“How dare you shame me like this.” Elder Gon yelled out with fury. Unlike some men, Elder Gon only married once so what she does reflects a lot on him.

“Take one more step and watch your son’s head detach from his body.” She sneered without fear. Has-Tai walked out like a zombie along with Elder Gu from the side. There was no light in his eyes and he slowly walked towards her. Cro-La wanted to retrieve his son but Ryu stopped him.

“This is…” Cro-La didn’t know what to do. From what Ryu told him she has the ability to control people from with threads but she can only control mid King Domain cultivators at best. This was why Elder Gon and himself were not targeted yet.

“Hand over that heirloom of yours and we’ll trade.” Leia demanded. She could break out of Ryu’s entrapment but the price would be too great for her. She did not have much essence left in her.

“You think you are in a position to bargain?” Elder Gon growled. Rip. Elder Gu’s arms were ripped apart viciously from his body. His lifeless arms flopped on the ground and streams of blood squirted out from his wounds. Even so, he stood still not flinching. This was a grotesque scene to behold, how does someone not react to their arms being ripped out? A few bystanders were watching from afar and it’s all they could do not to throw up.

“You think I’m kidding? Let me go and hand over that dagger or everyone dies. Make sure to unbind it!” She threatened as more disciples and elders came out to see what all the noise was about. Has-Tai’s hands slowly wrapped around his own neck as if he’s about to take his own life.

“Everyone get back!” Cro-La ordered. He was afraid the Leia would get more hostages if more disciples and elders approached. What’s more he didn’t want to corner Leia to a point where she’ll kill the hostages.

“You think we’ll hand over such a treasure to you?” Elder Gon snarled but even he doesn’t dare take a step forward when his nephew’s life is in her hands.

Whoosh. An azure dagger landed in front of her, the handle was meticulously crafted in a shape of a lion’s head. Elder Gon stared at his own brother in disbelief, how could he hand over the treasure from their family so easily? A weapon with an essence can allow a King Domain cultivator to fight on par with someone form the Emperor Domain, perhaps even giving them an edge!

“Honorable guest, please let her go.” Cro-La begged Ryu.

Even Ryu was surprised, why would he do such a thing? Ryu had never owned a weapon with an essence before but from what he knows, whoever crafted the weapon can set restrictions. For example, perhaps the weapon crafted can only be used by those from the descendants of the essence within the weapon.

Any items with an essence are also known as spirit apparatuses. Leia could use the Thunder Heartseeker through Has-Tai since Cro-La unbound it! Has-Tai just needs to make it his and activate the weapon for her. With uncertainty Ryu released his skill that was holding her down.

Has-Tai’s body walked forward like a zombie and picked it up. He dripped a drop of his own blood on top of it.

“Fools hahaha!” Leia grabbed the dagger from Has-Tai’s hands and laughed hysterically with joy. However, it was short-lived. A look of disbelief slowly appeared on her face.

“Impossible, why isn’t the dagger activating?” She said with wide-eyes. The dagger was clearly not bound to an owner so Has-Tai’s blood should have worked. Her plan was for Has-Tai to activate the weapon and give it to her to absorb the essence from within! Elder Gon and Ryu were both confused as well, only Cro-La’s expression didn’t change.

“He should have inherited your bloodline! Unless… you are not from the Lei Clan!” Leia said in disbelief after a moment. The surprising thing was the person she was staring at was not Cro-La but Elder Gon.

“What are you talking about?” Elder Gon said, a trace of uneasiness could be detected.

“You fool, this kid… is yours! You think I don’t know about your affair with that woman a thousand years ago?” She screamed. Elder Gon’s body seemed to have shut down and he didn’t know how to react. He was about to open his mouth but no words came out. The color on his face slowly drained as a shocking realization descended upon him.

A thousand years ago he did have an affair with Cro-La’s first wife. Cro-La’s first wife was arranged to be married to the sect head but he had a previous relationship with her already. Even after she was married off to his brother, they continued to see each other briefly until she got pregnant. That was when she called it off which left him somewhat heartbroken.

