Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu chuckled to himself. The range of his Spiritual Sense was far beyond what those three knew, so of course he had heard their conversation. He found it somewhat amusing, and another part a bit warming. It was interesting having Sect mates not try to stab him in the back, not that he had much experience in being a part of a Sect in the first place. He was much more used to being a lone wolf.

Though he laughed, he began to take this several folds more seriously. If the Protector Spirits were so powerful, then anyone who had actually managed to kill one was on a completely different level. It seemed that he couldn't rely on the number of spirits he had swallowed alone to carry him to victory.

'We'll fight one first. Depending on how it goes, we can make a plan!'

Though he thought this, his mind was already spinning with such plans. His mind worked too fast, and he was immediately comparing and contrasting how things had gone on the side of the weaker spirits, and how things would go this time.

What was interesting was that Bronze and Silver Protector Spirits were wanderers, they didn't have a restriction to their territory, but they would lose track of you if you fled far enough away from them, and you could also easily distract them by passing them off to another person or group.

But it seemed that the reason Golden Protector Spirits were so difficult to find was because they were hidden within their territories, and they didn't wander. Instead, they had defined barriers that they couldn't cross.

With a flash of his step, Ryu crossed another several hundred kilometers and then came to a grinding halt. He could almost smell it, the scent of a formation so perfectly concealed that he had almost stepped into it even with the sharpness of his eyes. This person certainly had a great amount of skill, though not enough.

At first, he thought that this was simply the barrier of the Golden Protector Spirit, but after another split second, he tossed this from his mind.

He had been following the trail that the trio had followed, reversing their steps so that he could land in the territory of the Golden Protector Spirit that they had just fought. This made things easier on him. Since he had changed his plans, he might as well check out the easiest spirit to reach.

Who knew that he would be targeted before all of that?

The Heavenly Path hadn't allowed him to use any treasures he had brought in with him aside from his great swordstaffs and his grandfather's bow. That meant that whoever set this formation had done so under their own power. He was quite fascinated.

His gaze flashed as his eyes swept the region. His Spiritual Sense was already deployed and yet he couldn't find this person.

'Is it him? This aura is a hint familiar, albeit a small bit!

Ryu never forgot anyone. Although this person had left a seemingly small impression, he still remembered them quite clearly. This was the first genius of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion, an extremely handsome man that had technically lost at Ryu's hands several times.

"But he should be an alchemist. Does he dabble in multiple fields?" Suddenly, Ryu's gaze flashed. Heavenly Dew Pavilion? Heavenly Dew Branch...

Names were extremely important, though he hadn't considered it before, were they related?

Technically, the Heavenly Dew Branch of the Martial Gods, the very same branch that Isemeine was born into, were as inferior as servants in the Martial God Clan. If they had any sort of importance, they would have never been sent to waste their potential in a small world like Sacrum, nor would they be under the control of an inferior, peripheral wife like Elena's mother.

However, their standing in the Ninth Heaven was one matter, their standing in lower Heavens was a completely different one.

"That's right. His name was Adlael. His hair is also white if I recall correctly... How interesting. The Heavenly Dew Branch is known for their body, but this man's soul is actually so powerful. But another question is... why is he here at all? Even a servant of the Ninth Heaven would be better treated than a King of the Seventh Heaven, let alone the fact that the Heavenly Dew Pavilion was far from a King.

It was quite paradoxical for Ryu of all people to say this, especially when he would rather die than be a servant. But that didn't mean that he assigned the same level of pride to everyone else.

Ryu's gaze flashed. 'He's not here. This is like an animal trap, there's no use in looking for him.'

With a step, Ryu entered the void, crossed the entire formation as though it wasn't there at all. In the back of his mind, though, he added one more competitor outside of the Seventh Heaven geniuses and those on the same level as Iroh. This Adlael, and that comforting, smiling, handsome face of his, was quite interesting too. Unfortunately, he wasn't clever enough to catch Ryu in a trap.

'After this, I will take my time to examine the formation. It must do something, and whatever it does do, it should have already targeted those three... There's no way that they crossed this region without being tagged first.

Ryu stepped into the territory of the Golden Protector Spirit and froze.

'After this, I will take my time to examine the formation. It must do something, and whatever it does do, it should have already targeted those three... There's no way that they crossed this region without being tagged first

Ryu stepped into the territory of the Golden Protector Spirit and froze.

It wasn't a large creature. It was the size of a normal, mortal panther, sleek and black, potent and slim, radiating a dull golden aura. It almost looked real. The peril signs pulsed in Ryu's mind and his heart constricted. It was so wild and domineering that his hairs stood on end, his own white hair whipping back gently despite the lack of a breeze.

'I can't overcome this thing right now.'

Ryu, who had consumed 999 Bronze Protector Spirits, and 999 Silver Protector Spirits, didn't stand a chance.