Aantha didn't know what to say at that point. Even if Ryu didn't take the survival rate of the test seriously because he looked down on their Asura Race, there was no one who didn't understand the kind of power Transcended Sky Gods held, let alone Omniscient Sky Gods.
These were existence that formed Dynastic Daos at the worst and had also brought them to maturity. The gap between someone with an immature Dao and a mature one was unfathomable. Even for Ryu who could be considered to have four separate Hegemonic Daos, he would lose out thoroughly to a mature Common Grade Dao wielded by a Fragmented Sky God, this was how exaggerated it was.
There was no lack of geniuses who had powerful Daos in states of maturity, and yet had no choice but to settle for weaker variations of their path in order to succeed in forming their Godhoods. Sometimes, one might fall as much as one or two grades before succeeding!
Although there were some cases of the reverse happening, this was all too rare and wasn't even worth mentioning.
Even when it came to Mae who had a Peak Dynastic Dao, she would be expected to form at least a Sovereign Dao by the time she reached the World Sea Realm, only then would she be able to live up to her true potential as a Sky God. In fact, most would hope that she would form a Dominion Dao at the very least, like this they would be able to breathe easy even if her Dao fell two grades during her Godhood formation.
Daos were very malleable while in a state of immaturity. But after one formed a Godhood, improving the grade of a Dao was almost impossible because doing so would be akin to recultivating every Sky God Realm you had passed through.
This was all to say that monsters who could reach the Transcended Sky God Realm were usually top class geniuses who had often formed Dominion Daos in their youth, and for Omniscient Sky Gods, this was almost guaranteed to be the path they had taken.
To show not the slightest bit of fluctuation at their mention… Just who was this man, exactly?
"This way," Ryu said. It was clear that after he had given his acknowledgement to Aantha's words, he didn't really give it a second thought. His main goal was to make up for the Heavenly Favor he had lost out on, he didn't care enough to be worried about such a thing.
Plus, it wasn't even guaranteed that he would be hunted down. Didn't he just need to pass their little test within ten years? So what were they so anxious for?
Of course, Ryu wasn't naïve enough to believe that it would be so easy. Setting aside the talent of the Asura Race, and the fact that any young man willing to take such a test would definitely be the cream of the crop just by virtue of the kind of test it was, he also knew that it would be difficult for him to use his true strength without exposing himself.
With all of those worries, he might very well die taking such a test. But even that wasn't the worst part because the Asura Race was almost guaranteed to be hostile against humans, so even if he passed their little test, that might not be the end of it.
Bravery that came from ignorance wasn't bravery at all, it was just stupidity. But Ryu wasn't ignorant, he was very clear of the challenge. He just didn't care.
The things he, Ryu Tatsuya, dared to do, he would never regret.
Like this, Ryu led Mae and Aantha out of the region and they stayed by his side as he began to clear Ruins one after another without a hint of rest.
The two Dream Asura women couldn't help but look toward one another incredulously. In all honesty, the two had been pretty casual during their time here. Mae had only showed a hint of curiosity toward the Unbalance Art Sect Ruin so she displayed some of her skills, but outside of that, they were cruising, and that was the same for all other geniuses of their caliber.
Ryu, though, was rushing around like a flame was chasing after him. He didn't take any time to rest. In fact, it wasn't just the Ruins, but in a month's span, he also claimed two more cities. By this point, it was hard to look him right in the eyes because the golden rings within his irises were blinding.
"Why are you trying so hard?" Aantha couldn't help but ask. "If you really need Heavenly Favor, wouldn't it be better just to wait for the third phase?"
Instead of answering the question directly, Ryu turned it back on them.
"What purpose did you two come here for?"
Aantha blinked. During their time together, Ryu never really communicated with them. Despite her personality, she couldn't help but be slightly indignant for her big sister. She wouldn't like to be tied to this big block of ice for her whole life, so she definitely didn't want it for her big sis.
But now he was suddenly asking her questions?
The worst part was that her big sis seemed to have some rosy colored glasses on. Aantha realized that her usually cold-faced sister was smiling a lot more recently, and she constantly seemed to be leaning on Ryu even though the latter didn't seem to react.
This left Aantha speechless. She never expected to see her sister so googly eyed. Was the sex really so good that it overrode everything else?
What Aantha didn't see was the little things, things that only Mae was privy to.
Ryu didn't talk much to her, nor did he seem to display much emotion, but he would always do small things that only Mae would notice.
When the wind was too strong, she would suddenly notice that it vanished. When the sun was too glaring, she would suddenly find a shadow over her. In fact, even though they had been running around non-stop for the last over-month, she had never felt any fatigue, and that was when she noticed that just touching Ryu filled her with an overflowing vitality. It was subtle, but he was constantly streaming Life Qi into her.
All these little things made Mae subconsciously lean on Ryu more and more. She couldn't help but remember waking up on that bed of pillows. Even if their entanglement wasn't as close as husband and wife, Ryu was truly serious about taking responsibility for her. At the very least, when he was by her side, he ensured that she didn't suffer any grievances whatsoever. In fact, she was endlessly comfortable.
This was a huge contrast to what Aantha was experiencing.
When they crossed into ice regions, Aantha had to block the wind on her own. When they entered those desert regions, she had to block the sun on her own. When she felt tired, she had to circulate her own qi.
It was no wonder she was pouting all the time. She thought her sister was experiencing the same things when this was far from the case.
"We are mostly here for the second phase," Mae replied softly. "We were told by our elders not to try and force things too much, what we deserve through Karma will come to us. Of course that doesn't mean we won't fight for the things we want."
"I see," Ryu nodded.
With the Convergence descending and Karma quickly accumulating, it would indeed be the case that lucky opportunities would be easier to come by. But, Ryu didn't believe in sitting on his heels and waiting for things to come to him.
Ryu suddenly came to a stop, looking straight up.
"What about you?" Mae asked.
"… I need to gather up as much Heavenly Favor as possible to break a curse someone placed on me."
Mae's gaze flashed with one hint surprise and another hint fury. She had long since truly started taking Ryu to be her man, hearing such a thing enraged her. It was no wonder Ryu was trying so hard.
"Let's rest here," Ryu suddenly said.
With a clawing motion, Ryu reached out toward a certain direction and a large bear beast suddenly appeared from thin air, looking around in confusion. Before it could lock onto Ryu and the two women and roar, Ryu had already severed its head from its body, causing its enormous ten meter long body to collapse.
Ryu tapped at the air several times and its fur seemed to magically separate from its body.
Arcs of sword qi filled the air and the bear beast was cleaned and separated into multiple pieces in the blink of an eye.
Ryu tapped his foot on the ground and a surge of Life Qi caused the roots of several trees in the surroundings to twist to life, forming a pit and spit he skewered the meat onto.
With a snap of his fingers, a flame flickered into existence.
Aantha blinked somewhat speechlessly. Could things be done like this as well? He didn't even need to use his hands.
Mae suddenly flipped her palms and several spices appeared. With a flick of her wrist, it was evenly distributed upon the beast meat.
Aantha looked back and forth between the two, suddenly feeling for the first time that maybe they weren't as bad of a couple as she had assumed before.
Inwardly, Aantha chuckled. She wanted to see how Ryu would react when her big sis got comfortable enough that her true personalitiy began to poke through.
…
In the far off distance, the skies began to rumble.
The second phase was descending.
