章 9: Loss

"Introducing the heir to the Tatsuya Clan and his fiancée, Saintess Elena!" A loyal servant of the Tatsuya Clan happily introduced Ryu and Elena. In that moment, thousands of gazes had fallen upon the heavenly couple.

Although Ryu preferred black robes, today, he wore traditional Tatsuya warrior garments. His robes were split into three layers, starting with an underlayer of golden cloth, partially covered with pristine white fabrics, before finishing with a fierce embroidered red. The design was simple yet exuded an air of majesty only a young man with the world in his hands could replicate.

To his side, Elena's beauty was beyond words. Her diamond pink eyes sparkled with happiness, reflecting everything good about the world. Her hair shimmered like crystals, sometimes appearing as a soothing lavender, and at other times like a gentle pink, yet it flowed like calm stream.

She was dressed in traditional Kori Clan robes, representing the Clan of Ryu's maternal grandmother. The elegant gown shimmered with light blues and pristine whites, exuding a graceful and comforting air.

Ryu walked forward holding Elena's arm, his white hair falling with a beautiful sheen and reaching to the middle of his back without a speck of dust. His silver eyes were steady with a cold indifference as though he was completely unaffected by the numerous sensory sweeps that touched his mind.

Still, he felt every single one. It was akin to an uncomfortable bombardment hands, each vying for space to greet Ryu. However, to those whose senses touched him, they felt his lack of a reaction was due to the fact he didn't realize what was happening at all. If Ryu had the cultivation of his father, would they dare to be so rude?

It was clear that they all wanted to confirm whether or not the son of the mighty Titus Tatsuya and elegant Himari Tatsuya really was a cripple. And it was just as clear that his reaction, or lack there of, confirmed the rumors.

Elena's brows twitched in anger. To her, an insult on her future husband was an insult to her. However, if she stepped forward to protect Ryu, wouldn't that just give these bastards capital to talk ill of him more? Giving her fiancé the title of a man who hid behind a woman would only harm him.

'These fools have no idea how much he's done for you all…' Elena thought with disdain.

One would think that the birth of a child as a result of a union between the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans would cause an uproar, but this was the case only for those of the younger generations. Those of the older generation didn't care for such matters.

Well, this wasn't entirely accurate. This union affected them too, but their uproar had already occurred when Titus and Himari announced their engagement. After this matter was closed, wasn't it a foregone conclusion that they would eventually be with child? Such a child wouldn't be worth the older generation giving a second glance to until he grew through several millennia.

It wasn't too much of an exaggeration to say that of the older generation, only Ryu's grandparents had been aware of his birth.

As a result of this, many of these old fogies weren't aware of Ryu's deeds. To them, the thousand years since his birth was nothing more than a nap to them. How much could someone accomplish in that time? This was how they thought.

Since they often spent millions of years stuck at a cultivation realm, this was how they began to view time. If they couldn't accomplish much of anything in a thousand years, how would a youngster, wet behind the ears, do so? If it wasn't for the Tatsuya Clan's call, they wouldn't have even come here.

A small smile played Ryu's lips. But, those who knew him knew that this wasn't his true smile. In fact, just looking at it made their backs stiffen with a frosty cold.

"I must say," The crowd quieted down for Ryu to speak a few words to begin the festivities, "With so many seniors here, I, Ryu Tatsuya, can smile sincerely. The face you've given me today is one I can wear proudly for the rest of my life. Thank you."

Hearing Ryu's amiable and humble introduction, some felt bad about their actions, even blushing in shame. However, others sneered inwardly. This was the martial world, the weak would always be taken advantage of, what did they have to feel bad about? Even if Titus' father was the number one expert of the Shrine Plane, he wouldn't wantonly offend so many of them for something so petty.

In the distance, Ryu's parents and grandparents, the six who knew him best, also inwardly sneered. However, their reasons were far different. In Ryu's thousand years of life, when had he ever taken a loss?!

"Please feel free to enjoy yourselves." With that, Ryu took a step forward before pausing. "Oh! I almost forgot."

Just these words were enough for Ryu's family members to start uncontrollably chuckling. Elena, who was trying her best to keep it together, couldn't control the quivering of her upper lip. Even Nuri smiled sweetly from within the void, following behind Ryu and Elena in silence.

"There'll be a gift ranking competition later tonight. My father plans on opening the festivities by gifting me the Origin Flame, I hope that you all can continue to enlighten this junior about the older generation's prestige!"

Hearing this, the eyes of those old fogies widened before raspy coughing and paled faces filled the room.

A gift ranking competition with such an opening? He wanted to wring them dry!