Hearing their leading disciple brother's words, the chosen were even more shocked.
Ryu nodded and didn't hesitate. Since there was a chance for battle, he obviously wouldn't give it up. He had come to this place to temper himself. So, it didn't matter to him who the enemy was, as long as he could fight, it was a good thing for him.
In the past month, he had broken through into the Middle Divine Vessel Realm after opening his third Qi Vessel. In addition, he had easily grasped his Impose Realm Lightning Inheritance. The only unfortunate part was that Impose Realm breakthroughs no longer called down enough Essence for his body to experience significant improvements. After all, the Impose Realm was still ultimately within the Mortal Realms while his body was well into the Immortal Realms, but still it was a good thing, especially since he felt he was already on the verge of entering the Ruler Realm.
This only made sense. Awakening the Spirit Body Talent meant that his lightning affinity had skyrocketed to an unprecedented level. So, of course his Immortal Realm body could sustain the Immortal Realm comprehension that was the Ruler Realm.
He was eager to test himself. Silent cultivation wasn't his style.
Niel grinned when he saw Ryu's willingness and shot out of the carriage.
Ryu quickly followed him, spear in hand. But, his eyes narrowed as he saw the quickly approaching clouds of dust. These warriors… he recognized them. They were part of the battle he and Guiot appeared in the midst of.
Niel's expression flickered. With a wave of his hand, the Earth Grade Beasts who pulled the cart died and their blood seeped into the ground. A pungent black fog that smelt of death exploded from them and surrounded the carriage, protecting it from all angles.
Ryu spared a curious glance toward the scene before turning away. It was likely a technique used to sacrifice corpses for the sake of power. There were a lot of Necromancer techniques that fell under the category like [Corpse Poison] or [Corpse Explosion]. This seemed like a purely defensive art. It seemed the means of Necromancers were far beyond what he currently knew.
He also knew that this was why Niel hadn't fought for a higher position for him. The Moonlight Blossom Sect was ultimately a land of Necromancers. If he didn't display the skill of a Necromancer, it didn't matter how powerful he was, he'd probably be an Outer Disciple for the rest of his life. The reason the chosen were, well, chosen, was due to their exceptional talent in the field of Necromancy.
Ryu knew all of this. Niel saw his talent and likely wanted to take him in to avoid him going to powers with less restrictions and thus lessen a potential future headache. After Ryu joined their Sect, unless he was expelled, he didn't have the right to leave.
This was why though this Niel looked like a good guy, he was probably even more dangerous than that Anfroy fellow. But, despite being smart enough to see through this, Ryu didn't care. Because, he had indeed come here to be a Necromancer.
"Black Winds Kingdom…" Niel's visage turned darker.
Those floating Specter Steeds rushing toward them now were the signature mounts of the Black Winds Kingdom. It wasn't that they were really floating, but rather that their legs were obscured by black fogs and wind that gave this impression, this was why their hooves could still be heard.
The reason they could maintain their small sizes wasn't because they had the same Talent as Nemesis, but rather because they were half-dead creatures. They had their bodies amplified by treasures and couldn't breakthrough beyond their current limits. This was the price they had to pay.
Soon, the approaching troop began to slow, eventually stopping about 50 meters from where Ryu and Niel stood. The group was covered in black armor obscured by black winds and numbered about 100.
"What are you doing in Moonlight Blossom Sect territory? Is this to be considered an act of war? Do you think that our elders won't eradicate you all?" Niel asked calmly.
"Haha!" A robust man at the front laughed uproariously. "Niel, are you even worthy of my Empire declaring war on you? You're too full of yourself. –"
Just as the man was about to say more, his gaze suddenly narrowed as he landed on Ryu's figure.
"It's you."
Niel frowned and turned a gaze toward Ryu. What was that supposed to mean? Did these two know each other?
"I would have never expected that that white haired fool who dared to fly on a battlefield and actually survived was on your side."
