A wild grin spread across Ryker’s face as the Crimson Supreme’s aura rose.

From the moment he had met this man, he was aware of his true strength. Whatever cultivation method he was using to hide himself from others was completely ineffective against his Pure Soul, and most definitely ineffective against his Pure Soul under the support of [Soul Ripple].

Ryker’s reaction caused the Crimson Supreme’s ruby eyes to narrow. The pressure of the Ascension Realm wasn’t something that could be casually shrugged off. Just their presence alone came with what was called a True Domain, a range of influence that allowed these cultivators to use Atmospheric Spirit Energy.

When Enlightenment Realm martial artists were within the range of this influence, they found it difficult to even circulate their own Spirit Energy, and that led to a near complete shutdown of their bodies.

To be able to stand was already enough of a feat, let alone laugh.

“I’m going to enjoy this.”

Ryker spoke as he pulled out a thick chain and a dense black whip. Both were only 7th Enlightenment Realm treasures, but they had been forged by Ryker himself using treasures that Patience had procured.

Whether it was the chain or whip, both of them radiated a dense black fog that made it hard to tell their exact length, especially when they were held in loops upon Ryker’s palms.

These were true 7th Enlightenment Realm treasures, created to the specification of not this world, but the Valorian Clan’s.

Holding them in his palms, his black hair fluttered, his blue irises growing brighter and brighter.

BANG!

Ryker’s whip suddenly unfurled, slicing through the Crimson Supreme’s dense True Domain and appearing before him in an instant.

The man stepped back, believing himself to have easily slipped out of range. However…

THWACK!

A slap caused the Crimson Supreme’s head to turn to the side. It was only a slight turn, and the whip didn’t even seem to leave a mark. However, the sound echoed through the silence, rebounding off the walls of the underground catacomb and resonating in the Crimson Supreme’s heart.

“That could have been your head. Consider that the only mercy I’ll give you on Patience’s behalf. Now, I suggest you take this seriously. I’ve never been able to fight all out before… I think you would be a nice stepping stone.”

The Crimson Supreme’s head slowly straightened. He looked at Ryker whose eyes were actually filled with excitement.

For the sake of his daughter? It was more like Ryker didn’t want the battle to end so quickly.

BOOM!

Fire Type Spirit Energy erupted from the Crimson Supreme and the world shook and quaked as he punched out.

Ryker reacted in kind. By this point, his Time Type Spirit Energy had already taken root and his Wind Type Spirit Energy had become his anchor. He had thought about using a more offensive Spirit Energy, but he ultimately decided that flexibility and speed in this battle would do him the most favors.

Fist and chain met and the Crimson Supreme’s brows furrowed. He was well known for his oppressive power, but that… hurt.

His arm was flung backward as a whip shot forward. The Crimson Supreme was forced to counter with his opposite fist, but the nimbleness of the whip was beyond his expectations. It seemed to slither around his attack, slapping at his wrist instead of his palm.

[Whip Like Shield].

The technique, empowered by Wind Type Spirit Energy, was akin to a whirlwind, slicing marks across the Crimson Supreme’s sturdy body and pushing yet another arm back.

Ryker walked forward, his whip and chain following one another like the sun and a shadow. His arms moved with a fluidity that almost seemed to resonate with the atmosphere, every movement he made being perfect to an extreme.

It wasn’t just his Pure Soul, but rather his comprehension of Wind Type Spirit Energy alone had become so deep after unlocking three powerful talents for Phoenix that he was no longer the same laymen of the past.

He walked down the man who dared to title himself supreme.

The gap in skill was immediately obvious between the two, and when the strength output was nearly equal, Ryker shone brightly.

BANG!

A violent swirl of wind took shape and shredded the Crimson Supreme’s upper garments, leaving him standing in rags as he stumbled back once again. His skin was filled with shallow marks, his crimson eyes no longer quite so tranquil, but his indifference seemed to be etched into his very bones.

Ryker’s arms flared out, his whips and chain forming a dance of flood dragons in the sky. They snaked about like they owned the air space, as though it was they that were the True Domain, they that were in the Ascension Realm.

“Show me something, Crimson Shitstain. If this is all you have, we should end this battle right here and now.”

