“Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?”

Jaana was practically running around like her hair was on fire. Ryker had never broken a promise to her unless there was a very good reason for it. As bad as a man he seemed to be, his word was gold, especially when it was related to her.

But now the two-week deadline was coming up, and the three-day promise he had made had been blown off. She had been sitting on pins and needles for the last week.

Her grandfather had tried and failed to calm her down, and every day she seemed to only grow more antsy.

She paced around her room, not quite knowing what to do with herself. Walking didn’t feel comfortable, sitting on her bed didn’t feel comfortable, even the sweet fragrance in the air didn’t feel nearly as refreshing as it usually did.

That was when a cough suddenly awoke her. Her eyes went to the window and the balcony beyond it sharply.

Barely hanging from the ledge, there was a young man trying to pull himself up and yet seemed far too weak to do so.

“Ryker?!”

Jaana rushed over. With her cultivation, even lifting a grown man wasn’t a problem.

She helped Ryker up and he nearly collapsed on her.

“What the hell happened to you?!”

Ryker chuckled. “You should see the other guy.”

Jaana, who had been lost in her own worry, couldn’t help but roll her eyes when she heard this. Why couldn’t this guy be serious? He looked like he was half dead.

It had taken Ryker a long while before he could finally stand and make it here. His body just felt fragile and weak.

Though his Spirit Energy had become vigorous once more, the damage to his body was hard to overcome.

He had just given up dozens of years of his life, and then right before he could even replenish his blood stores, he had entered a fierce battle that ended with him being assaulted by waves of Corruption.

Not only had he lost a great deal of muscle mass, but his inner organs were in critical condition and seemed like they might shut down at any time.

Luckily, after he left the prison, his injuries had begun to slowly heal once again. Phoenix’s breakthrough had sucked up all the Spirit Energy, so unfortunately, when he was knocked out, he didn’t get much more than normal, passive healing done.

He realized this a bit too late, though it was hard to blame him considering he didn’t even have the strength to stay conscious at the time.

He finally managed to pull himself out, only to have to divert a lot of his care and attention toward Queen who had ended up heavily injured in their confrontation.

Luckily, the baby Cyprus Seaking had managed to pull through. If she had died, he didn’t know what he would do.

“Ryker, your challenge is tomorrow. How are you going to compete like this?” The worry in Jaana’s voice was palpable. “How about we… cancel it?”

Ryker chuckled. “If it wasn’t like this, would there even be any suspense?”

“Ryker!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Ryker responded. Just when Jaana was about to breathe out a sigh of relief, he continued speaking. “There still won’t be any suspense even if things are like this.”

Jaana was truly rendered speechless this time, and she didn’t get a chance to break free of that spell either because a pair of lips covered her own.

“Mm… mm, let me… mm…!”

Ryker suddenly winced and pulled back. “Dammit, my body is betraying me.”

Beneath the moonlight, her white hair glistening, Jaana truly looked like a goddess. Her place in his heart was special, so he wanted to give her a grand celebration first, but he couldn’t help but take at least a little taste first.

Unfortunately, his body had practically put up a big red stop sign just now.

“Look at you. That’s what you get for being so bad,” she spoke through a blush.

Ryker smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her forehead.

“I love you, Jaana.”

Jaana froze and tears pooled in her eyes. She had never thought that she would ever hear such words from Ryker.

Not knowing what to do with herself, her eyes started darting around.

“Ah, ah, right, come, come, l-let me help you w-wash up…”

Jaana picked Ryker up in a princess carry and rushed into her bathroom as though that would help her disappear.

“Hey, can’t you hold me another way?”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Jaana was blushing so profusely that she couldn’t even hear him. Eventually, she started smiling to herself and somehow Ryker became a third wheel to his own love story.

‘How’d this happen.’

Jaana’s hands were delicate, and having switched into what looked like a swimsuit of sorts, Ryker could just lean back and watch all sorts of soft flesh push and poke out exactly where it should push and poke out.

Eventually, soapy and lathered, Ryker was surprised to find a hand slipping down below.

“Don’t move. I’m cleaning you,” Jaana said almost self-righteously.

Until now, she still hadn’t seen it. She was a bit tired of Daisy always teasing her. Since she already treated Ryker as her husband, she might as well see what she would be working with for the rest of her life.

It was soft and squishy in her hands as she gently kneaded it. But soon, it grew hotter and fiercer until suddenly it was pressing her fingers apart.

She had undressed Ryker in the water to avoid some embarrassment, and chose this approach so that she could maintain some control… but she very quickly felt like this was out of her control.

Ryker just laid there, leaning against the sides of the large heated pool and clasping his hands behind his head. He looked at his blushing little wife with a satisfied expression on his face.

She looked at him as though she was asking for help, but he only snickered.

“You started this train, you finish it. I was planning on being a gentleman.”

Jaana scoffed. “When have you ever been a gentleman?”

“Whenever I’m with my wife.”

“Then no more whorehouses.”

“Okay.”

Jaana was taken aback, not expecting Ryker to agree so readily. He had never lied to her before, so that could only mean that this was the first time… or he truly meant it.

Jaana smiled sweetly as she looked down at the soapy water.

