The elders abruptly stood from their chairs. It didn't matter what had happened until now, this moment was probably the most shocking thing they had witnessed in their long lives.
Wind of Natural Order. Among the Heavenly Winds, only it is worthy of such a lofty namesake. The Southern Wind was known as the Breath of Life, the Western Wind was known as the Wind of Tribulation, and the Eastern Wind was known as the Wind of Sharpness, but only the Northern Wind had the right to embody wind itself, only it could encompass the Natural Order of Wind and rule them all.
However, it wasn't that the elders recognized its Phenomena that they stood so abruptly. It was impossible for them with such a narrow perspective of the world to recognize the Wind of Natural Order simply by this. Rather, it was the fact that a Phenomena appeared at all that shocked them to no end.
Within the Natural Order umbrella, there were two main divisions: Natural Enlightenment and Mortal Endowment. Within the Mortal Endowment Umbrella, there were two more divisions: Elements and Birthed Phenomena.
Comprehension of Mortal Endowments were split into seven tiers, each more imposing than the last.. To be an Heir and an Inheritor, to Impose and become a Lord, to Rule and be a Ruler, to conquer a Small Realm and become a Monarch, to hold a Dominion and the title of Sovereign, to form a Divinity and become a Minor God, and to become a Deity and be known as a God.
These seven divisions were ingrained in the minds of all cultivators because even the first step seemed impossible to achieve. It was to the point where these elders believed that Ryu had lost the moment their Eighth Order Ancestor displayed herself as an Heir of Ice and the Spear.
But this… This was on a completely different level.
The earlier one could evoke a Phenomena, the stronger the Legacy they had comprehended. Not only was it stronger, but it was incredibly complex and difficult to reflect upon. Usually, one wouldn't expect to evoke a Phenomena until one enter the Rule Realm and became a Ruler.
However, what many don't talk about is that this rule is only for Birthed Phenomena. Natural Enlightenments and Elements do not receive this kind of treatment. Theoretically, one could reach the Deity Realm and still never form a Phenomena for their Natural Enlightenment or Element.
But, it never worked this way. Humans had a lot of difficulty connecting with nature. Unless you had a special bloodline, it was almost impossible to comprehend an Element to the Impose Realm, let alone ever reaching the Deity Realm. The reason was right before them: Humans faced a barrier when evoking the Phenomena of Elements. As a result, they couldn't leap over the final hurdles.
In the past, this was the reason humans were so weak. In order to forge a better future for themselves, human ingenuity shone through as they created Birthed Phenomena, allowing them to gather strength toward themselves by mastering human created arts instead of comprehending nature.
To this day, Phenomena represented the greatest strength cultivators had available to them. Comprehending a Natural Order already made it possible to rely on the Heavens and Essence to strengthen yourself. But, evoking a Phenomena took this to an even greater height. The Ryu of now and the Ryu of before were akin to Heaven and Earth.
"You…"
The Eighth Order Ancestor's words never finished. She, a mighty Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm expert fell before she could finish her thoughts, massive, bloody holes appearing in her body.
Ryu slipped out of Breath of Heaven, breathing deep raggedy breaths as the goddess that had appeared to his back slowly faded, a light smile still playing her features.
Ailsa waved her hand, collecting the dissipating Essence and pushing it toward Ryu. Suddenly, Ryu's quickly drying Mental Realm was revitalized, causing him to look toward Ailsa in surprise.
However, the palm length Cultus Sprite said nothing as she observed the appearance of the next Valkyrie. She had said that she could help Ryu's recoverability. Normally, individuals could only replenish their minds by sleeping or with incredibly rare herbs, but it seemed Ailsa had a method to circumvent this to an extent.
It was no wonder. One of the most important aspects of nurturing a person's growth was ensuring that they were properly rested and healed. Cultus Faeries wouldn't be very good at doing their jobs if they could only break down their Life Partners and not build them back up.
Still, Ailsa's job was made far easier by using the rich Essence Ryu had called down. Without his Natural Order, Ryu had no way of manipulating Essence himself, so he could only helplessly watch as it dispersed. But, Ailsa wasn't Ryu. She didn't need to evoke a Phenomena to manipulate Essence when it was in such high concentration.
"Thank you." Ryu said softly before focusing on the task at hand once more.
Ailsa watched as Ryu's speed reached an ungodly level. His mastery over his Embryonic Heavenly Wind had increased explosively in a short time. Even without calling down its Phenomena, it responded to him as though it was a limb now.
Ryu's [Gliding Cloud Steps] began to manifest as though it was an Earth Grade movement technique instead of the Common Grade one it was. In fact, Ryu could now fly in the skies as freely as a fish in water, changing directions with a flexibility that made the minds of his opponent's numb.
This wasn't the best part in Ryu's estimation either. Though he was used his Heavenly Wind making his body incredibly light, now that his control was greater, this even extended to his weapons. Suddenly, his spears which had weighed almost two thousand jin each, had become as light as a feather. Unfortunately for his opponents, they didn't get to bask in this feeling. To them, they were just as heavy. No. They were even heavier because Ryu's striking speed had accelerated to blinding heights.
The Glove of Order on Ryu's right hand vibrated with excitement. After Ryu comprehended a new Natural Order, it had once more morphed, coating his hand in a black knight-like gauntlet. However, Ryu had no time to pay attention to it as he felled Ancestor after Ancestor.
The battles weren't easy. Because his Mental Realm wasn't sturdy enough to manifest his Phenomena for extended periods of time, Ryu could only slowly whittle down his opponents as they became more and more powerful.
It was then the air of his opponent changed. The atmosphere grew heavier, making it difficult to breathe, something that could only happen when facing an expert of a far higher caliber. A Spiritual Severing Realm Valkyrie had appeared.