Zulfiqar wanted to do nothing more than to jump forward and rip Ryu apart. But, just as he wanted to do so, a strong, stifling aura locked onto him.
He knew at that moment that he was being warned. There was no one but himself who was aware of the pressure weighing down on him.
It was clear that the elders felt that he had embarrassed himself enough. As for the elder who was holding him back now, it was none other than his own master, Grand Elder Ballas.
Much like disciples, elders had their own rankings as well. Back on the shrine plane, from least powerful to most, one had Elder, Grand Elder, Supreme Elder, Priest, Grand Priest, Supreme Priest and finally, Priest Saint.
That said, most Sects didn't have this many rankings, and the number of said rankings a Sect had was usually dependent on their strength. As a result, an Eighth Order Sect like the Moonlight Blossom Sect would likely only have up to Supreme Elder in rank. They may, potentially, also have a Priest if they were shameless enough.
One had to have Faith of a certain level to title a Priest in your Sect or Clan. But, there were no shortage of shameless Clans and Sects who named their own Priests without meeting this standard. After all, in a small world like this one, who would dare to correct them?
This was to say that a Grand Elder, though not of much stature in Ryu's mind, would have great status within this Sect. So, for Zulfiqar to have one as a master, his standing was most definitely not small.
Even with all of this being said, Ryu might be semi-surprised that Zulfiqar was only the disciple of a Grand Elder. With his talent, at least in this world, it seemed that he would have at least been the disciple of a Supreme Elder, if not the Sect Head.
Ryu took a deep breath, his scales slowly fading and his horns, still sparking with lightning, receding into his forehead.
By the time his canines had shortened to their original length, the elders were already in sight.
Among them, Ryu noticed a familiar face who was trying to continuously wink at him. This was none other than Niel, the very man who helped him join the Moonlight Blossom Sect to begin with.
It seemed that Ryu was right, Niel was most definitely an Inheritor Disciple. If not for this, there was no way that he'd be able to come with such a throng of elders. With their standing, they wouldn't allow someone who hadn't even stepped into the Path Extinction Realm yet the quarter to stand by them unless said person was exceptionally talented.
Ryu gave Niel a light nod in greeting. But, other than that, he didn't say much more.
He could tell that Niel wanted him to tread carefully. But, if that was his goal in all of this, he wouldn't have caused such a commotion to begin with.
Ryu stood in the air along with the elders. He didn't seem keen on lowering himself, even when they had stopped no more than ten meters from him.
A silence fell over the Sect.
There were at least twelve elders that had come. Such a lineup was enough to even put pressure on another Sect, let alone a single child in Ryu. In fact, the fact so many had come was a surprise to many.
Most elders could only be seen by the Sect members once or twice every few decades. To see so many of them at once was nothing less than surprising.
However, even before these elders, Ryu maintained his silence. Each and every one of these elders thought that Ryu would take the initiative to explain himself, maybe soften whatever blow he might receive, yet he didn't say a single thing.
It was as though the movement of these elders was meaningless to Ryu. And in a way, they truly were.
One had to remember that an Eighth Order Sect had at least ten Path Extinction Realm experts and one Dao Pedestal Realm expert. There were obviously separations in strength between Eighth Order Sects, so if one considered the fact they even had an Inheritor Disciple like Zulfiqar who was also in the Path Extinction Realm, it was safe to say that the Moonlight Blossom Sect was among the most powerful Eighth Order Sects that there was.
But, even in this situation, Ryu wasn't worried.
If one thought the reason was because of his Key, they'd be sorely mistaken. In the cultivation world, all schemes were worthless in the face of absolute power.
So, what was the real reason? Taking this into account, it was obvious. His source of confidence was none other than the little Faerie sitting on his shoulder at this very moment.
Seeing Ryu remain silent, the elders began to feel more and more dissatisfied.
Leading the elders were two old men. They seemed to be standing side by side, but the truth was that the one with an amicable smile on his face was a half-step behind the elder Niel was hiding behind. Compared to the amicable elder, this person, who Ryu assumed was Niel's master, looked as though he was a tyrant.
Of all the elders, it was only these two that didn't seem uncomfortable given the current situation.
After a long while, seeing that Ryu really wasn't going to say anything, Niel couldn't help but scream in his heart. Was this young man really trying to die?
Clearing his throat, Niel tried to begin saying something. But, before he could, he was stopped by his master.
"Boy, what is your goal here exactly?"
Ryu's lip curled. Finally someone chose to speak.
"It's simple, really." Ryu replied. "I want to be recognized as your Throne but I don't want to take your test.. In exchange, I'll allow your disciples to enter the Tri Palace along with me and I will only take advantage of your resources for the two month period that there is between now and then. Simple enough, right?"