"Isn't that the Fifth Plane? The place Empana is from? Don't tell me he lost to this kind of trash?"
The people of the Eighth Plane were quite indifferent to what was happening. They couldn't communicate with those outside of their pillars, so other than casually observing those that were around them, they didn't care to do much else. But when this was suddenly noticed, they all turned toward the pillar Ryu and Mae were on.
Not only was there no Empana, but it didn't even look like any of the Lizard Demon Race were present.
Empana was quite famous amongst the youths of the Eighth Plane. If one wanted to rise to a higher Plane, you couldn't just be mediocre if you wanted a place. The kind of pressure you would face was unimaginable, and with so many geniuses around them, why would powerful Sects of the Eighth Plane care to recruit people from as low as the Fifth Plane? If anything, they might give the Seventh Plane a glance.
This was all to say that Empana was quite well known amongst them, though, unsurprisingly, also quite looked down upon for his identity. When these few saw that he wasn't even the first of his own Plane, they couldn't help but be amused. The only one who remained silent among them was a young man who could only be described as a beautiful demon.
He was tall, but not exaggeratedly so, standing at about three inches shorter than Ryu. He had incredibly pale skin, only accented by a group of radiant sapphire scales beneath his eyes and his just as radiant blue eyes. He was a picture perfect man, carrying a hint of exoticness that could make women swoon, almost like the vampires of legend with an edge of the robustness of dragons.
It was hard to tell if he was silent because he found this sort of gossip to be beneath him, or if it was because he respected Empana more than these people, or maybe it was because his mind was simply wandering elsewhere.
However, the answer was more obvious when he looked away from Ryu to take a look at the Ninth Plane's geniuses. They were the only group which, even after all this time, didn't care to pay attention to those around them. At the same time, it was impossible to see their forms, each one shrouded in fog.
That said, they were also the Plane with the most competition. They didn't have just one group, but seven of them, each one led by their own leaders and varying greatly in size. The beautiful demon knew that each one of these groups represented a legendary existence...
There was no doubt that they were the Demon Kings of the Nether Plane, rulers on par with the Nine Powers of the True Marital World.
If there was truly to be a battle amongst all Nine Planes, the others wouldn't stand a chance. This was the reason these fools of the Eighth Plane hopped on the chance to disparage Empana, it made them feel better about the reality that was facing them.
This young beautiful demon, though... looked forward with a dense fighting intent.
At that moment, one of the shadowy figures of the Demon Kings looked toward the beautiful demon whether by accident or on purpose.
The beautiful demon frozen, his spine almost collapsing as though ice cold hands had reached into his body and taken a firm grasp. His bodily functions nearly shut down, his beautiful blue eyes and blue scales dimming as though the light and life was snatched from them.
The obscured silhouette looked away a moment later, but the beautiful demon collapsed to the ground at that very instant. It was like his body was wound up tight before it was suddenly released, all of its energy having been sucked dry in that small moment.
He gasped for breath, the chatter around him suddenly coming to a stop as his allies rushed to see what was wrong.
The beautiful demon took large gulps, finding it difficult to breathe properly. The barriers around them definitely blocked everything, so why was that small glance from a figure he couldn't even see clearly so devastating?
The beautiful demon couldn't seem to hear any of the voices around him, a wild grin suddenly spreading across his lips. Was this the gap between him and a Demon King? How truly devastating.
The more he thought about it, the wilder his grin became to the point he didn't just look like a beautiful demon anymore, he looked like a true demon, his aura fluctuating wildly.
"Senior brother Enydark! Are you okay?"
The beautiful demon, or rather Enydark, finally snapped out of it, looking up. His face was drenched in sweat as his wild grin slowly faded. His indifference returned as though nothing at all had happened.
"It's nothing," he said lightly.
His companions looked toward one another, clearly not believing his words, but there was nothing more that could be said about the matter since he had already spoken.
Another pillar shook at that moment and the people of the Sixth Plane appeared. Not long after, those of the Fourth Plane appeared, then came the Third.
Just when some thought that even the Second Plane would appear before Empana even had a chance, or maybe it was that he had already fallen, another flash appeared on the Fifth Plane.
Empana, lanjor and several hundred others finally appeared, beaten and haggard. When the saw Ryu sitting down and meditating calmly, their expressions warped.
lanjor wasn't surprised at all, he already knew that this would happen. His expression only warped because he had been manipulated by Ryu again and it pissed him off. He really wanted to bend this brat over his knee, but then he remembered that he had already said that his father was the subordinate of Ryu's family. Fighting Ryu was one thing, but disrespecting him would be like disrespecting his father.
When he thought to that point, he almost blew his top.
Empana, however, felt that he had never experienced such shame in his life.