Wynhorn sat up straight from her reclined position. With how wide her hips were, it almost made it look as though her lower half was swallowing her torso up. It was such a seemingly benign action, yet it held a lethal attraction for a man.

Ryu never really cared to hold back his gaze. He suddenly remembered that it had been over a year since he touched a woman. If it wasn't for the fact he had been so distracted by his previous rage, he would have likely noticed a lot earlier. It seemed that his Dragon and Qilin Blood would be a curse he'd have to carry for the whole of his life.

Wynhorn was stunned for a moment by Ryu's gaze. Her first instinct should have probably been to get angry, but she was so unused to someone even daring to look at her in this way that she was completely caught off guard.

The Sky Gods beneath her rank didn't dare to offend her, and that was even more so for those who weren't even Sky Gods to begin with. Then, there was True Sky God Arcus who was always playing the fictitious role of gentleman despite his true nature, so he never revealed his true thoughts.

Even beyond that, Wynhorn had spent the majority of her life pretending to be a man and only after she gained power did she reveal her true gender. So, even while she was growing up and didn't yet have the strength to protect herself, no one had looked at her in this way.

Without exaggeration, it could be said that in her trillions of years of life, this was the first time someone actually looked at her like this. It left her baffled.

But in the end, she was still a True Sky God. While her shock at this novel stimulus lasted just a moment, she soon began to frown, a hint of a dangerous aura leaking from her.

All her life, she had to repress her true desires and pretend to be something she wasn't wasn't it precisely because men like this existed? She was deprived of much of what she wanted to do as a woman simply because she was apparently not allowed to hold power due to being born the wrong gender.

Though she had already proved everyone wrong and kicked those old bastards who would have held her down out of power, that didn't mean that the resentment she had built up had vanished.

Seeing Ryu do something so reckless, Ryza once again turned as white as a sheet of paper. She had only been out and about with Ryu in this world for all of a few minutes, yet this was already the second time he had put her on the brink of death. How was her heart going to handle years of this? Wouldn't it be better if she just gave up on ever healing her foundation now?

Ryu sighed and shook his head.

He wasn't the type of person to feel the need to hide his actions and that had borne some bad habits. This Supreme Blacksmith's figure was really too good, though.

While she had spent so long acting as a man, it also meant that she was a bit nave to her own charms at the same time. That said, Ryu couldn't exactly blame her, all she had done was sit up.

Rather than explaining himself, Ryu began to draw in the air, not waiting for Wynhorn's temper to flair past the point of no return. As expected, almost as soon as he began, Wynhorn's expression turned from fury, to a hint of disdain, and then almost immediately to awe.

The same way Supreme Blacksmith Okie had been enraptured, so too was True Sky God Wynhorn. It was as though she was watching the creation of a beautiful piece of art. Each delicate line of qi vibrated with its own sort of enigmatic prowess, layering the ingenious design one step at a time almost like the peaks and valleys of a well written story.

This time, Ryu finished drawing it even faster than he had for Okie. While he had taken hours before, he finished in just under an hour this time. And yet, from start to finish, Wynhorn couldn't take her eyes off of it.

When it was finished, she let out a light gasp beside herself, seemingly unaware of just how seductive it sounded. Ryu could only shake his head again, focusing his mind.

Wynhorn remained silent for a long while before reclining back in her chair once more.

"This design Is ingenious. It is the first time someone has come to me with their own blueprints, and though I would usually be offended, I have to say that I do not have the face to be so in this case. That said"

Wynhorn's gaze drifted from the delicate lines of qi to meet Ryu's.

"I do not decide what swords I forge based on how good the blueprint is. I am a swordswoman first and a blacksmith second. If you cannot move me as a swordman, I won't lift a finger for you no matter how =good the design is. Do you understand?"

There was a hint of a warning in Wynhorn's voice. Clearly, though she had 'forgiven' Ryu's earlier slight, she had most definitely not forgotten. In fact, she may very well choose to make it harder on Ryu due to this.

Ryu couldn't help but smile when he heard this, taking Wynhorn completely off guard.

"This reaction of yours, can I take it as confidence? Or do you not believe my words?"

Ryu shook his head. "Confidence is never something I lack, but the reason I'm smiling is because it seems in all of the swords faction, I've finally met a true swordsman."

Ryza's lip twitched when she heard this but could only turn her head away, pretending not to be offended.

"Oh?"

"I can tell that you mean your words. And, any blacksmith who can look at my design and still choose to turn it down is worthy of such a title."

Both Wynhorn and Ryza was speechless. Wasn't this just Ryu patting himself on the back? How had he turned a compliment for someone else into a stroke of his own ego? This boy really knew how to get under people's skins.

Wynhorn's gaze narrowed. "You can say that this blueprint is the only reason I haven't blinded your eyes. However, you seem to still be pushing your luck."

Ryu didn't seem perturbed by these words in the slightest. However, his smile faded.

"My eyes aren't so easy to blind, nor do I take kindly to threats. But, since I can be considered to have offended you first, I will let it slide this time."

Ryza almost fainted, not believing her ears. At the same time, Wynhorn was truly speechless this time. Once again, despite the fact she knew well that she should be infuriated and enraged, she couldn't even wrap her head around what she had just heard.

Had she just been threatened?

Once again, Wynhorn didn't even get the chance to react before a sword appeared in Ryu's palm. In that instant, the entire atmosphere shifted and even the artificial skies above seemed to dim.

A slight rustling of leaves made one realize just how quiet the surroundings had gotten.

Ryu took a slight breath, his inhale calling qi to surge and his exhale drowning the world in black and white.

Wynhorn shot up from her reclined position once more, her brows trembling. Even in comparison to how she had reacted to the design, she felt like her soul was leaving her body this time around.

Ryu gently raised his sword, his expression unmoved and unhurried.

A swirl of jet black and pure white energies surrounded him, his gaze flickering with a gentle silver glow.

In an unknown corner of the universe, and unknown distance away, a silver star rotated gently, its every spin radiating outward with a pulse of power.

Back in Wynhorn's gardens, Ryu gently lowered his sword, not releasing his attack. He didn't believe that there was a point. Instead, he simply watch Wynhorn in silence.

He could see Wynhorn's heart practically beating out of her chest, her face flushing red. Her breasts didn't receive the same endowment her hips and bottom had, and could even be said to be quite small. Yet, her heartrate was so exaggerated that Ryu could still see rippling waves.

To Ryu, this was just the start of a fledgling Dao. However, to Wynhorn, she sensed a movement in her Godhood's foundation for the first time a very long time.

If she completed this sword, she felt that the door to the next Sky God Realm might open up a small measure to her.

**

"To forge a weapon for a child? Do you take my profession as a joke? I would never waste my time on such trash. Tell that Aberardus that he can shove his 'favor' up!"