Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

"…"

Elena gazed at Ryu for a moment, her gaze impossible to read. There used to be a twinkle of a mischievous light within whenever she looked at him, but right now it felt quite blank. It was entirely impossible to tell what she was thinking.

If Ryu wanted to be optimistic, he might very well believe that his wife had simply matured. However, this wasn't what he chose to believe.

Somewhere deep inside, he knew that thinking this way was just a way to absolve himself of responsibility and make the weight on his chest just that small bit lighter. However, he didn't want that weight to be lighter. He wanted to feel the full brunt of it.

His wide smile softened into a sincere and caring look. His gaze alone spoke a thousand words.

Right then, the light sound of footsteps entered Ryu's ears. It was an interruption that he immediately disliked and he didn't need to turn his head away from Elena to know that they came from Galkos.

Galkos walked forward, forcing Elena's entourage apart. His imposing aura alone was enough for them to step clear out of his way, let alone his standing. It had to be known that Kings and Queens had the loftiest status within the Martial God Clan on the surface. With this being true, despite how the ceremony had gone, Galkos had essentially stepped into the ruling class of their Clan already. Nothing could change that.

The situation instantly became tense. With Elena and Ryu facing one another, it wasn't immediately clear how Galkos would take action. Though they didn't think that Galkos would attack Elena, they didn't feel that it was an impossibility either.

Elena had clearly benefited the most from this exchange. Whether Ryu was a fool or not, the objective truth was that his actions had made it so that she was the biggest winner.

Under normal circumstances, there would be no need for Galkos to make an enemy out of someone with the same standing as himself. It also had to be known that the identity of Elena's father wasn't wide spread knowledge amongst the Martial God's younger generation, or else even if Isemeine had ten times the guts she would have never spoken behind Elena's back so boldly.

As far as Galkos was concerned, he and Elena were on the same playing field. He didn't offend her because there was no need to, however, this didn't mean he was scared to do so.

That said, even now, Galkos didn't feel the need to take it so far. Why would he target Elena when Ryu was right here? He wasn't under the illusion that Ryu had suddenly gained Elena's favor with these few actions. When it came to things someone could give her, how could this Ryu compare to what a Sky God could do?

Ultimately, he drew level with Elena, his gaze locking onto Ryu.

"Hand it over."

He didn't waste his time with any superfluous words, nor did he hang in the back and command others to make a move for him. He knew that this dark gold flame was only stable beneath Heaven's Punishment. Once the vortex above dispersed, it would be hundreds of times more difficult to plunder and absorb.

He was well aware that he still needed this energy.

While Ryu had no idea what it did, he was fully aware. Without it, he could forget about breaking into the Sky God Realm in the future. In fact, even progressing in the World Sea Realm would be difficult.

Absorbing with would basically guarantee reaching the Peak World Sea Realm even if it was just a small bit. With this amount, Galkos had to believe that he would have at least a 50/50 chance of entering the Sky God Realm.

Clearly, Galkos hadn't noticed the contradiction in his thoughts. Even a Sky God couldn't guarantee such a thing, so how was it that Ryu hadn't given Elena something better than they could? Compared to what Ryu was holding onto now, he had given Elena even more. Her chances might be even better than 50/50 at this point.

Ryu's gaze shifted.

Galkos was a human of normal proportions, but he was a rare breed. He was one of the only people Ryu had ever met that was actually taller than him without being of an entirely different species.

However, in an instant, Ryu had gone from caring and affectionate to ice cold. Despite the fact he was looking, as though he shared abilities with his wife, he too seemed to be looking down. Having not dispelled his draconic scales yet, Ryu looked especially menacing, his horns towering over even Galkos.

The pillar of dark gold flames slowly condensed into a ball that hovered in Ryu's palm, his claws shimmering beneath its flickering lights. He looked completely unmoved by Galkos' words.

A momentum left Galkos' body, completely enshrouding Ryu. By now, his cultivation had already recovered to the Peak of the Pulse Opening Realm. As the shackles loosened, those with higher cultivations to begin with recovered far faster than those with lower cultivations. Galkos was already confident now in crushing Ryu completely.

However, as though it was a spring breeze, Galkos' momentum split along Ryu's torso as though it had met some sort of rift. Ryu's slit eyes gazed into the latter's white-gold ones. It was clear that despite knowing Isemeine, Ryu wasn't fazed by Galkos' stature with the Heaven's Dew Branch.

"This is what you want?"

Ryu asked evenly, the dark gold flame dancing in his palms.

"If you know what's good for you—"

"I was wondering why everyone wanted these flames so badly… They probably help you breakthrough, hm?"

The dark gold flame hopped on Ryu's palm.

Before anyone could react, the flame suddenly shot outward, jetting through the air and landing between Overseer Eudo's brows in the far off distance.

"I don't really need it honestly. But I also don't want to give it to you. So what are you going to do about it?"