Cyrus sat in his room with a gloomy expression. There was something particularly downcast about his current mood, one that made the atmosphere so suffocating that most couldn’t stand to be around him.

The air sliced apart beneath his golden aura as though countless blades were constantly crisscrossing.

That was when someone rushed in to give him a report.

His gaze flickered. The God breaking through was actually Ryker’s grandmother?

The gloominess of his expression turned to malevolence.

There came a time that everyone would have to pay for their arrogance. To think that just when Ryker was riding high, his own glorious moment would bring forward the very people who would destroy his life.

Poetic justice, indeed.

Cyrus slowly stood to his feet.

“Send another report. Tell the Alliance that however many they’re sending, send more.”

…

On another space sailing ship, Nariel wasn’t any less gloomy. His eyes likewise shone bright when he heard the reports. But unlike Cyrus, when he stood, he made his way deeper into the spaceship. At the same time, he also contacted Cyrus to stop him.

“… This matter is an excellent opportunity and it can’t be taken casually. There are too many pieces on the chessboard to make use of for you to be so quick to take personal action.

“We’ll let things play out a bit first. Then when the opportunity comes, we’ll have to see just how bad the Valorian Clan’s inner strife really is.”

Nariel’s gaze became sinister.

“While they’re distracted by the fleet that’s come to insult them, set up an impenetrable net. I really want to see how they’re going to make their way out of this one. Once our Alliances bring the items we need to penetrate the Tribulation, it’ll be over—.”

Nariel had just said these words when he looked up, his expression flickering again.

His gaze locked onto his guards. Spiritual Pattern geniuses weren’t well known for their combat prowess. As such, the best of them would always have a troop of guards.

For the best geniuses like Nariel, these guards would all be born around the same time as him and grow with him. It was then the Spiritual Pattern Master’s duty to help them progress and provide them with the materials they needed to cultivate.

Considering the wealth of Spiritual Pattern Masters, especially ones that had mastered multiple disciplines like Nariel, this wasn’t a problem unless the guards were truly talented.

For Nariel, these guards had caused him a great deal of trouble. But it was likewise worth it.

He had over 20 6th Circle Talents, three 7th Circle Talents, and an 8th Circle Talent by his side. And every single one of them was a Third Elevated at the very worst.

“It’s not time for you all to take action just yet. Nolan, take command of the troops we’ve gathered from the various nearby branches.”

“Yes, young master.”

One of Nariel’s 6th Circle Talents with rings of sleep around his eyes answered with a dull expression. But he went off to execute his duty without fail.

Nariel moved to sit on a throne-like chair. One after another, projections of what was happening on the outside were separated into dozens of screens before him.

A sneering grin spread across his face. He couldn’t wait to watch the Valorian Clan collapse.

…

8th Circle Treasure City.

This place was the one on Planet Valorian that Ryker couldn’t fully control. Unfortunately, the Alliance had branches everywhere, and Planet Valorian was no exception.

The City Lord of the Valorian Planet’s Treasure City was known as City Lord Shah. He was a Rose-Gold Innate Battle Genius and stood as a Third Mythical existence.

He had obviously felt the commotion, but his main role was to be neutral. Unless there was a direct command that came from the Alliance themselves, he wouldn’t stick his nose in matters where it wouldn’t be.

An 8th Circle Treasure City was only a step below the strongest City of the Mystery Master Alliance. If they started a conflict, it would be hard for the main Alliance to just dismiss it. Plus, they were first and foremost a business, things that made them profit should be at the top of their list of priorities…

But this time that didn’t seem to be the case.

When City Lord Shah got the order, he reacted with an air of indifference and summoned the Treasure City’s Treasure Guards, a group of elites who wore bronze, rusted armor that exuded an ancient air.

This rusted armor was made of a very special metal that rusted on contact with blood. This rust, when it flaked off in battle, would reveal a heart-shuddering sheen. However, this wasn’t just a cosmetic change.

It was a process of rebirth, one that made the item even stronger.

They were Mystery Masters. Their treasures were their Contracts.

The more rusted the armor, the more powerful they were, and when it shed in battle…

Their strength would explode.

…

Ryker stood high in the

skies and he acted first. Whatever these people could think of, he had thought of even faster and from ten different angles.

Since they wanted to bring up their death dates, he would oblige.

