In the depths of the Heavenly Path, the situation was much different. Although the geniuses were separated by several kilometers, given their cultivations, they were still within ear and eyeshot of one another, making communicating quite easy.
What would have shocked the geniuses to the back, however, was that the monsters that were so close weren't the ones they would have expected. In fact, they might not recognize even a single one of these geniuses. There was no a single member of Demonic Flame or Sentient Sword Sect in sight.
Mae looked around with a hint of confusion on her face. Her little sister, or more accurately, her little cousin Aantha wasn't too far behind her, just a few dozen kilometers. But Ryu was nowhere in sight, this didn't make any sense to her.
Even if Ryu wasn't from the True Martial World, his talent was enough to match hers at the very least. The weakest Fire Dragon bloodline was already more than enough to be a match with geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heavens, let alone his Spacetime Soul Nature. If anything, he should be one of the closest, so why couldn't he find her? It didn't make any sense.
Something wasn't adding up.
Mae felt somewhat indignant in Ryu's place. She already felt somewhat protective of him, and she definitely didn't like him being disrespected like this. She was a very young woman after all, and Ryu was not only her first time, but also a man who seemed cold to everyone else and yet was very nice to her. That much was enough to spark the light of infatuation in her heart.
She found it very distasteful that this Dao Lord would make such a decision, even if she didn't dare to say it out loud.
"Oh? Is that Little Succubus Mae? So you did come after all."
Mae was already annoyed, but hearing this voice, her fuse became shorter. She didn't necessarily hate this person, but she wasn't currently in the mood to socialize.
She looked over to see a young man with flowing golden hair and piercing green eyes. He looked like an emperor incarnate, especially given the tall glaive that hovered to his back. He had a wide grin on his face and he seemed to be somewhat happy to see Mae.
"Mm… Hello Vie." Mae acknowledged unenthusiastically.
Vie blinked. Clearly, he wasn't very used to receiving this sort of reaction from people. He also hadn't ever offended Mae before, and even if he had, they would have been just little kids back then, there was no need to carry it to this point.
Just as Vie was about to ask if there was something wrong, a grating laughter came from the side.
"Rejected before you even got the chance. It's clear and obvious Mae preferred real men and not girly looking boys like you. Do you think the Asura Race is so casual with their choice of mates?"
Vie's expression darkened as he looked over to see a young man with piercing blue eyes and a few layers of radiant blue scales beneath his eyes and at the center of his forehead. He was just as tall as Vie was, but he was a bit bulkier while his mouth seemed to spew out blue flames.
"You talk a lot for a fake dragon wannabe. Have some shame," Via said with disdain.
Hearing such word, the young man, Akura, nearly lunged forward.
His race had nothing to do with dragons. He was a demon race that descended from the Fire Giants a lot like Mae descended from the Dream Wraiths. However, many of their Clan's techniques tended to be named after dragons to give them a domineering presence.
Most wouldn't dare to say anything about it, but why would Vie care for Akura's face, especially when the latter provoked him first?
"Come, come, everyone, is there a need to fight like this, we've just met each again for the first time in over a decade, how about we exchange some experiences, huh? How were your harvests?"
A laugh came from the side, a young man with a smooth and bald head calling out with a smile. There was a golden gem at the center of his forehead and a long chain of golden prayer beads rolled between his fingers and palms. This wasn't the only jewelry he had on either, his wrists were flooded with glistening bracelets and his neck was adorned with flashing diamond.
It was hard to tell if he was a monk or a merchant.
"Sure, why not?" Akura said with a sneer. "How about you share your gains first, Mano? Tell us, what've you gained in these last few years."
Despite being put on the spot, Mano only smiled, rolling his golden prayer beads between his fingers.
"Can't you see? Buddha has blessed me quite well."
Everyone snorted. Obviously, Mano was obfuscating. No one cared about his flashy jewelry.
"Mano isn't wrong, we've met for the first time in such a long time, it's not nice to fight. But when it comes to outsiders, however…"
The one who spoke wasn't someone that Ryu would recognize, but it was an individual he had some relations to. This man was none other than Zed, the very young man who lost control of the bronze city to Ryu.
Right this moment, Zed's gaze was focused on the only one among them that he didn't recognize, a young man with skin as dark as night and eyes as bright as stars. In Zed's opinion, the only person who could have possibly stolen the bronze city from him to the point he could snatch it back was someone who was here, but there also wasn't anyone among those here who could match him in staff techniques.
That meant that the only someone he didn't know could have accomplished it, and that left this young man.
The young man looked over and smiled lightly, seemingly not sensing the hostility in Zed's gaze at all.