Ryker stood before Rivarius City. The ocean slowly pushed against the sandy shore behind him, and the dock he stood on swayed in the water, not anchored to much of anything. It felt peaceful to just stand here, even if you took into account the hustle and bustle.

Looking at the tall city gates cast in blue steel, with a pair of Blue Cloud Seakings touching noses, he felt waves of nostalgia, matched with waves of grievance.

He couldn’t remember ever coming to this city in the last ten years and having it end positively. There were many times that Jaana told him that he should probably stop and that she would come to him instead. But with his pride, how could he accept such a thing?

Since Jaana refused to end their marriage contract, she was still his woman. He wouldn’t lower himself to such a point.

Even so, in the last few years, it could be said that for every three visits Jaana made to Planet Valorian, he would only visit this city once.

And now… he was back.

He walked forward.

**

“Jaana, look. It’s a beautiful day, why are you so angry?”

Jaana walked along the street with long strides and a valiant air about her. Her white hair was done up in an elaborate bun, pinned by an equally as elegant hairpin that would put even an Empress to shame. And yet, if one squinted, it would feel more like they were looking at a rampaging housewife. All she was missing was her rolling pin.

However, none of this could hide her otherworldly sort of beauty. Since Ryker had been gone, she seemed to have stepped into another tier entirely. Her blue eyes sparkled like clear ocean waters, and her cute little button nose, although scrunched up, was like the perfect cherry on top of her facial features.

When her dress fluttered in the wind, her curves were caught, and a figure that could bring water to the thirsty and food to the hungry was revealed for brief instances of time.

Her chest was tall and her hips were wide. With every vigorous step she took, something would seem to jiggle and set, only for it to be thrown into chaos again with yet another.

This time, she was truly infuriated. A couple of days ago, she learned that Ryker had returned.

That much was fine. If he didn’t come to see her after all the tears and worry she had wasted on him, that was still acceptable. After all, he had a sick mother as well, and there was a lot of drama to deal with on the Valorian Clan side of things. It had only been a few days, so he would naturally come to see her when the timing was right. She had full confidence in this.

When she learned that Ryker had come to Planet Rivarius after just a day in the Valorian Clan, she was happy. It seemed that her place in Ryker’s heart was truly high. She had done herself up, taken out a dress he had never seen, and waited patiently on the balcony of her room, feeling that it would only be a matter of time before he came to sweep her off her feet.

But then the day waned, and the night came. The moon soared into the skies and then even it set.

That was when she learned that he hadn’t even come to her city but had skirted his responsibilities and gone to another one entirely.

By this point, her anticipation, which had turned to disappointment, became a towering wave of fury.

She immediately stormed over to his grandfather’s place, thinking that he had done something. After all, the fact that Ryker had returned and had even regained the ability to cultivate properly was huge news. Even if many speculated that he had fallen back down to the 8th Circle, who cared?

The number of 8th Circle Talents didn’t exceed the count on her two hands, and each one of them was a heaven-toppling existence. Plus, there would definitely be a difference between Ryker, who was born a 9th Circle Talent, and they, who were born 8th Circle. There would still be a clear demarcating line between the quality of them.

It was because of this that many were still looking to target Ryker. The combination of a fallen 9th Circle Talent and a fallen Pure Soul was unimaginable.

Due to this, she had thought that maybe her grandfather had received some pressure and chosen to turn Ryker away. She had rushed into his office with a vengeance and threatened to pull all his beard hairs out if he didn’t quickly apologize to Ryker.

She knew her fiancé’s temper well. This was the sort of thing that could make him draw a clear line with the Rivarius Clan even if she protested.

In all these years, he had barely been suppressing his fury with all the actions of the other Clans on Planet Rivarius. If even the Rivarius Clan themselves participated, it would all be over.

Although the Rivarius Clan was the overlord of this world, it had to be known that their planet was simply the best for gathering Water Type Spirit Beasts, with only a few others that might be close but not equal.

As such, although they controlled this planet, if they wanted to keep the peace and not be crushed by a coalition, they had to allow some things to slip by. For example, they had contracts with certain Clans and Sects to allow them to hunt Spirit Beasts and cultivate in the dense Water Type Spirit Energy.

Sects like the Water Glass Sect, Clans like the Overius Clan, and even guilds like the Mystery Master Alliance all had contracts with them and were part of the reason why Ryker hated coming to this place.

No matter which it was, they all had young men pursuing Jaana, and it was infuriating to only be able to talk back with his mouth and not his fists. But he would likewise never back down and stop coming entirely, or else that would be admitting that he had lost to them.

With all of this, it was obvious why Jaana would accuse her grandfather… only to find out that Ryker had never come to their city in the first place and had just vanished entirely.

How could she not be furious?

He had actually abandoned her.

