Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The presence of a Dao Lord was already something greater than what the average person could bear to begin with. At a certain level, a layman couldn't feel the difference... an oppressive aura that could crush them was an oppressive aura that could crush them, what good would it do to try and parse them?

What no one would have expected, though, was that even as this presence appeared, that Ryu would say such words.

Toward this, even Lord Crown Fire could no longer remain perfectly calm, his eyes narrowing. This boy's words were always so sharp and unforgiving, every time he spoke Lord Crown Fire could practically feel his Sect's Faith being drained away.

It couldn't be a coincidence, Lord Crown Fire didn't believe so. He even believed that it was related to Ryu's Dao somehow. What he didn't understand was how the Dao of a mere Fragmented Sky God could possibly function on this scale.

And then he finally appeared...

It was an old man, but not in the sense of being decrepit and aged, but rather in a wisdom-filled, ancient sort of way.

His dark skin-tone seemed carved of stone and his white hair was a bright contrast. He wore clothing that looked as though he had just begun preparing for bed, a simple, loose, linen-like pair of pajamas and his bare feet walked across the skies as though it was solid earth.

To his back, there was a youth. His skin was also dark, but his eyes shone like the stars in the skies, filled with an impossible flood of charisma and beauty. His features were handsome enough to make women swoon and his temperament was even more alluring.

As he walked, a dark rainbow of colors flashed around him similar to the way Ryu's silver runes acted. But the difference was that everyone knew what this was...

The Childe of Chaos Constitution.

Suddenly, this young man's gaze flashed as they landed on Ryu, but Ryu only smiled back, brightly and without restraint. His own charisma seemed to leak out at that moment, competing with and even somewhat swallowing up that of Starlight's.

"Long time, no see," Ryu spoke, completely out of turn again. It was completely natural for everyone to wait for the Dao Sovereign to break the atmosphere first, and yet Ryu didn't seem to have this sort of propriety in his bones. Instead, he didn't seem to see the Dao Sovereign at all.

There was a reason for this, of course. Ryu was very interested in Starlight's Chaotic Silk Meridians, not because he needed them, but he wanted to see what transplanted meridians would truly look like.

Ryu usually restrained his Childe of Chaos Constitution, but it had already long since surpassed Starlight's. He didn't have the luxury of flaunting it wherever he went, unfortunately. The restraint made him annoyed, but it was a necessary evil for now.

Starlight's lips parted slightly. "Indeed, it has been a long time. I've grown up."

It was a subtle reminder to Ryu that Starlight was just a brat when he first met him, but Ryu didn't mind at all. Whether a child or not, being defeated by him once would mean that he would always be defeated. Absolutely nothing would change.

Starlight already expected Ryu's lack of a reaction, so he didn't follow up, content to let his utterances hang in the air unopposed.

"You've come to save the Raging Inferno Sect?" Ryu asked.

Starlight frowned, but he realized immediately afterward that Ryu wasn't talking to him at all, but rather the Dao Sovereign of his Sect.

The Dao Sovereign swept a gaze over Ryu, but seemed to find nothing, something that made even so him skeptical.

"The matters of today are over," the Dao Sovereign uttered lightly. "The Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sects will pull their encirclements back and spare the Radiant Star Sect and help to restore harmony to the Seventh Heaven.

"In return, the Radiant Star Sect will return Disciple Josephine back to the Sect that raised her, and the Azure Lightning Sect will receive compensation in the form of land and resources.

"This isn't a time we should spend fighting amongst ourselves. There are matters of much greater importance. This is an unprecedented time in history and the Fading Star Sect will not tolerate anyone that stands in the way of that."

The threat was blatant and clear.

If the Fading Star Sect were to attack the Radiant Star Sect, they wouldn't use a Faith Battle. They would sweep down with overwhelming strength and crush everything in their path. Ultimately, they just hadn't been willing to pay the potential price they would have to.

Now that things had come this far, they would settle for humiliating the Radiant Star Sect.

After eventually returning to their home, the Radiant Star Sect was trapped within their own territory, and now they were being asked to compensate their oppressors for their audacity in fighting back.

How amusing.

Ryu, though, didn't say anything, a surprising turn of events for him.

The reality was that he knew it was useless. If this Battle of Faith continued, in another year or two he might bring these Sects to their knees. But ultimately, the Fading Star Sect wasn't even so involved; they were just using the two Sects as pawns in their game. Plus, there was still the Stalwart Sun Sect to worry about, yet another powerful, yet unscathed player in the game.

The Radiant Star Sect was too weak, and Aika was truly too rash in coming back so quickly. If she had lingered around in the Sixth Heaven for a few generations, the situation would have been much better, but she didn't have the patience for that.

Quite frankly, neither did Ryu. The divergence was that Ryu would have just acted alone if he had the power of a Dao Sovereign. If he had that kind of power, this war would have ended in a few days.

Unfortunately, he didn't.

Ryu suddenly realized now why he had never joined a Sect before.