by KSY
Ryan’s expression turned serious as large quantities of Baleful aura, Death Attribute aura, and Fire Attribute aura erupted out of his body and soon transformed into a black dragon with red eyes. The quantity of Baleful aura being emitted by Ryan further increased after he’d conjured Yama, and it had already started spreading in all directions. Anzo’s expression changed as he quickly increased the distance between himself and Ryan, because he had no intention of coming into contact with Ryan’s Baleful aura.
Yama’s appearance stunned everyone in the Combat Arena, as most of them had never seen an Asura Dragon Martial Spirit but they were quickly brought back to reality by Ryan’s Baleful aura. They had never seen such a vicious Baleful aura which alarmed them too. Such a Baleful aura could only be possessed by a person who had slaughtered countless living beings. They were unable to fathom how Ryan was still alright. Many people with a low Cultivation Level felt uneasy when they looked at Ryan’s Baleful aura, as they felt as if they were being stared at by a savage beast.
“Roar!” Yama issued an angry roar as he charged at the incoming Azure dragon, which in the end, was not a real thing so it was easily destroyed by Yama with a single swipe of his right arm.
Bang!!!
The Azure dragon disintegrated soon after. Ryan’s family immediately cheered on seeing this scene especially his cousins, who almost went wild with joy. The reactions of the other members of the Third branch of Eternity Family Clan and the Fifth branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan were no different from Ryan’s family’s at that moment.
Ryan had made them lose a lot of face previously, so they finally felt that they’d regained some of it due to his powerful performance. The Third branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan wore serious expressions. They had no intention of seeing one of their core members lose to a core member of another branch, as they would lose a lot of face. The number of Immortals in the Third branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan was no fewer than in the Fourth branch of the Family Clan, so they had a lot of clout and respect in the Grandura branch of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan.
The Baleful aura emitted by Ryan had spread in every direction for twenty meters before it stopped spreading further and started revolving around him in a clockwise-manner. It soon took the form of a red hemisphere with Ryan at its center. Many people were alarmed on seeing this, as they thought that it meant that Ryan could already use a Domain at the young age of fifteen, which was something unheard of.
“It’s not a real Domain but the red hemisphere contains some Elemental Laws required to create a Domain. It won’t be long before he can conjure a real Domain,” one of the Martial Artists of the Senior generation told everyone in an excited manner.
If one wishes to be a true powerhouse in any faction, then he or she should be able to conjure a Domain or otherwise be at a disadvantage in fights against beings that can conjure one. The red hemisphere was a proof that Ryan had the potential to be a true powerhouse of both Family Clans in the future.
Anzo had a sullen expression after seeing his Azure dragon getting destroyed by Yama in such an easy manner. This fact had shaken him up a little bit, but he still had confidence in himself. His mood turned sour though, when he saw the red hemisphere around Ryan which was entirely made up of Baleful aura, as he himself had yet to comprehend the Elemental Laws required to conjure a Domain. So, when he saw someone younger than him that had comprehended them, he felt jealous. Evil thoughts started to come in his mind.
“Roar!” the gigantic ape by Anzo’s side issued a roar as it charged towards Yama who was charging towards Anzo after destroying his Azure dragon. The Red-eyed Water Ape and Yama exchanged numerous blows at lightning speed within a few seconds. Sometimes they were on the floor of the ring and sometimes they were high up in the sky. Everyone could tell that Yama had an upper hand in terms of raw strength. Anzo also shot into the sky in order to assist his Martial Spirit. He slashed numerous Water blades using the First slash of the Heaven Sundering Sword Martial Skill at Yama, as he had decided to get rid of Yama first before dealing with Ryan.
Yama felt a little pressure as he could tell that the Water blades shot at him had the destructive power equivalent of a full-powered attack by a Mid Mortal King Realm Martial Artist unlike before. Additionally, though the Attack power of the gigantic ape was not that high, its defense was extremely strong. Yama dodged the Water blades and the ape’s attacks at high speed. He made sure that none of them hit his body as that would unnecessarily attract everyone’s attention. The toughness of Yama’s aura body was on a par with that of Ryan’s body, so Anzo and his Martial Spirit wouldn’t be able to harm him in any manner even if they were to bombard him with their full-powered attacks for hours.
