Inner Devil (6)

The Heavenly Wind reacted like a lost child who had just found its parent. How lucky was it? Not only did it find a wielder of the Heavenly Pupils, this person actually had such a high wind affinity!

While many Clans of the Shrine Plane were descendants of Ancient Beasts, there were other races that had their lineages survive until now. The Ventus Clan, for example, were descendants of Spirits. These were a legendary species that descended from humans to gain high affinity with the Natural Order.

Spirits were born with special Spiritual Foundations that allowed them to accelerate along certain Natural Order Paths far easier and further than those of other species. While Ancient Beast descendants were blessed with strong bodies and special innate abilities, the descendants of Spirits had comprehension that made even the Heavens themselves jealous!

The Ventus Clan were descendants of Wind Spirits. Knowing this, how could the Heavenly Wind not be excited? Gale was simply the perfect host! It also helped that it felt an innate familiarity with this potential Master, as though it had known him all its life. Of course, this was due to Gale's nurturing.

Seeing the North Heavenly Wind's near ecstatic reaction, many felt that this competition was all but over. It had only been thirty or so minutes since it began, yet, Ryu's fate was sealed.

What none of them realized was that there was a fog over their perspective of events. It was as though they only had eyes for Gale, as though he didn't have any opponent to speak of. But, was this correct? Why was it that they had been continuously commenting on Gale but hadn't spoken a single word about Ryu?

Even Ryu's family didn't notice that their nervous expressions had been trained on Gale this entire time. Although their thoughts were filled with hopes that he would somehow fail, it was still a fact that all of their beings were focused on Gale.

Whether it was realizing which Heavenly Pupils Gale wielded, or commenting on his meditative state, or realizing he had nurtured the Heavenly Wind for this very moment, everyone was entirely focused on Gale. The name Ryu hadn't crossed their mind a single time from the very beginning!

It was in that moment, just as the Heavenly Wind was about to reach Gale, a sigh rang out from a completely unknown source.

The sigh was filled with a sense of loneliness and sorrow, as though it was a peak that stood atop the world without rival, without foe and without friend. It held the vicissitudes of life and death, carried an arrogance of such unmatched proportion that those who heard it felt inferior. Whether it was the youngest genius here or the oldest monster, each felt their souls shake.

Thousands of pairs of eyes uncontrollably shifted to a single young man. His features were so unbearably handsome that they should never have appeared on a mortal. His demeanor was so ethereal, so otherworldly that he almost seemed to not be standing there at all. He was above it, above this petty competition, above the remarks and speculations of those watching, above even these Origin Grade Heavenly Treasures themselves.

To him, these things were meaningless. So what if his life was short? If he had been given the same length of time as all of you, it would be too unfair. So what if he had no cultivation to speak of? If he had the power to flip the tides of the oceans and force the stars to set at his whim, what piece of this world would be left? So what if his opponent was an immortal? If he faced someone of his own stature, would there even be a point to all of this?

This arrogance… The kind that stood above even the Shrine Plane itself, the kind that could look down from the highest peak in existence apathetically, the kind that could take the number one beauty of the younger generation for himself without batting an eye.

Wasn't this the true Ryu? His own death didn't faze him. Was he sad that he wouldn't be able to continue and live a full life alongside his family? Yes. But it wasn't for himself, it was for them. Wasn't this yet another kind of arrogance? The kind that didn't even skip over your closest loved ones? The kind that was so suffocating and perpetual that it seeped into his very being?

You dare to look down on me as Origin Grade Treasures? Well… The reality of the matter is that I look down on you. Did I bat an eyelash when Gale raised his wager item? Was I shocked when I learned of the location of an Embryonic Origin Flame?

The Heavenly Flame stopped abruptly even as the Origin Flame twitched.

"Come." Ryu's voice was just as calm as it always was. However, it wasn't until he spoke that those around him finally understood why they had only had eyes for Gale.

Why was it that even Ryu's family had seemingly forgotten about him? Why was it that Gale seemed to have become the center of attention despite the fact Ryu's earlier anger made even those of the oldest generation raise an eyebrow?

"Breath of Earth…" Silence pervaded the ceremonial hall as the Origin Grade treasures disappeared into Ryu's body.

States of meditation had nine distinctive levels. These levels also came to be known as states of enlightenment. The higher the level, the deeper one's selfless state, and thus the stronger the enlightenment. The issue was that such levels were often only crossed due to fortuitous events. Only the greatest geniuses like Gale could directly evoke these levels at a whim.

The issue was that Gale took tens of thousands of years of strict training to be able to evoke the first level at will – the so-called 'Meditation State'. However, not only was Ryu a mere fraction of his age, he had the ability to evoke the second stage, Breath of Earth!

How could a mortal accomplish such a feat? It was impossible! No, it had to be something more than impossible!

Ryu fell into a dormant state, he could feel the treasures melding themselves to his soul. His body suddenly felt light, almost impossibly so. In the next moment, his eyes blazed to life. He could feel the Origin Flame coursing through the veins of his pupils, dilating them before resting comfortably.

"You…" Gale looked on in shock, even to the point where he fell out of the air, almost crashing to the ground. At that moment, all he saw was red. The combination of embarrassment and rage was too much to handle. "I'LL KILL YOU!"