Astonishment took a hold over the crowd. They had all been prepared for a long battle that would have likely resulted in Ri’s loss, but this was completely outside their expectations!
It wasn’t that they looked down on Ri, because Ri’s rankings made it quite clear that she was more talented that Chrysanthemum across the board. Whether it be the Duke trials, the King trials or the Emperor trials, Ri ranked much higher than Chrysanthemum on them all. The problem was that Chrysanthemum was already almost 80 years old by now while Ri was still less than 30!
That was when they suddenly realized something. If Ri was so far and away more talented than an Empress on Chrysanthemum’s level, didn’t that mean that the only holding her back from the Goddess title was the lack of a key?!
No matter how surprised the crowd was, Chrysanthemum was even more so.
From the beginning, she had disregarded Ri. Her attack was originally meant for Dyon who had the audacity to publicly reprimand her for her speech, who did he think he was?
It wasn’t her looking down on Ri because she was a woman, but rather that she recognized those white tails and immediately categorized her as a member of the Snow Clan. Since Ri was a member of such a weak clan, especially compared to her sect, how could her legacies match up? Not only did Chrysanthemum have more time to study her own techniques, the core teachings of the Water Mist Sect should have far surpassed that of the Snow Clan. It was common sense.
Yet, Ri had actually dissolved her attack so easily! And although Chrysanthemum hadn’t used any particular technique, only relying on her comprehension of ice will and the environment around them, Ri had actually proven that the laws of water and ice were more willing to follow her than they were willing to follow Chrysanthemum!
It was at that moment that everyone remembered… Ri was a beast! The embodiment of what it meant to be a beast depended upon what the heavens blessed you with. Dragon were the representation of sovereignty. Celestial Deer were the representation of purity. Celestial Hamster were the embodiment of time will and history. Then what about the Kitsune of the Snow Clan?
They were currently in a land of ice and snow, while Chrysanthemum was a human. Yet, she wanted to fight a beast that embodied these very elements? Wasn’t she asking to make a fool of herself?
Chrysanthemum’s chest heaved with anger. She had just been haughty enough to imply that since Anak could win her heart, he could win the heart of any woman. And yet, mere moments later, she had lost an exchange with none other than another woman.
To top it all off, Ri’s beauty was her complete match. In fact, her pure white tails gave her a particular pull that Chrysanthemum couldn’t match.
Chrysanthemum glared at Ri before shifting her gaze toward Dyon, “A man who hides behind his woman is no man at all!”
These weren’t empty words. Everyone had been speculating on Dyon’s identity for months and they had all concluded that he was a weapon’s master. In fact, Dyon still had that massive, white-bandaged package on his back as she spoke. Such a man didn’t have any combat prowess. Who didn’t know that soul cultivators had an inability to translate soul strength into battle power?
However, when Chrysanthemum’s eyes landed on Dyon, she was shocked to see that this supposedly weak young man was still staring at her husband. Even Anak’s usual disdain for the world attitude was washed over as he too stared back at Dyon.
There were only nine other individuals who Anak deemed worthy of his gaze. However, seven of them were no longer on the saint floors, having long since stepped onto the celestial and dao floors.
As it was, of the ten outstanding geniuses of this generation, three were still on the saint floor, five had already moved to the celestial floor, while two, despite still being youths in their prime had long since stepped onto the dao floors!
Anak was obviously one of the three of the saint floors, as for the other two, in all likelihood, they wouldn’t even bother to come to this event. Their clans were ranked much higher than Anak’s and as such had legacies that could completely ignore what the Valley of Geniuses on the saint floor could provide to them.
Despite all of this, Anak felt like he was facing one of them right now! He couldn’t help but inwardly frown. He wanted to use his senses to probe Dyon, but something was telling him that if he did so forcefully, that mask on his face would retaliate.
To make matters worse, there was a deep rage boiling inside of Anak. Although others couldn’t feel it, he could. There was something about the masked men standing in the skies that made him feel suppressed, as though he should be a loyal subject and never think of disobeying this man.
The more he looked at Dyon’s black wings, the more his heart trembled. The more Dyon looked into his eyes, the more he felt that he should avert his gaze. Even his clansmen behind him were effected, many of them had begun to tremble, gritting their teeth and clenching their fists to the point were droplets of blood fell onto the pure white snow.
Suddenly, Anak’s pupils narrowed into pinholes, ‘Bloodline suppression! That’s impossible!’