Though this robust man called Ryu a fool, the seriousness he took Ryu with could clearly be seen in the space between his brows.
Niel was even more surprised by this. What exactly had Ryu done to make this muscle head take him so seriously? However, he didn't have much time to think about this because he was more worried about why the Black Winds Kingdom would appear here. They were just half a day's journey from the Sect now, logically, they shouldn't have waited this long to attack.
Was it because of the key? Niel didn't think so. If it was, why would they wait so long? It had already been a month. Niel had already concluded that the other powers didn't dare rashly offend the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. After all, they had given it to Ryu as a reward, so taking it from him would be like smacking their faces. Why else would someone as arrogant as Anfroy try to buy it first?
There was no doubt that there'd be no shortage of individuals trying to pressure Ryu into giving it up willingly. But, coming here with a troop of a hundred was foolish. No matter how much of a meat head this youth of the Black Winds Kingdom was, he wasn't stupid to this extent.
Plus, he didn't seem to have recognized Ryu due to his key, but due to an event that occurred on a battlefield? That was outside of expectations.
The three major powers beneath the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had been in a constant state of war for a long time now. But, if Ryu was joining their Moonlight Blossom Sect now, that obviously meant he wasn't a part of any other power and couldn't have participated in such scuffles. Unless…
Niel's gaze narrowed, but he didn't say much. If Ryu really was a spy, this meat head wouldn't be foolish enough to say this much. And if he had been fighting on the side of another power at that time, he wouldn't have said anything either for reasons just as sinister.
"I'll ask you again, Jock. Why have you come here?"
Jock sneered. "You claim that this is your Moonlight Blossom Sect's territory, but you're easily half a day's journey from your Sect. Aren't you a bit too shameless. This is clearly an unmarked land."
Ryu's brow cocked. Even if you wanted to have a spar of words, you shouldn't be this stupid, right? All of the cities in this vicinity were under the control of the Moonlight Blossom Sect, you could practically draw a circle connecting them all and enveloping this area. If this wasn't considered their territory, then what else could it be considered? Could it be that they had to have a city on every single bit of free land?
Just as Ryu was about to attack, having had enough of this nonsense, a powerful aura shot over from the direction of the Moonlight Blossom Sect. It had a heavy yin character that made the air seem colder.
The moment Ryu sensed the aura, a concealed killing intent began bubbling deep within his heart.
"Haha! Junior Brother Niel, thank you for taking care of these little pups for me."
Niel's face twitched. He finally remembered that this irresponsible Senior Brother of his had pawned this job off on him.
"Senior Brother Zulfiqar…" Niel greeted somewhat reluctantly.
Still, he sighed a breath of relief. At least now this problem was resolved. However, he hadn't expected the next words his Senior Brother spoke.
"Oh, you're here."
Niel frowned. "What's going on?"
"Nothing much, we just plan on launching a joint attack on Nightingale Mansion so they're escorting some representatives over."
Niel's eyes widened. This was quite a big secret. Why would his senior brother so casually say such a thing out loud? Shouldn't he have thought of an excuse before telling him the truth later?
It seemed that Zulfiqar realized this too as he smacked his forehead with a palm.
"Ah, my fault, my fault. I shouldn't have said that."
He waved his hand casually and the entire Black Winds Kingdom troop collapsed. There were only a handful and a conspicuous carriage he left untouched.
"Zulfiqar! What is the meaning of this?!" Jock roared.
"Aiya, is there a need to get so angry? I made a mistake, so I rectified it. You don't care much about those troops around you anyway. Plus, I left those valuable steeds of yours alone. And, my side is going to suffer a bit too."
At first, Niel and Jock didn't understand what Zulfiqar meant by that last part of his words. At least… That was until his hand suddenly stretched toward Ryu.
Ryu's gaze narrowed. He had already been shocked that this man had a high position in the very Sect he now had no choice but to join.. But, to think he would try to kill him again.
