Ryu took a breath and closed his eyes.
"One time. I will allow it once."
Regardless of who it was, at this moment, as the words Dao Lord echoed, only Ryu dared to speak at all. Of all the countless geniuses, he was also the only one who even thought to speak, let alone do it. But what was most shocking of all were the words he said, words that maybe others could guess the meaning of, but only he knew of the intent with any certainty.
When Ryu opened his eyes once more, he found that his position had been elevated above the ground and he had been placed on the starry road. All around him, he could see and sense geniuses who had experienced the very same thing.
It was clear that this second phase would be far different from what it had been in the past. If Ryu was correct, the goal was to make it to the Dao Lord's Inheritance, but along the way, they would have to prove themselves by being acknowledged by the Inheritances of others.
This wasn't just a test of strength, but it was also a test of breadth of talent. There were countless paths one could take to reach the Dao Lord's Inheritance theoretically, but the number they could actually take in practice would be very limited. Only those with not only a deep depth of talent, but also a wide breadth of talent, would have the best chance at receiving the acknowledgment of the Dao Lord.
In order to take these star paths, one would obviously have to be acknowledged by the Inheritance on them. The more Inheritances you could be acknowledged by, the more star paths you could take and the higher chance you would have at reaching the center.
These were rules that didn't need to be explained, and the unfairness of it all likewise didn't need to be stated. With the random placement of all those involved, what were the chances that you'd land on a star path with exactly the affinities that lined up for yourself? And even if you did, there was no guarantee that the road ahead would have exactly what you needed either.
Much of this… would be left up to Fate.
It seemed that his luck was quite poor. In just a few months, he had run into not just one, but two inheritances that required Fate to partake in.
"Ahaha, I'm in luck!"
Ryu's head turned and he found a young man rushing forward toward an inheritance. He was on a star path adjacent to Ryu's own and up ahead, in a path that crossed them both, there was a floating glass orb barely a few inches across that radiated the aura of a wind inheritance.
Clearly, this young man felt that he was in luck. So long as he claimed this wind inheritance for himself, the path ahead would open up and he would be one step closer to gaining the acknowledgment of the Dao Lord.
But before he could make it very far, several other individuals began to rush toward the wind inheritance as well. There were easily dozens of branching paths that connected with this one inheritance, and among them, there were quite a number who felt that they had affinity for this inheritance as well and they were unwilling to give it up.
It didn't even take a moment for the first clashes to begin to echo. All across the Heavenly Path, countless battles erupted, the fight for the inheritances beginning in full force.
There was no one who didn't want the inheritance of the Dao Lord, but even if they couldn't get it, this entire space was a treasure trove. Anyone who could leave an inheritance on the Heavenly Path was a genius amongst their peers, how could they not want for their secrets?
Ryu looked away from the battle and looked up toward the Dao Lord's floating glass orb that seemed bigger than even an entire plane of existence. And then…
He sneered.
Ryu flashed forward, his Northern Heavenly Wind enveloping him as he shot out like an arrow from a bow. His great swordstaffs became as light as feathers and the sound of wind became as silent as the void around him.
He dove into the battle.
Everywhere he passed by, a limb or head would shoot into the skies, trails of blood following his wake. He didn't show any mercy whatsoever, he was like a fiend demon, venting out all his fury.
His great swordstaffs spiraled around him, forming a whirlpool of blood and wind. Many didn't even get a chance to scream out in horror before they were shredded to pieces, man and woman alike. He didn't seem to separate out the genders at all, they were all nothing but walking corpses in his eyes.
Ryu landed on the ground, a malevolent aura surging around him, his white hair fluttering wildly in the wind as he reached forward, crushing the wind inheritance orb in his hands.
A surge of light formed and the energy from within the orb quickly formed into a green shadow. However, before it could even fully formed, Ryu swiped across, a strong wind qi shredding it to pieces.
With a beam, the wind inheritance was transferred to Ryu's mind and he closed his eyes. Ryu's Dao quickly dissected the inheritance to its smallest pieces, assimilating it.
After a moment, Ryu's figure slowly vanished into the wind. First it was his head, then his torso, then his legs. Almost as though his body was made of ash and the wind was wiping his existence away, he disappeared entirely.
When Ryu appeared again, he was already well along the path to the next branching inheritance, the malevolent aura around him only increasing.
Since these grounds wanted to move the massacre up to the second phase, he would oblige. Anyone who stood in his path could be shredded to pieces. He would bathe this Heavenly Path in blood.
With a thought, Ryu slipped a silver mask onto his face.
