Ryu stood before Zenavey, his demeanor indifferent. It was almost impossible to tell that the place at which he stood should have been difficult to reach. Zenavey herself forgot that she should have been coordinating this round. In fact, she almost forgot that there were even others participating at all.
Even as Ryu stood at the top of the stairs, dozens more geniuses were still struggling their way upward. The contrast was almost pathetic to an extreme. How could the difference be so large? If it wasn’t for the fact Ryu didn’t have the markers of someone within the Path Extinction Realm, Zenavey would feel that he had somehow cheated the system.
They had purposely set up this challenge to be almost impossible for absolute geniuses at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. The reason why the likes of Isemeine and Zenavey were sent here was precisely because they had already stepped over this threshold.
But, how could they have ever possibly expected for a youth like Ryu to appear? Was this sort of combat prowess even human?
“You…”
Ryu’s gaze swept over Zenavey’s body. But, rather than having the same heat it once had before, it felt more like he was just observing an object with no more intrigue than a hole in a wall. It was as though he was just seeing Zendavey for the first time, not having bothered to memorize the look of her face before.
“I hear that your Martial Gods have a Princess by the name of Elena.” Ryu suddenly began to speak of something that seemed completely irrelevant.
“Uh… Um… Yes?”
“What kind of rank is Princess?” Ryu asked.
Ryu could have found this out from Isemeine, but he had his own reasons for acting like this. Pretending to be a playboy chasing skirts—even skirts that would seem to be far beyond him—would do him some good. In fact, it would be about the only normal thing about Ryu.
Having overwhelming talent wasn’t enough. Though Ryu had this in spades, he was also aware of the kind of trouble such a thing could bring as well.
A youth in the 2nd Immortal Ring Realm capable of crushing Path Extinction Realm geniuses beneath his feet was the kind of thing any Sect or Clan would pine for… If and only if this person was born into their families.
However, if such a talent appeared like a gift, without background or warning, it would instead become a matter of great suspicion.
There was good news. And that was as a person who had been reincarnated, Ryu’s backstory was bullet proof. There was no gap that could be pointed to and questioned. And, for existences on the level of the Martial Gods, they would be able to find out about all these details with ease.
Still, this wouldn’t be enough. Anyone with wisdom would know that they couldn’t possibly know everything. This would make them suspicious of even something that made perfect sense.
If Ryu also happened to be a genius without flaw, that would only make suspicions grow. So, Ryu had to present them one… A flaw so glaring that it would be much easier to accept.
Of the potential flaws, pretending to be infatuated with every beauty that crossed his path was the easiest and lowest hanging fruit. It would also be something easy to buy and accept.
“The Princess…”
Zenavey found her cheeks, neck and collarbone flushing red. Ryu’s unabashed and intrusive gaze made her feel like she was walking on eggshells.
In the distance, Isemeine couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Say whatever you want about her, but she would never swoon over a mere gaze. In fact, even now, she wanted nothing more than to give Ryu a good punch to the face. She would sooner kick his teeth in than have that kind of ridiculous reaction.
If Zenavey knew what Isemeine was thinking, she would only feel more aggrieved. She wasn’t feeling infatuated. In fact, she had been looking down on Ryu so much before that she didn’t even remember what his face looked like. And right now, all she could see were a pair of silver irises floating in space. They put so much pressure on her that she didn’t even have the thought to observe the rest of him.
It felt like she was the one being tested rather than the way it should be.
“We… I…” Zenavey shook her head, trying to regain her bearings. “… Within our Martial God Clan, the highest of the active officials are known as Kings. They are World Sea Realm experts with a good chance of becoming Sky Gods in the future…”
Zenavey hardly registered the words she was speaking. It was like her thoughts and memories were being extracted out by Ryu’s gaze and pressure alone.
As for what she meant by ‘good chance’, it would be ‘good’ as long as there was one in a billion odds. Becoming a Sky God wasn’t like stepping into other realms. In fact, to many, even absolute geniuses like Isemeine and Zenavey, it wasn’t even guaranteed to enter the World Sea Realm.
“A step below them are the Princes and Princesses… They are Cosmic Seed Realm experts with a good chance at becoming World Sea Realm experts… But, from what I know, Princess Elena has stepped into the World Sea Realm already and her promotion to Queen is coming up quite soon… There is a banquet…”
Ryu nodded. He had expected as much. To step into the World Sea Realm in less than a billion years was a feat, indeed. As expected of his wife.
As for this banquet, how could he not attend? He might not have the cache to do so now, but they wouldn’t block their own Throne from taking part… Now would they?
Ryu smiled, causing Zenavey’s attention to immediately shift from his eyes. She hardly knew how to react.
“I want her.” Ryu said plainly. “What do I have to do to take her as my partner?”