Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

News of a white haired man floating around, snatching spirits and running from them spread like wildfire. The requirements of this round were much less stringent than it had been in the past, and as such the geniuses were taking their time to exhale breaths and rest between their battles. During this time, they socialized and networked with those they felt they had similar potential to their own, and they of course shared what they had experienced.

It was safe to say that many were furious, but curiously enough, there were also many who were mocking this man.

They all knew who this white haired man was, it was none other than the Dao Sovereign's descendant, and that was precisely why the polarization was so great. On the one hand, those that had their Protector Spirits snatched felt infuriated and thought that Ryu was simply abusing his status. On the other, those that had witnessed him "running away" felt that he wasn't worthy of having such blood run through their veins.

It couldn't be helped. Not everyone was as stupid as Vie's seniors. When they saw that Ryu was interested in their Protector Spirit, they gave way to him as a sign of good will. Who in their right mind would want to offend such a monster? They even assumed that maybe Primus had stopped Ryu from entering before them so that they wouldn't see what trump card he would hand him. How could they even fathom the idea of a World Sea Realm expert escaping a Dao Sovereign?

Then there were those that witnessed him running away. They were even more straight forward with their ridicule, feeling that someone like Ryu truly wasn't worthy.

Like this, two groups of people grew to hate Ryu for completely different reasons, and Ryu, who caught a whiff of it, felt that it was more entertaining than anything else. Usually, he might just directly kill anyone he came across saying such things about him, but he found himself just laughing.

If he wasted time here killing everyone who uttered something, then where would he put his tears when time ran out and he didn't create the ultimate Martial Forms he wanted to? Though there was no time limit clearly stated, he felt that only a fool would treat it as such. There would definitely be at least one other round, and there was no doubt in his mind that many who were dragging their feet now would regret it when that time came.

If he only had to complete one Martial Form, things would still be fine, but having to complete four really restrained him. The Bronze Protector Spirits were powerful, but the insight they gave was still limited. At the same time, Ryu didn't want to progress to Silver Protector Spirits too soon or else he might find himself suffering,

He had seen a Silver Protector Spirit from afar earlier and it was no joke. It was at least on the same level as Pierthorn, and they wouldn't have a mental breakdown half way through a battle, nor would they underestimate their opponent. They were like computers, using their full strength right from the beginning.

The large gap between Bronze and Silver also told him that it would only grow more exaggerated as he continued. He calculated that in order to defeat a Silver Protector Spirit as calmly and smoothly as he had defeated a Bronze Protector Spirit, all things considered, he would need to kill exactly 999 Bronze Protector Spirits. On top of that, he felt that that number wouldn't decrease if he wanted to use his killing of Silver Protector Spirits to deal with Gold Protector Spirits.

The trouble was that the number as one continued to go up the tiers most definitely lessened considerably. Would there even be 999 Gold Protector Spirits total? What about Silver? He felt that there were at least a few thousand Silver Protector Spirits, but the problem was that he wasn't the only one hunting them down. He would have to dominate at least 10% of them if he wanted to clear Gold Protector Spirits quickly enough to challenge Diamond Protector Spirits before this matter ended.

Ryu dodged out of the spinning stinger of a scorpion Protector Spirit.

'It's fast and agile. It has aspects appropriate for both the Kunan and Fire Phoenix Marital Forms.

Realizing this, Ryu punched out with great strength, his body rippling with the insights of his previous several hundred kills.

There was a very good reason he hadn't just killed every Protector Spirit he came across, causing his myth of "running away" to spread. It was because he felt that there was definitely a limit.

That 999 number he had calculated wasn't just the number he needed to kill Silver Protector Spirits as easily as he had killed the first bear spirit he had eliminated with a single fist, but it was also the limit this Heavenly Path would allow him to absorb as well.

This was another worry. He wondered if... the limit for Silver would be even lower, making his dreams of killing Golds effortlessly fly away with the wind. Unfortunately, he couldn't calculate that until he absorbed one first.

Ryu punched out several times, feeling the insights of the scorpion inundating him.

'Less than a hundred left."

Ryu had already begun to radiate a strong bronze aura. His aura was radiating out in all directions, but this only made him smile.

This aura made him easier to find. Usually, he would already be being overwhelmed from all sides. But the shield that useless Ancestor of his gave him was actually quite useful. Many approached from the distance, but when they saw who it was, they turned tail immediately.

This was a really good feeling. The last time he had had such a badge of protection, he had been a cripple of the Tatsuya Clan. He wasn't really able to enjoy it at all, aside from being able to speak some sharp words to World Sea Realm experts that annoyed him.

But now, he truly felt free. It seemed these next ten years would be fun.