Mae watched Ryu vanish and exhaled a sigh. After a moment of hesitation, rather than stepping forward she sat down and crossed her legs in meditation.
Slowly, but surely, tendrils of her Soul Flame began to etch a complicated formation into the surroundings. As time ticked by, the formation grew more complex and layered, but Mae's face also simultaneously became paler and paler.
Even she couldn't quite understand why she had made this decision. She hadn't known Ryu for long, but maybe this was just the way the women of her race were. She had been subdued once, then Ryu even triggered a response she only had for those who were her closest relatives. She didn't even really think about the consequences of what she was doing until she was already halfway through, and by then there was already no point in stopping.
She smiled lightly.
Over an hour later, the doors of the diamond city finally opened up and the first wave of geniuses rushed in, hurrying toward the tower. They already felt a great deal of anxiousness after seeing that Mae and Ryu had already entered. If they were any later to react, then maybe they would never get a chance to benefit from the third phase at all.
The geniuses rushed up, but when they saw the protective barrier of Mae's formation, their expressions warped and quickly became incomparably ugly.
The Dream Asura race was a very powerful one on the Fifth Heaven, however this wasn't just because of their overwhelming physical battle prowess, it was because they matched this with top tier soul talent, especially that of their women.
Although it was said that Dream Asura Race descended from the mighty Demon Kings, the Dream Wraiths, this connection was so thin by now that their relation could be said to be minimal. It was akin to the relationship between Nemesis and the Wrath Knights.
Even so, this small connection was enough for them to strike fear in the powers of the Fifth and even much of the Sixth Heavens. There was a reason why Mae was able to make her way through the Unbalance Art Sect's Ruins, albeit a step slower than Ryu, and that was precisely because of her overwhelming soul talent, and most importantly...
Her mastery over formations.
"Get out of the way," Vie growled. At this point, he had entirely lost his cordial personality and he no longer cared to maintain a good relationship with Mae, and that was only especially so after he understood that she is making this sacrifice for another man.
Mae didn't reply and simply continued to sit in the centre of her formation with a light smile on her face. Her Soul Flames were already incredibly dangerous. When under the support of a formation on top of that, none here dared to take it lightly. A formation master given preparation time was maybe the deadliest kind of enemy you could face.
Seeing Mae's blatant disregard, Vie's veins threatened to pop along his forehead, the frustration within him bubbling.
His soul talent was one of his greatest weaknesses to begin with, how could he dare to casually face this formation? Under normal circumstances, his soul protection treasures might be able to defend against a wave or two of Mae's Soul Flame attacks, but when it was layered, controlled and sustained in this fashion, he simply didn't stand a chance.
"Why are you doing this?" Ranna asked. Her dress of daggers clanged, and she was clearly unsatisfied. They could all tell that Mae was only here for the purpose of stalling them. There was no way she could block them all forever, this was just a delaying tactic, and one that could very well end miserably for her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mae said lightly. "None of you deserve this more than he does, so just wait here obediently"
The faces of the geniuses twisted.
Even if this was true, none of them wanted to hear it, and worst of all they didn't want to hear it from the person currently blocking their path.
The world of cultivation didn't have a concept of fairness, and even face and dignity could be thrown away if there were enough benefits to be gained. Clearly, these so-called geniuses had long since surpassed that threshold.
"If it weren't for the fact that we've been suppressed in coming down here, do you think that we would fear the likes of him? You had better get out of the way, or else don't blame us for being impolite," Vie growled.
Mae closed her eyes and said no more. If they wanted to come, then they were free to.
***************************
Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had only just gotten his body back in working shape, but it felt like he was knocked down a peg once again.
He stood in a room of darkness. The only light source seemed to be the radiant blue armour coming from his enemies. They pressed down in an endless swarm, coming out from the darkness one after another, each with an aura drenched in the want for murder.
Ryu gripped his great sword staff with both hands, putting all of his might into every swing.
In the beginning, it took just a single effort to cut down three enemies. Soon, a single swing could only take down two. Then just one. Eventually, each enemy started taking two swings, then three.
Ryu felt like he was being quickly overwhelmed. If it was a matter of stamina, no one could be his match. But without the supporting structure of his other talents, it all felt useless.
Ryu was quickly being drowned. As it began to take four and even five swings, the next swarm of enemies would already be upon him before he could react.
The blades and fists rained down on him, leaving devastating wounds one after another.
Ryu unleashed a roar and a wave of pressure shot out from him, shattering the surrounding dozens of blue armoured warriors.
Blood dripped from Ryu's body as he huffed and puffed, his brain feeling foggy.
Even so, wisps of dark gold qi came off of him in waves.
Ryu realized he didn't have a choice and he could only hope that there were no methods of detecting what he was doing.
For the first time since he stepped into the True Martial world, Ryu unleashed his Chaos Qi.
