An illusory pair of wings soared into existence to Mae's back. It looked as though they had been plucked down from the heavens themselves, descending to grace Mae's gorgeous features.
They fluttered with an oppressive black and crimson light. With every flap, large swaths of qi surged toward her, coating her body and her sabers.
However, right at that instant, 13 rings manifested, exuding a suppression dark gold light and causing Mae's Immortal Ring formation to tremble and nearly collapse.
Even though Ryu couldn't use his Chaos Qi freely, the foundation of his Immortal Rings had been formed off of its back and were projections from his Meridians. Its strength wasn't only based on just how solid Ryu's foundation in Qi Realm cultivation was, nor was it just based on how strong his cultivation technique was, it was the most direct method of displaying the prowess of one of the six pillars… a cultivator's Meridians!
In that instant, in no uncertain terms, Mae was absolutely certain that the grade of Ryu's Meridians left her own far behind.
The instant she came to this conclusion, Mae realized the poor situation she was in.
When two Immortal Ring Manifestations took root, things would be fine if they were equal or if there was a small difference between them. But in the case that the difference was exceptionally large, then the suppressive effects would be disastrous.
Understanding her plight, Mae no longer dared to hold back and she released a low roar, her eyes finally blazing to life with a crimson color.
Ryu was all too familiar with red eyes. His wife, Ailsa, also had a pair of red eyes. They were gorgeous and beautiful, gentle and flowed like springwater.
However, Mae's were far more fierce. Akin to a bed of rubies set ablaze with dark gold flames, they glowed like a pair of torches capable of piercing through even the deepest depths of darkness.
"Relentless Waters. Passionate Flames."
Mae's Small Realm pulsed, gaining a second layer as she shattered a clear barrier, evolving her comprehensions from the Monarch Realm to the Sovereign Realm, layering two now Dominions atop of one another.
Ryu could tell at a glance that this was a true breakthrough, Mae had somehow used a method to forcefully raise the standard of her Small Realm to a Dominion.
'Dao. Peak Dynastic Dao. Second Immortal Grade.' Ryu's gaze flashed, a raging torrent of dark gold hanging around him.
The two shot forward at once, a mighty clash finally causing the room they were in to quake somewhat.
Every time their blades met, waters would intertwine with arcs of lightning and pillars of fire would try to ravage and devour one another.
Ryu felt that Mae's words hadn't been exaggerated in the slightest. Her waters truly were relentless and her fires truly were passionate. They danced along the tips of her blade, glistening along with the delicate sheen of sweat that couldn't mar her gorgeous brows.
One blade was forceful and penetrative. The other was fierce and quick. With every exchange, they only seemed to become more powerful, embodying their very Dao.
Ryu's gaze shone, the Fire and Thunder Characters shimmering with a jade green glow. His great swordstaffs spun in his hands with the fluidity of daggers in one moment, then the forceful of sabers in the next, then the resoluteness of rods in a blink.
He used his skill to bridge the gap, meeting Mae's overwhelming strength with a glancing blow and her blazing speed with untold power.
His blood boiled. Thunderous booms of draconic roars and qilin stomps boomed through his bones and tendons.
They wanted to release themselves, they wanted to trample all enemies beneath their feet.
Ryu's gaze was furtive. He wanted an excuse, he wanted Mae to show him more, he wanted her to unleash those last few shackles she had kept on herself, he wanted her to give him a reason to display more strength.
ROAR!
Trembling Star Qi mixed with Ryu's roar, a small hint of his Fire Dragon Bloodline's talent threatening to spill over.
The wings to Mae's back fluttered, causing a wall of qi to block the sound waves before they reached her.
Her sabers twisted in her palms, snaking by Ryu's defenses and appearing before his throat. In the moment Ryu had roared, he had to open up his chest, giving her a lane to attack.
However, at that moment, the glow in Ryu's eyes didn't seem to waver even for a single moment. In fact, it was as though he had planned for all of this.
Deep within the depths of Ryu's eyes, the eight trigram diagram rotated, the Mountain Character suddenly coming to life.
In that instant, the Trembling Star Qi seemed to have multiplied in strength by over ten times. At the same time, a huge weight fell onto Mae's shoulders as the illusion of a mountain appeared in the air above him.
Mae felt as though her body had instantly become a hundred times heavier, and it was even more exaggerated for the blades in her hand.
Completely caught off guard, her blade tip dipped down from Ryu's throat and lost a large amount of its speed.
With a tap of his foot, Ryu slid by the blade, his body performing a quarter spin as he gathered momentum.
His foot stomped the ground hard, his arms bulging with pulsing veins.
Right then, his quarter spin accelerated, becoming a full spin as his great swordstaff whipped a blazing trail toward Mae's stomach. It looked as though he was trying to cut her body into three pieces.
Mae's eyes widened, but there was already nothing that she could do. The suppression was too fierce and the explosion of Ryu's speed was even more exaggerated.
BANG!
Mae's body bowed into a u-shape, her eyes bulging and her mouth opening to spew up blood as she suddenly accelerated backward with faster speed than anything she had mustered since the battle started.
BANG!
The room quaked as she slammed against the wall, slowly sliding down.
