Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryza's lip twitched.

At that moment, several auras locked onto Ryu. But, just as quickly, the Wind Dragon bared his teeth, a snarling and heated breath leaving his lips.

Aberardus, who had long since been forced to come and monitor the situation, could only shake his head. This kid…

Jan's gaze narrowed as he looked toward Ryu's back. This was the first time that a junior had ever so blatantly disrespected him. Of course, Supreme Blacksmith Arcus wasn't himself, but he was still a member of his family, and a very important member at that. The two were as close as brothers. To ask his brother to kneel, wasn't that just as good as asking him to kneel?

Jan had indeed passed on question of Aberardus' request to Supreme Blacksmith Arcus. However, he had done so nonchalantly and even when his brother snapped in response, he only chuckled and didn't say much about it, not putting in any effort to change his mind.

In his thoughts, Supreme Blacksmith Arcus had been correct. Asking a Sky God to forge a weapon for a junior who hadn't even grasped Cosmic Qi yet… Was that some sort of joke? But, how could any of them have possibly guessed that such a thing would happen?

Ryu didn't even wait for the impact of his words to land, already turning to walk away.

Jan's body flickered, appearing outside of the dome of protection. While Ryu had used his own abilities to do so, Jan had access to an Armament which allowed him to do exactly that. There was no need to rely on the Wind Dragon's damage like the junior Dragons had.

His bow quaked when it appeared in his palm, shimmering with resplendent crystalline blue and emerald green colors. Even when raised, it dwarfed Jan in size, continuing a meter above his head and reaching down to his feet. Even without being pulled, the power the bow exuded was undeniable.

Aberardus and Wynhorn appeared not long afterward along with a host of other False Sky Gods. There was no other choice. If they wanted to deal with everything else, this Eleventh Order Dragon had to be slain first.

Though Ryu didn't look back, his lip curled into a cold smile. That Jan character was good at controlling his emotions. But, when it came to hiding them? How could he ever hide anything from Ryu?

Even if his expression didn't change, even if his heartbeat remained steady, even if his killing into was restrained to the maximum degree to the point it didn't manifest in the slightest… so what? Could he hide his Lines of Fate from Ryu?

Ryu could practically see the colors of emotion of the people around him. No matter how well trained you were in hiding your true thoughts, how could you hide from Ryu?

Still, Ryu simply didn't care. So what if he offended a Sky God?

The carnage in the city continued but it was as though Ryu was simply in a very immersive movie. Even Ryza had been forced to leave his side and join the battle with the Wind Dragon above, so he was alone. His only goal was to reunite with…

"Ryu!"

Ryu's gaze brightened from his cold smile, a gentle expression taking hold as he saw Yaana again for the first time in a long while.

"Ah, Ryu! Your mask!"

Yaana had been quite worried about Ryu in the last year. He had left abruptly and just vanished. It was only thanks to Ailsa that she knew that there was nothing to worry about, but even then, that was just an assurance that Ailsa had as his Life Partner, it wasn't something she shared.

Honestly, Yaana was a bit jealous, but there was nothing she could do about it. She knew how important revenge for his family was to Ryu and she didn't want to stand in the way of that. But, at the same time, she wanted to get closer to Ryu. Him just leaving for a year at a time like this while only being able to communicate with Ailsa was making things more difficult on her.

Still, rather than showing signs of anger, her first act was out of concern. She realized that Ryu had caused a ridiculous amount of commotion at the Martial God's banquet. Was it really alright for him to show his face like this?

Ryu flashed and appeared before Yaana, his smile still bright as he patted her head.

Yaana pouted slightly, pushing his hand away and diving into his chest instead. Ryu winced slightly before chuckling bitterly. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to get rid of this one so easily.

Ailsa found her seat once more on Ryu's shoulder, laughing. Though, this time, her laugh carried a hint of dark and sinister intent in it as though she was some sort of mad evil villain.

Seeing her curves undulate in waves like that, Ryu couldn't help but steal several more glances in her direction.

'Laughing at your husband like this, it seems you need to be taught a proper lesson.'

Ailsa snorted. 'You? Teach me a lesson? Have you forgotten which of us is more powerful? Also, don't get cheeky with me, boy. I don't remember saying you had earned the right to touch me again. I'm still not quite satisfied with your remorse.'

'Who said a lesson had to be dirty? It seems my wife has her head in the clouds?'

Ailsa was speechless and blushed profusely for a moment before she suddenly realized something.

'Don't try to gaslight me! I can read your mind!'

Ryu broke into an uproarious laughter, his mind suddenly projecting all of his dirty thoughts he had kept bottled up for a year right into Ailsa's mind. The result was her only blushing more, her body writhing.

"… Ryu… If you… If you need help…"

Yaana's voice was as soft as a butterfly's wings. Ryu realized too late that in all his teasing, his body had begun to show some response and Yaana happened to still be hugging him tightly.

A tinge of guilt immediately took hold of Ryu.

"Sorry, sorry." Ryu took hold of his blood flow instantly.

Yaana buried her head further into his chest, causing him to completely miss the tinge of disappointment in her gaze. But, even if he had noticed, he wouldn't know what to do about it.

"What do you want to do now?" Ailsa used this chance to get over her own embarrassment, squeezing her legs together tightly. She chose to speak aloud, clearly feeling a bit guilty about leaving Yaana out of their discussion as well.

"If I'm correct… This is a war. There shouldn't be a single corner of the martial world that's safe. We need to return to the Moon World, or else the shift in Faith will never have anything to do with me despite it being triggered by my hands.

"But first…" Ryu took a deep breath. "We need to return to the Mortal Plane. I've yet to repay my grandfather for what he's done for me. The Tor's of the past should have already passed away, and if not, they're at death's door. They're the most vulnerable to a beast tide like this one."

Ailsa was about to respond when both her and Ryu's expression changed.

"WHO DID THIS?! WHO DID THIS TO ME?!"

The fury seemed to paint the skies crimson. Even the battle between the Wind Dragon and the Sky Gods which had just begun couldn't help but come to a pause.

The resentment was as tall as a Demonic Wraith, and the momentum was both that of a Sky God on the verge of becoming a True Sky God and a World Sea Realm expert all at once. The qi wildly fluctuated between both states, the starry skies being painted in red.

Wynhorn's brow furrowed. 'False Sky God Gione?'

The Gione Clan. None other than the Short Sword Armament Clan of the Armament Guild. If he had been the one to break into True Sky God instead of Aberardus, it would have been much easier for them to accept. But this…

"WHO DID THIS TO ME?! I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU! I'LL RIP OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND FEED THEM TO YOUR FAMILY! I'LL WIPE OUT YOUR NINE GENERATIONS TO THE FINAL CHILD! WHO DID THIS TO ME?!"

False Sky God Gione's head swiveled about madly, almost as though he wasn't worried about his neck snapping in two. The signs of qi deviation were as clear as day. And then…

His gaze landed on Ryu.

Amidst a city of billions, he found him. The taste of that aura, he was all too clear.

"YOU! IT'S YOU! IT'S YOU! IT'S YOU!!!!"

An anguished roar shook the starry skies.

Aberardus' expression changed when he noticed what was happening, but he suddenly felt a dangerous aura lock onto him.

"We are fighting a battle Aberardus. If you leave your spot in the formation, how many will die? I advise that you stay put." Jan said slowly.

By the time Jan spoke these words, catching Aberardus, Ryza and Wynhorn off guard, it was already too late.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"