Ryu watched Mae leave silently, his expression the same as always. It was only when he met her gaze one final time did he smile lightly as she vanished.
When they were gone, Ryu turned to enter his Immortal Cave once again to enter the golden moon world. But before he could make it very far, a familiar figure landed in his courtyard.
Aika looked Ryu up and down. "You sure know how to sleep and enjoy yourself."
Ryu smiled but didn't explain himself. Someone of Aika's level should be able to tell that the pressure he was exuding was far stronger than it had been in the past, or maybe she simply couldn't be bothered to care because he was too much weaker than she was.
"I did tell you that the Radiant Star Sect had rewards for you, but you seem to really like doing things on your own."
There was a hint of resentment in Aika's voice, as though she could tell that Ryu wasn't the type to put his full trust in others. He obviously wouldn't do it out of respect if he could even ignore the likes of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign. In fact, Aika could tell that Ryu hadn't ever expected the Radiant Star Sect to save him in the first plan and he had initially had his own plans.
Ryu smiled again, but once again didn't explain anything.
Aika shook her head. If this was Old Wan, she would have already been annoyed enough to throw out a kick, but for some reason she didn't feel like doing so to Ryu. The main difference was probably that Old Wan would reveal such a smile because he thought everyone else was too slow to keep up with him and his thoughts, something that was probably true albeit annoying. But Ryu smiled like that out of self-reliance.
On the surface, the two things seemed to be the exact same, both saw themselves as being alright without the help of anyone else. However, the difference was that Ryu seemed to have the capacity to open up and trust.... Just not with her.
"I actually am planning on forging a new pair of weapons for myself, this time of the Mystical Grade. If the Radiant Star Sect has materials I could use, that would be of great help."
Aika rolled her eyes. Mystical Grade materials? In her youth, materials at that level wouldn't even be good enough to pave the roads. And even with the current state of the Radiant Star Sect, so long as it was a material that appeared at a decent enough frequency beneath the Sixth Heaven, she would be able to get it for him.
That meant that even Transcendent and Omniscient Grade materials weren't out of the bounds of reason. Ryu was worth it. If the Heavenly Path could give him God Treasures as a reward, the materials needed to forge such treasures were the least they could do.
"The reward is much better than that. We still have many resources of the Radiant Star Sect and even the former Dual Radiance Sect, although just half of them. The problem is that these disciples wouldn't be able to withstand their usage, only Selheira has used them."
Ryu raised his brow at this. These did sound useful, indeed.
"The worst issue we face is that only those with the Dual Radiance Bloodline can make maximal use of our resources. Without it, the core teachings of our Sect become quite... ordinary. Even for you, you've probably realized that the techniques already have less and less use."
"While it isn't impossible to grant this Bloodline, the mountain to climb is tall and you would also have to purge your other Bloodlines. Knowing you, I doubt you would accept that though it would save you a lot of trouble in the future."
Ryu shook his head lightly.
His Bloodlines were his roots. If he purged them, wouldn't he make the final moments of his grandparents meaningless? Each one of them had given their last moments to guiding him and shining a light on his path forward. how could he abandon them?
Aika's gaze dimmed somewhat when she saw this. Though she had expected it, she was still somewhat disappointed.
The worth of Ryu was even greater than it had been in the path. The weight of a Peak Ancient Dao wasn't a joke. In addition, he seemed to have a special Bone Structure that could take on two opposing Bloodline fusions like the Dual Radiance Star Sect. If he was willing, he would become only the second person after Aika to have it after so long.
However, even knowing it was a Peak Chaos Grade Bloodline, he didn't even hesitate to shake his head no.
Of course, it was impossible for it to be so strong while they were using such roundabout methods. But even if it was weaker, it wouldn't be to an exaggerated extent.
Ryu smiled. "Senior Aika, so long as the Radiant Star Sect doesn't abandon me, I will bleed and sweat for it."
Aika looked up and met Ryu's gaze. His eyes didn't seem to give anything away, but Aika's own flickered with an imperceptible light.
After a long while, she nodded slowly.
In one step, Ryu could rid himself of the ire of the Ancestral Beasts and gain himself an even more powerful Bloodline, but he rejected it without hesitation. A person with a Dao Heart so firm... maybe she should just believe in him for now.
"Just let me know what materials you need and I'll get them to you. Even if they're Sky God materials, I'll get them. I need to plunder a few Sects to re- establish our foundation anyway," Aika said with a laugh.
Ryu felt a rare warmth in his chest. He couldn't remember the last time someone had been so willing to protect him.
**
Weeks later, Ryu stepped out of the Radiant Star Sect, sliding a hand through his pristine white hair. The badge of the Radiant Star Sect hung on hip, swaying with his steady gait. Two years ago, this might have been a useless detail, but now...
Two great swordstaffs trembled to Ryu's back, radiating a deathly aura as he reached for one.
The weapon was entirely pitch black, its polearm sitting at two meters long while the great sword was just short of a meter and a half long. The spine of the great sword was entirely cut out, but from time to time a subtle white- gold light would form like cracks in reality, before vanishing as though it had never been there in the first place.
The great swordstaff hummed when it entered Ryu's hands.
Ryu tossed it into the air, leaping forward with a step as light as wind. A sword howl echoed across the skies as Ryu zipped into the distance, the aura of a Sword God piercing the skies and causing all those of the Sect to look over.
Many disciples of the Radiant Star Sect clenched their fists. In this time, while the reputation of the Radiant Star Sect had been rising, the reputation of their disciples had been plummeting. Due to Aika and her recent actions, no one they had come across dared to lay a hand on them, but their words were piercing and their ridicule was endless.
Now that Ryu was finally stepping out, that image would finally begin to shift.
Pibin looked toward where Ryu had vanished, clenching his fists hard. He had to work harder.
Ryu knew little about these details, but the difference was the same to him, it hardly mattered. He wasn't a very patient man, if others thought they could speak as they pleased, they would be in for a rude awakening.
Currently, Ryu was entirely focused on reaching the Favor Alchemy Sky God's Legacy World. It was located on the Sixth Heaven, so his first goal was to make it there.
Travel between the Fourth to Sixth Heaven was far easier than travel between the First to Third. While it required very special circumstances and a lot of resources and effort to do the latter, doing the former only required a fee. Though this fee was quite steep, too steep for most beneath the Sky God Realm, it was still far cheaper than what was required in the First to Third. Plus, Ryu didn't lack money.
Because the Radiant Star Sect had appeared at the center of the Fourth Heaven, there wasn't very far for Ryu to travel. After just a handful of hours, his sword howl appeared over the horizon. He didn't seem to care how many heard or saw him.
He fluttered down from the skies, the guards of the city ahead feeling a sheen of cold sweat on their backs. The aura of a Sword God was absolutely suffocating, and it was clear that Ryu's was far stronger now than it had been in the past. But that much was obvious, right now, he was about as close as he could be to being a true Sky God, this wasn't something even Fourth Heaven guards could handle.
Ryu crossed the threshold into the city, his expression unmoved. His hair fluttered, the badge on his waist rattling.
Long after he vanished into the city, the guards looked toward one another, seemingly trying to confirm something.
Radiant Star Sect? That had to be wrong... That was a huge joke, they were the top heavy sect, the sect with no future whatsoever, the sect that was bound to fail...
Their disciples were all weak.
