Ryu suddenly stood, his eyes closed, and his hands clasped behind his back. In that moment, he inexplicably became the center of attention. This was a dispute between the strongest cultivators of the highest Immortal Plane, yet a mere mortal took center stage!
His footsteps were deliberate, and slow, resounding through the hall steadily.
The blood that had just coated his cheeks had long since been wiped away, revealing his devilishly handsome appearance to the fullest extent. If one didn't sweep their senses over his meridians, they would be certain that he was an expert of experts, a man who stood above the world loftily… A man who saw them all as nothing but ants.
Priest Saint Ventus' eyes narrowed at this display. It was clear to him and those of the older generation that this wasn't an act, and even if it was an act, who could say they could fulfill such a role so perfectly?
Although Priest Saint Ventus hadn't told his grandson this, the moment he heard that the Origin Flame was being gifted to Ryu, his probing became meaningless, this was why he didn't have his grandson continue.
While others might not understand the full history of the Origin Flame, he and many others of the oldest generation did. Think about it for a moment… Why was Titus so certain that the Origin Flame would accept Ryu as its master? No matter how docile such a flame was, could it really be accepted by just anyone? Could it really call anyone 'Master'? Of course not!
The reason Titus was so certain was because those with heavenly pupils ranked within the top ten were said to be the Masters of Origin. Each were given a heaven shaking ability that had existed since the beginning of time itself, allowing them to be the only ones an Origin Flame would accept.
If the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were paired with the Origin Flame, the results would be catastrophic for their movement!
For Titus, giving this flame to his son was just another method of prolonging his life. It would bide them at least a few more hundred years to find a cure for Ryu's False Spiritual Foundation. However, to Priest Saint Ventus, this was akin to giving wings to a tiger.
So, even without knowing what the full extent of Ryu's abilities would be after this event, he had resolutely decided that they couldn't delay matters any longer. The problem was that after seeing Ryu's current demeanor, he feared that it was already too late… Would such a man really need the Origin Flame? He seemed as though he already had the world in the palm of his hand!
To Ryu, however, he didn't mind any of this. He usually restrained his aura to the utmost, not because he was scared to unleash it, but rather because he found doing so useless. His eyes always seemed to see much clearer when everyone thought he was a good-for-nothing cripple. It was just that right now… He was very angry. In fact, his blood was boiling.
"Why did you come here?" Ryu made his way to the black box of neutron star core, resting his eyes on it. Although he was speaking to Old Mistress Holy Wing, he wasn't facing her at all.
The Old Mistress sneered. "Didn't you hear what I just said to your father? Or are your ears crippled as well? He has no right to question me, so since when was it yours?!"
"Oh? He doesn't have the right to? I see…" Ryu's hand glided across the exterior of the black box. It seemed smooth on the outside, but it was actually incomparably rough, like fine grade sandpaper. Ryu's frail hands became cut in an instant, but he didn't seem to notice the blood dripping from his palm.
"There are twenty-three Founding Clans of the Shrine Plane. Of these twenty-three, six currently control nine Shrines. Of these nine Shrines, my Tatsuya Clans controls two and have a marriage alliance with the only other Clan that supersedes this feat." Ryu spoke with an eerie calm, in fact, his speech was almost too slow, yet it somehow stifled others from speaking atop of him.
"You protect your Clan Texts for the sake of self-preservation. You're a coward who hides behind your bravado and childish heart. Yet, you dare to provoke a Clan that could obliterate yours ten times over. You tell me, is that valiant? Or is it the epitome of stupidity? I wonder how your Founding Members would feel, hearing about a descendant of theirs who seemed hell bent on destruction?"
The temperature of the room dropped several dozen degrees. The words Ryu had just spoken were absolutely taboo. Speaking of war and the destruction of Clans so nonchalantly?! Wasn't he afraid of bringing about public outrage?!
Old Mistress Holy Wing's beautiful face contorted in anger, her ample chest heaving. However, her control over her emotions made it clear to everyone just how true his words were. Of course, a destruction of ten times over was a massive exaggeration. In fact, the Tatsuya Clan would have to ally with all four Clans bonded together by marriage to have assurance of erasing the Holy Wing Clan from their Plane.
Of course, these four Clans were represented by Ryu's four grandparents. Such a movement toward war would be unprecedented. But, seeing the look of love and pride the four old monsters had when they looked toward this grandson of theirs, those in the surroundings couldn't help but shiver.
Didn't you all like spreading rumors about how domineering Ryu's backers were in helping their precious son and grandson fulfill his wishes? How do you like it now that your false bullshit has become reality?
Ryu lifted his hand, looking at his bloody palm. "Of course, I don't say any of this seriously. I only felt the need to correct Old Mistress Holy Wing about the appropriate seniority here. Age means nothing in the face of the larger fist, don't you think?"
In the end, Old Mistress Holy Wing shook her head, her anger becoming replaced with a smile.
"So you mean to say that I couldn't have come simply to celebrate my grandson-in-law's birthday?"
"You could have." Ryu said indifferently. "But, I seem to remember that you're very good at separating and cleaving families apart. In fact, thousands just bore witness to your severed relationship with my fiancée. Your face is quite thick to call me your grandson-in-law."
Surprisingly, Old Mistress Holy Wing ignored the jab toward her and Priest Saint Kunan's past.
"Fine, fine. I'm here to recollect a debt. The oh so grand Tatsuya Clan wouldn't be so shameless as to renege, right?"