His brother beside him just frowned. There was deeper reason why their father didn’t pass the position of sect leader to Gon. Elder Gon was actually adopted! The special bloodline that flows in Cro-La doesn’t flow within him. This was a secret that only Cro-La knows. His father didn’t want Gon to know the truth because understanding his ego, he might not recover from it. Not only that Cro-La actually knew that Has-Tai was not his child. His first wife had actually confessed to him that the kid wasn’t his but his brother’s. Cro-La was furious when he heard it but he couldn’t entirely blame her since it was an arranged marriage and they didn’t love each other. Cro-La ended up treating Has-Tai like it was his own child and his first wife slowly called off the affair with Gon seeing how sincere Cro-La was towards Has-Tai who wasn’t even his real son.

“Yes, that’s right. This heartbroken woman figured out and tried to end her own life. That was how I came into possession of her body!” Leia laughed sinisterly. “It was so rare to find a semi-compatible body that wouldn’t resist. Thanks to you, she lost the will to live. You sick pervert. You chose to sleep around with your brother’s wife instead of your own. You even got her pregnant, tell me who’s more evil now?”

Ryu understood now. The person in front of them wasn’t Leia. It must be an Emperor Domain human or beast that was nearing death and needed a new host. An essence without a host will die out rapidly. Finding a compatible body is nearly impossible and even if you do, the host will definitely fight against the invasion. That’s why most essences choose to be crafted into an item so at least a sliver of their conscious will live on into the future.

“Ahhh!” Suddenly Elder Gu who had his arms ripped out screamed out in agony. Has-Tai slumped to the ground while Leia’s body froze. No one except Ryu noticed what was going on. Thanks to his special vision, he noticed that the essence within her body had fled and the specialization, Marionette Subjugation, casted from the body was undone.

In a white blur, Ryu ran after the fleeing essence. No one else had a chance to react to what happened. The revelation revealed was too shocking. Has-Tai who heard every single word when he was controlled couldn’t believe that he wasn’t the legitimate son of the sect leader and was in fact a son to Elder Gon. Even more shocking, it turns out Elder Gon wasn’t even Cro-La’s real brother!

Two dark streaks of Qi shot from the retreating essence from both sides, this was her last attempt to take someone down with her. This raw Qi was from the Emperor Domain, stopping it would require some effort from Ryu. Before Ryu could launch a skill, a devastating sonic boom rang out followed by a yellow flash. Two perfectly straight line was carved on the ground, reaching over a kilometer deep into the ground. Cro-La stood in front of Elder Gon and Has-Tai holding the Thunder Heartseeker, he had activated the weapon and easily nullified the kamikaze move unleashed by the rogue essence. Ryu couldn’t believe the destructive power that came from it, he definitely couldn’t take that head on without serious injuries. Seeing how her attack from easily warded off, the essence that controlled Leia continued to flee with Ryu in pursuit.

Elder Gon and Has-Tai, the father and son duo, realized how fortunate they have been so far. Even though they have no blood relations with the Lei family, they were still treated like one. Elder Gon thought back to how his own father had treated them equally and provided the same opportunities for them. The only disagreement was due to his jealousy that his father decided to pass down the position of the sect head to his brother. After much arguing, they decided to fight for position in a dual where he lost anyways. Thinking back, his father might have just wanted to spare his feelings that he was not related by blood since he would’ve found out when the Lei Clan’s heirloom rejects him. Has-Tai felt equally guilty thinking about all the times he tried to overthrow Cro-La, going as far as allying with corrupted elders, when Cro-La treated him like a real son. Has-Tai practically betrayed Cro-La who he thought was his father over petty reasons. For the first time in a long time, the duo brawled like babies in public as soon as they realized their wrong doings.

