The words of the Chaotic Space Sovereign were gentle and calm, and yet just the name itself made the skies boom and the earth tremble. The star path itself threatened to collapse to ash and Ryu felt that his heart was about to rupture with how fast his blood was being forced to pump.
This name was big. If it was big here, then it was definitely bigger in the Heavens above. Even without understanding the Weight of it, just the name itself spoke volumes. How grand, how imposing, how absolutely dominating.
The Chaotic Space Sovereign had still not shown himself from beginning to end, but Ryu and Starlight both could ''feel'' his smile. It was a gentle smile, one that didn't have any hint of gloating behind it. Once again, it was as though the Heavens themselves refused to allow this man to be humble, announcing his presence wherever he went.
''In my youth, I formed an Ancient Dao that managed to retain the form of a Hegemonic Dao upon entering the Sky God Realm. I was born with the Ancient Dark Nebulae Spiritual Foundation, an Order Grade Spiritual Foundation, the Death Star Bone Structure, a Chaos Grade Bone Structure, the Auror Clan's Bloodline, a Chaos Grade Bloodline, the Stellar Destruction Soul and a Spatial Core Soul Nature, both of which were at the Chaos Grade.
''And finally, I was born with the Chaotic Silk Meridians, my only Origin Grade Talent.''
Each talent was more devastating than the last, some even more shocking just because of what they meant to Ryu. He said that his Chaotic Silk Meridians were Origin Grade... didn't that mean that he had the true method of cultivation? Didn't that mean if Ryu got this inheritance, he would finally be able to stop stumbling around blindly? Didn't that mean that Ryu's cultivation speed would finally match up to his true talent?!
But even beyond that, the Stellar Destruction Soul was on wreathed in Chaos and the Spatial Core Soul Nature was just a way of grading Soul Natures, what was truly important was the Chaotic Space Sovereign actually had a Spatial Soul Nature, which made his inheritance even more invaluable to Ryu.
Even as Ryu went down the list, it was hard to find something he wasn't compatible with. The Death Star Bone Structure, the Dark Nebulae Spiritual Foundation... the only wild card was the Auror Clan's Bloodline.
Starlight, to Ryu's side, was breathing exceptionally heavy at this point. No matter how calm of a person he was, he simply couldn't remain calm.
''Some will look at my list of talents and believe me to be lucky because of their grades, but I have always said that synergy between talents is far more important than having individually strong talents. Whether it was my Dao, my Spiritual Foundation, my Meridians, Soul or Bloodline, or even my Bone Structure, all of them were perfectly molded by me until they followed just a single path.''
''After stepping into the Sky God Realm, because I understood this truth, I rarely found those equal to me. I could flip the skies with a palm and split the earth with a step.''
The visions of both Ryu and Starlight blurred. They saw the vision of a man with fluttering white robes and an obstructed face. Chaotic dark rainbow energies fluttered around him.
In the skies above, a might dragon roared, its silvery scales reflecting in the darkness. This was most definitely a rare spatial affinity dragon, one that Ryu had only met just a single time before.
It roared just a single time before swooping down with a mighty momentum, its claws ripping through the veil of space.
And yet, the man, who was nothing more than an insignificant dot compared to the size of the dragon, only pressed a single palm forward.
An enormous box of dark rainbow energies pressed forward. It seemed to exist outside of this plain of reality, carving out a segment of space for it.
The moment the dragon's claw collided against it, it disintegrated to nothingness.
There was no great clash, no devastating explosion...no, it was just a silent vanishing, like a wisp of smoke in the wind.
The dragon roared in pain and its enormous body blinked away, vanishing in space clearly with the intent to run. But before it could, the transparent box of dark rainbow energies changed into a cone and the man light pressed its base.
The gentle motion sent the cone flying forward at an impossible speed to track. Just as the dragon blinked into existence thousands of kilometers away, it froze.
It looked down at its chest slowly, only to find a hole that didn't bleed a drop of blood where its mighty scales and beating heart should have been.
The dragon's eyes dimmed, and it slowly fell from the skies, its wings fluttering like pieces of a broken kite. It didn't seem like it ever stood a single chance.
...
''This is Chaotic Space. It destroys everything in its path with a silent deadliness. There was no space more violent and destructive than it, no offensive output that could possibly be greater. Chaotic Space reigns supreme above all!''
This was the first time the Chaotic Space Sovereign didn't hide the pride in his own voice, and the Heavens seemed to respond in kind, booming with golden lightning and violent thunder.
This was a man who, with just a thought, could slay a dragon of such rarity, of such power and of such prestige. To disintegrate even such power to absolute nothingness.
Starlight's gaze burned with a fierce light.
This was true power.
''I have said enough, the two of you understand what is at stake now. If you succeed today, you will become my disciple in name. If you make it to the Complete Heavenly Path, you will be able to find there the second half of my inheritance, you will become my Inheritor Disciple and I will hold nothing back from you.''
''As a reward, I will even give you a chance to change your current Meridians to gain the strongest set of Meridians there is... The Chaotic Silk Meridians!''
The Dao sovereign's voice faded, and the pressure vanished, allowing the two to move with absolute freedom.
Starlight turned to Ryu instantly, his aura towering.
''Do you know why the Dao sovereign wants me and not you?'' Starlight asked.
He wasn't one to speak like this, and he certainly hadn't looked down on Ryu before. But after hearing what was at stake, he didn't seem to want to leave anything up to chance at all.
''It's because of that Spiritual Foundation,'' Starlight sent a glance toward Ryu's dantian.
''How can you be a real genius when you've accepted the God Foundation of another? You were destined to fail from the very beginning!''
Ryu's pupils constricted.
This was the first time he had heard such a thing, but at that moment, it all clicked into place.
The problem wasn't whether or not the Phoenix Sky God Spiritual Foundation was weak or not. It might be, or it might not be. The main issue was that it was inherited from someone else!
In Sacrum, this was an absolute honor. However, in the True Martial World, it was akin to chaining yourself.
Ryu knew exactly why Starlight only chose to tell him this now. He wanted to limit the variable by dealing an absolute blow to Ryu's confidence!