She ducked down a bit, hiding those precious mounds beneath the water as she unhooked her top. With a kick of her feet, she slid to Ryker’s side.

The feeling of softness that pressed against his torso made the heat that Ryker was feeling skyrocket to a new level.

Jaana lightly kissed his neck and her hand began to move. If that was all, Ryker would still be able to handle it. But then the water began to move as well.

Like a gentle current of moving snakes, the water began to wrap around his balls and shaft.

Ryker took in a sharp breath.

“Hey, hey, hey. Who taught you this? Who do I have to kill?” Ryker asked in a bit of a daze.

Jaana’s light chuckle echoed in his ears. “This wife of yours will be better than any whore, I promise.”

As she spoke, her thumb began to lightly run circles on his tip as though she was truly just focused on cleaning him thoroughly.

That night, Ryker’s mind seemed to have been flung out of a window. All he could feel were the clouds he was floating on.

**

The Valorian Clan was in a state of controlled chaos. The news about what would be happening today had spread far and wide, and at some point, under the influence of so many powers, they had no choice but to pick a bigger venue.

Normally, such a challenge wouldn’t garner this much attention outside of the Valorian Clan themselves. Someone falling from the Glory Path and trying to get back onto it wasn’t exactly a moment of greatness. Those like this were often fringe geniuses.

It was very rare for someone to fail on the path and then come back stronger, and most of these challenges ended in failure.

Still, Ryker’s position was special and had already captured the attention of the many of the strongest powers across the galaxy.

Due to this, there were many representatives of various powers here. Though their top leaders hadn’t appeared, weaker powers would still send an elder or two to oversee, while the true top dogs sent a few juniors.

Among those present, maybe the most notable were the 8th Circle geniuses Cyrus of the Mystery Master Alliance, Nariel the genius of the Spiritual Mark Alliance, and a familiar figure of the Adonis Clan.

After Ryker’s mother married into the Valorian Clan, she hadn’t had much interaction with them. They seemed to have vanished into the shadows, and even Ryker didn’t know much about this maternal Clan of his.

However, it was impossible for him to not recognize his own grandmother no matter how long it had been since he had last seen her.

She sat in silence, holding onto a frail Joanna. They both looked like they might teeter and topple over at any moment, and Ryker’s father was not much less exasperated than Jaana had been last night. But this time, he couldn’t stop his wife from coming even if he chained her to the bed.

In the end, he could only allow it to happen and clear out an area.

As a Glory Mythic, there were very few people who dared to stop him from doing as he pleased anyway, and he managed to corner off a region so that the two women were as comfortable as possible.

He was also worried about something else… his son had just vanished again, leaving Planet Valorian without saying anything despite the fact half the world wanted him dead.

Before, he had contacted the Rivarius Clan, but even they had no news of him, and now the time was coming and there was still no sign of him.

At that moment, the clouds seemed to part as a white-robed old man descended.

The crowd stood up one after another without a choice. In the presence of a God, there was no other option.

The Patriarch of the Valorian Clan, looking just as vigorous as he usually did, slowly descended from the skies above.

Right then, it seemed to settle in just how important this affair was. For a God to appear in a matter between juniors… it could only be said that Ryker had truly stirred up a storm this time.

And then silence fell. Leopold didn’t speak, so neither did anyone else.

A somberness fell over everything as they all silently waited.

The combatants of the Valorian Clan had all been lined up in the arena below, relaxing in the shade. Even if they began to feel a little impatient, they didn’t have the right to display it. If their Patriarch wasn’t complaining, it certainly wasn’t their turn to do so.

Everyone felt like their emotions were being strung tight and their blood ran ice cold.

It was at that moment that the clouds parted again.

Many were shocked, feeling that another God was appearing, only to be stunned by the fact that it was actually a pair of lovers.

Ryker held onto Jaana’s waist, his Wind Dao fluttering around him in a cyclone as he descended from on high.

Under the gazes of everyone, he descended down into the arena below.

He looked strong and valiant… for but a moment before he coughed and then stumbled lightly. Jaana had to catch him, stopping him from falling. Then, all at once, the ruddiness of his appearance paled and became somewhat sickly.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Ryker chuckled, patting Jaana’s shoulder. “You can go. Oh, look at that, my grandmother’s here. Have you met her before?”

“I… no,” Jaana shook her head, wondering why her fiancé couldn’t be normal for once. Now wasn’t the time to talk about this.

“She’s a nice lady, she taught me how to cook. In the future, when you’re enjoying my meals, you’ll have her to thank.”

Jaana laughed beside herself. Maybe her fiancé just wasn’t meant to be normal.

Without a choice, she eventually left the arena to Ryker alone.

Ryker didn’t say anything, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the skies. For some reason, even now, most people remained silent.

“Alright,” Ryker said lightly. “It’s time to close this chapter. Who’s up first?”

Ryker spoke without opening his eyes.

His parents were already panicking in the stands. Why was Ryker so injured? And why did he still insist on going? But before they could say anything, Ryker opened his eyes.

The Daos of the world seemed to revolve around him and a suffocating pressure spread out in all directions.

The arena cracked and shattered, and at that moment, there didn’t seem to be the slightest frailty to Ryker at all.