“So fast!” Ryu said in shock as he chased closely behind the essence. The essence can pass through material objects, sometimes sinking underground or phasing through trees. This caused Ryu quite a bit of trouble in capturing it. Ryu made a mental note that Exoe’s essence might be faster than this essence so he’ll have to figure out a way to confront that speed if that moment ever comes. An hour passed in a blink of an eye but both were unrelenting. They are now in a canyon between mountains.

Ryu contemplated if he should go into Superman Mode when he suddenly caught a lucky break. The essence somehow crashed into a Qi barrier as it attempted to phase through a stone wall and was halted for a second. This slight pause was all Ryu needed.

A roaring pillar of flames shot out behind Ryu and formed into a small sphere around them. This was one of the utilizations of the Phoenix Spiraling Blaze. The vicious scorching tornados created by this skill can congeal into a molten sphere that traps the opponent into a close ranged fight.

“I was so close! The limitation on that body prevented me from properly repairing my essence. I needed another source of essence. Why did you have to show up and ruin everything?” It shrieked loudly after failing to breach the fire sphere that surrounds them.

Ryu chose not to reply and simply drew a few spatial tiles in the air and trapped the essence. Now that the essence was at his mercy, the specialization Loser Concession with the Judgment Tome activated. As long as Ryu defeats an opponent he has a chance right after to bind them to Absolute Agreement. Then another specialization, Unconditional Treaty, allows him to basically dominate anyone who is subjugated through Absolute Agreement.

The Infinity Tomes seems to have one supernatural skill and each tier of specialization seems to unlock a portion of it. It was a pure coincidence that Ryu got Absolute Agreement when Ryu asked for a skill to force bad guys to do good deeds. The Judgment Tome seems more like a conquering tome that rules over all opponents you have defeated. This power was frightening even to Ryu, does that mean Ryu has the power to literally rule over all beings if he can defeat them at least once?

The Mind Tome contains paranormal psychic powers. The first specialization was Telepathy that allows him to read minds. The second specialization is Telekinesis, it allows him to move physical objects with just his mind. The third specialization is Clairvoyance, it allows him to see a possible future a few moments ahead in time. Ryu still couldn’t control the last one properly. Psychic power doesn’t require Qi at all which confounded even Prince Na’Vi, a Diety Level being. Prince Na’Vi warned him not to use Telekinesis unless he has to since the attention it’ll draw would definitely be Ryu’s downfall as he is now.

The Life Tome has supernatural healing abilities regardless if it is physical or spiritual but it comes at high price. It can do all but bring someone from the dead back to life. Ryu is frightened by the fact that the Life Tome might actually revive a dead person if the last tier of its specialization was unlocked. The feeling Ryu gets when he uses the skill from this tome gives him goose bumps because he is extremely sensitive to Qi and could feel the unnatural occurrence that happens when the Life Tome heals a lethal wound.

Now that Ryu had subjugated her, he quickly scanned her mind. It turns out she was a spider beast that had reached the Emperor Domain and ruled over a small patch of forest. However she was nearing the end of her lifespan when she crossed over to the Emperor Domain so even when years got added to her longevity, her body was too frail. Her only option was to find a new host if she wanted to continue living. A human, Leia, wandered into her territory one day looking to die. This was because she realized her husband, Elder Gon, was having an affair with his brother’s wife. Her cultivation was decent in the King Domain and she was young so it was the perfect opportunity for the spider beast to get a new host. The problem was that after she took over the body, she realized she couldn’t cultivate at all due to the difference in their Qi. This only slowly sapped away remaining essence and she didn’t have the strength to attempt again for a new host.

“You have done too many wicked deeds.” Ryu sighed after reading her thoughts. The spatial cube made with Enchantments towards Ryu and he quickly stored it. All this happened within a few seconds. Right now Ryu was interested in this gigantic Qi barrier set up in front of him behind the stone wall. It seems to be weaved from some sort of Enchantment and covered roughly a kilometer wide.