Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

1277 Auras

Ryu's gaze didn't change much. In his eyes, Brutus was almost too slow. He had already realized that the latter was going to move long ago, he could seem to see the progress of the most likely event and it hardly left him moved. It was as though the same slowing effect he could have on his cultivation could happen to his thoughts as well.

The only unfortunate matter about this was that this slowing effect had no impact on the real world. While he experienced Brutus moving exceptionally slowly, that didn't mean that the latter truly was moving that slow, nor did it magically give him more time to react... At least not in this state.

Brutus' fist appeared before Ryu's face, a fiery momentum shifting behind it. The air crackled and popped as it was superheated, a powerful aura enveloping the surroundings.

Suddenly, motes of silvery lights began to accumulate in the surroundings. Ryu, who had been standing perfectly still, seemed to shift by no more than a single inch, and yet that inch seemed to change everything.

Brutus' fist shifted through an afterimage, his body flinging forward. He didn't receive the feedback he expected from his fist and almost tilted over entirely.

Just when he managed to catch himself from falling any further forward, Ryu's heel stamped down upon the back of knee, forcing his already off balance body to the ground.

Brutus didn't even have the time to feel the humiliation of the situation before the back of his head was grasped by a strong hand. Ryu's indifferent expression flashed with a fierce light, the sudden pulsing sound of his heart echoing through the surrounding as he drove Brutus' forehead into the sturdy, obsidian-like ground.

BANG!

The entire cave system shook and quaked.

Jojo and her remaining junior brother felt their hearts skip a beat. That sudden explosive power was absolutely shocking, not in the sense of its raw power, but in the sense that it came from the body of a Dao Pedestal Realm expert in the first place. They couldn't even fathom how such strength could come from someone in such a weak realm.

Of course, they had no idea that Ryu already had access to Cosmic Qi thanks to his Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed. Although the world viewed him to be in the Dao Pedestal Realm, it could be said that he already had the strength of a Cosmic Seed expert. In fact, he wasn't a normal Cosmic Seed Realm expert either.

The Cosmic Qi that came from the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation wasn't something many could fathom, but maybe the most important part wasn't the quality, but rather the quantity.

Due to not wanting to risk exposing his Chaotic Silk Meridians, Ryu didn't make us of it directly. Instead, he used it as a catalyst to allow his body to utilize Cosmic Qi instead of Immortal Qi. But due to the fact his Spiritual Foundation was so much larger than that of others, the sheer amount of Cosmic Qi he had despite only having formed a single Cosmic Seed was absolutely ridiculous.

In addition, his Cosmic Seed was at the Deity Grade.

A Cosmic Seed wasn't just about cracking one's Spiritual Foundation, nor was its only use in the future where it would form the foundation of one's Godhood. Even now, just its existence gave Ryu a certain control over ther laws and regulations in his surroundings, exactly like an Inheritance would.

Just by existing, it seemed to give Ryu the power of a God. When he moved, his surroundings listened and fueled him with strength.

Also, at the moment, very few at his level would be able to match him in explosive power. Never mind the fact his Bone Structure gave him the weight of a world behind his attacks, or the fact he had Dragon and Qilin Blood perfectly balanced within his body, there was still the factor of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect's Inheritance to consider.

The current Ryu had a body refined to the equivalent of one Life Destruction completed. The Nine Life Revolutions Realms was the equivalent of the World Sea Realm. While it seemed that Ryu was far behind them in terms of cultivation, he used the same Cosmic Qi they did and he had a body equivalent to their Qi Realm cultivation in Realm, albeit a few smaller stages beneath.

They had been foolish to assume that he was beneath them in the first place.

Brutus coughed up a mouthful of blood, his teeth shattering and clattering all along the ground.

The veins of Ryu's hand and forearm bulged, his indifferent gaze narrowing somewhat.