The Crimson Supreme looked at Ryker deeply. Then, he slowly touched a bag to his waist.

Ryker thought that he was going to pull out his beasts, finally. But instead, a great sword appeared, one that was at least two meters tall and at its base, it was at least two hand widths wide.

Ryker’s grin widened.

The Crimson Supreme stomped a foot, flames erupting across his blade as he charged.

Ryker’s foot tapped the ground, dodging out of the way of a blade strike with [Divined Step].

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Fire and wind filled the skies as the two danced.

The Crimson Supreme’s blade was far more skilled than his fists. He advanced and retreated smoothly, his sword shadows appearing everywhere and yet feeling nowhere at the same time. He wielded a heavy blade with the nimbleness of an assassin’s dagger, moving in and out of Ryker’s own shadows.

However, he was unable to get close. His skill was admirable, but his movement technique wasn’t nearly as good.

Ryker seemed to be able to take just a single step to match up to three of his own.

As they fought, it became akin to a game of chess, one that the Crimson Supreme was slowly losing.

He raised his great sword, twisting his wrist and stabbing out. A whirlwind of fire took shape and repelled another chain strike.

[Whip Like Needle].

The change was so sudden that the Crimson Supreme couldn’t react. The whip needled through the cyclone of flames, using it as a smoke screen.

The chest of the Crimson Supreme was torn through and his previously sturdy body seemed to have been ripped to shreds.

Wind Type Spirit Energy rotated with a vengeance through his collarbone, tearing a small hole right through his body.

The Crimson Supreme stumbled back once, blood pooling from his wound and his lips. But he still managed to find enough strength to raise his great sword again, his entire body swinging upward in an attack and dodging motion.

[Chain Like Shield].

Sword and Chain met.

The Crimson Supreme tried to parry it upward, but the sudden use of [Chain Like Shield] propelled him right into the ground.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

A laughter echoed. Ryker’s voice boomed with the uproarious cadence of thunder itself.

“Get up!” He roared.

Ryker could feel his blood boiling. His mind was racing with a thousand thoughts. Counters and counter to counters, two and three moves ahead–if the Crimson Supreme vaguely felt like he was playing chess, then to Ryker he was playing exactly that.

With the Silver Mirror reflecting to his back, he felt like the world was in his palm.

The back of the Crimson Supreme’s head rebounded into the ground hard, the pulse of wind in the form of [Chain Like Shield] being far heavier than it had been with the whip. It felt like a mountain had fallen on him from above and his body was practically imprinted into the hard ground.

Ryker’s laughter continued to echo. “If you think that I’ll run out of Spirit Energy before you do, I advise you to give up on that pipe dream. In this backwater world, your Realm means nothing to me.”

Ryker felt good, better than he ever had in his entire life. It was thrilling. He could imagine going back to the Valorian Clan and slaughtering anyone who had ever looked at him the wrong way.

The thought fueled him with more strength, veins bulging across his body.

The Crimson Supreme huffed out breaths that came in spurts of blood instead. He looked over at Ryker as he struggled to his feet. The latter had his own wounds, but they seemed entirely unable to affect him. Ryker shrugged off the burn and sword wounds licking at his skin.

Right now he just wanted a battle.

ROAR!

The Crimson Supreme pressed the other side of his hip and three Crimson Lions appeared.

They stood like small hills, flames bursting across their manes. But what was even more suppressive were their auras. Each one was a Half-Step into the Ascension Realm, a power that meant far more in a beast than in a human’s body.

The combined quasi Domains of three beasts of the exact same breed and Type was a great pressure on the surroundings, so much so that Ryker actually began to feel some discomfort himself.

What this Crimson Supreme didn’t know, likely because he was the first Ascension Realm expert of the Federation, was that the suppressive effect of the Ascension Realm was almost entirely reliant on Circle Talent.

The most prominent advantage of Ryker’s nine Circles aside from the number and quality of Spirit Beasts, was his sheer amount of quantity of Spirit Energy.

There was a reason for that. One's Circles were the method through which one could communicate with Spirit Energy, and since Ryker’s talent was far beyond Patience’s father’s, he could ignore the suppressive effects of him alone. However…

Beasts had superior control over Spirit Energy, and there were more of them. On top of that, the Crimson Supreme had trained them well enough that they cooperated perfectly.

