“Hey little guy, you’ve grown big.” Ryu smiled lightly, petting Little Rock’s long, majestic silver feathered neck. His plumes shimmered with a metallic rainbow light, almost making his feathers look more like the scales of a dragon than the coat of an elegant bird.

It had been a long while since Ryu laid eyes on Little Rock, mostly because he had been in a cell for the past half year. That said, the infant Lightning Hawk had grown much more powerful in the last months. Its speed of growth was far beyond that of Ryu and had already stepped into the Higher Fourth Order Realm from the Peak Third Order Realm of just a little under a year ago.

Beasts truly had a grand advantage over humans. Even the greatest geniuses amongst humans needed ten years to clear the Spiritual Severing Realm, yet this little guy, even with its mind still being so immature, had completed over 60% of its equivalent Realm in just a year.

By Ailsa’s estimation, Little Rock wasn’t even two years old yet. He had been even younger when Ryu met him, yet he already reigned over a large portion of that dangerous obsidian mountain of lightning.

The little guy’s wingspan was a little short of ten meters now, growing from its previous six. But, luckily, this courtyard was spacious enough that it didn’t matter much. Ryu even summoned Nemesis together with him, allowing them to become a bit more acquainted. After all, to Ryu, these two were his family now. Not only would he treat them well, they would be together for a very long time.

Ryu assumed that the Basteel Clan would notice very soon that Nemesis had disappeared from the Gates of the city. But, he didn’t care.

Seeing Ryu grow attached to these two beasts so quickly, Ailsa felt a pang in her heart. Even if he didn’t admit it himself, Ailsa understood where this subconscious dependence came from.

“Qi~ Qi~.” Little Rock’s clear, sonorous call comforted Ryu and greeted Nemesis. Its tone was gentle, ringing like a silver bell. Though Ryu couldn’t understand, he felt a warmth spread within his chest.

“Nie~ Nie~.” Hot steam blew from Nemesis’ nostrils. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the torture he experienced for the last few months, but his head was still held high. He didn’t want Little Rock to think any less of him.

‘Once their souls mature, they’ll be able to communicate with you in human language. Usually only the most talented beasts can comprehend human tongues, but I don’t think these two will have this problem.

‘Unfortunately, you aren’t a beast tamer and haven’t learned any communication techniques, so you’ll only be able to subtly comprehend their meanings for now.’ Ailsa explained.

“What constitutes mature?” Ryu asked curiously.

‘Beasts cultivate with their Spiritual Roots, as you know. So, their method of improvement is slightly different. They don’t have three paths to choose from like humans do, they only have one. They essentially cultivate every path at once with preset talents depending on bloodline grade. Simply put, once they reach the equivalent of the Soul Birth Realm, they shouldn’t have any problem learning human language.’

Ryu nodded. Humans entered the Soul Birth Realm after opening both their Spiritual Pulse and Spiritual Vessel. Then, after completing their Immortal Ring, they’d step into the Soul Birth Realm. If this was translated to beasts, this would be between the Seventh and Eighth Orders.

Technically, one could enter the Soul Birth Realm and open their Spiritual Sea right after opening their Spiritual Vessel. Since Ryu had opened his Spiritual Vessel, he could do so as well. In fact, he was very tempted…

Once Ryu entered the Soul Birth Realm, he’d finally be strong enough to feel his soul ties with Elena. He wanted to know if she was okay, if she was living well… where she was…

However, Ryu knew that he had to complete his Immortal Ring first. Though entering the Soul Birth Realm now would give him a great boost in power, it would only be short term benefits at the cost of his foundation. If he ruined himself now, how would he save Elena in the future? A few more years of worry and anguish was worth becoming strong enough to take revenge in the future.

The utmost geniuses of the Shrine Plane took about ten thousand years to complete their Immortal Ring, but Ryu was confident in only needing a fraction of the time! In the future, when he was strong enough to reach his soul out toward his wife, he’d be able to stand tall before her and confidently tell his love to wait for his return! He’d lay all those who slighted her to waste!

Ailsa smiled lightly. Ryu’s emotions had been fluctuating wildly recently, he even seemed like he could explode at any moment. But this firm resolve was something that had never wavered even once.

Taking a deep breath, Ryu lightly stroked Nemesis’ mane. It was much shorter than it had been before, but after only a few hours under Ailsa’s care, much of its scars had faded and its previous brilliance was shining through once more.

“You never finished telling me before.” Ryu said. “How talented is Little Nemesis exactly?”

‘Well, Nemesis is currently at the Peak Fourth Order, but this isn’t his limit. In order to control him, the Basteel Clan suppressed his cultivation for many years. If he had been allowed to grow normally, it might already be at the Seventh Order despite being less than twenty years old.

‘Unfortunately, the Basteel Clan flooded its bloodline with a concoction of poisons it was forced to take over several years. By now, the poison has already seeped deep into its marrow, making every step forward far more difficult. This might also be because they were afraid of Nemesis’ talent attracting the attention of the Core Region.

‘In the last six months, it seemed their concoction became more vicious. They likely assumed that their years of investment would go to waste, so they decided to try to ruin Nemesis’ talent entirely. They didn’t go too far because they still held on a little hope, but its situation is far worse today than it had been a half year ago… if it remains like this, even a hundred years wouldn’t be enough to enter the Fifth Order.’

Ryu’s jaw clenched. Nemesis’ deep black eyes shimmered with a watery light, but there was an endless defiance in their depths as though the actions of the Basteel Clan were meaningless to him.

‘It shouldn’t be a problem. In as little as three months, I should be able to cleanse this little crimson tyke of its ailments. In the meantime, it won’t be able to display its usefulness just yet. You’ll have to be patient.’

Ryu shook his head. He didn’t care much about Nemesis being immediately useful, he just felt relieved that he could be helped. If Nemesis’ future was completely ruined, it would have been largely due to his own brashness.