Ryu felt power coursing through every fiber of his being. Before, his strength was mostly reliant on the Chaotic Qi that ran through his meridians. Its strength was so far above that of other qis that Ryu was directly able to compete with quantity with his quality.
However, now, Ryu's strength didn't originate from his own meridians any longer. Now, he suddenly felt as though the qi that swam freely in the skies was under his complete control.
"You…"
Ryu's glaive sliced upward. Before what remained of his words could finish, Host Minn found a diagonal slice running through his body.
His figure tore apart at his right shoulder first, his flesh and blood falling along a line toward his left hip.
What remained of his upper half hovered in the air for a moment, his stunned visage looking down toward the inner organs hanging loosely. He couldn't believe for a moment that this was in fact himself.
He had died…? He died to a Divine Vessel Realm boy…?
He fell from the skies, his Immortal Ring blinking out of existence. Not long later, he was incinerated to a pile of ash, Ryu's Rage Flame not letting even his corpse go.
The sound of another barrier shattering resounded as Ryu made use of his Origin Flame to take control of his Ice Flame. Essence surged toward him once more, his Ice Phoenix Bloodline surging to provide him another eight million jin of strength.
The excess energy poured into his Ice Jade Crystal Body once more. It seemed insatiable at that moment. Ryu suddenly understood that having his Ice Jade Crystal Body evolve once more into the Cosmic Grade would take much more than he could provide now. Still… This was an excellent start.
Ryu's [Immortal Sakura] blossomed. Though it remained at the White Stage, the crystals that coated its bark became far more robust as Ryu's Ice Flame bloomed to another level.
Its strength skyrocketed. From a state of being able to just barely block the strike of a Lower Immortal Ring Realm expert, Ryu felt that blocking a strike of a Middle Immortal Ring Realm expert was child's play.
Yasuo watched on with a dazed gaze. He was completely lost in his feelings of shock.
His brother of many years just died before him. Now, his murderer was breaking through with a momentum that placed a suffocating pressure on his chest.
Ryu gripped his fists tightly, his gaze blazing to life. He didn't care about Host Minn's death, nor Yasuo's reaction. His mind was caught up in the excitement of his progress. He felt closer to that ever looming, impossible goal of his.
Suddenly, Ryu's glaive crumbled, burning to dust in his hand.
Ryu hardly reacted to this change, simply slowly manifesting a mighty halberd. Its body was the same violet color as his glaive and spear, and its head was a glistening silver, standing a head taller than ever Ryu himself.
"Come."
The silvery spear tip of the halberd pointed toward Yasuo, a reddish hue spiraling through it to coat its body.
The suppression Yasuo faced was instantly several times higher. There were no longer defined borders like Ryu's Impose Barriers, but the result was somehow far more devastating.
Hearing that magnetism in Ryu's voice, Yasuo was almost compelled to listen against his will. However, such a reality ironically snapped him away, filling him with shame and rage.
"For Kioshi… For Esme…!"
Ryu's dull gaze met Yasuo's. The glittering rainbow of colors swirled around him. It seemed he truly didn't have the ability to turn [Ephemeral Tapestry] off. However, this was a good that he could hardly fathom because…
'I can see it… I can see it all…'
He could see the qi gathering around Yasuo, he could read its flow, its direction. He could sense what Yasuo wanted to do even before he finished.
Usually, cultivators, especially experienced warriors, learned to hide their qi fluctuations for their benefit in a battle. Unless it was a large-scale technique they hadn't learned to properly control or was simply too powerful, all great battle experts knew how to not telegraph their attacks.
However, all of these 'hidden' fluctuations were suddenly laid completely bare before Ryu.
Ryu's flashed forward, his speed more than tenfold what it had been before. Other than wrapping his spear in his Rebirth Flame Ruler Barrier, he did nothing else, executing a simple [Slice].
Yasuo eyes widened. "Heaven, Earth, Fire, Thunder, Mountain, Lake – [Six Trigram Shell]!"
A booming shockwave coursed through the skies, leaving a rippling cracking to spread throughout Yasuo's shell.
'His Chant is so low level…' Ryu thought without emotion.
He could see how the qi reacted to Yasuo's call to action. They couldn't have been less enthusiastic.
The truth about Chanting was that it relied on one's comprehension. A singular Visualization could have an infinite number of Chant variations. There was no 'perfect' Chant. Or rather, there were any number of perfect Chants. What mattered was whether one's Chant grasped the quintessence of the Visualization.
Yasuo's Chant was the most basic. He simply listed the fundamental laws that built his [Six Trigram Shell]. He didn't grasp its full meaning at all.
"You underestimate me too much!"
Yasuo's aura bloomed. Unlike Host Minn who took several minutes to summon his Immortal Ring, Yasuo succeeded in less than half a minute, relying on the delay his trigram shell Visualization bought him to summon his strength.
As expected of a Peak Immortal Ring Realm expert, his Immortal Ring put Host Minn to shame.
Its form was far sturdier, a complete opaque white unlike Host Minn's transparent and feeble ring. In addition, it was eight meters in diameter!
Qi surged toward it, even snatching away much of the qi that had been swirling around Ryu.
It was then that Ryu understood that his [Ephemeral Tapestry] was still lacking in comparison to a true Immortal Ring. However, he could faintly feel that much like his other Heavenly Pupils abilities, it could be strengthened by unlocking his seals, so he didn't worry about it.
The mere fact he could control atmospheric qi while in the Divine Vessel Realm was a truth enough to send shockwaves through the martial world!
And what of the day he truly did awaken his Immortal Ring? What kind of synergistic affects would they have together?
'Eight meters at the Peak Immortal Ring Realm? That means that not only did he not cultivate his Body Realm, but also that his Immortal Ring is of the second lowest Black Grade… If I cannot defeat him, I will not leave this Pedestal Plane!'