1286 Calm and Unhurried
Bruiser could barely see the sharpness of Ryu's gaze behind the curtain of his own blood. He was stunned as a wave of pain wracked his body. He didn't even quite understand what had just happened, or at the very least, he was step slower than everyone else. That was because from his perspective, everything about his attack had gone perfectly, so how had he missed? Even worse than that, how had he lost his arm?
The pain quickly became rage. His arms were the most important part of his body, they were what his Dao was built upon, what he had been training his entire life. And yet, just like that, he had suddenly lost one.
Regrowing arms wasn't impossible, but without investing a ridiculous amount, he would have to restrain the regrown arm from start to finish. If he wanted the exact same arm he had just lost back, he would require an even higher grade healing pill, one that it was uncertain if he would even be able to afford.
Bruiser lashed out with his remaining arm in fury, however in his current state, the very same foolish end would be waiting for him. Luckily, for his sake, Brianus and Robion acted immediately. Their perspective was different, so their understanding of what had just happened was far deeper than Bruiser's.
Ryu, who had been about to make a follow up attack, shifting his stance instead.
With a small step to the side, he shifted out of the way of Brianus' massive swinging pillar, his sharp nose was one a single millimeter from its coating of qi, but his gaze was calm and unhurried.
He took another step and his neck barely slid out of the way of Robion's sharp wings.
His great swordstaffs swung out in an elegant arc, one thrusting forward like a raging spear and hitting Brianus squarely on the chest. The other clipped against Robion's wing, slamming it shut against his body and throwing his balance off.
Brianus was sent flying like a ball out of a canon while Robion crashed and skidded along the ground.
Ryu took another step, the ground shrinking as his body appeared above the flying Brianus. This singular step caused Bruiser's own follow up attack to fail miserably.
A curious look flickered in Ryu's gaze as he appeared above Brianus' flying body. He had been 100% certain that he would pierce through his chest. His great swordstaffs carried the weight of the world behind them and had a sharp edge, the fact that Brianus had flown out as though he had been hit by a blunt hammer across the chest was intriguing.
Brianus, who observed Ryu immediately, slammed his pillar into the ground, causing its full almost 10 meter length to vanish to just two or so meters once again. The earth trembled and roared, waves extending out in all directions as he forced himself to come to a strong and sturdy halt.
With a quick movement he palmed the side of his pillar and grabbed, shooting his arm into the sky.
The pillar, which had just been buried, rocketed up toward Ryu, a suffocating aura of destruction following it. Ryu could sense the vague hint of a Dao hidden beneath this seemingly simple attack, it carried a momentum that held a willingness to pierce the skies, uncaring about the obstructions that lay before it and its goal.
Ryu's body pulsed and nine golden pillars within him glowing with a magnificent light. The space between his white scales began to glow with the same fierce light, making him seem far more resplendent and magnificent.
"Down."
Ryu swung his great swordstaff with a mighty momentum, smashing all the Dao intent hidden within Brianus' pillar and crushing it back into the ground until it vanished below.
Just when Brianus was shocked and preparing to retrieve his pillar, Ryu vanished out of the skies above him, appearing right before him with a swinging, sweeping attack already half completed.
Ryu's senses flashed as he sensed that Robion had already recovered with great speed. If he continued, he would definitely suffer a devastating attack from the back. And yet, Ryu didn't shift his attack this time.
Suddenly, Robion felt as though the world around him had twisted. The ground beneath him moved with much lesser speed and for several split moments it felt as though he wasn't moving at all despite the fact he was rushing forward with his greatest speed.
Robion roared, his qi spreading out in all directions and a domain of darkness forming around him, only then did he barely manage to break free of the effects, but by then, Ryu's sweep had already landed a devastating blow.
BANG!
Brianus shot out to the side, crashing into the walls of the Radiant Star Sect before he could even stop himself. His bones shook and rattled, his inner organs shifting out of place and threatening to reposition themselves.
