Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The large crowd around Ryu collapsed to the ground as the shaking shook the very foundations of the city. The only one who seemed to stay upright was Ryu and Yaana who quickly gained the former's support. 

"Ryu? What's going on?"

Yaana's voice drifted to Ryu's ears, snapping his attention back to the city itself. 

"… A battle." Ryu finally responded. 

It wasn't just any normal battle, Ryu was certain that it was a clash of Cosmic Seed Realm Armaments. In fact, the reason he reacted this way to begin with was because he recognized Sabelle even if he didn't recognize the person she was currently in battle with. 

What was clear, though, was that the both of them wielded sabers. It seemed that this might very well be someone who had come to challenge for the position of Armament wielder. The question was, though… Was this a person from the Scire Clan or not?

It was quite interesting, indeed. Fate liked to play its tricks. Ryu had been certain that the first instance of a Armament Guild family being challenged for their position would find him on the other side of things. To think that he would actually be in a position where he wanted one of the nine families to keep their position. 

'It doesn't seem like she will lose, though, so it's not much of a problem. But, it also doesn't look like the enemy is trying to win, either. So, is this a probe? Are they testing Sabelle's bottom line to see if they have a chance at usurping her?'

Despite his cultivation being far lower than theirs, Ryu's gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything. It was just a different matter entirely when it came to whether or not his body could keep up. 

Even now, while they were in the heat of battle, he could see through their intentions and the depths of their strengths quite easily. He could tell that if things continued like this, Sabelle would most definitely win. But, he could also read that the intention of her opponent wasn't to change this outcome. 

At that moment, yet another battle erupted, almost catching Ryu, who had been focused on Sabelle, of guard once again. 

It was yet another individual that Ryu recognized, Eustis of the Virga Clan. When Ryu laid eyes on the clothing of the individual battling against him, though, his expression went from indifferent to as cold as ice. 

Compared to Sabelle's opponent whose style of dress didn't seem very special at all, Eustis' opponent wore clothing of embroidered delicate browns, non-oppressive golds and creamy whites. Everything about his clothing exuded an aura of peacefulness and nothing was too grating on the eye. 

Despite the beautiful design of the clothing, it also didn't go overboard. There was something that seemed decidedly minimalistic about their appearance. But… 

It was all a bullshit façade. 

'Feather Touch Silk, ten Peak Cosmic Qi Stones per gram. Evanescence Silk, fifty Peak Cosmic Qi Stones per gram. Ghost Thread Silk, 250 Peak Cosmic Qi Stones per gram… I've never seen such a waste of money on clothing that serves no other purpose than to look good.'

Whether it was Feather Touch, Evanescence, or Ghost Thread, each of these kinds of silk were known for the quality and beauty, not to mention the softness of their touch, but they had no other intrinsic properties. Compared to other combat ready silks, they were very weak. Their only redeeming quality was the fact that they were rare… That's it. 

However, the fact that they were rare also came with its own host of reasons. Namely, the Silkworms that produced these silks were all endangered species. Not only were the endangered, but these were usually powerful Silkworms. 

If they were powerful, how could their silk be so weak? The answer to that is that these very specific types of Silk can only be produced when a female Silkworm is with child. Having diverted all her strength to her offspring, her silk didn't have the strong, intrinsic properties it would usually have, thus resulting in such delicate constructs. 

By now, the issue was obvious. Forcing a weak and pregnant silkworm to produce silk was the pinnacle of cruelty. Usually due to the diversion of energy, the silkworm fetus wouldn't make it to the end of term. And, to make matters worse, it wasn't very rare for the mother herself to die as well. 

Ryu wasn't the kind of man who felt sentimental about such things. He had turned a blind eye to things that could be considered far worse than this. In fact, there were probably certain practices of his own Tatsuya Clan that may have been even crueler to certain beast species. 

However, what was making Ryu's stomach churn with disgust right now wasn't the harming of the silkworms themselves, but rather what those robes represented to begin with. 

Wielding that golden staff and exchanging blows with a smile on his face, this was a young man of the Temporal Buddha Sect. Their teachings were meant to emphasize kindness, magnanimity, selflessness and modesty… 

And yet what the hell was this supposed to be?

Ryu didn't even know the young man but he wanted to feel the latter's nose warp beneath his fist. Cutting him up with a blade just didn't seem appealing enough. 

Ryu suddenly looked down at the staff in his hand, realizing that he was liking it more and more. Wasn't the perfect cross between his fist and a blade this staff? Feeling the satisfying crunch of bone beneath his staff sounded quite appealing to him as well. 

Of course, this wasn't he only reason Ryu was pissed.

The Temporal Buddha Sect was none other than one of the reclusive powers who didn't participate in worldly struggles. And yet, they had appeared here to battle for a seat in the Armament Guild? Didn't that make their stance clear? 

These cowards, much like the Faeries… No, even worse than the Faeries, had spent all this time with their tail tucked between their legs, only to make their presence known now. 

If he didn't send them home coughing up blood, his name wouldn't' be Ryu Tatsuya.