A roar echoed over Planet Valorian. Half the globe was confused, and the other half looked up to see a streaking meteor shooting across the skies.

BANG!

The meteor fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud that turned the skies grey and a crater that spread for hundreds of meteors.

BANG!

Ryker kicked the glass dome of his spaceship away, letting out a string of curses.

He had already destroyed this space vessel once before. He had barely managed to cobble it back together, but on his way back, he had almost died several times over.

It became clear to him why it was he was able to make it through the Iteration barriers before. It should be because his Pure Soul was able to see through the Dao that covered them.

Obviously, thanks to this, on his way back he had an even easier time… or he should have.

The trouble was that he didn’t know exactly where the Valorian Clan was. So he had to again… then again… then again…

It was a nightmare because every time he did so, his spaceship’s condition grew worse and worse.

In the end, he barely made it.

“Just perfect, there goes my grand entrance. Well, actually. Maybe this works too.”

Ryker lifted his heads to the skies and laughed. Feeling the family waves of Spirit Energy, he finally knew that he was home.

It seemed he hadn’t quite arrived at a good time, though.

High in the skies, a dual crescent moon hung. Most people were likely asleep. Well, if this commotion hadn’t woken them up, that is.

Ryker left the rubble behind. He didn’t care much about the mess he caused as he smoothed out his robes, strolling forward with his hands clasped behind his back.

Soon, Valorian City appeared before him.

On this planet, there were two main cities. One was the 8th Circle Treasure City, and the second was Valorian City.

Treasure City was owned by the Mystery Master Alliance, and they would usually have at least one on every planet across the galaxy. An 8th Circle Treasure City was definitely near the top, only short of a 9th Circle Treasure City, but there were very few of those.

Ryker smiled when he saw the guards of Valorian City.

Even with the commotion, they had remained at their posts, waiting for orders. They didn’t even look curious.

As expected of warriors trained by the Valorian Clan. Their discipline was immaculate.

The Valorian Clan City was enormous. Its walls were a pearly white and its gates were a rugged, rusted silver color locked by chains.

It was already deep into the night, so the city had likewise already been shut down. But this wasn’t something that Ryker would have to worry about. How often had he come after curfew? He was the young master of the Valorian Clan, and these were never issues he had to second guess.

And yet, as he walked up, his smile became colder and colder.

“Halt.”

Ryker pretended as though he hadn’t heard anything.

How long had he been gone?

Not even two months.

This time wasn’t nearly enough for these men to forget what Ryker Valorian looked like. So what reason could they possibly have to ask him to stop?

The guards, who had been perfectly disciplined all the while, were surprised by Ryker’s complete lack of a reaction.

They had prepared a lot of reasons.

They would start by saying that their young master had disappeared for too long, that it was only right he be searched and for his identity to be confirmed, that they would have to detain him for a while to ensure that he was indeed Ryker Valorian.

They were used to a Ryker who could only use his tongue to get out of situations.

They had yet to know a Ryker who was capable of using his fists.

Without a choice, they could only take a step and block Ryker’s path, their palms extending and stopping just half a meter from Ryker.

Divined Chains took shape and wrapped around Ryker, locking his movements completely.

The guards of the Valorian Clan could not be normal individuals. They wouldn’t even give Enlightenment Realm experts a second glance. Both of them were Second Ascendeds.

“Your identity is—.”

“Evan Valorian. Roujag Valorian. Those are your names, right?”

Just as Evan began to speak, Ryker spoke first.

They were confused, but then Roujag replied.

“Just knowing our—.”

“You misunderstand. I’m only confirming so that when I explain to your families what happened here, I can personally tell them how absolutely retarded you both are.”

BANG!

The chains around Ryker shattered.

“Who the hell do you two think you are to stop me from entering my home?!”

Ryker’s roar awoke the entire city.

The expressions of Evan and Roujag changed, and they pulled on their waists, pulling out their chains.

[Divined Step].

Ryker took an immaculate step that weaved through attacks, his palm clawed out and grabbed Roujag’s next.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You can’t—!”

Crunch.

“I can’t what?”

