Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The region was filled with laughs and cheer. All around the Radiant Star Sect, encampments of juniors that had practically turned into miniature night-scene cities had popped up everywhere.

As many Sky God elites as there were, there were just as many servants, dancers, and chefs. It was as though while they were busy oppressing the Radiant Star Sect, they couldn't forget to enjoy themselves, and at the same time, dampen the mood of the Sect.

If Aika could have just directly destroyed these people, she would have. Unfortunately, she could not.

For one, the hit to her reputation for casually committing a mass genocide against so many juniors would be astronomical. Even when the likes of the Martial Gods acted against Ryu, they did so covertly, not wanting anyone to know about their dirty deeds.

Of course, Sarriel had already informed Ryu that Faith worked differently in the True Martial World. Being "bad" didn't necessarily mean you would have unfortunate Faith.

That said, being "bad" when your Faith Well wasn't conform with "bad" could ruin you. The Radiant Star Sect was ultimately a Sect on the side of good. It wasn't a demonic or devil Sect, so they didn't gain standing by being dreadful people.

Plus, there was Aika's own individual feelings on the matter to consider as well. Even if they were a dark-aligned Sect, she wouldn't have it in her. As such, she could only brood in disgust and unwillingness every day.

Ryu, though, could tell that these night-life miniature cities weren't there just for show. It looked like they were all just casually enjoying themselves, but he could easily see that there was structure to them.

Each one had about half a hundred Fragmented Sky Gods, half a dozen False Sky Gods, and at least one True Sky God. They were perfectly distributed into "legions" of their own and probably designed to look unorganized when in reality they were ready for battle at any moment.

If Ryu wanted, he felt that he probably had a pretty good chance of just immediately assassinating entire camps worth of the legions before they even realized that something was wrong.

But he couldn't do that. At least not yet.

Killing so many secretly would give their enemies something to grab onto, something to take advantage of.

Who knows how they might spin that story? They might even use it as a chance to impugn upon Aika's reputation.

If he wanted to kill covertly, he had to first establish that he had the ability to do so and the means. Only then would it be obvious who killed them and leave no room for judgment.

But first, he needed to make a statement.

The Raging Inferno Sect and the Azure Lightning Sect both had disciple structures that Ryu was intimately familiar with, as these structures seemed to be universal.

Working, Outer, Inner, Core, Inheritor, and Thrones still existed in this world, although Sarriel had also warned him that it didn't come with the same sort of blanket protection due to the matters of Faith Wells.

Then there were ranks of elders as well, and this was slightly different from what he was used to.

Outer, Inner, and Core Elders, then there were Grand Elders, one Supreme Elder, and then there was the Patriarch.

Usually, on the Seventh Heaven, a Patriarch should be on the younger side and be about the equivalent strength of the Core Elders. If they were exceptionally talented, they would share strength with the Grand Elders.

This was another reason why the prestige of the Radiant Star Sect had taken such a hit as well.

Aika was part of the older generation, there was no doubting that. Technically, her position should be that of Supreme Elder. But the problem was that she took on the quasi role of Matriarch as there was a huge gap between the younger and older generations.

Inheritor Disciples were the first line of "defense" when it came to gauging a Sect or Clan's future, but the next and more important line was their Patriarch or Matriarch. The fact that the Radiant Star Sect's upper management was in such shambles went volumes toward describing public perception of them currently.

For the Seventh Heaven, Working Disciples had to at least be in the Dao Pedestal Realm, though some talented individuals would be let in as Squires of sorts ahead of time.

Outer Disciples had to be in the World Sea Realm, and Inner Disciples, unless they were exceptionally talented, had to be in the Fragmented Sky God Realm.

Core Disciples were False Sky Gods and Inheritor Disciples had to become True Sky Gods before the age of a thousand years old.

There were usually age gates at every step, or else one would fall to become Elders.

Outer, Inner and Core Elders were all one level above the expected Sky God Realm, meaning Core Elders were at least True Sky Gods.

Grand Elders were Perfect Sky Gods, though some would be a level above at Transcendent and Omniscient as well, leaving their Patriarchs at around the lower levels of that.

Of course, one would not even dare to name a Supreme Elder unless they were at least a Dao Lord on the Seventh Heaven! This was what made them all True Seven Star Sects.

Whether it was the Raging Inferno, Azure Lightning, or Stalwart Sun Sect, they were all True Seven Star Sects.

Then how could they match up to Aika whose sole existence made the Radiant Star Sect an Eight Star Sect?

The reason was, of course, the Fading Star Sect... who was also an Eight Star Sect.

'So each of these legions has at least one Core Elder, followed up by a bunch of Inner and Core Disciples, huh?'

Ryu chose one at random, not caring much as his aura flared up.

In the atmosphere of joy and laughter, silence fell. As expected, these people looked casual, but they were all completely ready to throw everything away for the sake of battle.

Several Spiritual Senses swept over immediately, but when they saw a masked young man wearing robes of white and sky blue, they couldn't help but frown.

Why did a Fragmented Sky God dare to appear here?