Ryu suddenly felt a wave of calm overwhelm him. Isn't this exactly what he came here for?

This teetering balancing act. To his left was an endless abyss and death. To his right was a light enveloping warmth.

He remembered the exhilaration he felt defeating Leopold. Maybe that was the most emotion he had displayed since he regained his memories. Only the moments after losing his grandfather could match.

'Since they want my life… They can come and get it.'

'… Little Ryu…' Ailsa began to feel worried.

'It's fine.' Ryu said calmly, the mad swings of his glaive not dulling for even a moment.

Ailsa's delicate brow furrowed. 'It's not going to be remotely the same as fighting this Host Minn. His Immortal Ring is below even the lowest standard. In addition, Mental Realm Masters have an advantage in controlling their Immortal Rings.'

'Oh?' Ryu hadn't known this before. But this only made sense, he knew little about cultivation after the Awakening and Pulse Opening Realms thanks to his experiences in his last life. It could be said that he was quite blessed to have run into Ailsa so early on.

'One's Immortal Ring is like a new limb. You can even liken it to controlling a corpse puppet. Except when you fail in controlling a corpse puppet, the worst that can happen is it falling awkwardly. Maybe if you're in a battle, you might meet some danger. However, if you fail in controlling your Immortal Ring… Well, look at the state of your body right now. I'm sure you can guess.'

Ryu's gaze swept over the bloody cracks that ran across his body. Considering he was wearing Sixth Order robes weaved by a Spiritual Seamstress, only a small portion of his skin was exposed as all. Who knew how bad the situation was truly?

Seeing that Ryu didn't respond, Ailsa could only sigh.

'Still, you can't continue like this. Your glaive is in shambles. I didn't plan on interfering too much in this battle of yours and wanted to wait until after to guide you since you already have too much on your plate, but if a challenge is what you want, I'll give it to you.

'Do you know what the biggest problem you face now is?'

Ryu pressed Host Minn, his wild attacks increasing in frequency.

'…'

Ryu almost didn't know how to respond for a moment. Wasn't his biggest problem obvious? This qi wouldn't let him off! It kept surging toward him madly and he didn't seem to have the ability to turn it off. He had tried everything, but nothing worked.

The worst part was that trying to run away was impossible now. With this surge of qi constantly around him, finding him was too easy.

However, Ryu didn't answer with this. He knew that since Ailsa had asked this question, the obvious answer was most definitely incorrect.

'…' After a moment, Ryu's gaze sharpened. 'My weapon?'

'That's right. Your weapon.' Ailsa smiled. 'You're battling an Immortal Ring expert right now. This is an attempt to cross over the mortal realms to challenge the Immortal. Your qi was already excessively powerful before, but now it's even more so. On top of that, there's your Rage Flame. Your strength is too limited by an Earth Grade weapon.'

Ryu smiled bitterly. He obviously knew that Immortal Ring experts could use Heaven Grade weapons, but where was he going to find one?

The best treasures on the Pedestal Plane were capped at the Sixth Order or the Higher and Peak Earth Grades. There was no Seventh Order or Heaven Grade weapons here. Even Ancestor Ember wouldn't have one.

'Do you think this lovely Princess would give you a problem you can't solve? You already have the solution. Your Impose Barriers!'

Ryu's eyes widened. His Impose Barriers?

Could Impose Barriers be used like this? Ryu had assumed that they could only be summoned as domains but… Who's to say that the size and shape of this domain couldn't be controlled?

Ryu thought back for a moment. Hadn't he learned to apply his Northern Heavenly Wind Inheritance to his weapons long ago? In fact, he was subconsciously doing this even now. It didn't add any sharpness to his weapons, but it made them as light as a feather.

Since he could do that, why hadn't he thought of taking it a step further? If he applied his Rebirth Flame Impose Barrier to his glaive… Wouldn't that fix his melting weapon problem?

Unfortunately, in the next moments, Ryu realized why Ailsa hadn't told him about this earlier. There was only one word to describe it… Difficult!

Under normal circumstances, Ryu would be able to do it with some time and thought. However, he was already struggling to control this vast influx of qi, how could he have time to learn this all-new skill?

Even as he was grappling with this new concept, two figures that had been distant dots even to his Spiritual Sense tore a blazing path into his line of sight. They couldn't even hide the vicious excitement in their eyes when they laid their gazes upon Ryu.

Those devilish silver eyes, that billowing white hair. They looked exactly like the horror legends of the White Devils that permeated the Mortal Planes.

"It really is him!

" A murderous glint turned their pupils red.

"Little Esme was entrusted to us, yet such a thing actually happened… We can only pay with our lives.

"

"Is that that foolish Host? Is he really so powerful that he can battle an Immortal Ring expert?

"

Doubt flooded the pair, but the murderous intent didn't diminish.

Host Minn was the very last to notice the sudden change to the battlefield. However, when he realized that these were enemies of Ryu, how could he not be elated?

Ryu didn't have time to care for his sneers. He tightened every nerve in his body, prepared for a fight of a lifetime.

'Middle Immortal Ring Realm… Peak Immortal Ring Realm…'