"Wives? My Little Ryu is already married?"
In truth, at Ryu's age, this was very rare. Most people in the True Martial World wouldn't get married until they had reached the end of their potential, or had stepped into the Sky God Realm.
When one was extraordinarily talented, it was better if you married and had children quickly upon becoming a Sky God, because the further along the Sky God path you followed, the harder it would be to pass down your lineage. As such, marriage and forming families was more common practice among the young in the higher Heavens.
But in the First Heavens? Having wives was very rare before crossing your 100th birthday. In most situations where there was a link between two exceptionally young parties, it was, at most, a marriage alliance that wouldn't be followed through upon until both reached a certain stage in their cultivation.
"Ai, disappointing, too disappointing," Elder Aika sighed.
She had spoken in a joking tone, but truthfully, she wasn't joking at all. She really did have a fondness for Ryu, and she had long since come to take a liking to Selheira. In fact, she seemed to know more about Selheira than most others did as well. However, as crass as she usually was, she was still a woman at the end of the day.
As a woman, Elder Aika wouldn't try to casually push Selheira toward a fate of sharing a husband even if it would greatly benefit the Radiant Star Sect. Weren't these two already part of the Sect anyway? It would only be a small loss if they didn't get together.
At the same time, though, she didn't blame Ryu either. A man having multiple wives was just the way of the martial world. Let alone the likes of talented youths like Ryu, even mediocre men might have multiple wives.
The only time such a thing wouldn't happen is if two talents of perfect equivalent standing met young and chose to stay together. But such a thing was rare, too rare.
Often what would happen instead is that talented men would secure women a step or two beneath them in talent, while exceptionally talented women would either take a step above themselves, or if they were extraordinarily prideful—which was often the case with such geniuses—they would simply choose to embark upon their Dao Paths alone.
The Heavens were more than just a bit unfair in this case. Because women had to give of themselves, losing their Primordial Yins, it was difficult for them to casually form relationships without harming their cultivation paths.
Despite her jokes, Elder Aika was such a woman as well.