Ryu didn't seem very surprised by this result.
When one faces a Dao so much higher than their own, it's very easy to be overwhelmed. Ryu's strike just now was like an information overload. Kaori was likely trying to process what was before her and exactly how to deal with it, but by the time she understood that it was far beyond her means to handle, it was much too late… Not that it would have made much of a difference.
To an outside observer, Ryu's blade would have seemed slow and overly simple. In fact, it would seem that way to Kaori as well. The trouble was that this would cause the dissonance to feel even worse. Kaori's instincts screamed that there was danger, but her mind couldn't process was it was because it was simply beyond her realm of understanding.
Legends of swordsman who could levy strikes that looked no different from a normal sweep of the blade were only partially correct in this aspect. The reality was that these strikes only seemed so simple in the eyes of laymen. Before true experts, there were countless variations, changes and transpositions.
Only those that could see through these layers of complexity would have a chance at dodging and countering. Those that couldn't would simply freeze, their minds and souls becoming overloaded until it was far too late.
The reverberations of Ryu's strike exited the back of Kaori's head, continuing through the air and splitting apart everything in its path. Even a floating island, unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire, found itself bisected, barely managing to remain in the air after suffering such a tragic fate.
The Martial Gods watched on with wide eyes.
A Demigod… Had died… Just like that?
The Demigods might have sounded like a downgrade from Martial God, but the reality was that it was an upgrade from Apostle. These individuals were the strongest there were beneath the true powerhouses of the Martial Gods, meaning their Sky Gods.
To put this matter into perspective, none of the World Sea Realm experts who had been present to represent the Martial Gods on the day of even Elena's Ceremony. That included the Peak World Sea Realm expert, King Adonis.
Their positions were so lofty that even such an event didn't move them from their positions, so lofty that even reaching the Peak World Sea Realm and having a great chance at entering the Sky God Realm, much like King Adonis… Still wasn't enough to guarantee you such a title!
And yet, one had died. One had died right before them all.
But that wasn't even the worst part. A Demigod had died to a young man two entire cultivation Realms below her… And to nothing more than a single strike.
Ryu, though, didn't seem to realize what he had accomplished, still holding Kaori up by the blade piercing through her skull. He watched as the light in her eyes dimmed, his mind wandering from topic to topic.
'With her talent, she would make a corpse puppet surpassing any one of made up until this point, and she would even be able to keep up with me as well if I modify her a bit… The human skin tome would likely have what I needed… If I could combine her strengths with the Bear God corpses… The result could be excellent.'
Ryu felt like he had more freedom to explore things. Plus, this would also help with his own individual strength.
The ultimate level of Ryu's Dao would likely be reaching a pinnacle where he could seamlessly transition between disciplines because his understanding of them all was so profound. Laying the ground work for such a thing was beyond just learning them all individually, but it was also about combining them where he could.
Refining corpse puppets was definitely a method of combining many disciples. He had never considered the idea of fusing the strengths of two corpses together, but now he was very much intrigued to find out what he could learn by taking this approach.
"Not bad." Ryu nodded to himself.
With a thought, Kaori's corpse disappeared and Ryu turned his attention back to Ailsa, ignoring the enraged outcries of the Martial Gods. These weren't people he had much sympathy for from the very beginning. What did they understand about honor, respect, and most importantly, sympathy? As far as Ryu was concerned, the answer to that question was nothing.
However, what Ryu hadn't expected was for his attention to snap away from Ailsa just as quickly as it had gone there. Before him, the slightest ripple of space caught his attention. But, soon, that ripple became a wave and eventually formed a fissure and a crack.
With a step, an armored man made his way out, his expression giving nothing away. However, those deep white eyes of his told a different story.
Ryu, who had just been about to release his Immortal Rings, changed his mind entirely, his attention primed and focused on the man before him.
"Kaori. Where is she? Why has her life signature vanished?"
The man spoke plainly and didn't seem to have directed his words toward anyone in particular. Though context should tell anyone that he cared for Kaori, everything about his demeanor seemed to paint a different picture entirely. It was difficult to understand whether he was heart broken or indifferent.
Seeing that no one answer him, the man reached a hand out, causing a Martial God to uncontrollably fly into his palm, his hand clamping down on the unfortunate soul's neck.
"Where is she? Do I really need to repeat myself?"
"S-s-s… Sir Demigod Lioche… She… She… She's dead—He killed her!"
The Martial God quickly got these last three words out, hoping to shift blame from himself, but his head had already imploded beneath some mysterious strength.
Ryu's head titled tightly, his silver irises dancing with a curious light.
'World Sea Realm? No… Close, though. Very close. Close enough that he was probably in seclusion to breakthrough and actually chose to stop to come here instead…? But what about their little ceremony?'