1287 Fallen
Ryu didn't say much of anything as he looked toward Aika, he only smiled lightly, a smile that was quite breathtaking. If it wasn't for the fact that Ryu was far too junior to her, knocking off several points from him, Aika might even admit this to herself. But it was too difficult to look at someone so much weaker than her as a viable partner.
Even so, Ryu's bearing was no less magnificent than a man that should be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with her. And his large, looming presence, which was even currently casting a shadow over her petite frame, was somehow quite comforting even though she was well aware that she wouldn't even have to lift a finger to deal with him.
Aika found herself at a loss for words, unable to find the words that she should be speaking at the moment. It was quite suffocating.
"... You've improved quite a great deal."
"Not much," Ryu shook his head.
Aika grit her teeth. This Ryu was too good at dealing with awkward situations, what did he even come and stand before her for if he didn't plan on carrying on a conversation properly. He just seemed to be observing her as though he would be able to read her mind if he looked close enough.
Suddenly, Ryu titled his head up and looked toward everyone else.
"I think that that's enough talk of marriage, right? If even those of Aika's generation do not dare to mention marrying her, when would it be the turn of us juniors? It's a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"
If Ryu had spoken these words before his battle, it would have sounded quite ridiculous, almost as though he knew he was too weak to intervene and as such wanted to find a different method of avoiding watching Aika marry off to another man or men. But now that he had won such a right and he was clearly straight forwardly giving it up, it held far more weight.
Even so, the elders couldn't help but frown. They had gone through so much trouble to get this chance, even managing to get Aika to paint herself into a corner with her words, so how the hell had they managed to land on the one man who would actually give up such an opportunity?nov????????????????????dot????/o/????
Old Jiao stepped forward. "I will give you the due respect as Sister Aika's future husband, but you should also remember your place as exactly what you've claimed to be... a junior. This matter is related to the future prosperity of the Sect, it cannot be taken so lightly."
When Ryu heard this, he looked up into the skies, his hands clasped behind his back. He really had wanted to avoid politics, but here he was, dealing with it again.
This Old Jiao truly knew when to advance and retreat. If he had treated Ryu dismissively, it would have made this competition for husband seem like nothing more than a joke. After all, how could someone purported to be the husband of Aika of all people be disrespected by the rest of the Sect? That was akin to claiming that all of this was meaningless.
But at the same time, he managed to use the tag of "future" and Ryu's own words to spin this matter in a light that was favorable to himself. Maybe no one believed that Ryu could win a war of words with these old fogies. Aika had never been good at such things, which was why she had landed herself in such a situation to begin with.
"Indeed. So can Senior explain to me how the prosperity of the Sect will be helped by our most powerful expert degrading herself to the level of marrying World Sea Realm experts?"
With the way Ryu was looking, no one expected him to suddenly answer. It truly looked like he had given up, but the moment he spoke, it felt as though daggers had been drawn. In fact, with such words being spoken, even Aika didn't escape entirely unscathed as it had been she who had picked out such a method to begin with.
Old Jiao's expression couldn't help but freeze. Old Wan, who was standing by the side and watching silently, couldn't help but have a flicker in his gaze, but he still didn't say anything. This Ryu had beaten him in a game of Domain, something maybe no one else would believe even if he personally admitted it. If these old fogies thought it would be easy to outmaneuver him, they would be sorely mistaken.
"The face of a Sect is one of its most important assets. Its disciples are another extremely important asset. With this choice of yours, you're putting both in extreme danger.
"What supreme genius would want to choose a Sect with no face? How will future generations hold their heads high with such history weighing them down? And have you even thought about the danger this would put them in? What if I wasn't here and the three of them had succeeded, what do you think your enemies would do with three World Sea Realm experts who were suddenly so closely tied to Senior Aika? Even further than that, what if Senior Aika actually bore their children? How much incentive would there be for the powerful to target their fathers for the sake of forcing the hand of the Radiant Star Sect?"
"This... This wouldn't happen, there's a great taboo against-"
Ryu laughed. "Don't speak to me of taboos and this world. I've met more shameless powers in just my few years of being here than I've met in my entire lifetime. In fact, the most shameless individuals of even my world happened to come from here as well.
"And even if this wasn't the case, do you think they'd still have the protection of their status as juniors after they married Senior Aika? The moment they did, they would become part of her generation and thus be free game. Even if this wasn't truly the case, this is an argument that any one of those Sects or Clans could make, because it's simply that ridiculous for there to be such a gap between husband and wife.
"If you all really took this path, there would be nothing more than a future of humiliation and embarrassment up ahead. Are you all really so eager to rely on the strength of a woman that you're willing to lower your heads to this extent? Where is your pride? Where is your backbone?
"Shouldn't you all be working hard to protect Senior Aika to your backs? Or is that you want her to spend her entire life lifting you all up? Has she not already sacrificed more than enough? If not for a lucky breakthrough, she would be at death's door today. If not for her sacrifice, most of you would not even be alive. You don't get to retroactively take all of that away just because things ended well, at the time she truly had the resolution to die."
Ryu's gaze shifted toward Old Wan and Samson for a moment before he shifted away. In truth, he was truly disappointed in these two. They should have been Aika's best friends, and they were even the most powerful of those present aside from her, but they had allowed this to happen anyway.
Of course, this trouble was also part of the reason that that Radiant Star Sect was a deserving Sect of being a part of. Might didn't rule absolutely. Which other Sect could the likes of Ryu speak so candidly with the most powerful of them without being blasted into pieces before he spoke a second sentence?
This was no longer Sacrum where he had the backing of the mighty Tatsuya Clan. This was the True Martial World and he had no one but himself to rely on.
"If you really care about the future of the Sect, you'll improve your strength and reach the point where you're worthy of sharing some of her burden. Until that day, you all can forget about marrying her. The status of future husband is currently occupied by me. Anyone of my cultivation realm, whether that be Mental Realm, Body Realm or Qi Realm is free to challenge me, if you can defeat me, you'll have the right to refute my words.
"But until there's a junior better than I am that dares to do what I don't, I would advise you to give up on it."
Ryu's gaze swept past the other juniors of the Radiant Star Sect. He noticed the glowing gazes of several young women, but he was all too good at ignoring such things. He was more interested in the reaction of the men as they were the few he was challenging.
His words had come like an avalanche, so much so that Old Jiao and the others couldn't even properly react.
As expected, though, many of the young men had quite passionate gazes. They had already taken note of Ryu earlier when his mere words targeted their Dao Hearts so fiercely, but now that they had stabilized themselves, they felt as though they had been triggered to the greatest extent. Ryu was challenging their very foundation.
Suddenly, a laughter echoed through the skies. It was an creepy laughter and it was difficult to tell exactly where it had come from until a pair of figures suddenly appeared in the skies.
Ryu's head turned and his eyes narrowed. He didn't remember one of them, but the second one he remembered all too well. This was none other than Starlight.
"I hadn't expected for the Radiant Star Sect to have declined so far."
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