Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu woke up slowly. To his surprise, his cultivation had already increased on its own and he didn't have to do much of anything. It was like he had been tearing himself down for months now, and now that he had given his body a chance to rest, he naturally advanced. Not just to the Middle Fragmented Realm, but the Higher.

Ryu wasn't surprised by his speed. The one thing that he hadn't lost as far as his Embryonic Qi was concerned was cultivation speed. If he had focused on nothing but cultivation this past more than a year, he could have probably entered the Peak of the Realm.

Of course, this was also thanks to the fact his Internal Matrix existed. Thanks to it, he had a clear lane to the next tier of Dao, and it made his progress smooth.

Once he reached the edge of the Fragmented Sky God Realm, he would have to progress his Dao and would run into a slight bottleneck, but if there was one thing he was confident in, it was his comprehension.

He slipped off of his bed and took a long bath in waters that could have made lava feel chilly.

He could feel his pore opening up and his muscles relaxing and unwinding. Even hours after he had woken up, he still said not a single word. Only then did he ask the little woman if there were any changes to the situation.

A year of time might seem like a long time to Ryu who wasn't even 30 years old yet, but to the people of the Seventh Heaven, it was the blink of an eye. As expected, not much had happened at all. Though, considering her situation, it wasn't as though Hope could get a true understanding of the situation.

Even so, that was good enough for Ryu.

He stood from his bath, a rippling wave of hot hair drying him in an instant.

'Let's get this over with.'

With a flicker of his wrist, robes of sky blue and radiant white appeared on his body. Then, he took a step and appeared high in the skies of the Radiant Star Sect.

"I've come to challenge the Radiant Star Sect's Throne."

The skies rumbled.

No one could have expected that Ryu would suddenly do this. Even Aika, who had an idea that Ryu wanted to do this, didn't expect that he would suddenly come out of seclusion and levy this challenge with such speed.

He didn't talk to anyone, he didn't ask for her opinion, he just walked to the beat of his own tune...

And the entire Seventh Heaven trembled as a result.

The Radiant Star Sect and the Fading Star Sect alike almost looked as though they might shatter from their very foundations. This sort of shocking change was something that neither could have possibly expected.

At that moment, high in the skies, a Throne that took the place of the Sun appeared. It loomed tall and exuded an incomparable might.

The Throne was forged of a simple, non-glossy blackish steel metal. It would have been the simplest Throne Ryu had ever seen, definitely incomparable to the Thrones adorned by jewels and exaggerated embroidery of Sacrum. However, that wasn't the end of it.

High up on its backrest, there was a perfectly circular hole cut out. Within it, two stars, one of silver and another of black-silver rotated around one another. With every rotation, a pulse of majesty would descend.

Ryu closed his eyes, feeling the pressure of the former Dual Radiance Sect's Ancestors bearing down on him. He stood in the skies, his white hair whipping about wildly and his expression as cool and unbothered as the chilly wind itself.

Several experts rushed out from the depths of the Radiant Star Sect, including Aika, Samson, and Old Wan. But they weren't the only ones. It could be said that even mortals of the Seventh Heaven had been alerted. If they could have directly teleported here, they would have.

In a far-off place, Selheira, Jojo, and Eska looked up at once. The blood drained from Selheira's face entirely as she realized what was happening.

No. It was too soon, she thought she had more time than this.

Suddenly, the pressure on Ryu doubled, and a sparkling throne of blue steel appeared behind him. Compared to the large Throne in the skies, it was small and insignificant, and yet that only made the Dual Radiance Sect's Throne all the more enraged.

A great pressure tried to force Ryu to his knees, and in response, though his eyes remained closed, a sneer spread across his lips.

Before anything else, he was Ryu Tatsuya. This Sect might be inferior, but it was one his Clan had taken under their wing.

Who was the Dual Radiance Sect to destroy it?

"A dead Sect wants to be so arrogant..." Ryu's words were soft, but quite frankly, they didn't need to be loud.

It didn't matter how enraged the Throne was, it had to work within the bounds of Heaven's laws. So Ryu didn't mind putting it in its place.

ROAR!

A Birthed Phenomena appeared high in the skies. Compared to the Throne, it was small and couldn't even pull itself up to its seat, and yet the world still stilled.

"Open." Ryu said coldly.

The Throne trembled, and a portal as large as the Sect grounds opened up before him. Ryu didn't bother with it and took a step in before Aika could even make the attempt to stop him.

After Ryu had initialized the challenge, there was nothing she could have done anyway. Pulling him away now would mean he would be crippled at best.

She looked off into the distance, worry painting her usually confident expression.

'All you need to do is watch... Oh, and don't let anyone sense my greatness.'

Aika's eyes widened as Ryu's laughter echoed in her ears.

In that moment, high in the skies, an image of Ryu was reflected as he stood in a sea of stars.

His first opponent had already emerged across from him, and their cultivation made the hearts of everyone drop to rock bottom.

Half-Step True God.

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Erdiul's Note: I won't be able to upload for like 1-3 days. Swapping broadband, so won't have network for some time.