Ryu's eyes swept over those present. Unsurprisingly, after the lesson they were taught a year ago, Mai and Hagan no longer dared to attempt to fight Ryu. Instead, their small bodies shivered under his gaze.
Ryu had no reason to appear before their eyes. He could have simply snuck in just like he had for the other three Kingdoms. However, it seemed that some part of what remained of the youthful him needed this moment. Though his thousand years worth of memories had mostly overridden his fourteen years of memories here, there was still a lingering portion. If Ryu didn't deal with this now, it could fester into a Heart Demon that would impede him later on.
"Today, the Tor Clan will fall." Ryu spoke plainly. "However, I don't have a mind to thoughtlessly slaughter you all. I want to make it clear that had it not been for Granny Miriam's death, the only person I cherished in this life, I wouldn't have bothered to deal with you all at all."
The lofty disdain in Ryu's eyes was something that pierced through each and every one of them. They could see it in his eyes, he really didn't care much for any of them at all.
These words hurt his elder sisters the most. There was a point in time where they had been the only ones who even cared that he existed, yet they had stabbed him in the back. Now, he didn't even care enough to take revenge against them. Were they really not even equal to Death Guard Bhishak in his eyes? At least Ryu mercifully gave him a swift death, but now they as weak women had to carry this on their shoulders for the rest of their life?
They felt as though the world was crumbling above them. Blood drained from their frail skin with each passing moment, it hurt just to look at Ryu.
"Leilani." Ryu's so-called mother shivered at Ryu's cold tone, not able to lift her gaze and look toward him. She felt too much shame. "I am a man who repays his debts. Since you carried me for nine months and suffered untold pain to birth me, I've arranged for you to live out the rest of your days in peace under the protection of the Opes and Garis Clan. You won't suffer any hardships.
"Dahlia and Isla. You will never be worthy of being my elder sisters. However, your two children, Mai and Hagan, are innocent of the actions of their parents. I've arranged places for them within the Four Kingdoms Institute. How far they go is up to them. How much they support you is also up to them. You two will never receive my direct aid as you are unworthy."
Dahlia and Isla trembled, tears falling from their eyes. They didn't feel any relief toward Ryu's words, instead, it became clear to him that this was his way to sever all ties with them.
"Cayden, Amory. We were born as brothers in this life, but you've never treated me as such. Since power was more important to you than brotherly ties, continue to seek it. It has nothing to do with me.
"Shuren." Ryu looked toward his so-called father. "Consider my sparing your life as the final severance of our path as father and son. You gave life to me, and now I've given life to you. What you do with that life has nothing to do with me."
Ryu's hands tore apart his upper garment, revealing his flawlessly sculpted chest. He pressed his right thumb against his forefinger, forcing his thumb's nail to protrude as far out as it could go comfortably.
In that next moment, whether by their will or not, those whose names Ryu called out closed their eyes. All they heard was the faint sound of tearing flesh and dripping blood as Ryu drew a bloody cross over his heart. By the time they opened their eyes, all that remained of Ryu's presence were two drops of blood, sitting on the floors of the otherwise pristine throne room.
The matters went just as Ryu predicted. The three Kingdoms armies pushed forward with naked abandon, charging to and crushing the lofty Tor Walls. By the time they appeared, King Tor had already disappeared, leaving behind the corpse of Queen Olivia, and what remained of the royal family.
Shockingly, they were spared. Leilani was taken in to the Opes Kingdom and given a small, peaceful villa to live out the rest of her days. Mai and Hagan went on to the Three Kingdoms Institute. Their mothers never recovered from their depression and passed away just half a year later. As for Cayden and Amory, rumors had it that the left to the Middle Mortal Plane. As the heirs of the Tor Clan, they would never have a place on this Highest Mortal Plane.
In the end, the Heavenly Body Sect was laid to ruin. The Sect Master died in battle while Amory Tor escaped and soon attempted the trial of the Immortal Path. Since his Tor Clan was no more, there was no point in him remaining on the Highest Mortal Plane, so, he took his chances on the Pedestal Plane. No one knew whether he survived or not, but it was safe to say that the tales of Amory Tor, at least on this Plane, had come to an end.
The territory of Tor Kingdom was immediately split three ways. From now on, there would only be the Three Kingdoms of the Highest Mortal Plane… The Fourth was no more.
**
As these matters came to pass, Ryu could be found under what remained of the abandoned Tor Kingdom, seeking out the final and fourth piece of the Zu Clan's crystalline jade. Unsurprisingly, the Spiritual Qi Pool found beneath to the Tor Clan had a much lower height than the previous three. Clearly, King Tor and many of the predecessors had been coming here frequently, just as Ryu predicted long ago.
Originally, Ryu thought that they had been trying to whittle down the qi pool by cultivating, but it seemed he had overestimated them far too much. Mental Realm cultivation, or, at least, true Mental Realm cultivation was practically extinct on the Mortal Planes. In fact, it was incredibly rare on the Immortal Planes as well. But, what Ryu found below absolutely shocked him.
The underground area looked identical to that of the other three Kingdoms, but there were two major differences. The first was that the qi pool was more than three quarters gone! And the second was that the area was filled beautiful, shimmering flowers. When Ryu realized what these flowers were, he wanted to facepalm despite his usual cold demeanor.
These flowers were known as Spirit Seeking Lilies. They had six beautiful petals, just like common lilies, however, they had a high affinity for Spiritual Qi. Over several hundred years, the Tor Clan had been constantly swapping these Spirit Herbs in and out, realizing that they could absorb what was in the qi pool.
It wasn't this action itself that Ryu found foolish. In truth, the plan was actually quite clever. The issue was that the Tor Clan had no idea what the value of Spirit Seeking Lilies were! Ryu could see traces of shredded and trampled upon pedals everywhere, clearly, they treated these Spirit Herbs as disposable trash, when in reality, these herbs had an even higher value than the Breaking Ore Ryu took from the Coronation Games!
