Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

A subtle hint of Cosmos Fog seeped back into Ryu's body, vanishing as though it wasn't there at all and just as the Seventh Heaven erupted.

Aika stood with her eyes open wide. She knew exactly what that ability was, but the fact that Ryu had already awakened it made her shudder.

Heaven Gate. Death Acupoint. Fate Reversal.

These three were the three most absolutely feared abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Until they were unlocked, the Pupils were powerful, but they were ultimately just there for their supportive abilities. They could still make one quake in fear, especially for the help it could provide in condensing one's Dao, but other than that, it was still manageable.

It was said that the worst thing one could allow a wielder of these Heavenly Pupils to do was enter the Dao God Realm. The day that came, they would simply be unstoppable.

Even to this day, even with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils falling as low as Sixth, no one took it seriously. It was still the most sought after Heavenly Pupils there were in the whole world.

How was it possible, then... that Ryu had awakened abilities that he should only gain access to upon becoming a Dao God?!

It wasn't that the two states were linked, but rather that it was well known just how difficult it was to undo the 999 seals of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. It was more difficult than doing so with any other. As a result, most felt that it was impossible to do so until one became a Dao God.

Then it hit Aika like a falling meteor.

Had the Tatsuya Clan done this on purpose? Maybe they knew Ryu was going to be born, and as a result, brought his mother to a lower world to give birth.

A pair of Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils born in a lower world would be much easier to manage. Then, if they had a method of resurrecting them to the standard of the True Martial World, wouldn't they have created a monster far in advance?

Now that she thought about it, she had never even sensed these Pupils before. As a Dao Sovereign, she should have at least had an inkling long ago, especially given how long she had spent interacting with Ryu.

If she considered back even further, when Leonel first entered their Sect, wasn't he blind? Could it be related to this?

She had never really considered about it because there were a million ways to cure blindness in the True Martial World. It wasn't a surprise that a young man from a lower world had to come here to finally succeed in recovering his sight.

The thoughts came like an avalanche and left her speechless, but that didn't compare to the uproar going on around them.

Lord Crown Fire's daughter's eyes were opened just as wide.

Sovereign Black Worm's gaze became especially sharp, Starlight, to his back finally showing a strong change in expression himself.

[Author's Note: I went back and checked, you guys are right, my apologies. I had it in my notes, but I've been writing for so long that I've gotten used to relying on my memory because constantly checking notes takes up too much time. From now on, assume that Black Worm and the previous Sovereign are one and the same. I try not to let the fact I'm writing so many novels at once affect quality, but this time I really stepped in it. I'll do my utmost to make sure it doesn't happen again, I know how badly it can ruin the immersion of a story]

Litaor felt as though someone had ripped his heart out. He had just gone from the greatest happiness to rock bottom in an instant.

Every time Ryu showed this kind of strength, somewhere deep inside, he knew that he would never be a match for him. From the moment he appeared, he had gone from vowing that he would kill Ryu himself, to secretly hoping that one of these challengers would do so for him.

Reykian was much the same. He hadn't been humiliated by Ryu like Litaor had, but by proxy, wasn't he...? How long had he loved Selheira for, and now she desired to be in the arms of another man so badly that she was publicly scolded by him?

That burning hatred in his chest probably burned even greater than Litaor.

It was one thing to lose your woman to another man. It was another thing entirely to lose her heart to a man who didn't even want her.

That was a seething cold he would never be able to forgive until he proved that he had always been better than Ryu.

And yet it was all for naught.

"How is that possible," Starlight let out a trembling breath.

This matter was especially shocking to Starlight not because of the power Ryu had displayed, but the kind of power.

He, too, focused on laws of causality; it was a huge part of his combat style. Watching Ryu somehow be so much better at him in the very field he concentrated in left him truly shaken. Ryu had never used this ability when they fought.

Could it be...?

These were the very same thoughts that everyone else had as well. The Heavenly Pupils weren't the only thing that could mess with Fate. Even as an Immortal Ring Realm expert, Starlight could pull at the laws of causality, twisting and bending them. What more could he do as a Sky God?

But even so, this...

Ryu grinned. He put a hand on his shoulder, rolling it as though to double-check that he was perfectly healthy again.

It felt good to have his eyes back. As for how many people would connect the dots... he had a scheme for that. He also knew far more about the True Martial World now, enough that he wouldn't be easily fazed by these things any longer.

No one would make the immediate jump to assume he had the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, especially with what he had learned about them from the little woman.

At that moment, several white balls manifested from Ryu's Spiritual Quintessence, forming an elaborate formation around him that quickly solidified.

It seemed he had been too arrogant, trying to clear this gauntlet without using everything he had prepared. It was time to change that.

His eyes flashed.

This formation was a simple gravity formation with a hint of a water element. It was a slight twist on usual gravity formations and it made entering it feel like one was being weighed down by the weight of the ocean.

Ryu added his own tweaks, incorporating some of his understanding of Infinity Mist. Although it was only a small bit, it was ultimately still a huge change.

Still, he didn't really do this to increase its power. Instead, his goal was to hide the fact it was a Mystical Grade formation. Because soon, this Mystical Grade formation would display the strength far beyond itself.

'Time to stop messing around...'

Ryu stepped forward again.

The starry field warped and soon, his eighth opponent appeared before him.

Ryu's eyes narrowed. This man's aura was dangerous, but more importantly than that, he was at the Peak True Sky God Realm. Even Swallowing Earth had only been at the Lower True Sky God Realm, as was Silver Dance. So why was the leap so horrific?

"Higher Fragmented Realm?"

The man was extremely stoic. Even when he spoke, words that should have been full of surprise, that didn't change. Other than a slight furrow of his brows, there was nothing else.

His robes were strictly pressed. Other than his hands, everything beneath his powerful neck was hidden beneath carefully selected and meticulously kept. Compared to Ryu who was now shirtless, and a bit haggard, he looked like a noble facing off against a peasant.

In his right hand, what looked like a perfectly sculpted wooden katana lay. However, Ryu could tell that it wasn't a wooden sword, but rather a sheathed blade so immaculately crafted that it looked like a single piece. The line that separated hilt and sheath could be seen by any normal pair of eyes.

After observing Ryu for a moment, he raised his empty hand, pointing forward two fingers.

Ryu smiled. "I suggest you use your sword. You might not get another chance too."

"You are not worthy of me unsheathing my sword."

TSSSSS!

The Sword Qi appeared so quickly and suddenly that Ryu hardly registered the trembling of the finger before a line of gold appeared before his forehead.

And yet, he simply tilted his head to the side, the Sword Qi flying by the side of his head.

In his eyes, a twin pair of eight trigram diagrams sparkled, one gold and the other dark gold. They spun in opposing directions.

At the same time, his Birthed Phenomena slowly opened its eyes. Its presence bore down on the world, so mighty and all-consuming that the world seemed to freeze.

When they finally snapped fully open, a twin pair of eight trigram diagrams floated before the eyes of Ryu's Birthed Phenomena, forming what looked almost like a visor over its gaze.

BOOM.

The aura of a Founding Dao erupted, causing the man's knees to quake before he straightened himself.

"I was planning on hiding this for longer, but you decided to go and piss me off. You want to test me before you unsheath your sword? Who do you think you are?"