Roujag’s eyes opened wide. He hadn’t even had a chance to summon his Spirit Beasts. Never did he think that Ryker would come back in such bold fashion… never did he think he would die like this…

Evan’s eyes opened wide. However, seeing Roujag die, he immediately summoned three beasts as he accelerated backward. Even now, he didn’t dare to kill Ryker. What a joke. Who would take the risk of killing the only 9th Circle Talent of the family? Even if he had done what many speculated and fell to the 8th Circle, he was he was still the best of the family. And taking yet another step back, even if he was trash, who would dare offend his father in such a way?

Seeing this scene, Ryker actually grinned, and he spread his arms out wide.

“Ah, how I’ve missed this. Finally, seeing beasts that I can recognize!”

Ryker’s laughter filled the skies.

He had truly felt too stifled in the Federation. He could only describe beasts by their looks. It made his years of preparation feel worthless.

But this was his playground.

In this world, there was no beast he didn’t know. Not just by their name, but by their tendencies, their mating patterns, the strengths, their weaknesses…

An Emberstone Rhino. A common 4th Circle vanguard beast known for its defenses. It was slow, but when it got to running, its momentum was hard to stop. The ember in its name referred to its tendency to overheat. Its body was even capable of boiling water mid battle.

A Vampiric Falcon. A 5th Circle beast with feathers of red, some of which carried painted eyes akin to a peacock. It was a rare Combat Type beast that feasted on blood to strengthen itself. While it was too small and weak to be used as a flying beast, it was an excellent support creature because it could not only help strengthen the bodies of beasts that heavily relied on their Combat Type Spirit Energy, but it could also drain enemies.

The combination of the two was excellent.

The last was the Azure Bolt Fox. It was another 4th Circle beast, but its power wasn’t to be underestimated, as it was a rare Lightning Type. When it stood on the shoulder of Evan like that, it was clearly meant to bolster the strength of his chain.

Ryker took all of this in with a single glance and he couldn’t help but laugh as the rhino charged toward him.

Just as Evan was shocked and thought the rhino would run him over, Ryker stretched out a finger and a single line of Divined Chains froze it in place.

The Emberstone Rhino was driven into the ground, suppressed so firmly that it couldn’t even breathe.

There was no need for battle, no need for an extended exchange… every single one of these beasts was known by him like the back of his hand.

How could he fail to suppress them?

Ryker took a step and balanced himself on the horn of the rhino.

He stretched out another finger, and the Vampiric Falcon in the skies was sniped. The chains wrapped around its wings and despite being over 50 meters in the air, it couldn’t dodge. It felt like a meteor crashing into the ground below.

Ryker took another step and landed on the back of the rhino.

A chain wreathed in lightning rushed toward him but Ryker side stepped it with another use of [Divined Step], stretching out a finger and sealing the Azure Bolt Fox.

He stepped forward once more and appeared before Evan, stretching out a hand and grabbing Evan’s throat.

“Why don’t you summon more beasts?” Ryker asked, looking at Evan’s stunned and fearful expression with a smile.

Ryker’s words seemed to be a reminder, and he hurriedly reached into his dantian.

Unfortunately, Ryker’s next words were far worse.

“Oops.”

Chains suddenly surrounded Evan and he couldn’t even mobilize his Spirit Energy, let alone summon his other beasts.

“I guess you can’t.”

“RYKER!”

A furious roar came from the top of the city walls.

Ryker looked up to find a middle-aged man with a grizzle mustache and a stern expression.

This man was one of the elders of the Valorian Clan’s security hall. While he wasn’t the head, he wasn’t far from it. He was surely in the top ten in strength in the security hall, and top one in annoyance in Ryker’s book.

It was too bad Ryker just didn’t care. In fact, his smile didn’t even fade.

“Be smarter in your next life.”

The sickening sound of a cracking neck echoed.

The moment Evan died, his Spirit Beasts went berserk, but what could they do beneath the strength of Ryker’s seal?

BOOM!

The grizzled, middle-aged man fell from the city walls, landing before Ryker. His aura was a furious blaze.

Ryker gave him a glance. “Piss off.”