Ryan knew that he couldn’t allow Anzo and his Martial Spirit to continue attacking Yama, so he immediately flew towards Anzo, as he had no intention of allowing him to slash out as many Water blades as he wanted at Yama.
Anzo had already noticed Ryan charging at him, and Killing intent surged out of his body as he immediately moved back to avoid coming in contact with the red hemisphere around Ryan and once again used the Sixth slash, Manifestation. He shot out five blue sword beams at Ryan, all of which transformed into Azure dragons which charged at Ryan with indomitable might. They attacked Ryan from five different directions with the might of Late Mortal King Realm Martial Artists, unlike the previous one. This time Anzo was not at all holding back and gave his all. The Azure dragons were not affected by Ryan’s Baleful aura or the red hemisphere as they lacked life and moved according to Anzo’s will.
Everyone in the Combat Arena was stunned. The Referee also readied himself to save Ryan, but Ryan flashed a provocative smile at Anzo. He knew that Azure dragons didn’t pose any sort of threat to him, but he knew that he couldn’t let them attack him as it would look odd if he didn’t get injured even after getting attacked by them.
“Ahhhhhh!” Ryan roared as his entire body was engulfed in black flames. Ryan currently looked no different from a Fallen angel as he gave off a very dangerous and evil vibe which sent a shiver down Anzo’s spine. The flames were Hell’s Fire flames, and the temperature in the ring immediately went up by hundreds of degrees. Anzo wrapped his body in Water Attribute Spirit Power.
Everyone looked at Ryan with astonishment. A big uproar occurred in the Combat Arena, and everyone in the Junior generation of both Family Clans couldn’t help but look at Ryan with envious expressions. Hell’s Fire flame was quite infamous in both the Mortal Universe and the Divine Universe due to Asuras, so everyone couldn’t help but look at Ryan with astonishment as well as envy.
“So, it true that this brat possesses such a powerful flame. No wonder the members of the Upper echelons of both Family Clans fought for him so bitterly,” someone amongst the audience said with a sigh. A lot of rumors had spread regarding Ryan, but most were dismissed by people as over-exaggeration. There had also been a rumor that he possessed Hell’s Fire flame which had been dismissed by most, so the uproar in the Combat Arena was to be expected when the rumor turned out to be true.
“Could it be that other rumors regarding him are also true?” everyone suddenly had this question in their minds which shook their hearts. Even before the audience could calm down after seeing Hell’s Fire flame, another of Ryan’s action made them skip a heartbeat.
The Hell’s flame around his body transformed into six mighty Black serpents which charged at the incoming Azure dragons and Anzo. The Black serpents were about three meters in length, and their might was on a par with that of the Azure dragons. The serpents looked quite similar to Earl. Five of them flew towards the incoming Azure dragons to engage them, while one of them flew towards Anzo.
The expressions of everyone present in the Combat Arena changed drastically after seeing the Black serpents created by Ryan. They were having a hard time believing that an Early Mortal Lord Realm Martial Artist could actually create such life-like serpents out of his flames. The Black serpents looked like rea
l living creatures: even Anzo’s Azure dragons were not that life-like. Anzo also looked at the six Black serpents in a stunned manner as they signified Ryan’s terrifying control over flames.
Five of the six Black serpents immediately clashed with the incoming Azure dragons in the air and stopped them in their paths, while the sixth one chased Anzo around. Anzo was flying at high speed while dodging the Black serpent’s attacks, as he didn’t have the guts to take its attacks head-on.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Multiple explosions resounded in the Combat Arena when Ryan’s Black serpents clashed with Anzo’s Azure dragons. The Azure dragons and the Black serpents fought like berserk beasts and within the span of few second their bodies had clashed more than a hundred times. Each time their bodies clashed an explosion occurred whose sound reverberated around the entire Combat Arena.
