A few hours later, Ryuu and Master Izaria landed in Arcfield City, a city controlled by the Arcus Family. The Arcus Family is a fairly renowned power on a similar level as the Lionel Family Mira encountered. They have several Mortal Shedding Realm experts, a dozen or more Soul Transformation Realm, and many Nascent Soul Realm experts.
However, in terms of battle prowess, the Arcus Family is weaker than the Lionel Family, considering they are a merchant family, but that doesn't mean they aren't strong.
Only the strong can accumulate wealth in this world; if they didn't have the power to protect themselves, they would have already collapsed.
Of course, one can't discredit their connections either. As a merchant family with close ties with many other cities, families, powers, and strong individuals, the power they show on the surface is just a cover.
Ryuu didn't know anything about the Arcus Family, nor did he care. He wouldn't even be here if it weren't for his Master.
Ryuu and Master Izaria walked down the city's streets, taking in the sights until finally, Ryuu couldn't take it anymore.
"Master, why did you bring me here? Do you really want me to challenge this family?" He asked.
Master Izaria nodded, "Of course! Why else would I take you here?"
Ryuu closed his eyes and searched the surrounding area with his Soul Sense, an ability one gains when they reach the Nascent Soul Realm, and muttered, "But they seem so weak. I highly doubt the people around my age could even handle a fraction of my pinker finger!"
Although his statement was incredibly arrogant, neither Ryuu nor Master Izaria saw it that way. What he said were the facts, and he had the confidence and strength to back up those words.
Master Izaria smiled mysteriously, "So? Don't you want to see what the average strength of those in your generation is? This family is the perfect stepping stone on your quest to world domination!"
Hearing his Master speak of such topics so lightly, he couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose, "Sigh… First, you asked me to conquer the world, and now you want me to dominate it? Why should I do something so troublesome?"
"Hmph! Are you still a man, Little Ryuu? Don't tell me… Gasp! Did you accidentally cut off your peni-?!
"STOP! Please stop talking, Master! People are staring at us!"
"...I just wanted to know if my precious disciple lost his testica-" Master Izaria pouted, but Ryuu quickly covered her mouth with his hands.
"Please stop talking, Master. I'm fine! You should already know this!" He said exasperatedly, then glanced at all the people staring at them.
They were looking at them as if they were a couple of degenerates! Shame and embarrassment washed over the young man; he wanted nothing more than to leave this city!
"Can we hurry up and finish whatever business you had planned for me?" He asked, but Master Izaria didn't waste this opportunity to tease him.
"Awww~ Is my cute little Ryuu shy? There's no need for that. Once you show off your power, you'll have copious amounts of women flocking toward you! Then, you'll be able to utilize that other greatsword of yours!" She winked at him.
Ryuu cringed but didn't respond to her teasing. He knew if he made any sort of reaction, she wouldn't stop.
Master Izaria knew what he was thinking and sighed, "You're no fun, Little Ryuu. Ugh… Fine, we can finish what I brought you here for."
Suddenly, the two of them disappeared from their location and appeared in front of a giant mansion. There were multiple guards at the Nascent Soul Realm guarding the mansion, who were surprised by the sudden intruders.
However, they reacted immediately and dashed to them. Or, at least, they tried. Somehow, without them knowing when, a dense amount of Qi had wrapped around their bodies, preventing them from moving.
Master Izaria gave them a sidelong glance but didn't spare them any more attention. She raised her head toward the mansion and yelled in a booming voice amplified by Qi, "Arcus Family scum! Come out right now and face your death!!"
Her voice was so loud that it broke all the windows and even cracked the ground. Those in the Core Formation Realm inside the mansion fainted immediately, while the residents in Arcfield City had blood dripping out of their ears.
Ryuu facepalmed and really wished he could give his Master a proper smack-
*Smack!*
"Argh! Fuck! Master, stop hitting me!"
*Smack!*
"Ouch!"