At that moment, it felt as though the aura had been doused in cold water. Looking into Ryker’s eyes, the security hall member felt as though he had plunged into an icy hell.

All of Ryker’s pent up fury and years of suppression poured on the old man the entire time. His Daos fluctuated and fluttered in the air like butterflies.

Ryker ignored the middle-aged man, walking to the gates and placing a hand on them. There was a special formation on them that could only be easily opened from the inside… but how many years had he spent finding a way through them?

The difference was that usually, he would only open them a sliver so that he could slip through.

This time, he had no such intention.

They wanted to suppress him the instant he came home?

In that case, his last bits of reservation had disappeared as well.

BOOM!

The twin heavy doors were blown open so fiercely that they almost blew off their hinges.

Ryker strolled in with bold strides as the entire city felt as though it was quaking.

It wasn’t until Ryker had long disappeared into the distance that Ergen slowly awoke. He touched his back, feeling that there was a cold sweat matting it all the way through.

What was that?

Ryker was just a First Ascended, but he was already a Third Elevated, just a half-step from becoming a Mythic.

Why did it feel like if he really did something just now… he would die?

How could Ergen know that if no Spirit Beasts were involved, Ryker was already a match for Mythics? The gap between those with and without Daos was too large and could only be bridged by the natural talent of beasts.

Ergen felt like he was going to die because Ryker forced him to attack…

He would have never given him the option to summon his beasts at all.

Ergen clenched his fists. ‘This little bastard… I’ll remember this.’

…

Ryker walked forward at a leisurely pace. He didn’t rush.

If he was smart, at least in the eyes of these people, he should be trying his best to contact his father. Only this way could he assure that absolutely nothing would happen to him.

But after seeing what happened at the gate, Ryker realized something.

Since he was being targeted to this extent before he could even take a step into his home… He would take this opportunity to cause as much trouble as he could.

His eyes closed, and he tilted his head to the skies. He breathed in the sweet air.

Not have to inhale that disgusting smog of Smoking Tower City, he felt his mood being elevated.

“Jaana…” he said softly.

Since he had returned… no one could take his wife from him.

Ryker opened his eyes and found the wide path before him blocked by the inner gates of Valorian City, a location only the core members of the family could enter.

He pressed a hand to the simple wooden gates, stroking the wood as though it were the body of a woman.

Compared to the main gates, the Valorian Gates one would have expected to be much more elaborate, were the simplest of the city.

It was said that when the Valorian Ancestor established the Clan, he was capable of using the simplest, most unadorned chains to seal all things. He had reached the true pinnacle of the Divined Chains.

This was a story they told all Valorian Clan youths.

Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn’t… But Ryker knew that it hardly mattered.

They were nothing more than mice being poked and prodded at in a lab.

And yet, when Ryker faced this gate, he felt something stir within him.

‘He didn’t succeed… but he was close…’

The Valorian Clan Founder had touched the Dao of Sealing. Unfortunately, the suppression of this world didn’t allow him to take this step.

Standing before this gate, Ryker could feel the unwillingness.

How terrible was the feeling of knowing that there was something beyond, and yet being completely unable to reach that step no matter how hard you tried?

It felt like in the end, the Valorian Clan Founder had finally managed to seal something… all of his resentment and frustration was buried into this gate.

Ryker stood there in a daze for a long while.

Just what was the change of laws in this Iteration?

It was a question he had thought about, but he couldn’t be sure until he returned.

He still didn’t have an answer just yet, but he could feel clearly that somehow… even without having grasped the Dao of Sealing, the Valorian Ancestor was far beyond himself in his comprehension of it.

‘I knew returning was the right choice…’

It wasn’t just because of revenge. Focusing on such a thing right now was nothing short of selfish, and even he couldn’t be so willful. It also wasn’t because the energy concentration here was beyond Patience’s Iteration.

His home had the resources he would need if he really wanted to make it to the God Realm in half a year.

“I’ll do what you failed to do.”

Ryker spoke softly and pressed his hand forward.

The gates slowly opened and Ryker finally returned to the Valorian Clan.

And at this moment…

It was highly unlikely that a single soul was still asleep.