The glow of the Azure dragons reduced with each clash, signifying the depletion of their energy levels, while the Black serpents were still the same. It seemed that continued clashes had no effect on them. This was due to their being made entirely out of Hell’s Fire flames, which can’t be extinguished so easily. Hell’s Fire flame can only be extinguished using Variant water that is on the same Level as it, or by sheer force, which can only be done by someone with a Cultivation Level by two or three Sub-realms above Ryan’s. Anzo looked at the scene with a grim expression. He’d never expected Ryan’s Combat prowess to be so high.
He quickly stabilized his mind and started thinking of a way to deal with the Black serpent that was quickly catching up to him.
“Roar!” an angry and pained roar resounded throughout the entire Combat Arena which shook Anzo’s heart, as he could tell that his Martial Spirit’s condition was not good. High up in the sky, the arms of the Red-eyed Water Ape Martial Spirit were ripped apart by Yama by sheer force, and Yama’s tail had impaled the Red-eyed Water Ape Martial Spirit through its chest. The next moment Yama breathed a torrent of Hell’s Fire flame at the Red-eyed Water Ape Martial Spirit and burned its aura body into nothingness.
The Azure dragons were also destroyed at the same time.
The other five Black serpents and Yama then moved towards Anzo as they’d dealt with their respective targets. Anzo completely lost his will to fight at this point and didn’t conjure his Red-eyed Water Ape Martial Spirit again. He stopped running from the Black serpent and just hovered in the air with a dazed expression as he looked at the approaching Black serpents and Yama. The one that had been chasing Anzo all this time was the first one to reach him. It opened its mouth with the intention of spewing out a torrent of Hell’s Fire flame on Anzo, but just at that moment, the Referee appeared in front of Anzo. He punched the Black serpent and made it disappear instantly. Ryan’s Hell’s Fire flame had actually been forcefully extinguished by the Referee!
Ryan had already stopped Yama and the remaining five Black serpents from attacking Anzo, as the duel’s outcome was decided the moment the Referee interfered. He recalled Yama to his Soul World and extinguished the remaining five Black serpents. He also stopped emitting Baleful aura, because of which the red hemisphere around him also disappeared within a few seconds. A peaceful and calm atmosphere appeared around him, which was in complete contrast to just seconds before.
The Referee announced in an emotionless voice, “Ryan wins.”
The Referee descended onto the ring along with Anzo, who still had a dazed expression. He was unable to believe that a freak like Ryan could exist, but it wasn’t just him: everyone in the Combat Arena including his family thought that. It took some time for this to sink into everyone’s minds.
The entire arena immediately broke out in cheers. Ryan’s family and branch members were the loudest.
Ryan struck a victory pose by lifting his fist high up in the sky which resulted in another wave of thunderous cheers.
A smile appeared on his face.
Ch.12
In the Ancestral land of the Grandura branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan, Ryan and Anzo’s duel was watched via a screen in the Hall of a building by most of the members of the Upper echelon of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan plus a few members of the Upper echelon of the Eternity Family Clan, that were visiting Heavenly City for the Divine Trials. All of them had expressions quite similar to those of the audience in the Combat Arena. The appearance of Yama, the viciousness of Ryan’s Baleful aura, Hell’s Fire flame and Ryan’s superior control over flames made them change their perspective regarding Ryan again and again.
“Good thing that we didn’t allow you guys to monopolize Ryan. We were almost made into fools by you guys!” one of the members of the Upper echelon of Eternity Family Clan said as he sneered at the members of the Upper echelon of Heaven Sundering Family Clan. His name was Adalwin, and he also held the position of Grand Elder in the Law Enforcement Department of the Eternity Family Clan.
