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Ryu watched the fight coldly. Both the wolf and Dob were considered to be of the Ninth Order, or, rather, the Dao Pedestal Realm equivalent. The wolf had spent far longer in the realm and was more well established on top of being a Black Grade beast. As for Dob, his Dao was relatively powerful and he was only on an adrenaline high due to his Secret Technique.
Even still, Dob was being unceremoniously thrashed by the wolf beast. Ryu once again got a wake up call about just how powerful beasts were. However, he was also relieved that Dob was just powerful enough to occupy the wolf beast in time for his escape.
Ryu's eyes narrowed as he continued to watch. At some unknown time, Little Silk found her way back to his shoulder, her wings beginning to flutter wildly.
Ryu felt the chilly wind on his cheek and couldn't help but turn his attention toward the little butterfly. The little guy seemed to want something from the wolf beast, but its task left Ryu speechless. Little Silk sure was shameless, she never did anything for him, unless you count a few casually made robes, and yet she was actually asking for this.
Ryu shook his head and turned away. If it wasn't for the fact his mother had left Little Silk for him, he would have punted the little runt a long ways away.
However, Little Silk's fluttering became more persistent and the chilly wind licking at Ryu's cheek only grew more intense.
Ryu turned and glared down at his shoulder, but Little Silk just kept fluttering.
In truth, Ryu wasn't much of a fan of this little butterfly, even though it looked quite beautiful. During their first meeting, it tried to kill him for his Bloodlines. Then, during the battle against the Martial Gods, it had been useless. And, finally, somehow, despite not showing any use at all, it gained a favor from his mother and gained something Ryu had yet to see the use of.
Half of him thought that the reason he had yet to see Little Silk be useful was because she was simply too lazy. But, his more rational side was a bit more understanding. After all, despite raising so many talented beasts—or, rather, watching as Ailsa raised them—Ryu never really learned how to fight with them.
So, he couldn't really blame Little Silk even if he wanted to be unreasonable. After all, there wasn't anything the little butterfly could do if Ryu never gave it the chance to help.
'Fine, I'll give it a chance.'
Ryu stood from the branch, brandishing his bow and waiting.
He wasn't planning on draining his strength like this unless he absolutely had to, but since Little Silk was being so insistent, and since she had been given to him by his mother, he would give her just this little bit of face.
Ryu held out his body, taking deep and calm breathing. The eight trigram diagram slowly rotated in his irises, but his fingers continued to lightly rest on his bowstring, leaving it in its original position.
His Spiritual Sense blanketed the battlefield, watching for every little movement, and every small weakness. Even as Dob was being torn limb from limb, his left arm having been severed and his organ meat hanging out grotesquely from his gut, Ryu still didn't move.
He immersed himself in a subtle, unrelenting feeling, feeling himself getting closer and closer to it with every deep breath.
Just when it seemed that Ryu would do nothing at all, his arm abruptly moved, pulling the bowstring back to the point his back was stretched tight.
The eight Characters in Ryu's eyes all lit up, a raging torrent of wind forming a spiraling cyclone upon his bowstring.
<Roaring Sky Serpent>. Large Success.
BANG!
As though Ryu had seen through the future, the wolf raised its head to howl out its victory the instant Ryu released his bowstring. The timing was so perfect that the wolf was already howling and didn't even hear the roar of Ryu's arrow. It entirely assumed that its own roar had simply become far more majestic than it had ever been before.
However, those thoughts only lasted for a moment before the roof of its mouth was pierced through by an arrow. It borrowed its way through, entering its brain and grinding the fleshy matter to minced meat in just a few split seconds.
The roar of the Sky Serpent echoed again, but this time, within the wolf beast's skull.
BANG!
The wolf beast's skull expanded by about 50 percent before it settled back down to its original size. But, by then, the howling wolf's gaze had become dim.
Ryu breathed heavily, chest moving up and down as he coughed up another mouthful of blood. To his back, his Immortal Rings slowly faded and his body settled down. But, the coming fatigue came in waves, making his knees feel weak.
Ryu's qi reserves were actually doing just fine. After all, qi stamina was never something he would lack. But, the assault on his Focus was something entirely different. Still, he had the remedy for that right before.
Ryu shot forward, swallowing both the wolf beast's soul and Dob's. Almost instantly, he broke into the Higher Soul Birth Realm and his Spiritual Sea became flushed with energy. He couldn't even stop himself before he broke through again, entering the Peak Soul Birth Realm.
The more powerful Ryu's soul became, the more comfortable he seemed to become in using his Dao. The Soul Birth Realm was just the start of the Immortal Realms, so it was no wonder he had such a hard time supporting his Dao which was at the same level.
The main issue was that he had yet to take full advantage of his soul yet. He could expand his Spiritual Sea almost infinitely without breaking through. He should definitely take advantage of that, so long as his body could handle it, so that he wouldn't have to worry about such things any longer.
The larger his Spiritual Sea became, the stronger his Focus Qi would be.
Ryu ignored Dob for a moment, he knew he had to be quick. The wolf beast was probably an overload of this region, so it bought him some time. But, it likely wouldn't be long before beasts smelt blood.
Little Silk fluttered over. It was time to see what the little runt wanted so badly.
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