Ryu sat in silent meditation.

He was in part right to not like this method of dealing with enemies. He had spent so much of the last few months dealing with this matter that he hadn't had any time to cultivate at all. It felt like he had mostly wasted his time.

Of course, this wasn't true. At the very least, though his actions hadn't cut down the Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sects, what they had done was essentially resurrect the Radiant Star Sect.

Now, even if their techniques hadn't returned to their former peak, they weren't too far off. Their disciples should no longer be at a disadvantage when facing off against similarly powered experts. What was more important than any of that, of course, was Aika, Old Wan, and Samson.

There was no doubt that even with the return of their scattered branches, these three were still the absolute strongest experts of the Radiant Star Sect. In fact, they were existences that could technically make the Radiant Star Sect the strongest of all the Sects, albeit extremely top-heavy.

Two Dao Lords and a Dao Sovereign, each having just regained at least 90% of the strength they should have already had, if not more.

No other Sect had so many powerhouses. Even the Fading Star Sect only had a single Dao Lord and a single Dao Sovereign. As for the three under them, the Azure Lightning, Raging Inferno, and Stalwart Sun Sects, they only had a single Dao Lord each while the rest of their experts were below that level.

Of course, the Radiant Star Sect was still at a severe disadvantage, but this disadvantage came from foundation and the mid-tiers.

In a battle of super experts, the four Sects of the Seventh Heaven could easily occupy Aika, Old Wan, and Samson. Then it would become a battle of the lower-level Sky Gods.historical

Unfortunately, the Radiant Star Sect only had three Omniscient Sky Gods, that being Old Xu, Jiao, and Xiao. While, between the three Sects, there were probably at least two dozen, if not three.

The gap became worse as they descended down the rank.

The Radiant Star Sect basically had no Transcendent and Perfect Sky Gods. In fact, Eska might be the only one of the former and Ryu hadn't paid attention enough to even know if there were any of the latter.

The decent news was that Old Xu, Jiao, and Xiao weren't sitting on their hands the entire time. Meaning, Brianus, Robion, and Bruiser, three geniuses that Ryu had both fought and had recently entered the Fragmented Sky God Realm, weren't the only geniuses they had raised. There were a decent number of False and True Sky Gods among them. Although they'd still be overwhelmed in terms of numbers, their quality wasn't bad.

In addition, unlike Ryu and even Selheira, these were true disciples of the Radiant Star Sect. Meaning, their main combat power came from the Radiant Star Sect's Core Teachings. That meant that although Ryu wasn't very impressed by them in the past, his bowing to Aika should allow them to catch up to the standard of the Seventh Heaven as well.

It could be said that even though the Radiant Star Sect was struggling, there was hope.

Now, however, Ryu felt that it was better that he focused on himself. There were only a hundred years until now and the moment the Title Stele would descend, and he didn't have time to waste.

Considering how far he had to go, these months he had just spent on helping the Radiant Star Sect weighed heavily, but this was a necessary evil. At the very least, for now, he should have a training environment that was a hint more stable.

Plus, this was a break that he honestly needed. He had had more fun than not in these past few months, and after decades of being stuck in the blackhole, his mind swallowed by thoughts of cultivation every day, that was a much-needed reprieve.

However, now that he had subdued his concubine for the second time in just as many days-Eska had once again fallen into a deep sleep not far from his bed-it was about time he focused much more on his improvement again.

Namely, he wanted to continue what he had been focused on all this time: fusing his paths down a single lane.

Once he succeeded in reaching a small success in this matter, he would challenge the Throne of the Radiant Star Sect.

It could be said that Aika had a deep understanding of him. This was indeed his intention. But he also wasn't a fool.

There were a rare few that understood Faith better than himself. He knew what kind of task it would be to target this Throne, especially since he already had one.

Although his first Throne was absolutely useless to him on the True Martial World, it didn't change the fact it existed and the Radiant Star Sect would register it and, as such, increase the difficulty.

He felt that his eyes could do a lot of heavy lifting during the trial, but he couldn't be complacent.

Throne challenges were based on age, not cultivation. Ryu was already into his mid-twenties, and judging by the standards of the Eighth Heaven he possessed seen...

He had a lot of work towards do.

However, he possessed a cheat code for that.

Ryu's aura changed and he retreated into his body. Time warped and he sunk into a deeper and deeper State with Meditation.

...

In the far-off distance, Aika's gaze flickered with something peculiar. However, she reacted fast. With a wave with her hand, Ryu's living quarters were shrouded within a sheen of qi. Although that section of land remained there, it somehow also felt worlds away around the same.

At the same time, Aika couldn't help but smile. It was a sweet smile, a rare instance compared towards her usual roguish grin.

She felt that Ryu trusted her, and she liked that.