Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu didn't seem to be surprised by the sudden voice at all. He had spoken these words for himself, but the ears of cultivators were sharp. On top of that, there were very few things that could hide from Ryu's [Third Perspective]. 

After spending so long chasing this 'assassin', Ryu had deployed his sharpest senses long ago. Even this woman wasn't able to hide from him, even though Ryu could tell that she had actually stepped beyond the World Sea Realm. 

This wasn't too surprising, though. 

Ryu could walk this far into the Holy Battle Ground because he could feel the rhythm of the Faith left behind and as a result, he could maneuver about it without getting hurt himself. However, if he hadn't had his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he would have been stalled at the several hundred kilometer mark. To walk this deep, with his talent, if one were to ignore his Pupils, he would still need to be in the World Sea Realm. So, for another to reach so far, it wouldn't be much of a surprise for them to be a Sky God. 

"I'm sure you're aware of the truth more than even I am." Ryu replied, not even looking in the direction of the voice. 

"The truth, huh?" 

The voice was quite delicate. 

Under normal circumstances, if someone were to insult her faction of swordsmen like this, she would have just ended them with a single blade. But, with her understanding, whoever could walk so far, especially with such low cultivation, had to be a genius among geniuses of swordsmen. 

Plus, this person was curious about what exactly Ryu meant by his words. They didn't seem to be unfounded, and at the very least, after walking so far, one had the right to an opinion. 

Ryu didn't answer. He wasn't a fan of explaining himself and if this person really hadn't seen through the truth yet, then even if Ryu explained it, it would only lead to conflict. 

He continued to observe the deep gully before him. The battle that had occurred here was by far the most complex of them and seemed to have involved several Sky Gods. However, once again, the mark of the 'assassin' appeared again and again, obscuring the most important portions of the battle. 

The only difference was that this time, the assassin failed to complete the deed and was forced to retreat several times. However, they still succeeded in disrupting the flow of battle and ruining things. It made everything drag out until the battle ended with a defeated sigh. 

The coldness of Ryu's gaze only grew heavier, a dense killing intent hanging around him. 

Seemingly sensing this, the owner of the voice that had spoken earlier frowned. 

In truth, they really didn't quite understand what Ryu was getting at. They had hoped that Ryu would explain, or more accurately, they had given Ryu a chance to explain, but Ryu instead fell completely silent. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that Ryu was suddenly scared and wanted to retract his previous statement, but didn't know how. 

However, judging by Ryu's current state, this was unlikely. Would anyone who felt scared or apprehensive release killing intent? Now, it actually felt that Ryu was ignoring her instead, something that left her quite baffled. 

Initially, she had been willing to let Ryu go because he was just a talent who had mouthed off a little bit too much and got caught in the act. There was no need to end a genius' life over a few ill conceived words. But, if things were like this, then it was actually much different. 

Her brows still marred by a frowned, the owner of the voice took a step out from the shallow cave she had found into the side of the deep valley. With a flash, she appeared before Ryu, looking down at him. But, before she could say a word, Ryu's next words left her speechless. 

"I don't like people looking down at me."

Ryu's gaze was still aimed toward the bottom of the valley, seemingly trying to piece something together. However, the woman who had appeared hovered above the valley. She was easily a head shorter, likely more, than Ryu. But, her gaze was actually aimed downward. She had subconsciously risen herself an extra foot or two just to do this. 

Most who saw a cultivator stronger than them wouldn't' even dare to mention something like this. But, Ryu had actually pointed it out so blatantly. 

Whatever good impression this woman had of Ryu vanished, her gaze becoming cold. Her cultivation subconsciously leaked outward. 

Any other Immortal Ring expert would have already fallen to their knees, but Ryu once again said something that left the woman at a loss for words. 

"I'm well aware of what your cultivation is, you don't have to make it any more obvious."

For the first time in a very long time, the woman felt embarrassed. Ryu's words were simply too crass and she didn't know how to respond to them. She wasn't a ruthless person to begin with, plus she felt that killing Ryu now would actually only give his words more logic and reason. She couldn't even win a war of words with a brat, how could she call herself a Sky God? 

Ryu finally looked up and scanned the face of the woman before him. It wasn't too surprising that she was a beauty. In fact, she was quite comparable to Eska. Though, one was cold and detached while Ryu had a feeling that this woman was quite shy and reserved. Any other Sky God he had said these words to would have slapped him to death already. 

Of course, Ryu wasn't a fool. He could say such words not because he was blindly arrogant, but rather because this was a Holy Battle Ground. Unleashing an attack to kill here would end in you getting targeted by all the sword qi at once. The only way to escape this Fate was if you comprehended every sword scar here to perfection, but with this 'assassin' running around, how could you? 

Seeing Ryu staring so intently at her without a thought to look away, the woman actually blushed. 

She truly was a bit shy. The only reason she could so boldly speak with Ryu was because to her, it was no different from communicating with a child. But, what could she do if this 'child' was actually so thick skinned and shameless?

"Can you really not tell what's going on here?"

Ryu decided to speak and forgive the fact this Sky God was looking down on him after observing her. She didn't seem to be acting with malicious intent and compared to those old bastards who all believed themselves to be better simply by virtue of the fact they were born earlier, she was much better. 

The woman frowned. "Please explain."

"There is no assassin." Ryu said coldly. "Some 'swords master' ran around ruining all the battle scars so that only they would be able to benefit from them."

The woman's expression changed wildly. For some reason, she could feel as though something clicked into place.