The martial world seemed to have been put on notice. The reverberating impact of Ryu's appearance was deeper than just this, though. Those who remembered exactly who Elena's husband were could only be said to be simmering in their own fury.
In the martial world, a married woman, or more accurately in this case, a widow, was often considered to be 'used goods'. There weren't enough Matriarchal societies in the martial world to shift this sort of view and the result was as expected.
However, this didn't mean that there weren't exceptions to this rule, and Elena was quite a special exception. The first reason was because of her background and the person her father was. Being attached to such a family was something even a Sky God would want for reasons that were still a bit… unknown to Ryu.
The second reason was, of course, because of her beauty and strength. The more astounding the woman, the more concessions powerful men were willing to make for her. In such a situation, these men weren't concerned with her past, but were more concerned about conquering her future as there was great merit to be gained in doing so.
The number of women who could gain such respect were maybe even fewer than those who had the background necessary for such men to ignore everything else.
Whether it was bearing, talent, or strength, Elena had them all. After breaking into the World Sea Realm, there were already very few people that could match her. And, the limits of her strength were completely unknown as no one had ever seen her go all out.
The potential such a woman presented for building a legacy and Clan, not to mention bolstering Fate and Faith of a man, was immeasurable. She wasn't just a trophy, she was The Trophy.
The third reason, though, was maybe why, in combination with the first three, many powerful men had no qualms with chasing Elena. And that reason was a combination of circumstances of her life and plausible deniability.
After Ryu died, the Holy Wing Clan, of course, wanted to take her back. However, this was when Elena made it clear that they had become husband and wife and it was much too late for the Holy Wing Clan to do anything. She had effectively married into the Tatsuya Clan, becoming a widow of their household.
Of course, Elena had been telling the truth. But, that didn't mean others had to believe her despite there being many modes of confirmation.
The truth was that verifying such a thing wasn't as easy for others as it was for Ryu. Ryu could tell even if a person was pregnant at a single glance, even if they had just conceived. Seeing through whether a person was a virgin or not, or if they had their soul melded with another or not, was just as simple for him. Assuming that the person was within range of his eyes' abilities, of course.
However, for others, it was more difficult and involved. And, if they had a vested interest in say… not confirming this truth, then they could do so as well.
Whether or not Elena was a husband to someone else mattered less than whether or not it could be confirmed by the masses. Even if they didn't dare to force Elena to do anything, so long as there was a lane, and they could protect their reputations at the same time, there would always be a chance.
But now… Ryu's return had seemingly thrown a wrench in all of their plans In fact, it felt as though they were all being slapped in the face one palm at a time.
These Pinnacle World Sea Realm experts and Sky Gods were absolutely furious.
On a distant world, an entire half of a Palace threatened to collapse entirely. Luckily, the reinforcing formations ensured that it stayed intact, but this didn't stop the earth from quaking and splitting outside the scope of this Sky God's territory and sending the city he had built into chaos.
And yet, when a God was furious, no one dared to say a single word.
The man seemed to be the picture of wild energy. He wore a beast skin skirt and his chest seemed a size too big for his torso, though, it was hard to tell if this was because he was truly so muscular, or if it was because the dense forest of hair that called that place home painted such an illusion.
Much like the man in question, the entire Palace was decorated in the bones of wild beasts and their fur. Fireplaces were instead open pits of flickering red and gold while the musty smell of nature and manhood hung in the air.
p The outside of the Palace itself wasn't what one might expect and was just as rustic and wild as the interior.
The owner of this Palace and city was actually one of the Pillars of the Mercenary Guild, a man of wild nature known as the Human Beast True Sky God.
The moment he had heard the news, he had entered a furious state. He had none of the bearing one would expect from a Sky God and even less of the grace. It was only made worse that it was his own Mercenary Guild forced to help this bastard spread his fame.
His servants and concubines could only remain as silent as possible, not wanting to become the subject of their master's rage all while hoping they didn't get crushed to death beneath his might.
"FUCK! If I don't tear that little brat to pieces when next I see him, my name won't be Aalot Ugror any longer!"
Aalot wasn't the only one who was enraged, but he was probably the only one whose reaction was so violent. That said… He wasn't the only one who wanted for murder.
Among them, there were more of the Mercenary Guild as the powerhouses there had the most investment in wanting to build something new. None seemed to care that Primus was amongst their ranks, or maybe it was just that the Mercenary Guild never really had such comradery to begin with…
While this rage spread like a wild fire, countless powerhouses already blazing trails toward where Ryu's voice had projected from to deal with this scourge, there was another powerful existence with a reaction that could be considered to be…