Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

There were practically none. The Golden Protector Spirits seemed to have a layer of mystery to them, not simply appearing in open space. However, Ryu felt that this was actually quite a benefit to him. That meant that whatever lag he had in starting wasn't as excessive as he once thought. He didn't want to be overly confident-a blatant lie-but he doubted that there was anyone who would be better suited to him at finding these golden spirits. But first...

Ryu chose to change his approach this time around. Since golden spirits were so few in number, there was very much a chance that the ones he wanted might be in the hands of others already. At the same time, there were likely an extremely small number that had them in the first place.

Since there was a radiant aura around those that had claimed spirits, why not take advantage of it? He wanted to see who his competitors were as well, this might potentially be like knocking down two birds with a single stone.

To his surprise, though, Ryu came across the members of the Radiant Star Sect first before anyone else. They were none other than Brianus, the man who wielded a pillar as a weapon, Robion, a man with a air of angel-like wings, and Bruiser, a man who relied on his fists and pair of brass knuckles for everything.

They were decently powerful, though they had lost against Ryu back then.

However, since then, they had broken into partial Sky God Realms, one after another. They were much more potent than they had been in the past. And yet, their state currently could only be said to be... sorry.

Ryu might have usually ignored them, but he decided to land. He could feel that they actually had the aura of a Golden Protector Spirit on them, but it was rapidly fading. At first he thought that this was because they had claimed it and then had it stolen, but after a while, he understood that this wasn't the case. Instead, they had fought a Golden Protector Spirit and lost.

'Interesting...' Ryu's gaze flickered.

The standard of these three was extremely high. They were the hand picked talents of the elders of the Radiant Star Sect, it was all too obvious that they had a great amount of talent. And they had the auras of quite a few Silver Protector Spirits on them on top of that, they hadn't been foolish enough to jump right to gold. Although, they had also skipped over bronze entirely.

The three sensed Ryu from a long distance away, not that this was very impressive. Ryu was like a swirling beacon of silver and bronze, even a child could sense him from hundreds of kilometers away. They found it hard to believe that he had actually gathered up so many spirits, and why did he seem so... complete?

Ryu flashed before them, landing on a soft bed of snow without leaving in the slightest footprint. His body seemed to be as light as a feather, and while the three's faces were slightly rouge due to the cold, he was seemingly entirely unaffected by the cold.

This time, though, it wasn't because of his Ice Phoenix Bloodline, but rather because his Tatsuya Martial Form was practically spitting fire out from his heart like a perpetually roaring dragon, that and his exceptionally potent body. His Bloodlines weren't strong enough to ignore this level of cold, and those in this region were whittling away a large amount of qi just standing here.

A complicated swirl of emotions danced in the eyes of the three, and there was even a clear hint of rage, but in the end they chose to calm down. They were all of the same Sect, and there wasn't exactly any pride in defeating Ryu now that they had become pseudo Sky Gods. Although, it was hard to tell if they could since he had absorbed so many spirits.

Ryu's gaze narrowed for a moment, scanning them seriously. Then, he spoke.

"Don't take this advice as my being condescending. If you want the best chance at defeating Golden Protector Spirits, absorb as many Bronze and Silver Protector Spirits as your body can handle. This isn't necessarily a race to the top, there are great benefits in consuming these spirits."

Ryu nodded after saying this and vanished in a step.

The three looked toward one another. Was this arrogant prick always so nice? Why couldn't they remember this?

It was hard to be angry at such words, especially since it was clear that Ryu had followed his own advice. Even so, they shuddered inwardly, feeling a hint of remorse as they watched Ryu vanish into the distance. They had meant to say something, but it was too late now.

The gap between the Silver Protector Spirit and Golden ones was enormous, it felt like fighting against true Fragmented Sky Gods.

Although the word pseudo Sky God sounded impressive, the reality was that compared to true Fragmented Sky Gods, they were pitiful. Truly stepping into the Sky God Realm was a holistic and sweeping change, pseudo Sky God Realms wouldn't even be able to display their true strength and power until they took that step.

".. He... he should be fine," Robion finally said. "So long as he can make it out of the range of the Golden Protector Spirit's territory, it won't chase him. His movement ability is far beyond ours."

It was embarrassing to admit, but that was how any of them had survived. One could tell how potent a Golden Protector Spirit was until they actually faced them, Peak of the Eleventh Order their asses, how could someone not in the Sky God Realm be that powerful?

Even if they ingested all the Silver Protector Spirits they could until they were brimming, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Even so, Ryu's words made them feel better. Even if they couldn't get Golden Protector Spirits, they still had some rewards to gain.