The city was simply known as Fourth Heaven. As the center of the Fourth, it was a hub of tourism and business. Of course, those that could enjoy it were very few in number to begin with. With the sheer size of the Fourth Heaven, even the First, Second and Third Heavens combined couldn't match up to it, and crossing the wilderness was something those beneath the Sky God Realm wouldn't dare to do.
As such, though there weren't any rules about who could and couldn't enter the city, it effectively became a highly elitist region where only those who could afford teleportation or had seniors in the Sky God Realm, or were Sky Gods themselves, could make it to this place.
Of course, the final exception was being part of the two strongest Sects of the Fourth Heaven... At least in the past, anyway, because now there weren't just two strongest, there were three, the third of which was the infamous Radiant Star Sect. As for the first two, they were well known by all, the Infinity Blade Sect and the Resonant Bo Sect.
Most were distracted by the powerful Sword God aura that soared over from the horizon, but with the countless tall buildings and especially the tall walls of the city, very few had gotten a good look at who Ryu was.
With the rules against flying treasures in the city, it was impossible for them to see, and with the large stream of citizens entering at any given time, it was even more so.
Ryu had already disappeared into the crowd by the time the guards realized that they had made a mistake. They had completely forgotten to make Ryu pay the toll price for entry, and without paying the toll fee, Ryu also didn't have the temporary badge he needed to be in the city.
One of the guards opened their mouths to say something, but Ryu was long gone. With his Spacetime Soul Nature, he simply moved far too fast.
They could only look toward one another with a hint of helplessness in their eyes.
...
Ryu didn't know about any of these things. He didn't care much about paying attention to the Fourth Heaven city around him. Though it was far grandiose than any structures he had ever seen, Ryu wasn't one to wear his heart on sleeve. He had one destination and he didn't plan on wasting time.
Though Ryu had this intention, his steps paused. He realized that he had yet to properly fuel his body in all this time. It had been almost two years now, but he had gone straight from a coma to training.
His sharp gaze scanned the region before he shook his head. Any food here would likely pale in comparison to what would be available on the Sixth Heaven. He would get to the Sixth Heaven first, then he would eat before setting out.
Ryu didn't seem to realize that the slight pause in his footsteps had earned him the attention of a few.
"Is that a Radiant Star Sect Badge? They still dare to appear here?"
From on high, on the top floor of the restaurant Ryu had been tempted to enter, several figures sat, enjoying themselves. Not only did they occupy several tables themselves, but even the surrounding few tables were empty out of respect.
In this city, the only people who could be granted such respect were disciples of the Infinity Blade and Resonant Bo Sect, however they couldn't be normal disciples either. Without being at least Inner Disciples, the powerhouses who could open up shops in this city could directly ignore them without consequences.
"Hm?"
At that moment, a familiar face's gaze sharpened. This young man was none other than Zed, the young man that had lost control of a Bronze City in the Heavenly Path to Ryu. Of course, he was still unaware of this as he had assumed that it had been Starlight, something he quickly forgot about due to the odd and mysterious energies that protected the latter from the memories of others.
However, what Zed did remember at that moment was that Ryu seemed to also be extremely powerful, so now that he thought about it, it may very well have been him back then. And even if he didn't think this, just Ryu's feats afterward were worthy of remembering...
The issue was that Starlight was so difficult to remember that Ryu's exact combat prowess back then was likewise very difficult to remember. Things became muddled and after two years of non-activity, that fear that should have been seeded deep within their hearts had become indignance.
The good news was that due to Starlight, this generation's batch had managed to avoid shattered Dao Hearts due to this one encounter. The bad news, however, was that they had forgotten that Ryu wasn't someone to be trifled with.
"Junior Brother Zed, you recognize this person?"
Zed's expression darkened. "He's Mae's Dao Companion and one of the only three to enter the tower back then."
"So he's the one who snatched all the Heavenly Favor?"
Zed's Senior Brother looked down with a cold expression, the aura of a Cosmic Seed Realm expert causing the restaurant to sway.
A silence fell over the table as they all looked over at once. Zed was quite well known as one of the top three geniuses of their Sect, he just happened to be the youngest so he was the most suitable to be sent below. Even after just two years of being back, he was swiftly catching up to them, already on the verge of entering the Higher Dao Pedestal Realm.
His loss wasn't just a matter of himself, it was a matter of the face of the whole of the Resonant Bo Sect.
"So he's finally appeared."
Shitu, Zed's Senior Brother, stood to his feet.
"He looks like he's headed toward the teleportation platform. Let's go."
"But..."
Another hesitated, but didn't dare to say it. Even though she didn't say what was on her mind, they all shared the same thoughts. Bullying the other disciples was risky itself, over the last two years they had been slowly pushing the envelope and only slowly increased their measures as Aika remained indifferent.
But when it came to Ryu, they had all been informed of just how protective Aika was of him.
Shitu sneered. "If a Sky God interferes in a matter like this, the Radiant Star Sect will become even more of a joke, there's a reason that Sky God hasn't appeared since that day, in my opinion your caution all this time was a waste. So long as we don't kill him, it will be fine. In fact, not killing him will be even better. That way, the one talented disciple they have will have his Dao Heart crushed and he'll never raise his head again."
The gazes of Zed and the others glowed when they heard this.
Ryu's figure flashed and he appeared in the region of the teleportation platform. Or, rather than a platform, it was more accurately called an open concept tower. There were no doors or windows, just wide floor to ceiling openings that one could enter.
Of course, this was the only region one could use flying treasures in, but usually the ones using the highest levels were Sky Gods that could fly on their own and weren't restricted by the rules to begin with.
"I would like to open a path to the Sixth Heaven," Ryu said plainly.
The attendee who had set up one of the many podiums surrounding the open concept tower suddenly shot a gaze up. When she had seen Ryu earlier, she had already begun to prepare a normal short distance teleportation. Even for Sky Gods, traveling between the Heavens like this was extremely rare.
"Uh... Right," she shook her head. "The cost is a thousand Lower God Crystals."
After Cosmic Qi Stones, there were God Crystals. Lower God Crystals were considered to be the currency most frequently used by Fragmented, False and True Sky Gods, so to say that the price was steep was somewhat of an understatement. That kind of money could buy you a weaker God Treasure.
She looked toward Ryu after saying this, seemingly expecting him to change his mind at this moment. But Ryu only nodded and prepared to hand over the expected price.
"WAIT!"
Shitu's voice echoed as a group rushed to keep up with him. Ryu's speed had been greater than they expected and they almost missed him entirely.
"This person can't use the teleportation platforms!"
Shitu was speaking nonsense, he had no idea that Ryu hadn't gotten a city pass when he entered. His goal was purely to humiliate Ryu, and as one of the few disciples of the Resonant Bo Sect with high prestige, he had the right to almost act as he pleased within the city with how rare it was for Sky Gods to interfere in such matters.
Ryu didn't turn back immediately, and since he didn't recognize the voice, he didn't immediately realize that Shitu was speaking nonsense. When he did turn back, though, as saw the badges on their hips, his gaze went frosty.
Shitu sneered, calming to a pause. The echo of his voice was loud and blustering, ensuring to catch as much attention as he could.
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