"Hmph! This is punishment for thinking of smacking me and cursing at me!"
Ryuu rubbed his head despondently and thought, 'One day, I'll give you a good smack as well, Master!'
"WHO DARES CAUSE TROUBLE AT MY ARCUS FAMILY?!" A loud booming voice came from within the mansion, and soon, a man appeared above Ryuu and Master Izaria.
The man locked his eyes on the two of them and was about to berate them further but stopped himself. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the two of them wearily as he focused on the beautiful woman in white.
'Why can't I sense her power? That voice just now clearly came from this woman, and it was amplified by Qi, so she couldn't be a mortal. She also broke all the windows in my home and even made most of the servants faint. She's at least at the Soul Transformation Realm, but since I can't sense her cultivation, she either has a treasure, a technique to conceal herself, or she's stronger than me.' He calmly and quickly analyzed the situation without letting his feelings cloud his judgment.
As the head of a merchant family, his eye for people, ability to sense danger, and ability to analyze situations were top-tier. Although he might not be the best fighter, he had full confidence in his ability to come to quick, concise conclusions with whatever information he was given.
Therefore, in this situation, he concluded,
'I shouldn't provoke these two for now. I don't know who they are, where they came from, or how powerful they are. Since I know nothing about them, I should proceed with caution.'
Still, as the head of the family, he couldn't allow himself to lower his head to a few unknown outsiders.
With an authoritative but serene voice, he said, "My name is Aurelius Arcus, and I'm the head of the Arcus Family. I don't think I've seen you two before, nor do I think we have a feud with one another. May I ask why you two have intruded upon my family, asking for our deaths?"
Master Izaria nodded and chuckled. Ryuu looked at his Master and was suddenly struck with a bad feeling.
Therefore, before she could say any more nonsense, he decided to speak up, "Sir Aurelius, don't listen-"
Unfortunately, he couldn't finish as Master Izaria cut him off, "Hmph! What foolishness! How could you not know us when your bitch of a daughter cucked my poor disciple after they had already promised to marry one another?! It seems the Arcus Family's shamelessness knows no bounds! Or should I say, as expected of a merchant family!?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ryuu's jaw dropped, and his mind went blank. He stared at his Master's beautiful face, wondering why she had come up with such an embarrassing lie!
'Marriage? Cuck? Master, the only girl I've seen in the last 50 years, is you!' He screamed inwardly, but he couldn't muster any strength to speak.
Meanwhile, Aurelius was even more incredulous about this whole situation. However, irritation rose inside him as he felt like he was being pranked.
But as the head of a merchant family, he quickly regained his composure and spoke, "Ahem. Miss, I have no idea what you're talking about. I, Aurelius Arcus, don't have any daughters."
"..."
Master Izaria froze, but she quickly returned to normal. With a shit-eating grin on her face, she chuckled, "Hehehe~ I know. I was just messing with you. Sheesh. Can't an old man like you take a joke?"
Ryuu and Aurelius' faces twitched, but Master Izaria continued talking, "I just needed an excuse to drag you out of that home of yours. The real reason I'm here is to let my disciple beat up a few of your juniors! Rejoice! For your family will be his stepping stone to conquering the world! You will forever go down in history as the first losers!"
Aurelius' face twitched again as veins bulged in his forehead. He was trying to be nice and polite to these two unknown people in consideration of their identity and power, but his patience was limited.
"Listen, woman, I don't know what you're trying to do, but-" He spoke in an annoyed tone, but before he could finish his sentence, an enormous pressure crashed onto him, dropping him out of the sky.
'A Divine Sea Realm expert!' His face went pale, and his body trembled, knowing his fate and the fate of his family was no longer in his hands.
He looked up and saw the smile on the beautiful woman's face, causing him to shiver even harder.
"You should go fetch the juniors of your family while I'm still asking nicely." She said in a sweet voice that sounded like the voice of a demon to Aurelius.
In the end, he could only nod his head.
"...Yes. I will do as you say."
