Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

In all his rage and subsequent emotional excitement, Ryu had actually almost missed something so fascinating. 

At this moment, the land around where he and Yaana stood had been eviscerated. Purple lightning flames were still dancing about in a donut shape around them and the snow had melted into a steaming hotbed of water that was giving off billowing fog. 

The combination of Ryu's emotional state and this fog almost caused Ryu to miss that there was actually something that managed to survive his rage fueled tirade. 

With a wave of his hand, a large corpse shot out from the steaming waters and fell before the two of them. It only took a look for Ryu to recognize the beast corpse, and even then, he couldn't help but be stunned. 

"A Bear God corpse? Where the hell would you find something like this?"

Ryu frowned, looking toward Yaana. 

"Where were these people from?"

"The Necromancy Guild."

"And they didn't wear masks?"

From Ryu's experience, most Necromancers, especially those from the Necromancy Guild, would wear masks. It was a sort of protection for the profession as a whole. 

But, now that he thought about it, he had just spent the better part of the last several months surrounded by Necromancers but only a rare few care enough to wear their masks at all. 

"From what I know, it was rare for those of adequate standing to wear masks. Lower members of the Necromancy Guild did, though."

Ryu's gaze narrowed. Was it just a change in culture? He guessed that a billion years was indeed enough to cause such a change. Plus, with the main power against Mental Realm cultivation gone with his Tatsuya Clan being destroyed, Mental Realm Masters in general likely felt freer. 

Something still felt off. But, that aside, if there was any expert who would be able to get their hands on such a valuable corpse, it would definitely be a genius of the Necromancy Guild. 

The Bear God Clan was an Ancestral Beast Clan on the same level as Rocs, Griffins, Dragons and Qilin. They were split into three branches, the Black Bear God, the White Bear God and the most powerful Gold Bear God. 

Regardless of the branch, they all had powerful bodies and a special Vital Qi that that allowed them to use Runes in combat. These Runes could be used to multiply their strength, speed, defense, and in its most powerful state, form the very dark gold armor that coated this White Bear God now. 

When a Bear Gods Rune Armor was activated, they'd shrink in size, multiplying their bodily strength several times over using the same concept as Nemesis' Adept Body Talent. However, the results weren't as exaggerated. 

Still, to be able to refine the corpse of a Bear God, and even have it in the state of activation like this… It was safe to say that whoever the master of this young Necromancer was would likely be pissed to an extreme that their disciple and investment were now dead. 

Ryu didn't believe for a moment that any of those geniuses had found and refined such a corpse puppet themselves. 

To put matters into perspective, Ryu's purple lightning flame hadn't left a single scratch on this White Bear God. The only reason it wasn't moving right now was because Ryu's attack had killed its master long ago. At this moment, it was nothing more than a normal corpse. 

"Whoever gave him this bear really dotes on him." Ryu finally commented. "Giving such a corpse puppet to an Immortal Ring expert is a waist of treasures."

Yaana thought for a moment before she blinked in realization. 

"That corpse puppet was summoned by Guido. His grandfather is the Head of the Armored Beast Branch of the Necromancer Guild."

'Armored Beast Branch, hm…?'

These words reminded Ryu of Matheus. His first run in with Necromancers in this life had been against Matheus and his Armored Armadillo. Clearly, though, these beasts were in two completely different classes of their own. 

Even a Necromancer who didn't specialize Armored Beasts wouldn't hesitate to throw their life's work to the side if they could start with such a corpse puppet. 

However, Ryu's fascination with this White Bear God went beyond its strength as a corpse puppet. As far as he was concerned, turning a beast that relied so heavily on Vital Qi into a puppet was as good as ruining Heaven's treasures. 

Corpse puppets obviously couldn't preserve their blood, so how would they maintain their Vital Qi? If it wasn't for the fact this Bear God still had its Rune Armor, it wouldn't have stood a chance at withstanding Ryu's attack. 

However, what was fascinating was that since this Rune Armor was here, it meant that whoever refined this corpse puppet used a special method to freeze the Innate Runes of the Bear God in a state of activation, thus allowing the refinement to continue in this state. 

For most people, this was as far as you could go. However… Ryu wasn't most people. 

Firstly, Ryu had his master's legacy, a Visualization that was perfectly designed to snatch the secrets of beasts and apply them. 

Secondly, Ryu had his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. When it came to seeing through the mysteries of the cultivation world, especially when it could be broken down into terms and applications as simple as Foundational Runes, Ryu would practically be swimming in a world tailored to him and him alone. 

Ryu had no need to apply what he learned to himself. He had his [Immortal Sakura], his [Warped Ripple], and even his Spirit Body fusion. 

However, all this time, Ryu had been building up his corpse refinement methods. Esme had been his first iteration. Goaman had been his second and even more successful iteration—though, he had unfortunately quickly outgrown him. Finally, he had a feeling that this Bear God would open a door to a third iteration, one that would synergize with his Skeleton Warriors to a degree that even made him faintly excited. 

With a flash of his pupils, a strong swirl of spatial qi manifested, swallowing the 30 meter tall bear whole, armor and all. 

Yaana blinked. 'Such strong spatial qi.'

She didn't know that Ryu had such good spatial qi affinity. She felt an innocent happiness that they had something in common. Of course, she had no idea that Ryu's use of spatial qi wasn't nearly as free or easy as hers.

"Shall we?" Ryu asked with a smile. 

"Mm."