The three on the bottom rung were the Moonlight Blossom Sect, the Black Winds Kingdom and the Nightingale Mansion. Among them, despite having been in a state of perpetual warring for thousands of years, tens of thousands, in fact, none had been able to assert their dominance as the number one.
However, these three had no doubt for which Sect sat atop their heads. And, that was none other than the mysterious Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. It was this Sect that held the gateway to the Tri Palace in the palm of their hands.
At that moment, when Little Rock finally spread his wings as wide as they would go, flapping to pierce through the clouds above their heads, it was then that they saw it.
The Palace hung high in the skies, sitting in the position one would expect to find the moon in.
They were so high up that the atmosphere thinned to almost nothingness, dulling what should have been a bright blue beneath the sun to a darkish blue-purple. In this place, even in the middle of the day, the twinkling of the stars was as clear as the darkness they sat upon.
The Palace itself seemed to blend into this darkness. Not only did it sit where the moon should have been, but it seemed to be as large as a moon all to itself as well.
It looked to be right out of the Victorian era. Dark tiles, sharp peaks, and dull windows graced its every surface. If it wasn’t so elegantly designed, one might mistake it for a dark mountain range. It was just that this mountain range happened to have gates that were hundreds of kilometers tall.
Around this castle, there were already two groups waiting patiently.
One group sat within a massive carriage not much unlike the Moonlight Blossom Sect’s. However, rather than being pulled by large spectral horses, it was instead pulled along by a large bird that dwarfed Little Rock in size.
The bird seemed to be covered in flickering black flames. If one didn’t know better, one would think that it was a Phoenix. But, it only took Ryu one look to know that this imposter wasn’t worth even a single feather off a majestic Phoenix’s back.
The second group, likewise, also had a massive carriage the size of a house being pulled along by a creature. This group, though, used a large, black furred, three headed dog.
But, as expected, this mut had little to no relation to the Ancient Beast Cerberus. It seemed that the powers of the Moon World were quite fond of cosplaying their beasts as their Ancient counterparts, but had no way of matching up to the true blood lineage of such beasts.
Ironically, though, it was on this very world that an egg of the Griffin Clan would fall. Who knew how these fools would have fought over such a thing?
Of course, with Ryu’s observation of them, it was no surprise that he too was being observed. The appearance of a singular creature with two youths on its back was attention grabbing in any setting, let alone in such a tense one.
Little Rock raised himself proudly, the arcs of golden lightning coursing along his silver feathers becoming more furious. It seemed the little Lightning Hawk was quite clear of his superiority in this situation.
Though, it was probably inappropriate to continue to call him a Lightning Hawk. After Ailsa’s efforts, Little Rock was most definitely qualified to be a distant branch disciple of the Lightning Roc. His now Sovereign Grade Bloodline just barely met the requirements, though he would only just be considered a servant of their Clan.
Still, Little Rock was only three years old this year and already had such strength. Ryu had no down that the arrogant little brat would soon soar into the heights of the Ancestral Grade with Nemesis not far behind.
Within the carriage for those the Nightingale Mansion, a particular young man felt himself light up with rage the moment he laid eyes on Ryu.
Had Ryu cared enough to notice this, he would have definitely recognized this young man as Anfroy, the very disciple of the Nightingale Mansion he had battled all those months ago. Back then, Ryu had relied on his extreme Yang Lightning to defeat Anfroy and had concluded that Anfroy was at worst a core disciple, if not an Inheritor Disciple.
By now, though, Anfroy was nothing more than an ant in Ryu’s eyes. Even if Ryu didn’t rely on his Yang to suppress Anfroy, he could defeat him within a few exchanges. Of course, Anfroy might have broken into the Path Extinction Realm. But, one only needs to look as Zulfiqar to realize how that would end.
Even though Ryu hadn’t been enough to kill Zulfiqar back then and could only humiliate him, he was far more confident in finishing the deed now as long as he went all out.
”Hm? What’s the matter Little Anfroy?”
”It’s him.” Anfroy said in a low growl. “He’s the one with the Tri Key.”
The auras of all those within the carriage shifted. Through the glass pane windows, it felt as though dozens of powerful auras had all landed on Ryu at once.
Ryu, who had stopped paying attention to these two carriages and had begun to observe the Tri Palace seemed to sense this. His head casually turned in the direction of the carriage, his cold silver irises sweeping over the entire movement treasure.
Feeling provoked, Little Rock soared higher into the skies, looking down upon the flaming bird with a sharp gaze brimming with arrogance.
”~QI! QI!~”
The skies quaked as an oppressive Bloodline pressure shook them.
The flaming black bird trembled. And, in a feat of undisguised cowardice, it plummeted through the clouds below.
Ryu watched from start to finish indifferently. He could only say that Little Rock was better at starting up trouble than he was.