“Jaana!”

The voice of a young lady called out again. She was known as Daisy, a disciple of the Water Glass Sect and someone who could be said to have a good relationship with Jaana. In fact, if Jaana wasn’t hanging around Ryker, she was probably either cultivating, training, or spending time with Daisy.

It had been a long while since Daisy had seen Jaana this angry. Well… if a long while was a few months.

The last time she had gone on such a rampage was after Ryker disappeared and his situation became unknown. Many thought it was just another episode, but only she was certain that someone had messed with her fiancé, and she was even more certain that it was one of the scheming bastards of the Valorian Clan.

Now, she looked like she was about to tear the world down again.

She was already on the verge of becoming a Third Elevated. If not for the sturdiness of the city’s build, she would have probably destroyed the whole street by now.

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Daisy felt exasperated. Even if she knew that Jaana tended to lose her temper not much unlike Ryker, she was still surprised when she saw where Jaana was headed.

“Since that bastard likes to play so many games, we’ll see.”

Jaana ripped open the door of a brothel and stormed in.

Daisy choked on air. They were two young ladies, in broad daylight, storming into a brothel… And the worst part was that this wasn’t the first time Jaana had brought her on such an escapade.

There were screams that echoed almost immediately, and the head madame sighed.

“He’s not here, love.”

Jaana grunted like an enraged mama bear and turned around, kicking the door down in her rage and leaving a sack of coins behind.

Poor Daisy was dragged around just like this, going from brothel to brothel until they had already gone to all the low-class ones.

“It seems that his tastes have grown since his cultivation has.”

Jaana grit her teeth, her white hair beginning to gain wisps of blue. It looked like any moment now, it might pop out and start lashing out whips in the environment.

BANG!

Jaana kicked open the door of a brothel with a beautiful sign formed by golden wood and adorned by fluttering leaves and twisting vines.

This was the highest class gentlemen’s club in Rivarius City, known as Enchanting Winds and Sipping Gold.

“Who?!”

Someone stood hurriedly when they saw the situation. Due to a special event, the entire place had been rented out. It could be said that whoever had done this was extraordinarily rich.

Just a chat with one of the ladies of this establishment would cost a normal Ascended’s salary for an entire three years. If one wanted to sleep with one of these women, not to mention the fact that not all of them provided such services, even ten years of salary for a normal Elevated would be enough.

The most expensive kind of service was called Breaking the Golden Veil, where one of the ladies that had never provided such a service before did it for the first time. This sort of thing couldn’t even be measured in salaries of normal people at all. Instead, it would probably directly bankrupt most Mythics.

Ryker had always disdained such brothels. He had come here to have fun, not coddle a woman through her first time. Jaana obviously knew this, so she had gone to the lesser establishments first. But to her surprise, Ryker wasn’t there. So all the fury bubbled over as she thought of the possibility that his preferences might have

changed.

After all, Ryker had a great deal of pride, and there wasn’t a single woman in his high-class gentlemen’s club that wasn’t at least an Ascended. There was even a God Realm head madame overseeing things, and it was said that for an astronomical price, it might even be possible to do all the same things with her. Though, no one had ever confirmed such a thing, and those that could confirm it wouldn’t be chatting about it with the common man.

Not just anyone could touch a God Realm woman.

This aside, this entire establishment had actually been rented out by a single party, and the young men were surrounded by women wearing golden dresses. These golden dresses were precisely the mark of women who had yet to have their Golden Veils pierced, so one could imagine how expensive it would be to have 20 of them just lounging around and happily chatting and entertaining less than 10 men.

But it was also because they had paid such a hefty price that they were instantly infuriated by the interruption.

Still, they couldn’t help but freeze when they saw who it was.

Jaana was a world-toppling beauty, but in this respect, although just a touch inferior, Daisy was likewise in a similar tier. And, she also happened to have a warm smile and personality that could bring a man to his knees, being much less prone to violence than Jaana.

When one of the men saw her at the door, his eyes opened wide and he immediately dove under the table, slipping out of the arms of the young women around him hiding.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Tears began to brim Daisy’s eyes. She too had her own fiancé, and she had admonished Jaana many times that a man should treat his woman far better than Ryker treated her. But what she never expected was to one day come and see that her own husband was also a man like this.

Jaana was surprised by the change of events as well and she instantly felt guilty, her rage deflating like a balloon. Not only was Ryker not here, but she had ended up hurting her friend.

“Daisy, I—”

Daisy shook her head, wiping away unshed tears.

“It’s not your fault. Maybe I was looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. I think I would prefer a man who was so open and honest about his desires too, as opposed to one who just snuck around behind my back.”

