Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The auras of two Dao Pedestal Realm existences pressed down, but Ryu's expression only grew colder and colder. As much as his cold qi seemed suppressed, Isemeine, who was by his side, had lips that were quickly turning blue. If not for receiving some of Eska's help, her life might have been over already. 

The Scarlet Clan was the descendant of the Scarlet Sparrow in the same way the Tatsuya Clan was the descendant of the Fire Dragon. 

It was said that the Scarlet Sparrow would never be more than two palm lengths large even after maturity. Due to this, Ryu's Grandpa Kunan was always relentless in his teasing of the old monsters of this Clan—he found them too difficult to take seriously. However… it was definitely only a monstrous descendant of the Lightning Qilin that could possibly make …

The Scarlet Clan, in ancient times, even before Ryu's Era, used to control the Blood Shrine. Back then, even Ryu's Grandpa wouldn't have dared to look down on them. 

The Scarlet Sparrow had high affinity in both fire and blood. Their flames were completely rooted in how hot they were. In this aspect, they most definitely surpassed the Fire Phoenix and even the Fire Dragon. 

The Fire Phoenix's flame wasn't hot at all, its abilities were beyond that. As for Ryu's Fire Dragon Rage Flames, heat wasn't their main ability either. Though it could feed on emotion to rival and even surpass Scarlet Flames in pure heat, this also wasn't its main ability. 

However, what the Scarlet Sparrow was most known for, and the reason it could be placed on the same level as Dragons, Qilins and Phoenixes, was its blood affinity. 

The Scarlet Sparrow were masters of vitality. Even though their bodies were not as strong as other beasts, they were still far stronger than regular humans and body cultivators. At the same time, their stamina was practically endless and their ability to battle through injury was heaven defying. 

At a certain level, a Scarlet Sparrow wouldn't die even if its head was chopped off, even if there was only a single drop of blood left in its body, even if its organs had all been incinerated to ash! 

Even with all of this said, the most fearsome ability of the Scarlet Sparrow hadn't been touched upon. 

When their flames and blood were raised as one, fusing into their ultimate Talent, the Blood Flame, they gained the ability to bestow and rip away Bloodlines. 

Blood Essence was protected by the Heavens. One couldn't just take as they pleased, they could only give. And, even in the case of receiving Blood Essence that was being willingly given away, a body might not be able to withstand the demand such a thing would take. 

In both cases, the Scarlet Sparrow defied the Heavens. 

Not only could they take without permission, they could make the process of accepting it far easier as well. It could be said that the only drawback was that they couldn't take these Bloodlines for themselves. This was the only limit the Heavens placed on them. 

In Ryu's time, much like the Ice Phoenix Clan had been having difficulty finding another to awaken their Ice Flame, the Scarlet Clan couldn't find a successor to the Blood Flame. The trouble was that the Scarlet Clan had been faced with this predicament for billions of years already by the time Ryu was born… 

The result? 

They lost the Blood Shrine and became known to be as inferior to the Phoenixes although by every metric, at their peak, they were equals… 

The Phoenixes controlled the quintessence of life, death and reincarnation. The Scarlet Sparrow controlled Bloodlines. The former seemed to be above the latter… Until one realized that Bloodlines could only be bestowed by the Heavens and through unions between the powerful… 

The Scarlet Clan… Had they found their Blood Shrine once again?

Ryu landed on a roof that had been beneath him. He looked toward the shivering Isemeine, realizing that he had lost control of his rage a long time ago. If not for the sake of the fact he still needed her and couldn't let her die, he wouldn't have settled on this roof at all. 

"Stay here." He said plainly, the smile in his voice completely gone. 

"W-w-where are you g-going?" Isemeine's teeth chattered. 

"To kill." Ryu replied. 

Isemeine couldn't react before Ryu shot into the skies. 

… 

"Hoho, he's coming toward us, Arteur. You lose. Did you really think he would be scared off by you? Your face isn't worth so much."

The man being carried by the Scarlet Clan member laughed, basking in his victory. 

Arteur snorted as he glared toward Ryu who was carving a path toward them, his speed picking up with every passing moment. 

"I didn't think he would be such a fool." Arteur snorted again, this time even more forcefully, as though he was scared that it hadn't been picked up the first time. 

Tybalt, the young man being carried by his shoulder, continued to chuckle. Originally, Arteur hadn't wanted to come at all, it was him that convinced the stubborn fellow to go. How could they miss out on such fun? It wasn't everyday someone pranced around the skies like this. 

Plus, he would have gone alone, but wasn't it far more convenient to have someone that could fly accompany him? And, now that Arteur had lost the best, considering his temper, he would probably take out his frustration on Ryu. Like this, he wouldn't even have to fight and could just sit back and watch a good show. 

At that moment, though, Ryu suddenly accelerated. He pressed down on the air, causing it to crack apart beneath his might. In the blink of an eye, his speed had gone from meandering to being like a raging bullet, leaving exploding concentric circles of violent winds in his wake. 

In one breath, he was tens of miles away. 

In the next, he had appeared before the both of them, the sole of his foot meeting Arteur's chest squarely.