Liv and master young had made their way to the capital city about 9 months ago, they arrived at the capital 2 weeks before Ryu arrived. Although Ryu had a head start but this two managed to get here first because he had spent way too long trying to maneuver the forest tracks.
Meanwhile master young and miss Liv had both followed the convenient way, they had thought they would meet Ryu in the other cities but after arriving in each of this cities they weren't able to find him, by the time they got to the city of modok , they received information that Ryu had left to the capital about 3 months ago, they were stunned. How was he moving so fast and three months ago means he would have gotten to the capital. And if he got his hands on what he was searching for then it's likely he was going to come for their heads since demons were known to be vengeful creatures.
They had to hurry else they won't catch up to him, they finally found him and they both had one thought 'either kill him or get along with him'. They managed to sneak their way to his door post. Given how sensitive he was they thought he would have got a whiff of their presence but he didn't respond till they knocked.
The moment they knocked, they began regretting why they did, because the aura of death that hung round their necks made it difficult for them to breath.
'how had he gotten this strong after just this little time?' . That was the question that first appeared on their minds before the thought of killing him was snuffed out of their minds immediately. Right now even their lives weren't really guaranteed.
"Ryu , we're here to talk , can you let us in please" master young calmed his mind quickly and spoke up, his voice managed to bring miss Liv back to her senses as she managed to regain her composure.
Ryu also calmed down a bit, he could remember that battle clearly and he knew very well that these two didn't attack him.
"The door is open" his gentle voice drifted into their ears and they couldn't help but sigh in relief. Now that they relaxed their minds the fatigue came rushing back . Miss Liv had to shake her head profusely to gain clarity before they pushed the door and stepped in.
Ryu sat on the bed and Maia laid her head on his thighs as he stroked her hair gently, she had wanted to attack immediately but Ryu held her back, although his strength wasn't enough, she seemed to listen to him very much so he was patting her hair as some kind of way to calm her down and it seemed to work well because right now her aura suddenly vanished and she was now back to her human form.
Master young stepped in with miss Liv who seemed to be nervous behind him. Ryu couldn't help but raise his brows in confusion. The Liv Necron he knew was a very confident woman that took everything in with a smile. Seeing her fidget like a child was new to him.
The duo stared at Ryu for a short time before their eyes drifted to the girl in his laps, lookwise , he hadn't change even though it has been a year since he left the academy but the aura that passively radiated from him was so savage , one might mistake him for a beast. But that all paled to what they could feel from the little girl and they couldn't help but take in huge gulps of saliva.
Master young took a step forward and handed Ryu a round jade, this was a small red jade that was used to hold important cultivation techniques or some taboo secret information. And within this tablet laid the very techniques that Ryu was looking for.
"Why are you handing this to me?"
Although he knew what they were doing he still asked nonetheless. Master young explained the situation the both of them were currently in to him. It happened that due to his disappearance, at first ,things went on normal but news somehow leaked about a demon escaping the academy dungeon and the palace master had to hold them responsible because both of them were the only ones who didn't attack Ryu during the capture and they stood away from the teachers as though drawing a line that they weren't involved. So to clear their names they have to bring him in, but no matter the case they chose the opposite.
Ryu didn't inquire any further and just took a quick scan on the jade before throwing it back. He was disappointed ,not because the cultivation method in the jade wasn't for demons, on the contrary it was pure demonic cultivation method but it seems his own body system was different from the regular demon.
Maia took the jade and scanned it a bit before scoffing and throwing it away, although she didn't remember a thing, this scoff was more of a subconscious disdain for things that were beneath her standing.
She couldn't help but look at Ryu with admiration, she could clearly sense his disappointment and that was enough for her to feel that her guardian wasn't sub-par.
Although Ryu had returned the cultivation jade, there was a particular line that he saw in the jade that he couldn't help but rethink and ponder on. He asked master young and miss Liv to let him be for a while. They both left to arrange their apartments , from now on they'll be staying with him.
Meanwhile Ryu pondered on the line
'...body Qi mixed with soul Qi to establish a connection with the heavens and unlock the blessings that purify both body, soul and spirit....'
"....Spirit...." Ryu repeated again, he have being trying to understand the meaning of this one word and just couldn't figure it out, but after reading that line he began to feel like he was unto something.
He slowly circulated the death Qi within his body till he lost track of time. Two weeks into his cultivation dark clouds started gathering over the capital and thunder started rumbling, it sounded like the heavens were beating drums of war , everyone in the capital could feel the dread that this dark clouds came with. Some old monsters hidden deep in their clans and sects couldn't help but come out to see what was going on.
They have heard of tribulation lightening before and according to the records this is how it starts, but the records also stated that a tribulation lightening only appears when one goes beyond the 12 rites of body and soul tempering, but noone has ever been able to go beyond the 12 rites in the country, then that leaves the only option that this tribulation that was coming was connected to someone who was about to ascend to the immortal plane, the question was who could that be.
Ryu had broken through to the 6th stage of soul birth realm and right now he could see the path forward and just a little push and he'll cross into the spirit enlightenment realm. But there seem to be an insurmountable barrier that was in his way, he slowly chipped at it by pouring death Qi between his spiritual core and his meridians and his brain. He could feel the connection to the heavens and the closer he felt the connection the thicker the barrier became, he didn't quite understand and assumed he wasn't given enough, which he immediately swung into action to take care of. He was determined to take that final step before he left the room he was in.
Maia looked into the sky and a deep frown etched on her face, this wasn't supposed to happen, though they were demons, they were also tethered to the heavens so why does it seem like the heavens were profusely rejecting Ryu's connection? Her eyes glowed, there was only one answer to that, Ryu was neither human nor demon!
Then what was he exactly?
The thought hadn't completed within her head when her face changed and she retreated from the area as quick as possible. Right immediately as she moved a massive black bolt of lightning descended and landed straight on Ryu's body, he was smashed to bits and pieces immediately leaving the watching Maia in deep shock and terror . She couldn't understand what just happened.
Ryu had just been obliterated to little pieces that flew everywhere by the heavens right before her eyes. She was so shocked that she didn't realise that she had crumbled to the floor, her aura becoming violent by each second.
"STOOOOPP!" Master young who had also saw the scene and was still trying to understand what just happened yelled frantically while rushing towards Maia only to get smashed by a pulse of dark red energy . He flew out the inn into the distance. He crashed into a massive wall where he sat down with a sigh of frustration. This moment, what he knew in his mind that his peaceful days have finally come to an end.