What she didn’t say was that at least Jaana and Ryker weren’t married yet, and Ryker had always kept Jaana’s innocence intact. But she was already a married woman who had had her own “Golden Veil” pierced, and there was no going back. To find that her husband was lying to her like this was more heart-wrenching than anything else.

“Daisy, I can explain! This is just a bonding experience!”

The disciple of the Water Glass Sect who had just taken a dive under the table realized now that things couldn’t be hidden. He glared at the men around him trying to hold back their laughter and rushed forward. But Daisy looked away, completely ignoring him.

“Hey, hey!” Jaana blocked him with a palm. “You’ll need to come with more sincerity than that. Don’t think you can just brush this under the rug, Manowin.”

Manowin looked as though his ass was on fire as he hopped from side to side. He wanted to give Jaana a snide remark, but if he insulted Daisy’s best friend, there would be no going back. Plus, it was hard for him to muster up the courage to insult such a beautiful woman anyway.

Just as he was anxious about what to do, a laugh came from the group and a young man with a majestic bearing stood.

“Everyone, please. Do have a seat. Enchanting Winds and Sipping Gold is an establishment that welcomes all. Please don’t misunderstand. I paid for the company of these ladies, but only because of their skills in tea making and music. We had no plans to defile these fairies.”

His gaze shifted and landed on Jaana.

“Miss Rivarius will recall that I sent you an invitation as well. Unfortunately, it was rejected.”

Jaana’s gaze flickered, but then she recalled that she had, indeed, received such a thing. But this man… she had no intention of associating with him for no other reason than the fact he was, one, pursuing her, and two, Ryker hated him.

This man was known as Cyrus Primgold. He was an absolute genius of the Primgold Clan and specialized in Earth Variant Type Beasts… namely, colloquially known as Metal Spirit Beasts.

He was a member of the Mystery Master Alliance and was a Mythical Master that specialized in both paths, having both Spirit Beasts and Mystery Contracts.

Despite not being one of the three main families of the Alliance, his Primgold Clan was no weaker than the Valorian or Rivarius Clans… and there was a conspicuous Violet-Gold emblem on the lapel of his violet-white robes.

Common, White, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Rose-Gold, and finally… Violet-Gold.

The only Innate Battle Geniuses above this level were existences of the Black and Diamond ranks, but it was hard to say if such an existence would appear even in dozens of generations.

However, this mattered little considering Cyrus wasn’t a pure Mystery Master to begin with.

But all of this was still inferior to his other title.

8th Circle Talent.

Although this man had a smiling face and never seemed to do anything untoward, neither Jaana nor Ryker were fools. The actions many had taken under his name or at his behest were all detestable to an extreme.

But no one could deny his power. And sensing his aura now, Jaana couldn’t help but shudder. He had already become a Mythic.

If she had read the invitation more clearly instead of throwing it away when she first saw his name, she would have already known this. This was precisely a small celebration for his new Mythic status. It was just that the two women had crashed the party a bit early.

The sun was high in the skies still, and they didn’t plan on starting the actual festivities for another several hours. This was just a gathering of his closest friends and it was a chance to network and talk business.

Obviously, though Manowin looked like an ant on a frying pan right now, he was obviously a man of high status as well.

“But I’m glad you’ve found a reason to come regardless. What do you say? Since you’re here, why not stay? A small appetizer will be served soon, and the tea here is delightful.”

Just as Jaana was about to speak, a chuckle that made her shudder echoed. She barely had the time to register a shadow passing behind her before a familiar scent filled her nose.

“Wife, this is a bit embarrassing, don’t you think? A husband has to come all the way here just to find his woman in a brothel? Ai, my heart, it’s hurting.”

Jaana had been about to shed tears, but when she heard these shameless words, she spun around. At the same time, in a fluid motion, her Blue Cloud Seaking appeared before her and shot out a bullet of water right at Ryker’s face.

But this time, something completely unexpected happened.

Just as the water bullet was going to drench Ryker through, it froze. He lifted up a finger and pulled it to the side, balancing it on his palm.

Jaana blinked in surprise, then felt a bit embarrassed. She had acted out of instinct, but truthfully, if the water bullet had landed, she would have felt terrible. Ryker had enough nonsense to deal with when facing these arrogant young heir characters, he didn’t need his fiancée embarrassing him. She would just make his situation worse.

Luckily, it seemed that the rumors weren’t false at all.

She quickly caught herself in a daze staring into his starry eyes. Her eyes reddened and she couldn’t help but clench her fists.

“You bastard, you actually didn’t come to see me immediately!”

Ryker took a step and appeared before Jaana.

“Oh? You didn’t react to it? I take that as a yes, then?” Ryker smiled, looking down at her, so close that their chests almost touched.

“You, what are you—”

Jaana’s eyes widened as she realized. Ryker had just called her wife just now. He never did that—

Her mind went blank as Ryker wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing his lips against hers.