Ryu's gaze turned cold. He was the one receiving the most direct benefits from his own breakthrough, of course, so he didn't need to focus very much on it. After all, it was his insights that had triggered the breakthrough, not the other way around. So, he had already achieved the level of focus he had needed already. All he had to do now was to allow the Heavens to reward him properly.
Due to this, he was the first to realize what was happening because his Void Spiritual Sense was blanketing the area. With its prowess, Sky Gods of this level couldn't hide their intentions toward him, but it was already much too late for him to do anything.
The Frost Clan unfortunately hadn't left behind any world shattering treasures or protective treasures. Well, at least none that were useful on a Sky God level. The best of them could just barely block a few blows from a World Sea Realm expert of the Sixth Heaven's caliber.
However, a World Sea Realm expert that strong was most definitely comparable to a Fragmented Sky God of the First Heaven. So if it came to it, Ryu was confident in blocking one such blow
Still, it was obvious why his gaze had turned cold.
Firstly, with his personality, anyone who would deign to take his life would immediately be marked with his hatred. Many others wouldn't even dare to show rage toward such a powerful expert due to ingrained respect and deep seeded apprehension. But Ryu never held any reverence for such figures to begin with.
And secondly, he didn't want to have to reveal such a treasure if he didn't have to. Such a thing shouldn't appear on the First Heaven at all. In this place, even Sky Gods were cobbling together Heaven Grade weapons for their own personal use, only the lucky ones with some connections to higher Heavens would be able to get their hands on an Ancestral Grade or Fragmented Grade weapon more appropriate for their level.
In the end, though…
BANG!
Elder Aika's eyes suddenly opened and she pierced out with her cane once again.
The enormous metallic hand was split in two, and yet the Sky God on the other side was nailed with nine holes, one through the forehead, the second through the nose, the third through the neck, the fourth through the collarbone, the fifth through the heart, the sixth through the torso, and as though to add insult to death, the final three were stacked up vertically right through his crotch area.
For a moment there was complete and utter silence. But in the next instant, the Fragmented Sky God imploded into a rain of blood and gore as well.
Under the astonished gazes of those watching, a wilder, even more furious gust of qi manifested. This one didn't just cover a few dozen kilometers, but rather pulled in qi from the whole of the First Heaven, covering every inch of land and shaking the skies.
All at once, the energy turned into a rainbow vortex that manifested above Elder Aika's head, rushing through her body in an endless tide.
If Ryu's breakthrough had given many some small insights, Elder Aika's was akin to handing many the key to the world. And yet, unlike Ryu, Elder Aika seemed to have an excellent level of control over her own, to the point where the only people she even allowed to get a sense for anything were those already on the Radiant Star Sect's island.
She was breaking through?
The members of the Hidden Blade Sect stood in shock, firstly because they had lost yet another Fragmented Sky God—two in just a single day—and secondly because the breakthrough of a Sky God was so impossibly rare that it had been countless years since the last time such a thing had occurred.
Even breakthroughs from the World Sea Realm to Sky God were almost impossible to stumble across in the First Heaven, let alone a breakthrough by an expert already in the Sky God Realm!
Had they been wrong? Could it be that that level of insight previously wasn't Ryu or Selheira at all, but rather Elder Aika from the very beginning?!
The Hidden Blade Sect elders watched on, their gazes becoming like blazing torches. However, Elder Aika was still staring at them. Much like Ryu before, her final hurdle of insight had already been completed, she didn't need as much focus as had been necessary before.
Ryu felt a swelling feeling in his heart right this moment. The Dao had never felt so clear to him.
Just now, he had gained some insight into his own heart, which allowed his Dao to improve from the 1st Grade Immortal Dao to the 2nd Grade Immortal Dao. This gave him a Dao equivalent to the Path Extinction Realm.
But it had to be remembered that most would have a Dao a step below their cultivation Realm, and only the pinnacle of absolute geniuses would ever have a Dao at their level. Ryu had already been in the latter group, but his insights into his own heart had allowed him to transcend even that and grasp a Dao beyond his cultivation Realm!
And yet, just after this breakthrough, he had suddenly been blessed by another opportunity.
Unlike others who wouldn't even dare to bring their Spiritual Sense close to such a vortex of energy for fear of harming their soul, Ryu had enveloped it completely.
Streams of Fundamental Runes, of Heavenly Secrets, and enigmatic mysteries were imprinted onto his mind one after another.
Just catching bits and pieces of Elder Aika's Dao caused world shaking changes within him. First his Dao completely solidified itself at the 2nd Immortal Dao Grade, and then it quickly improved by leaps and bounds.
What maybe should have taken years or even decades of practice was completed in just a few minutes.
By the time Elder Aika's breakthrough was completed, Ryu felt that his Dao sat right at the border of the 3rd Immortal Dao Grade, just a breath away from a power that only Dao Pedestal Realm geniuses should wield, and a power that one could only expect to frequently find among Cosmic Seed Realm geniuses…
But the difference here was… Ryu's Dao was no normal Common, True or even Lineal Dao…
It was a Hegemonic Dao.