Most of these ships were on the sidelines. They weren’t even designed for battle as most of these people were only spectators from Ryker’s earlier “performance”.

However, if they stood in his way, he would kill them just the same.

He didn’t wait for reinforcements from the Valorian Clan, he didn’t ask for help, he didn’t even look their way a single time.

His roar echoed in the skies like a clap of thunder and the smile on Nariel’s face had only just solidified when his chain lashed out.

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PA! PA! PA!

They didn’t even have a chance to summon their beasts. It was like the raging fires of the world had targeted them all at once and the guards of the Spiritual Master Alliance branches shattered.

They relied on their talismans and their various runes in an attempt to block, but Ryker’s violet flame seemed entirely immune to it all.

It was like whatever constructs of Spirit Energy that appeared before it were simply unworthy.

TI! TI! TI!

Ryker’s whip followed suit, a series of [Whip like Needles] piercing through the air.

Space was torn like paper and distance didn’t seem to matter. His chain on the one hand was kilometers long, and his whip was able to pierce through the folds of reality itself, leaving a rain of blood and carnage in its wake.

Ryker’s arms moved through the skies and he seemed like a God of Death. Every time he moved, dozens would die, and in just a few breaths, the opposing side had lost hundreds on their side before they could even organize.

Ryker didn’t take a passive position, he didn’t wait for them to take the initiative to attack, and he didn’t ask any questions either.

He told them to come directly, and before they could even respond, he unleashed a torrent of absolute carnage.

At that moment, his enemies finally reacted. The skies erupted with formations and one Spirit Beast after another began to appear.

They were too disorganized to use normal military tactics any longer and it had suddenly turned into a free for all.

Some who were more confident only summoned a single beast, but those that felt their hearts in their throats even went as far as to summon all nine.

All of a sudden, an army of thousands increased by several fold.

However, Ryker’s laughter pierced the skies. In that moment, his booming cadence sounded even louder than the thunderous rumbling of the Tribulation Clouds above.

Suddenly, his body began to clone itself. From just one, hundreds of mirror images appeared across the skies.

His Spirit Energy seemed to be an endless, unfathomable well. He used it without care until he seemed to be an army all to himself.

The Valorian Clan fell into a hushed silence and then…

BANG!

It should have been more than one sound, more than one, single, homogenous BANG! And yet, it wasn’t.

It all happened at the exact same time, countless heads exploding with a single flick of Ryker’s whip-holding wrist.

He tore through space like it was his own backyard, the Daos of the world calling to him, obeying him, and fueling his body.

He was gaining more Spirit Energy per second than he was even using, his Pure Soul doing the kind of heavy lifting that these people couldn’t fathom.

Too many of them were small fry, Ascendeds who thought they could make him sweat with their numbers alone. No matter where it was in this galaxy, even these powerhouse Alliances, Ascendeds were rare, let alone Elevateds and beyond.

To think that they could throw these people at him and find success…

They were too naive.

Blood fell from the skies like rain and Ryker’s mocking laughter continued to boom.

“Bring out something more appetizing, bring out the true tigers and dragons, bring out something that I can truly sink my teeth into… Otherwise you all won’t be satisfied with your deaths.

“Come, come! I’ll send people to accompany you to the underworld!”

…

Nariel's face turned a color one should have only seen on liver. Thousands… dead… with a flick of the wrist?

What kind of power was this?

Was even a God capable of this?

How much had they underestimated Ryker?

What he didn’t know was that when it came to controlling atmospheric Spirit Energy, or attacking from a distance… there was no God in this Iteration that could possibly match up to Ryker.

They had more raw power, but whether it was in control or application… Ryker left them entirely in the dust.

And the reason for that wasn’t just his talent and Pure Soul, it was also because of the Dao.

An amorphous set of laws that existed through the fabric of time and space. When you controlled it in large portions and your enemy couldn’t even grasp it…

It was like an adult playing in a sandbox with children.

It could be said that Ryker was uniquely suited to fighting against so many enemies. He didn’t even break a sweat.

“Finally.” Nariel gasped for breath, realizing he had been holding his own. His gaze turned to one of the screens and felt a hint of relief. “This should change the situation.”

…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of an approaching army echoed over the horizon echoed through the planet. It felt like every step they took shook both the earth and the skies, sinking into their very hearts.

