Ryu's words hit Wynhorn like a falling meteor. Whether it was his perfect breakdown of her Dao, his insolence, and even down to his arrogance and estimation of himself, it all left her speechless.

Though Ryu's words were abrasive, there was nothing in them that was wrong.

Wynhorn was very selective about who she forged swords for because whenever she forged one, her Faith would be attached to it. This would not only allow her the chance to benefit from the deeds of the men and women she forged for, but it would also allow her to take a piece of their Daos to strengthen herself.

This concept of a Blacksmith benefiting from the Faith of those they forged for wasn't novel or new. Every blacksmith, so long as they had a certain level of skill, could benefit from such a thing without a problem.

Where Wynhorn set herself apart was in the fact she could also benefit from said individual's Dao.

It could be said that Wynhorn was walking a tight rope. She had to be careful not to lose herself while delving into so many Daos, but she could also advance by leaps and bounds the more she took from the comprehension of others. And yet, she could do all of this safely as it would be practically impossible for anyone to notice what was happening.

Because of the way Wynhorn's Dao functioned, she didn't need to take anything away from the people she forged for so they would never notice anything wrong. This way, she could continue to benefit and no one would ever notice a thing.

But somehow Ryu had noticed. And, he had noticed before the sword even touched his hands.

Wynhorn was hit with a whirlwind of emotions. There was rage, embarrassment, and even a hint of unwillingness. At the same time, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her to calm down.

Ever since she had become a True Sky God, she had never suffered such a loss.

Did she believe that Ryu would bring her to the pinnacle of the world? Of course not, what a ridiculous notion. As far as she was concerned, there were no guarantees in life. As she rose to her current standing, she had seen too many geniuses, some even greater than herself, perish. After she reached her position, the number she watched fall was even more.

Ryu's Dao was indeed quite amazing. It couldn't be said to be the most powerful she had ever seen, but that was only because it was at the Dominion level. In terms of potential, it was definitely top ten she had ever laid eyes on or read about. And considering the sheer number she had interacted with, this was a feat that was mind boggling even to herself.

However She didn't even believe that this was only half a Dao to begin with, let alone believing that Ryu would be able to increase its might by tenfold in a single year.

This was to say that all of Ryu's talk about pinnacle this, and top of the world that It all fell on deaf ears Maybe it was due to her own stubbornness, maybe it was because Ryu had infuriated her enough for a lifetime on this day alone, or maybe it was because she didn't want to admit that Ryu had seen through her with a single glance.

Either way, this was how she felt.

Wynhorn took a deep breath, allowing all the tension in her body to vanish with the wind.

The issue before her was very simple, really. There were only a few ways that this matter could end, and she had been through too much in her life to panic and act rashly.

The things that Ryu knew were too sensitive and couldn't be allowed to leave this place, at least not without certain protections.

But it was when she thought to this point that Wynhorn's brow furrowed. There wasn't a single soul who didn't know that Ryu was here. In fact, it was another True Sky God that got her to commit to this meeting at all. In addition, there was still Ryza who was here. Although the gap between Sky God Realms was as large as the gap between large cultivation Realms, she couldn't very well kill someone of her own faction just like that, right?

Seeing the calm expression in Ryu's gaze, Wynhorn was certain that he had already considered all of this to begin with. It suddenly became very obvious to her that dealing with this matter wouldn't be so simple.

Would she Really have to make a concession here?

Ryu himself was quite calm. He hadn't initially wanted to force Wynhorn into a corner like this, but circumstances had changed.

Wynhorn wasn't his friend, wasn't his family, wasn't his woman or his wife, why would he give her such great benefits for nothing in return?

Wynhorn might not have believed him, but Ryu had all the confidence in the world of his own potential. Although it would be very easy for Wynhorn to fall prey to his Dao and lose her own, if she was smart about it and only took bits and pieces, she would advance by leaps and bounds. By then, her worries of reaching a bottleneck in her Dao would be dashed.

So long as Ryu progressed, she too would progress

Of course, this would only last for as long as Ryu would use weapons she forged. But, considering the make and design of this Great Swordstaff, Ryu shouldn't have a problem using it even well into the Sky God Realms.

Under these sort of circumstances, how could Ryu allow this? When had he, Ryu Tatsuya, ever suffered a loss and not gotten ample compensation back for it?

"There is, of course, one way that I can allow you to do this." Ryu said evenly.

Wynhorn's brow furrowed. Thinking back to Ryu's previous gaze, her own turned cold. If this boy dared to say anything perverted, this time she really wouldn't care about anything else, she would directly kill him where he stood. She had already tolerated too much.

"The Martial Gods are my enemy and I won't rest until they're all wiped from existence. So long as you bring the swords faction over to old man Abe's side, and agree to a few other things, I will agree to this exchange."