Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu had undergone the equivalent of dozens of Life Destructions. One would think it would give him more than just that.

Regardless, in return, he gained a wild appetite and even greater difficulty in appeasing it. And now that he was a pauper, his current funds could probably only fill him up halfway, and that was if he was willing to dump it all into these meals.

He probably should be focused on returning to the Radiant Star Sect and getting Aika to feed him, but he hadn't eaten in decades. It was no longer as easy to ignore his rumbling stomach. In fact, he felt that his body still had more room to grow so long as it was finally properly satiated.

'Forget it. Return to the Radiant Star Sect first, then get pampered by Senior Aika. Much better plan than wasting time here.'

Ryu began to do as he usually did, listening to conversations as he walked toward an information center.

To his surprise, he heard nothing about the Radiant Star Sect, which didn't make sense unless...

'Censorship? That'll make things a little bit more troublesome... Fine, we'll see how far I can push this.'

Ryu strolled into an information center, a small building squished between two skyscrapers. It could have been easily mistaken as some sort of garbage dump.

"Hello, I would like a map."

The old man at the counter looked up. A pipe hung from his lips, and his gaze seemed quite dull. However, Ryu didn't miss the hidden sharpness within it.

"A map of what?"

"A detailed map of this region, and a lesser map of the whole Seventh Heaven."

"A map of the whole Seventh Heaven? Do you know what you're asking for right now?"

Ryu laughed. "You sound like I'm trying to rob you. I don't need a detailed map, just general locations of where the powers are and where the danger zones are."

"Kid, let me give you some advice. Don't stroll into a territory, masked, and then go around asking for maps. That's an easy way to get yourself killed."

Ryu's smile didn't fade, but his thoughts were in a bit of a tailspin. Just how paranoid were these people? It was wrong even to ask for a general map, now?

"Let me give you some advice, old man. Don't open a business and be unwilling to meet your customer's orders."

Ryu's light tone made the dull eyes of the old man narrow. Did this brat really not know what was good for him?

"How ridiculous," Ryu shook his head. "Asked to pay double the fees for something as common as wearing a mask, and now even asking for a general map is a sin. I got lost while adventuring and I want to return home, I don't need the lecture, old man."

The old man frowned. Ryu's words echoed quite reasonably, and indeed they would have been five years ago. Was he truly out of the loop?

Then again, what was five years to a Sky God? It looked like this kid just broke through, so he truly might have been in seclusion all this time.

"You just exited seclusion?" The old man asked.

Ryu glanced startled, but then he nodded slowly, causing the old man to chuckle.

"Fine, fine. A new, wet-behind-the-ears Sky God appears and suddenly thinks he has the right to lecture an old man like me. I might have been stuck at the Fragmented Sky God Realm, kid, but I'm experienced. You should listen to your elders."

"Stop beating around the bush, old man. What's happening that's got everyone acting like this?"

"This isn't a charity, brat. Pay up."

"All that nonsense about being my elder and having advice for me, and now you want me to pay? Since you talk about it like it's such common knowledge, what are you being so stingy for?"

The old man pursed his lips, and Ryu eventually spun his eyes and transmitted over a Fragmented God Crystal.

"Do I look like a beggar to you?"

"I'm not paying more than that for information you think is common enough to look down on me for not having."

"Fine, fine." The old man put up his hands, smiling triumphantly.

What he didn't know was that Ryu was also smiling triumphantly.

"The world's been in turmoil ever since the Radiant Star Sect returned."

"The Radiant Star Sect?"

"Oh, you're a young brat. Right. You don't know. In the past, there was the Dual Radiance Star Sect. They fell from the Eighth Heaven in disgrace and it was likely due to their internal struggle because they separated into the Fading and Radiant Star Sect soon afterward and became the ruling powers of the Seventh Heaven.

"However, the Fading Star Sect ganged up with... Well, let's just say the Fading Star Sect caused the Radiant Star Sect to collapse, murdering the Grand Elder and Patriarch at the time.

"Those two men were the fathers of Sovereign Aika and Lord Wan respectively.

"Now, those two have come back, and Sovereign Aika has entered the Dao Sovereign Realm."

Ryu's gaze flickered. Now that he understood Aika was definitely a Dao Sovereign, didn't that mean she could sense him when he appeared as well? If she was paying attention, that is.

It was hard to tell... but considering they were at the center of the conflict, even if she did sense him, would she have the time to come and get him in the first place?

"They've come back with a vengeance and have sought to reclaim their old lands. The trouble is that that land has been split between the Azure Lightning Sect and the Raging Inferno Sect."

The Raging Inferno Sect. Wasn't that Jojo's Sect?

"Not the Fading Star Sect?" Ryu questioned curiously, although he already understood why.

The old man only smiled and moved on as though he didn't ask the question.

This was a clear and obvious ploy by the Fading Star Sect. Now, the Fading Star Sect could easily force other Sects into the conflict.

"Sovereign Aika single-handedly repelled the first wave of attacks, causing the tension to increase.

"The problem is that the Radiant Star Sect has a deficient foundation. Their junior generation is weak aside from Fairy Selheira, but the Fairy was well known before the Sect, and her growth can't be accredited to them.

"Realizing this flaw, the Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sect have chosen to make this a Battle of Faith.

"If the Radiant Star Sect doesn't hurry and bolster their Faith, their Faith Well will collapse, and the Sects won't have to do anything but sit back and watch them crumble."

Ryu's eyes narrowed. What was a Battle of Faith?