Ryu's figure flashed and vanished once again, appearing Robion's back and stamping downward. His eyes glowed with a fierce light, the aura of the Nine Pillars rising out form him like a tide willing and able to suppress the ground below and even the skies above.I think you should take a look at
BANG!
Robion was drilled into the ground below, coughing up a mouthful of blood. It was clear that his body was much more fragile than Brianus', but his wings had still protected him from excessive damage..
It was simply too much, it didn't even feel like Ryu had far surpassed them in terms of strength. Rather, his movement technique, his timing, his senses, and most importantly, his Spatial Soul Nature made him a suffocating opponent to deal with. It was a gap in skill, not strength.
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What was also clear to the older of them was that Ryu's movements carried hints of the power of the laws of the world, even a single punch carried a great deal of weight. This should have been something possible only for Cosmic Seed Realm experts, but it was all truly baffling.
Ryu was definitely still in the Dao Pedestal Realm, so how was it that he was using Cosmic Qi and wielding the laws of the world, none of it was adding up properly.
Even with their thoughts, though, Ryu didn't stop. With a step he had already appeared behind the rushing and still furious Bruiser. The gap in the speed was simply too great, and the gap in their senses was even larger.
His eyes glowed with a dark gold light as his Mental Energy manifested. A complex maze appeared in the skies before concentrating into a single point and beaming into the back of Bruiser's skull. It flashed fore but a single moment, but those that had gazed too deeply at the maze felt their minds turning sluggish, a slight headache taking shape at the core of their minds. They had no choice but to close their eyes tightly to finally escape the annoying dull pain.
As for Bruiser himself, he fell forward, collapsing.
Ryu swept a gaze, landing on the ground with a light step.
He was the most understanding of how he had won this battle so easily, but he was also confident that he could do it again. If he were to say how much of his strength he had used just now, ignoring trump cards that he couldn't show, and probably also removing his self-created Birthed Phenomena from the equation, it wasn't even 50%. Of course, a large portion of that weight was carried by his Dao since he didn't have to actively use it either, but it was less than 50% nonetheless.
These three hadn't used their full capabilities either. He hadn't sensed any one of them taking out their Daos, and they hadn't used the techniques of the Radiant Star Sect either, but that was also because Ryu had simply not given them the chance to.
Even so, Ryu wasn't that proud either. These three geniuses were born here on the Fourth to Sixth Heavens, they were among the geniuses that the three hidden factions had gathered during their time. They had only been gifted the Bloodline of the Radiant Star Sect after the fact, and even then it was only a small portion.
The geniuses of the former Radiant Star Sect had all long since entered the Sky God Realm, and they were among the many on the Sect walls now.
If anyone thought for a moment, it was clear and obvious that Aika had only picked out these few to fight because she wanted to stall for as much time as possible. If she really cared about extending her bloodline, she would have chosen among those men.
But that didn't have anything to do with Ryu now, he had done his job and even stretched his legs a bit.
He spun his great swordstaffs and then tossed them to his back.
With a step, he appeared on the walls before Aika with a smile and a nod.
To be quite frank, Aika thought too much previously. To Ryu, a life and death matter was simply another challenge on his path. Even if it had occurred because of her, he wouldn't hold a grudge.
The sense of loss she had felt didn't come from his dissatisfaction, it rather came because Ryu had never had any intention of using this matter as a springboard to truly become her husband.
There was a very important reason for that as well. Marrying Aika for the sake of the Radiant Star Sect was akin to promising his future child to them, that meant marrying into the Sect.
He was Ryu Tatsuya, his women had to carry the name Tatsuya. He had no thought for Aika until he was strong enough to make that happen, and even if that day did come, he would necessarily be interested in her in the first place.
Seeing Ryu's calm smile, for some reason, Aika finally felt an odd sort of peace.
She really couldn't remember. When was the last time a man had fought for her?
