Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu stood tall and straight, a smirk on his lips. Though, this was lost to the crowd.

To them, all they could see was a pair of cold, silver eyes. Sometimes, when the light reflected across them, they would appear to be blue, only adding to the frigid air.

Everyone was stunned for a moment before the crowd erupted.

How long had it been since someone managed to clear the fourth battle? Even those that some thought had the strength almost never took the risk to do so, while those with the strength usually came under the power of the betting house arena. In the end, it could be said that every time someone crossed the fourth battle, it became harder to pass in the future, not easier.

The ghoul that Ryu just defeated was most definitely one of these experts that had once passed the fourth battle, and yet he was crushed... seemingly with ease.

Even if they weren't experts, how could they not see the fact that Ryu had had an easy time? Then, he suddenly exploded with power that crushed his opponent like he never took him seriously to begin with.

"Continue," Ryu spoke.

The crowd fell into silence once more before they erupted with even greater fervor. This was exactly what they wanted. What was the point of passing the fourth if you didn't continue?

Elise was watching from an inner room. When Ryu suddenly defeated the ghoul, she sat up in her seat, her gaze flickering with surprise.

Soon, her brows furrowed. This situation was a bit tricky.

On the one hand, even if the Dragon didn't go, just the fact someone had reached this stage was exciting nonetheless.

The trouble was that those experts she had called over to watch the spectacle, people that had paid exorbitant prices, wouldn't care to see a human fight no matter how spectacular they were. In their opinions, they could do the same so who gave a damn?

Now, seeing a Dragon fight... that was a novelty they couldn't look away from.

On the other hand, though, if Ryu was able to suddenly explode with such power, it was more likely than not that he had also noticed the trick she had just played. A genius that could cross a major Realm to do battle was rare even on the Ninth Plane, there was no way he would miss something like that.

She should have known. With a Dragon's pride, how could they travel with someone normal? Even if they were going to bring a servant along, wouldn't it be a beauty like Selheira and not a man?

It wasn't that she hadn't thought of this, it was more so that she didn't think it would matter. Even those geniuses wouldn't have an easy time dealing with someone above them. It couldn't be said that Ryu was a genius, but rather, a monster.

Unfortunately, it was too late to back away now.

"Send out a True Sky God. Don't let them mask themselves."

"Miss?" Her butler sounded unsure.

"Take advantage of their arrogance. This also gives us plausible deniability. If we tried to hide it again, it would easily backfire. But if we openly send out a stronger enemy, then it will seem like instead of trying to kill him, we were really just giving him an opponent that was on his level."

The butler nodded in understanding. Everyone knew that an expert who suppressed their cultivation was almost always stronger than another expert who was naturally at that cultivation level.

He couldn't help but be impressed by his young miss' flexibility. It was no wonder her father trusted her to manage so many of their important resources.

...

It wasn't long before another enemy came before Ryu, but to everyone's shock, it was a Lower True Sky God. When they looked at Ryu, they could clearly see that he was in the Peak False Sky God Realm. Was it really alright to do this?

This shock was quickly overwhelmed by excitement. How rare was it to see such a thing?

It could be said that this killed two birds with one stone. Even the uppity young masters and mistresses in the crowd certainly couldn't snub their noses at such at thing.

In fact, much to Elise's expectations, they all sat up. It wasn't to the point that they were chomping at the bit, but it was enough to show that they were truly interested.

Ryu himself grinned beneath his plain white mask. He had to admit that the person behind the scenes was decent at scheming.

He looked toward his opponent, a scaled man with a split, slithering tongue. There was a heavy ball and chain around both of his legs and his slit eyes carried sinister intentions.

"Come die, little boy."

The scaled man spoke and suddenly burst into action. The heavy iron balls behind him dragged a line through the sand before he suddenly kicked out.

"Oh?" Ryu blinked. He had never seen a person use such... weapons? before. At the same time, it was deceptively difficult to deal with.

If he tried to block the much lighter chains, the iron ball would quickly wrap around him, sealing off his movements.

But if he tried to block the iron balls themselves... well, at least a normal person would likely break every bone in their body.

Ryu could obviously destroy all of this with absolute strength, but where would be the fun in that?

He ducked beneath the first lashing chain, wanting to see how the scaled man would follow up. Soon, his question was answered.

The man's legs began akin to a whirlwind, a wild barrage of furiously spinning kicks.