The Treasure Guard. It was a legion of heroes that struck fear in everyone across the galaxy, and even Ryker’s gaze sharpened when he saw them.

But that was when something equally as shocking occurred.

“How audacious.”

It was a casual phrase, but it seemed to freeze time and space. Even Ryker’s Daos grew sluggish for a moment before this might.

Leopold.

At that moment, the Patriarch of the Valorian Clan rose into the skies and a heart-shuddering pressure fell onto the approaching Treasure Guard.

“This is the territory of the Valorian Clan. Take even a single step more and there will no longer be a Treasure City in my territory.”

Leopold’s voice boomed and he seemed to be quite infuriated right now.

Until now, things were still somewhat on the fence. That was because while there were several here to attack, they were members of the junior generation, and technically, Ryker had attacked them first before they even showed their hand.

But now, a representative of a Treasure City, a man of the same generation as some of the most senior individuals in his Clan, had actually come with an army to his doorstep?

Did the dignity of a God mean nothing anymore?

It seemed that people had forgotten that his grandson’s temper didn’t come from nowhere. He had mellowed out in his old age and with the loss of his wife, but that anger could very easily come back when it was needed.

A mighty pressure descended and the Treasure City army would have fallen to their knees if not for there being a link between their armors.

Even so, the pressure of a God wasn’t something they could withstand so easily.

The expression of City Lord Shah became both solemn and a bit ugly. He had been ordered to come here, so he followed orders. But if there was no God to back them up, they would have come in vain… no, they would have come for death.

Then the situation changed once again.

“Haha! Leopold, are you a fan of bullying the youth? How about we spar a few rounds instead?”

Leopold’s gaze sharpened. He looked into the skies and a formation had already formed and blanketed over the entire planet.

At the center of this formation, the projection of a balding man took shape. Despite the state of his hair, though, his bronzed skin and the chiseled lining of his collarbone painted a picture of health.

Leopold understood what he was seeing instantly. They had actually created a formation to summon a projection here. This projection would be no match for Leopold, of course… but it was backed by a great deal of energy, energy that they were siphoning away directly from Planet Valorian.

This meant one very simple thing: If Leopold went all out to exhaust this projection, he would be killing the foundation of the Valorian Clan.

Rage flickered in the Ancestor Valorian’s gaze.

It was impossible for them to have set up this sort of formation in just a few hours. This meant that the source of the problem should be the Treasure City. They had had such a contingency plan in place for decades, maybe even centuries.

To think that they would boldly show such a hand today. Clearly, they had decided that it was well worth it. And the only reason they would have such an assessment would be if it was because of Ryker.

If he had not just one but two Gods protected him, his rise was basically set in stone. Since they had been given such an opportunity, they couldn’t miss it.

While they forced this dilemma into Leopold’s lap, he would be stalled until a real God Realm existence could get here. At that point, the situation would only become all the more troublesome.

The suffocating aura exuding from Leopold only became more so.

“Hear me, warriors of the Valorian Clan.”

His voice rumbled and the bronzed man in the skies felt his expression change.

“Kill.”

Decisive and without the slightest hesitation. If the Mystery Master Alliance still believed that he would take a step back in this situation, they were sorely mistaken.

If they wanted all-out war, the Valorian Clan would give it to them.

It seemed that they

had already forgotten that what the Valorian Clan was best at was countering large groups and numbers.

Before the projection could even react. Leopold slammed a palm down toward the Treasure Guard.

“Don’t you dare!” The bronzed man took action and was ready to block it, but he had misunderstood Leopold’s intentions.

Chains practically blotted out the skies, clashing against what was an invisible barrier, and then ripping past it all.

At that moment, the connection that linked the Treasure Guard shattered into countless pieces and their cooperation was direct suppression.

The Sealing Core of the Valorian Clan had already taken shape, moving with the fluidity of true elites.

The Chain Corps. The Divined Corps. And the Cloud Corps.

They swept down, bloodlust billowing from their bodies.

At the same time, the protective formations of the Valorian Clan all activated at once.

Ryker gave his grandfather a look. At the moment, he still wore those very same creamy white robes that looked as though they had been hand-knitted. It was elegant in a way, and yet it also seemed like he was an old man about to head off to bed at the same time.

His white hair danced in the air and shimmered with such a bright light that they looked more like strands of light rather than filaments of hair.

For the first time in his life, Ryker actually respected his grandfather a little bit.