Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

A group of five faced off against a roaring wolf spirit beast with three spiraling tails. The tails moved like shadows, throwing faints and jabs that they were on high alert against, only to swipe down with its claws, catching one of the five off guard and knocking them back several paces.

It was clear why Ryu wasn't interested in this Protector Spirit. Its main ability was in using its body and subtlety to trick its enemies into misunderstanding its true intentions. It was actually a beautiful style because it not only hid the fake in reality, but it could also his the reality in what was fake. You could never see the real strike coming because it felt like just as much as a feint as all the others.

Under normal conditions, Ryu might be interested in such a thing. It would pair well with his Spacetime Soul Nature. If he could layer reality and fiction throughout both time and space, he would be almost impossible to deal with. However, he was solely focused on one matter right now. If he split his attention, he would never accomplish his goals, and he couldn't waste precious space on useless spirits to him, at least relatively useless, that is

But that also meant that he would have to wait until these five finished, he didn't want to have to kill the Protector Spirit to deal with it, or else it would fuse with his body. It was a good enough time to observe them.

'Hm?'

Ryu's gaze narrowed. Down before, one of the five was familiar. Iroh, of the Twin Earth Dragon Sect, that big bellied young man he had met after exiting the little woman's Legacy World. He still wielded those two hammers, and he was just as ferocious as ever. However... he had stepped into the Sky God Realm with his body. On top of that, he had a silver aura around him.

A single Silver Protector Spirit was worth as much as Ryu's 999 Bronze Protector Spirits. This was why it took him absorbing that many to be able to defeat a silver one just as easily as he had defeated his first Bronze Spirit. That also meant that he couldn't use this advantage to deal with this group either.

He shook his head inwardly. Breaking through the Sky God Realm with one path shouldn't have been so common. The default path was to enter the Sky God Realm in the Qi Realm and proceed through smoothly. This would raise the norm of your body and soul naturally, and this was the path most people took.

But until now, he had already meant one that had done it with their Mental Realm, and another that had done it with their Body Realm. Even worse, Iroh wasn't the only one of the team that had managed to do so.

From his understanding, the Twin Earth Dragon Sect, a powerhouse of the Sixth Heaven, was one of the very few Sects that actually had a connection to the Dragon Race, unlike Akura and his Clan which just used dragon names to make themselves seem superior.

If there was any Sect that could form a large contingent of Body Realm experts below the Seventh Heaven, it was definitely them.

"They've likely absorbed quite a few Silver Protector Spirits by now. They're just trying to strengthen themselves enough to go after golds, but if they're splitting the power, it'll take quite a number. Though, they're also working together so that makes it a bit easier on them... it makes it harder on me, though.

Ryu sighed. Why did he never choose the easier path?

In truth, he should have just gone to target other spirits first, and then come back when he had enough strength to deal with them. But if there was one thing that hadn't changed about him... it was that he hated taking a step back. Since he was already here, why would he turn away with his tail between his legs?

The perception of others might be that he already did so, but the reason he refused to explain himself was because he felt that the only thing that mattered... was his own understanding of himself.

The three tailed wolf spirit felt and flooded the five large bellied men with strength. At the same time, Ryu gently landed on the soft grass, his great swordstaffs landing just as gently in his palms.

The five men had already noticed his presence but hadn't turned to him just yet. When they did, their eyes narrowed.

Ryu walked forward, his great swordstaffs pointed to his left and right. Angled the way they were, their blades were so thin that they could hardly be seen even with the sharp vision of the five. A light smile curled his lips, his steps relaxed as his Bloodline surged.

He could feel an agitation deep within, an agitation he hadn't sensed the last time he saw Iroh, maybe because his Bloodlines had been so restricted for so long. He knew what that feeling was...

It was a rivalrous spirit.

It seemed his Bloodlines, his Dragon Bloodline in specific, felt that it was on the same level as Iroh and his Sect brothers. That... Left a taste of disgust in his mouth.

He was a powerful Fire Dragon, the Emperor of all Dragons. A mere lizard wanted to be on the same level as him?

The smile on his face became cold, a arrogant disdain roaring from him as his body erupted with a white gold aura. Scales of white coated his body, bright white wings shredding his robes apart and exposing a powerful, chiseled torso.

Iroh's gaze narrowed. He didn't know what Ryu wanted, but he felt a discomfort deep within. His gaze turned red, a low growl coming from his lips as his large, iron belly rumbled..

BANG!

Ryu's Chaos Qi flourished.

"I originally planned to ask you all to hand over that snake spirit within you and we could go our separate ways... but I think I would prefer to beat it out of you instead."

A wild, toothy grin spread across Ryu's face as he took a step forward, vanishing.