The battlefield became obscured by the shadows of balls and chains. But what was most fascinating to Ryu was that they began to pulse with qi, forming a sort of entrapment array.

'Fascinating.'

Ryu jumped up and then quickly ducked. However, the chains were spinning far too fast for him to rely on gravity to descend to the ground and dodge again. By the time he did so, at least in the eyes of the crowd, he would be minced to pieces.

This was when Ryu suddenly spun parallel to the ground, his palms striking out at the same time.

The scaled man so this and sneered. The moment Ryu touched the chains, he was finished. They would wrap around him so tightly that he'd be ripped apart. The first iron ball would spiral around his legs and shatter his femur, the second would spiral up his torso and shatter his head into a rain of blood and gore.

He had seen it happen so many times that he almost would have relaxed had his battle instincts not been so excellent.

That was when something shocking occurred.

Ryu lightly patted at the air with his palms as though he was fluffing two pillows at once. A small shockwave his the chains, and instead of wrapping around him like they should, it looked as though they had snapped like whips.

A sinusoidal wave trembled its way through the chains, sending one high into the air and the other low, while leaving Ryu unscathed.

The expression of the scaled man changed, but it was already too late.

The momentum of the iron ball going upward was too much. His legs were split apart into a vertical split, his groin crying out in pain.

He flexed in an attempt to bring them back together while lifting the leg anchored to the ground back up.

Ryu stood tall and straight, a smirk on his lips. Though, this was lost to the crowd.

To them, all they could see was a pair of cold, silver eyes. Sometimes, when the light reflected across them, they would appear to be blue, only adding to the frigid air.

Everyone was stunned for a moment before the crowd erupted.

How long had it been since someone managed to clear the fourth battle? Even those that some thought had the strength almost never took the risk to do so, while those with the strength usually came under the power of the betting house arena. In the end, it could be said that every time someone crossed the fourth battle, it became harder to pass in the future, not easier.

The ghoul that Ryu just defeated was most definitely one of these experts that had once passed the fourth battle, and yet he was crushed... seemingly with ease.

Even if they weren't experts, how could they not see the fact that Ryu had had an easy time? Then, he suddenly exploded with power that crushed his opponent like he never took him seriously to begin with.

"Continue," Ryu spoke.

The crowd fell into silence once more before they erupted with even greater fervor. This was exactly what they wanted. What was the point of passing the fourth if you didn't continue?

Elise was watching from an inner room. When Ryu suddenly defeated the ghoul, she sat up in her seat, her gaze flickering with surprise.

Soon, her brows furrowed. This situation was a bit tricky.

On the one hand, even if the Dragon didn't go, just the fact someone had reached this stage was exciting nonetheless.

The trouble was that those experts she had called over to watch the spectacle, people that had paid exorbitant prices, wouldn't care to see a human fight no matter how spectacular they were. In their opinions, they could do the same so who gave a damn?

Now, seeing a Dragon fight... that was a novelty they couldn't look away from.

On the other hand, though, if Ryu was able to suddenly explode with such power, it was more likely than not that he had also noticed the trick she had just played. A genius that could cross a major Realm to do battle was rare even on the Ninth Plane, there was no way he would miss something like that.

She should have known. With a Dragon's pride, how could they travel with someone normal? Even if they were going to bring a servant along, wouldn't it be a beauty like Selheira and not a man?

It wasn't that she hadn't thought of this, it was more so that she didn't think it would matter. Even those geniuses wouldn't have an easy time dealing with someone above them. It couldn't be said that Ryu was a genius, but rather, a monster.

Unfortunately, it was too late to back away now.

"Send out a True Sky God. Don't let them mask themselves."

"Miss?" Her butler sounded unsure.

"Take advantage of their arrogance. This also gives us plausible deniability. If we tried to hide it again, it would easily backfire. But if we openly send out a stronger enemy, then it will seem like instead of trying to kill him, we were really just giving him an opponent that was on his level."

The butler nodded in understanding. Everyone knew that an expert who suppressed their cultivation was almost always stronger than another expert who was naturally at that cultivation level.

He couldn't help but be impressed by his young miss' flexibility. It was no wonder her father trusted her to manage so many of their important resources.

...

It wasn't long before another enemy came before Ryu, but to everyone's shock, it was a Lower True Sky God. When they looked at Ryu, they could clearly see that he was in the Peak False Sky God Realm. Was it really alright to do this?