The members of the Upper echelon of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan just gave him wry smiles. Initially, right after Emilia had informed them about Ryan and his Martial Spirits and his terrifying potential, they had immediately conveyed their desire to the Eternity Family Clan to make Ryan a part of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. They had at that time not said anything regarding Ryan’s talent to the Eternity Family Clan, who didn’t investigate Ryan either. The deal was almost struck between them, but at the last moment, the news about Ryan hitting on Cynthia became public, and basic information about Ryan became public too.
The members of the Upper echelon of the Eternity Family Clan almost vomited blood when they came to know about Ryan’s potential and his Martial Spirits. The Heads of the Grandura branches of both Family Clans had a verbal fight about the matter. Since the Eternity Family Clan had no intention then of allowing the Heaven Sundering Family Clan to monopolize him, it was decided in the end that he would belong to both Family Clans.
“What’s the point in talking about something that has already been settled?” one of the members of the Upper echelon of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan said with a smile as he tried to pacify Adalwin and others from the Eternity Family Clan. His name was Berard, and since the Heaven Sundering Family Clan had nothing to say in their defense, they wanted to avoid the topic.
The members of the Upper echelon of the Eternity Family Clan just snorted as they ignored the sweet talk from Berard and other members of the Upper echelon of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan.
“This year the Main branches of our Family Clans will be extremely happy with us as many of the participants in the Divine Trials are freaks just like Ryan,” Adalwin said as a smile bloomed on his face. Others in the Hall couldn’t help but nod their heads in agreement.
The Grandura branches of both Family Clans would receive lots of benefits if even only one of their members was able to attract the attention of their respective Main branches, but this year there were a lot of talented Martial Artists that had the potential to attract attention from their Main branches. That was also one of the reasons why the Grandura branches of both Family Clans had wanted to monopolize Ryan.
“Yeah,” Berard said with an idiotic smile plastered on his face. Such a situation was quite rare. It also meant that the benefits that they would gain this time would be many times higher than before from their respective Main branches. Smiles appeared on the faces of all the people in the Hall as they thought about the benefits that they might be receiving this time from their respective Main branches.
But all of a sudden, the expressions of everyone present in the Hall changed, including those of the Eternity Family Clan. They all immediately turned into blurs and disappeared from the Hall at the same time and appeared in front of a mansion within a forest that was also located in the Heaven Sundering Family Clan’s Ancestral land.
This mansion was the residence of Nero, the Head of the Grandura branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan. The number of people kept on increasing with each passing second. They were all Immortal Realm Martial Artists, and
soon all the Immortal Realm Martial Artists of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan and Eternity Family Clan that were present in Heavenly City had arrived there including people from Ryan’s family.
Everyone had serious looks, as the last time they had assembled like this was just before a war with Red Sun Family Clan. They could tell that something serious might have occurred otherwise Nero wouldn’t have assembled all the Immortal Realm Martial Artists.
They didn’t have to wait for long. Nero walked out of his mansion when all the Immortal Realm Martial Artists in Heavenly City had assembled. His face wore a serious expression. On seeing it, everyone steeled their hearts, as they were now certain that something serious had indeed occurred.
A similar sequence of events was taking place in Eternity Family Clan.
Meanwhile, the Combat Arena was in an uproar with the sudden disappearance of all the Immortal Realm Martial Artists. The Mortal Realm Martial Artists with experience knew what that signified, as such a situation only occurred whenever a war was about to erupt.
Soon even the ones like Ryan, who had no idea what that sudden disappearance signified came to know about it. Ryan’s jolly mood turned sour when he came to know the probable reason for the disappearance of his mother and the rest of his family’s Immortal Realm Martial Artists from the Combat Arena. He didn’t wish to see the Family Clans plunge into any sort of war as it would lead to loss of life, and the only thing that he didn’t wish to see was his family members dying.
In war, there is no guarantee that anyone will return safely - including Immortal Saint Realm Martial Artists. He had heard a lot of stories from his grandfather when he was little about wars between powerful factions. In such wars, even Immortal Saint Realm Martial Artists perish, so there was no guarantee that his mother and the rest of his family members would safely make it back from a war.