Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu took hold of his ticket, his expression no different as though he hadn't accomplished anything special. With smooth steps he continued forward, slipping through a screen of qi and sitting upon one of nine platforms. 

Without a glance to his surroundings, he closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation, his wildly beating heart slowly being reined into his control one breath at a time. 

…

"See what I mean? He does things as he pleases?" Godefride took a swing from a random cup he found on the table without a care for what had happened to it before. There was even a hint of blood on its surface but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. 

"… That wasn't normal." Sabelle said with narrowed eyes. 

They could of course see the changes of the maze. After all, they were allowed a bird's eye view and could even observe all of the entrances at once. But, Ryu was essentially asked to predict something in the third dimension while only two were available to him. 

Godefride shrugged. "He's a genius."

"That wasn't normal genius." Eustis spoke first this time. 

If before he hadn't been convinced, he was thoroughly convinced now. In fact, he was a bit indignant that Godefride had allowed such a talent to enter the line of danger. 

Godefride just smirked. "How about you two just watch the show for now, hm? I have a feeling that quite a few people are about to become very pissed off."

Eustis and Sabelle looked toward one another. They really couldn't understand what Godefride was thinking. It was like he couldn't realize that he was more like his father than he wanted to admit…

…

King Adonis stared at Ryu who had entered a state of silent meditation, his gaze narrowed. In all the ways he thought this might conclude, he hadn't thought that anyone would be able to make it all the way through without fighting a single battle. It was even more baffling because Ryu hadn't carefully picked his entrance like the others had. 

In the beginning, Ryu's speed wasn't optimal either. He adjusted it as he walked to match the proper rhythm and even seemed to do it as easily as breathing. The only thing that seemed to make sense was that Ryu must have known the contents of this trial before he entered, but even that was impossible because the only one who had known was he and he alone. And, obviously, King Adonis was certain that he hadn't told Ryu anything. 

The only one who didn't seem shocked by all of this and was instead ecstatic was Overseer Eudo. His gaze lit up and his blood rushed through his veins, the latter was so loud, in fact, that he couldn't even hear the congratulations around him. 

He gripped his fists so tightly that the space around them trembled, the strength of a World Sea Realm expert threatening to destroy the arena around him. Luckily, he was able to regain his bearings somewhat and calm down. 

This was it. This was his chance to finally recover his former glory. 

He had no idea how he had gotten so lucky. He had almost planned not to participate this year at all, and yet here he was getting such a chance. How could he not be shaking from head to toe? Ryu had practically fallen into his lap from a deity up above. 

… 

At that moment, another entrance flashed. At least half an hour had passed since Ryu exited, but the second participant only made their way out now. 

Tybalt blinked when he saw that it was actually Ryu, his eyes lighting up. Though he was a member of the Heaven's Dew branch, his maternal Bloodline had made him quite confident in his abilities. To think he had actually lost to Ryu and so handily at that. 

Unlike how most would react to such a failure, he took it in stride, choosing a platform to sit upon and leaving just seven remaining. 

Long after Tybalt, a third and fourth appeared. The third individual was none other than Moxi. When he saw Tybalt, he wasn't surprised. But, Ryu's appearance made his pupils constrict. Though, he didn't get to say anything before Thephine appeared. 

"Oh, looks like I lost to you this time." Thephine said with a chuckle. But, considering he was still picking his teeth with Moxi's short sword, it was clear that he wasn't very broken up about it. 

The second, third and fourth place participants weren't a surprise to anyone. Tybalt's fame was quite well known among the Martial Gods youths. After all, he was ranked top three on the Dao Pedestal Heir Rankings. The only reason first and second were not participating in this event was because they had no need to as they already had. Soon, they would enter the Cosmic Seed Realm, entering them into the ranks of the older generation. 

As for both Thephine and Moxi, they were within the top ten. The reason they made it here third and fourth wasn't because of their combat prowess alone, but more so because of their souls. They were members of the Nurturing Soul and Silver Touch Branches, so they had this advantage. 

There was just one more person of the top ten participating, and that was the muscular Syriah. However, they all predicted that she would only make it in somewhere between the seventh to eighth slots because her soul wasn't as talented as the rest of theirs. 

Moxi gave Thephine a glare before he turned his attention back toward Ryu. 

This was the very first time a non-Martial God had come first. Given his usual personality, he would be enraged. But, this time, it technically wasn't him who lost… It was Tybalt. 

'Who the hell is this person? Also, how did his Clan members allow him to become a representative instead of a free participant. Is he an idiot?'

Moxi's mind couldn't help but spin through the possibilities. The Martial Gods were quite fond of talents, especially ones willing to spread their seed to their people. The greater the talents that had relations with their daughters, the better. There were even some wives who didn't mind having extra marital affairs all for the sake of bearing powerful children. 

There was a reason why no one too powerful could be chosen as a representative. And, usually, even if one slipped through the cracks… Someone should have taken actions to save him by now… Unless…

Moxi didn't dare to turn his gaze toward King Adonis like Ryu had. He didn't have such boldness coursing through his veins. But, he had already understood something in this heart. 

Right then, fifth through ninth came out in quick succession. As expected, Syriah was the eighth, just managing to squeeze in. Unlike the others who used their heads, she just smashed her way all the way through, not caring for a thing. 

As for the ninth person, it was none other than Arteur. Other than Ryu, he was one of the only three that were members of the Martial Gods. 

Arteur wasn't surprised to see Ryu nor was he off put by his ninth place ranking. Scarlet Sparrows were never good with this sort of stuff to begin with. But, when it came time to battle, he was confident that he could make anyone take him seriously. 

For a talent like him, a cultivation Realm was nothing but that. He found it meaningless. He would show them his true strength soon enough. 

Ryu, though, had gained one more glare trying to bore into his soul. 

The third and final non-Martial God member was a young man who had exited sixth. He had a head of blue hair and arcs of blue lightning coursed through his pupils. He was yet another member of the Ignis Clan, but it was clear that compared to the young man Ryu had crippled, he was on a completely different level. 

All of the youths here were granted spots without being representatives. It could be said that Ryu was the only one shackled to an Overseer. So, this painted the picture of this young man's talent quite clearly. 

Ulmir Ignis. 

It didn't take a genius to realize that Ulmir must have found out what happened to his fellow clansmen recently and wanted revenge. Unfortunately, he hadn't run into Ryu in the maze despite choosing the entrance right beside him. Even more infuriating was the fact that Ryu hadn't even noticed who was beside him to begin with because such a thing was irrelevant to him. 

It could only be said that Ryu was far too good at attracting hatred. 

"Fuck!"

Standing on the other side of one of the nine exits was a light green haired man who realized he was a step too late. It was quite ironic, in fact, because it was his Clan hosting this event and now he was on the outside looking in. 

The stone maze shook and those that had survived were forcefully teleported out and sent back to the banquet tables while those who had died were never to be seen again. 

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy as a subtle shift took place. 

From a higher level of the castle, a certain group began to move downward. At their helm, a young man with shoulders as broad as boulders and back as straight as a javelin walked with slow and deliberate steps, youths of all ages following to his back, some even as young as 15 or 16 years old. 

The next King to be crowned, Galkos, was making his appearance.