1123 Nine Pillars
The dark gold runes continued to float around Ryu. Sometimes they would fuse into forms that were exponentially more complex, but they would also quickly separate afterward, dancing in dark gold motes of light.
Surges of qi seemed to form whenever these runes fused. It was clear that they had quite some influence on the atmospheric qi, almost like they could have the presence of Immortal rings.
Ryu's steps came to a pause, his eyes narrowing.
This region was eerily quiet. It was difficult to spread out his Spiritual Sense very far in this region because of the star paths' fluctuations, and his eyes were still semi-blind so he couldn't lock onto targets further than what his sense could reach, but even so, his ears tended to be quite reliable. For whatever reason, though, this seemed to be a dead zone.
There were still numerous paths ahead, and just as many Inheritances to choose from, but there were no signs of battle and very few of the star paths were cut off, having already been claimed by others. This seemed to say that there were a very small number of individuals who had crossed through this region, a number small enough that direct combat didn't seem to be necessary.
''I see...''
If, theoretically, there were only a small number of geniuses who made it to this point, but the inheritances remained so numerous, then there really might not be a need for them to fight one another directly.
''In that case....''
Ryu chose a path and rushed forward. He continuously kept an eye out for a Body Realm Inheritance that could move him, but although they were less rare than the soul inheritance, of which he had only sensed one to this point, they weren't as ubiquitous as the others.
Ryu couldn't help but wonder about the sheer number of inheritances here compared to the number of geniuses. Unless one had the time to backtrack and take completely new inheritances, it would be impossible to claim all these inheritances, and even if you did, you would just be one person. Even Ryu wouldn't claim that he would be able to maximize so many methods, he was just one person, after all.
But the more interesting topic here was the willingness of these experts of time gone past to do this. By this point in the star path, these Sky Gods here were all Perfect Sky Gods at worst, with a good portion being Transcended Sky Gods.
Such individuals had a great deal of pride in themselves, and rightfully so. They had reached a stage very few could. And yet, here they were, presenting themselves like goods at a marketplace and waiting for geniuses who might never reach their height to pick them. It was difficult to fathom that they would choose to do such a thing.
The only explanation seemed to be the Convergence. The only reason they would be so willing to lower their standing would be because of such a thing. They hoped that they would land in the hands of a rising genius who would grant them enough Karma to be reborn into a life where they could elevate past their former peak.
Of course, this was just the surface reason. There was an entirely different reason here for why these inheritances were just so obediently lined up... And that was because of the looming, planted-sized orb that hung above all of their heads, locking them in place.
The Dao Lord had spoken and none of them had the ability to disobey. If not for the actions of the Dao Lord, many of these orbs would have been silently hidden in the forests, deserts and oceans below, and though those with affinity would be able to sense them, they would still be incredibly difficult to find.
This was the first time in a very long time that the inheritances were so readily available for the geniuses to simply pick from... and it showed.
Ryu stood before a glass orb and his palm glanced across its surface. It radiated a dense heat and seemed to want to burn the world to the ground.
It was rare for a pure elemental inheritance to be found so far up here. By this point, many of the Sky Gods had incredibly niche inheritances that required stronger and stronger affinities to be able to subdue.
Ryu's ease of claiming the soul inheritance shouldn't be taken as the norm for those that were here. After all, with Ryu's soul talent, he hardly felt the so-called test that was left behind. But this fire inheritance felt different.
Ryu's claw clenched and shattered the orb.
Immediately, a raging tide of flames engulfed him.
Nine Pillar Flame Sky God. Nine Pillars that help up the sky. Nine flames that burned it down.
The words were entirely contradictory. Building a Dao on this could easily lead a person astray. To hold the skies up and to burn them at the same time, what kind of nonsense was that? Just reading such words were enough to crack the Dao Heart of anyone with a weak will.
However, when Ryu heard these words echo in his mind, he laughed. Even when he gained the Magus Sky God's inheritance, an inheritance that had an excellent claim to be the second strongest here outside of the Dao Lord's inheritance itself, he hadn't felt very much about it.
But this Nine Pillar Flame Sky God, a ''mere'' Perfect Sky God, made Ryu laugh.
A contradictory statement? Not at all. In fact, he felt that it made almost too much sense. All it needed was a little translation, a translation that Ryu saw through the core of all to easily.
I support the skies today because I can. I will burn down the skies tomorrow because I can. I act as I please and my heart guides my actions. Even the Heavens cannot sate my rage when it begins to burn.
''Good.''
Ryu clenched a fist and the fire that seemed to want to burn him to ash all condensed, being swallowed into his heart all at once. In a blink, it was as though there was never an inheritance here to begin with.
