Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

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Ryu's gaze flickered, but he didn't say anything. The Exo Race had been here for much longer, so it wouldn't be surprising if they had managed to pick out the best tunnel in the region. But it felt like these odds were quite small.

From Ryu's understanding of the situation, Empana was by far the most likely to be the winner. He was the greatest talent, held the greatest personal strength, and had even entered from a violet portal. All of the odds were in his favor.

That said, the other Clans wouldn't just keel over just because, and there would obviously be other dark horses trying their best to grasp this opportunity. These Clans definitely had their own aces in the hole, while it was also clear to Ryu that the Lizard Demon Race wasn't of one mind and purpose. Targeting Empana ahead of time before he could build up steam made a great deal of sense.

The worst part was that even if this wasn't their intention, the results would be just as devastating. That's because if they were calculating which tunnel to enter and not just following them, then they would be shocked to find that Ryu had picked out the right tunnel and even faster than them at that.

Given that situation, they might assume that it was out of luck the first time around. But if they were smart, they would follow a second time and maybe even a third to confirm.

Ryu's appearance was too conspicuous. Why would Empana bring along a Dao Pedestal Realm expert if not for a very good reason? They didn't need to know the backstory, all they needed to guess was that Ryu was important for reasons other than his cultivation. Just a little curiosity would go a long way. If they also remembered that Empana had actually chosen to wait for Ryu for over an hour, it would make the situation even worse.

This was a situation where despite the fact the deductions up to the conclusion were wrong, it didn't matter. So long as they took an interest in Ryu and decided to follow, it would be hard to control the situation.

As though that wasn't bad enough, even if Ryu chose a poor tunnel on purpose the next time around, they might still choose to follow since they felt that Empana was their greatest competitor. So long as they stuck by Empana's side, they didn't have to worry about others winning and they might shrud off Ryu's actions as trying to throw them off his scent.

All of these thoughts flashed through Ryu's mind in an instant, his speed of thought still greatly helped by his Origin Flame. He realized that although much of his cultivation was locked away aside from his body's strength, those external treasures still worked just fine.

'What to do... Ryu thought to himself. After a moment, he came to a decision.

'...Since they want chaos, let there be chaos.'

Ryu didn't say anything as though he couldn't tell what was happening behind him.

Empana frowned when he noticed Norrian's actions. He still didn't know what Ryu was doing, but the fact that Norrian was following made him think of a whole host of things as well and he realized that this matter wouldn't be peaceful.

"Collapse the tunnel's entrance," Empana commanded.

Jorlumin hopped to action.

There were 10 000 of them that needed to enter the tunnel. As one might expect, though, for such a tunnel to accommodate them, it was quite large. Even so, there was only a distance of two kilometers that separated them from the others. There didn't feel like there was enough time and they had to be even more rushed than usual.

Luckily, Norrian also had a large number of people and he couldn't risk sending someone more powerful ahead quickly or else it would be very easy for Empana to quickly surround and kill them. If Norrian lost someone important just to impede them for a moment, it would be too late to regret.

So Norrian didn't do that, continuing to charge ahead in a group.

It all happened in what felt like the blink of an eye, but Sky Gods were truly that great. By the time Norrian and his group had caught up...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The entrance to the tunnel collapsed.

"Start digging!" Norrian roared.

...

Within the tunnel, the group was rushing forward, but Ryu was obviously a limiting factor. However, with a thought Little Silk appeared beneath Ryu and Mae's feet. With a single flap of her gorgeous wings, they soared ahead at great speed.

The other Sky Gods, who were going to use this as an opportunity to teach Ryu a small lesson, lost their chance.

Ryu sneered inwardly, but he didn't say anything. Even so, his thoughts kept swarming.

"This will be a bit tricky to execute. It's hard to tell... No, I can pull this off.

If Ryu wanted chaos, it seemed to be in his best interest to slow down. But if he slowed down too much, it would make him too obvious, so instead he had directly summoned Little Silk. That said, this wasn't all bad. He gained an excuse to bring her out and gained some more security toward his and Mae's safety for the time being. It was this next part that would be more difficult.

Ryu swerved and moved through the tunnels at great speed. The roaring of the earth echoed through the smooth walls as it was clear that the Exo Demon Race was making their way forward swiftly.

"Collapse the tunnels," Empana ordered again.

Ryu's gaze flickered, but he didn't say anything. The team could only see the back of his head as he continued to shoot forward, winding through the turns and variations of the tunnel.

Five hours later, they shot out from the tunnel, finding themselves in the very same enormous catacomb once again. By now, Empana had an idea of what was going on, but Leah was completely livid.

Unfortunately for her, Ryu didn't pause even a single second before shooting out of the exit and toward another tunnel.