720: Expressions

Expressions

The shimmering call of numerous sword blades continued to howl.  2

It had already been almost a year since Ryu began to stand, completely unmoving. By now, the Holy Battle Ground was completely flooded with swordsmen of all skill levels. Some had even brought children and teenagers forward to enjoy this shocking phenomenon. 

The woman couldn't help but observe Ryu with a complicated gaze. From the small bit she knew about Ryu, he was obviously not doing this on purpose. It wasn't that Ryu didn't have a 'heart' or 'morality', it was more so that Ryu didn't have the time to waste on such things. 

To Ryu, every moment was precious. Every second he wasted on something that couldn't improve his strength was a waste. Some might say that kindness to your enemies was evil to yourself, but Ryu took it even a step further than that. Kindness in general, especially when you were overstepping your bounds into territory you knew little about, could also be counted as evil to yourself. 

Ryu had no idea how a supposed Sky God could go so far as to do such a thing. He couldn't' fathom how someone who had reached the pinnacle of the cultivation world could possibly care about blocking the path of those below them. The arrogance in Ryu's bones simply couldn't wrap its mind around it. 

Ryu already didn't put Sky Gods in his eyes. In his view, it was inevitable that he would one day step into this Realm. He couldn't fathom ever caring about those he had already surpassed. Did this person have no courage? No pride? No sense of self-esteem? 

Ryu truly couldn't understand. But, what he did know was that the actions of this person were standing in his way. Not only was it standing in his way, but it had already delayed him for almost a year. Even though Ryu's expression was placid and seemingly unmoved, he was already infuriated. 

While everyone else was enjoying this sudden boon, his rage simmered and festered as he stared into the deep abyss before him. 

While everyone else saw strands of sparse sword qi, spread out over hundreds of kilometers, Ryu saw countless strands of Fate, each entangled in a complex web of Sword Daos. Every time he took a step in one direction, he would find more to untangle and even more to undo. 

Within these countless strands, the menacing sword qi of the 'assassin' stuck out like a sore thumb. Whether it was the age of the strands, the intent, the ambience around it, the aura, it was all worlds apart from the rest of the field. However, the rest of it all was so complex that trying to weed these strands out alone was proving to be a difficult task even for Ryu. 

The main issue was that the assassin strands of sword qi were designed to activate whenever the penultimate moment of the battle was reached. As such, it was tied to the densest stores of Fate. It was impossible to pull it out without disrupting the rest of the field. 

In order to deal with this, Ryu needed to map out each and every strand and deduce how they all would react to his influence. Then, he had to draw a path he could use to rip the assassin sword qi from the core of the structure leaving the rest intact. 

It was a lot like trying to untie a tangle of cords with a single go. 

From start to finish, all Ryu could think about was giving the supposed Sky God who had dared to do this the most resounding loss they had ever suffered in their lifetime. 

As time passed on, Ryu continued to implement Ailsa's energy intake program. As he did so, his seals continued to unlock day after day and the process only became easier. 

Ryu didn't seem to notice that the continuous use of his Pupils was causing an odd change in them. Something like [Lines of Fate] wasn't meant to last for so long to begin with, especially not when observing the Fates of Sky God level existences. However, due to the mutation of [Ephemeral Tapestry], Ryu had already gained the ability to see qi in its natural state without using up his stamina. This, in turn, lowered the requirements for [Lines of Fate]. 

Still, this was just the tip of the iceberg. The longer Ryu used [Lines of Fate], the more it and [Ephemeral Tapestry] seemed to overlap, almost as though they were slowly becoming one. The result not only lowered the stamina requirements for [Lines of Fate] even further, but it felt like there would come a day where Ryu didn't need to activate [Lines of Fate] at all to see the future's probability… 

Ryu's gaze flashed, his killing intent piercing the veil of the Holy Battle Ground. 

The expression of the woman changed. This was the first time Ryu had moved since his initial action. Could it be…?

Worry gripped the woman's heart. She didn't want anything to happen to Ryu, but she was also worried about the other swordsmen who had entered the Battle Ground. Unfortunately, she knew that this, whatever it was, was already long past her ability to stop. 

A growl was released from Ryu's lips. It was low and rumbling, traveling for several kilometers and beating the drum of the hearts of all those who heard it. In those moments, it felt like a Dragon was breathing down their necks, filling their very souls with fear. 

"Come."

BANG!

The Holy Battle Ground imploded. A surge of sword qi shot into the skies, sending out rippling waves of a transcendent force out in all directions. 

If the previous commotion had caught the attention of the swordsmen of the swords faction, this time even the pinnacle World Sea Realm experts and several Sky Gods were alerted. In fact, the whole of the Armament Guild suddenly turned their attention toward one place. 

However, just as they were about to investigate, another aura, far stronger than the first erupted. 

A pillar of light tore through the starry skies. 

Across the Armament Guild, no… Across the martial world, the expressions of several experts froze. 

A Sky God was being born. 

[Sorry about yesterday guys, there's an extra chapter after this one <3]

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