Ryker felt that his Spirit Energy circulation speed had taken about a 10% hit. With the type of fighting method he was using now, it could definitely lead to some downstream effects. Without Time Type Spirit Energy working properly, it would be hard to even injure this man, let alone fight him.

However…

Ryker was prepared for this.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

As though provoked, Phoenix appeared in a violent swirl of fury. Then, under Ryker’s command, they stomped the ground with a vengeance.

The earth shook and quaked, a ripple of gorgeous and earthy bronze spilling out in all directions. Almost instantly, the effect of the three layered quasi Domains was ripped apart. As for the Crimson Supreme standing behind his beasts, he found himself severely suppressed.

Earth Reborn.

‘There’s not much time. Earth Phoenix can only keep this up for a few minutes with his current amount of Spirit Energy.’

Ryker’s body was enveloped in Wind Type Spirit Energy as Wind Phoenix raised his head. Ryker landed on his beast’s back and his aura rose.

“Kill.” Ryker said coldly.

ROAR!

Wind and Fire Phoenix opened their mighty maws, filling the skies with blazing Fireballs and slicing Wind Blades.

Earth Phoenix rose his head proudly, communicating with his brothers and fueling their attacks.

The Fireballs doubled in size from barely four or so inches to almost a foot in diameter.

The Wind Blades suddenly accelerated, appearing before the three Crimson Lions before they could even properly react.

The three lion beasts roared. Under the Crimson Supreme’s command, they lashed out.

However, as they were dealing with this wave of attack, Fire Phoenix slammed down a claw. Beneath Earth Phoenix’s might, the ground shattered as though it was made of glass.

Trailing Blaze.

A line of fire erupted as a deep trench was cut through the ground. It moved so fast beneath the combined might of Earth and Fight Phoenix that it seemed to appear before the Crimson Supreme in an instant, pushing past his beasts as though they weren’t even there.

The Crimson Supreme assumed that he could casually deal with these flames, fire was his specialty, after all. And yet, he found that his control over them, even in the small region his True Domain was still active, was less than minimal.

He was forced to jump to the side, his body too worn and tired to forcefully withstand such a blow. But when he looked up to check on the battle, his pupils couldn’t help but constrict.

The Crimson Lion in the path of the Trailing Blaze found itself with a burnt paw, its resistance to fire seemingly null and void. To make matters worse, its failure to dodge had caused it to suffer several bone deep wounds under the assault of several Wind Blades.

But even worse than that, Phoenix charged right through the flames, entirely unaffected.

The Crimson Supreme sent a command to the two other lion beasts to pincer the Phoenix, but at that moment, Wind Phoenix raised his head and unleashed a mighty roar.

Focused Push.

A sphere of violently rotating green wind took shape around Phoenix and the injured Crimson Lion.

BAM!

An immovable force slammed into the two approaching lions, sending them flying back even faster than they came.

Seeing this scene, the Crimson Supreme, a veteran of many battles, immediately understood what was happening.

Divide and conquer.

But that was exactly right. He was a veteran of many battles.

The injured Crimson Lion spit out a line of fire, not at Fire Phoenix, but rather Wind Phoenix. The Supreme had already seen through the different affinities of the beast, and so long as Wind Phoenix was distracted, it would be easier to run.

Wind Phoenix flinched backward, unable to dodge in time. The flames hit the young beast’s face, obscuring their eyes and seemingly burning into them.

A roar of rage echoed. It didn’t carry even the slightest hint of pain, but it was absolutely furious that such an inferior beast would deem to harm it.

Ryker immediately reined in control over Wind Phoenix, sending the young beast soothing thoughts. At the same time, his whip and chains lashed out, executing [Whip Like Shield] and [Chain Like Shield] at the same time.

The two forces of wind clapped against the sides of the injured Crimson Lion, and stalling its retreat for just long enough for Fire Phoenix’s throat to glow a bright golden red.

Molten Fireball.

The perfect orb of gold shot out with a speed far greater than the lion beast could react to.

“NO!”

The roar of the Crimson Supreme changed nothing. The golden ball that seemed formed of molten lava glanced off the side of the Crimson Lion’s skull, instantly incinerating a quarter of its head and brains.