In reality, he had smashed Brutus' head downward with every intention of crushing it into a meaty paste. He was a bit annoyed that he had actually failed to do so. Although he hadn't entered his strongest physical state as he hadn't made use of his scaled armor and the like, this was the strongest explosive output he had with his raw power alone.

It was truly impressive to have such a thick skull.

Brutus seemed to finally realize what had happened to him and his body immediately began to boil. His rage came out in a furious roar as he tried to lift his body.

Ryu's gaze narrowed further. There was a large disparity in the weights of their bodies, while they were around the same height, Brutus was much thicker and wider.

Ryu's body flickered as he took a step back, dodging out of the way of Brutus' furious lash-out. However, to his surprise, Jojo and her remaining Junior Brother did nothing. It didn't seem that they had any intention of acting. Ryu couldn't tell if this was because this was their culture, or if it was because they were simply that confident in Brutus.

That said, despite the failure, Ryu didn't feel threatened in the slightest.

Brutus stood to his feet explosively, leaping slightly into the air and landing with a heavy BANG. He faced off against Ryu, blood streaming down his face like a waterfall.

Ryu could tell at a glance that outside of a thin layer of skin that was broken, the rest of Brutus' face was just fine. Thick skull didn't seem to do this man justice in the slightest.

Brutus licked his lips, not minding the sweat and blood that got caught up on his tongue.

"You're not bad. Since when did these puny Heavens have such a person. Your Qi Realm cultivation is weak, but your Body Realm and Mental Realm cultivation must be quite exceptional."

In just a single exchange, Brutus could tell that Ryu's Body Realm had to at least be in the Nine Life Revolutions Realm, while his Mental Realm cultivation had to be at least equivalent to Soul Ascension Realm. Whether it was the fact he had broken their formation to enter, or the fact that he had been able to so easily react to his speed, both pointed toward a powerful Mental Realm.

This [Absolute Domain] technique around him also spoke volumes.

In reality, Ryu was still at the peak of the Blood Refinement Realm, he hadn't technically completed his first Life Destruction yet. But this conclusion by Brutus was still good enough considering Ryu himself had been confused about which Realm he was in.

Ryu didn't say anything to Brutus' words. Instead, he took a step forward and vanished, causing Brutus' expression to change once again.

Brutus had been certain that this sort of movement technique could only be used defensively, that was why he was cautious about attacking again, he didn't want Ryu to use his strength against him like he had last time. But to his surprise, Ryu actually took the initiative to attack.

Suddenly, the aura of a Fist God enveloped the surroundings.

Brutus felt the aura but didn't even feel the existence of the punch.

By the time he registered that Ryu's fist was before his face, he was already frozen in shock.

'I'm dead?'

Suddenly, the aura of a Sword God split Ryu's Fist God aura right down its center. It was powerful and violent, an aura that seemed to come more from a Saber God than it would ever come from a Sword God, and yet it was that of a sword nonetheless.

The strength of Ryu's attack plummeted just as it landed on Brutus' face.

BANG!

The burly man was sent flying. He crashed into the wall like a sandbag, his eyes rolling to the back of his head for a moment as he slumped. He suddenly started awake a moment later, a cold sweat pooling along his back as he shuddered.

Ryu lowered his fist slowly, looking over toward Jojo.

The young woman still stood there, her hair and brows as fiery as ever and her arms crossed over her armored chest. She hadn't moved a single inch, and the Sword God aura had already vanished, but with how everything slowed in Ryu's perception, how could he not know it was her?

He couldn't help but raise an internal eyebrow. A Sword God?

His gaze shifted to the massive sword on her back. Although his expression was still the same, he was a hint surprised. A genius of the Seventh Heaven had such a comprehension?

Just when Ryu was going to think to do something else, he suddenly looked into the skies, his brows raising.

Up above him, there was nothing more than molten and heated rock, but he could seem to see through it as though it wasn't there at all.

In the distance, a snow white bird flew forward. On its back, a familiar figure stood with her dress fluttering in the wind.