This shock was quickly overwhelmed by excitement. How rare was it to see such a thing?

It could be said that this killed two birds with one stone. Even the uppity young masters and mistresses in the crowd certainly couldn't snub their noses at such at thing.

In fact, much to Elise's expectations, they all sat up. It wasn't to the point that they were chomping at the bit, but it was enough to show that they were truly interested.

Ryu himself grinned beneath his plain white mask. He had to admit that the person behind the scenes was decent at scheming.

He looked toward his opponent, a scaled man with a split, slithering tongue. There was a heavy ball and chain around both of his legs and his slit eyes carried sinister intentions.

"Come die, little boy."

The scaled man spoke and suddenly burst into action. The heavy iron balls behind him dragged a line through the sand before he suddenly kicked out.

"Oh?" Ryu blinked. He had never seen a person use such... weapons? before. At the same time, it was deceptively difficult to deal with.

If he tried to block the much lighter chains, the iron ball would quickly wrap around him, sealing off his movements.

But if he tried to block the iron balls themselves... well, at least a normal person would likely break every bone in their body.

Ryu could obviously destroy all of this with absolute strength, but where would be the fun in that?

He ducked beneath the first lashing chain, wanting to see how the scaled man would follow up. Soon, his question was answered.

The man's legs began akin to a whirlwind, a wild barrage of furiously spinning kicks.

The battlefield became obscured by the shadows of balls and chains. But what was most fascinating to Ryu was that they began to pulse with qi, forming a sort of entrapment array.

'Fascinating.'

Ryu jumped up and then quickly ducked. However, the chains were spinning far too fast for him to rely on gravity to descend to the ground and dodge again. By the time he did so, at least in the eyes of the crowd, he would be minced to pieces.

This was when Ryu suddenly spun parallel to the ground, his palms striking out at the same time.

The scaled man so this and sneered. The moment Ryu touched the chains, he was finished. They would wrap around him so tightly that he'd be ripped apart. The first iron ball would spiral around his legs and shatter his femur, the second would spiral up his torso and shatter his head into a rain of blood and gore.

He had seen it happen so many times that he almost would have relaxed had his battle instincts not been so excellent.

That was when something shocking occurred.

Ryu lightly patted at the air with his palms as though he was fluffing two pillows at once. A small shockwave his the chains, and instead of wrapping around him like they should, it looked as though they had snapped like whips.

A sinusoidal wave trembled its way through the chains, sending one high into the air and the other low, while leaving Ryu unscathed.

The expression of the scaled man changed, but it was already too late.

The momentum of the iron ball going upward was too much. His legs were split apart into a vertical split, his groin crying out in pain.

He flexed in an attempt to bring them back together while lifting the leg anchored to the ground back up.

However, that was when Ryu's palms struck out again, hitting the chains with a light strike.

BANG!

The sight was so horrific that many looked away.

The scaled man's legs were ripped apart, the momentum of the iron balls so great that his body was torn in two from the groin up.

Blood and guts fell as Ryu landed lightly on the ground.

He nodded to himself. He had never thought that he could make so much progress battling weaklings. He actually had so much room to improve his control.

The last battle made it clear, but this was like a stamp of approval. In fact, he suddenly wanted them to send out more quirky abilities. He didn't even care about the Nether Crystals anymore. He just wanted to see how many he could defeat while using the least amount of power.

Just then, the crowd erupted, their raucous cheers threatening to bring the house down. Many rushed down and grabbed hold of the chain net keeping them out of the battlefield, shaking it with all their might as though they had all been bloodlusted.

"Continue," Ryu called out.

As the cheers became even louder, a young man and woman in the crowd slowly opened their eyes, their gazes landing on Ryu in unison.

One was obscenely large. Despite being humanoid in structure, his skin was a fiery red, horns rose from his head, and he stood at over 10 meters tall.

He was a Fire Giant.

The other had skin that was quite literally white, it would have looked ghastly and inhumane had her face not been the picture of absolute perfection. Above her head, a crown of ice hovered like a halo, reflecting sky blues and delicate lavender colors.

She was an Ice Queen.

These two Demon King Races wouldn't normally be caught dead in such a small city. However, they had been making their way toward an event and ended up hearing word that there was a real Dragon here. How could they not come to see how they stacked up to this divine creature?

What they didn't expect was that a human would surprise them first.