The creature’s eyes dimmed and the balance of the battlefield tilted even as the Molten Fireball shot into the distance.

Ryker could have controlled Phoenix to control the attack with far greater ease, however he had decided on a glancing blow for a reason. Phoenix could only use a handful of Molten Fireballs per battle, and he wouldn’t waste even a single one.

Earth Phoenix roared as the Molten Fireball suddenly expanded, pools of Spirit Energy fusing into its body from the surroundings like tendrils of crimson.

Ryker didn’t even give the Crimson Supreme another glance.

In that moment, his timing was perfect. Just as the attack landed, Wind Phoenix regained his bearings and slammed a claw into the ground.

Accelerate.

A green glow wrapped around the majestic creature and they suddenly pivoted, shooting for a Crimson Lion that had just been forced away from Focused Push.

Fire Phoenix slammed a claw into the ground, casting Trailing Blaze again and cutting off a path to return to the Crimson Supreme who was currently facing a Molten Fireball.

Ryker opened his arms wide, feeling the battlefield reflecting in his mind. Every detail was under his control and the feeling fueled him like sparks of lightning roaring through his veins.

He could feel whimpers coming from Fire Phoenix. Just a single casting of Molten Fireball had already made his throat sore. So, he let Wind Phoenix shine as he brandished his whip and chain.

Wind Blades fueled by Earth Reborn cut through the air.

The Crimson Supreme was completely occupied by the Molten Fireball that had suddenly appeared before him, and even if he wasn’t, the second cast of Trailing Blaze only cut off his eyesight further.

At the same time, the loss of one Crimson Lion caused his resistance against Earth Reborn to plummet to a new low. His strength was sapped away by more than 50%, and even worse than that, the death of his Spirit Beast whipped against his soul with a severe backlash…

He simply didn’t have the luxury of helping, and that only put him in an even worse situation.

The claws of Phoenix and the Crimson Lion met as they stood to their hind legs and slammed forward. Unfortunately, the lion only had one head and its Fire Type Spirit Energy was entirely useless.

Its maw fought back against one head as two others ripped into its throat, taking out large, savage bites.

The lion beast whimpered as its gaze dimmed. Phoenix wasn’t moved by its flaming maze at all, Wind and Fire Phoenix biting through it as though it didn’t exist.

ROAR!

Phoenix’s blood boiled, and completely outside of Ryker’s orders, Fire Phoenix crushed the rest of the lion’s skull in his maw, pulling out the Beast Crystal and swallowing it whole.

Ryker frowned. This threw off his timing, they were still too immature.

A roar of pleasure came from Fire Phoenix, but now the young beast’s Circle Pathways were entirely occupied with swallowing up a well of Spirit Energy far beyond them. In this situation, he couldn’t command Fire Phoenix to cast anything.

Ryker didn’t have time to be frustrated. He commanded Earth Phoenix to divert some of Earth Reborn to helping Fire Phoenix absorb it faster, then the images on the Silver Mirror shifted to lock onto the Crimson Supreme’s position.

Patience’s father had given up a great amount of Spirit Energy just to block the Molten Fireball, but even then, the man seemed to still be standing. His gaze was somewhat blank and a great flickering flame was dancing within, almost as though he couldn’t believe what was happening.

It made sense. These beasts would have been by his side for decades. To lose them like this in a battle he felt he should have won easily was a huge blow.

But even worse than that… how would he defend the Federation now?

His gaze slowly turned over to Ryker who had already had Wind Phoenix cast Accelerate again. The large creature shot through the battlefield as though it had blinked from one location to another. He could almost see the death of his third companion.

“That’s enough…” he said lightly. “THAT’S ENOUGH!”

ROAR!

A fourth Crimson Lion came from nowhere. No, it wasn’t from nowhere. It had come from the Crimson Supreme’s dantian, that Ryker was certain of. At the same time… it wasn’t certain that this was a Crimson Lion at all.

It was smaller, standing at only three or so meters tall. But its black fur rippled with hidden muscles, powerful and sleek. Its mane wasn’t a blazing red, but rather a billowing bush of black flames. The only part of it that wasn’t black, including its sclera, were those crimson irises.

‘5th Circle Talent, Ascension Realm beast.’

Ryker’s pupils constricted. This was troublesome.