Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

These were the last words that Lioche heard before he vanished, but there was simply no way for him to refute him. Not only had he been defeated, he had been humiliated by someone more than two cultivation Realms beneath him. 

Of course, none were aware that Ryu had broken into the Path Extinction Realm just yet except for the Ancestral Beasts that had managed to escape along with the other Dark Phoenixes. But, even if they were aware, it wouldn't change much of anything at all. Or so they thought…

Crossing the barrier into the Path Extinction Realm was a huge watershed for Ryu. That stacked with the improvements to his body and his Dao made him feel practically undefeatable beneath the World Sea Realm. 

In the past, this realization would have been great, but still would have disappointed him somewhat. After all, the more he improved, the more he felt that the peak of this world was simply too low. He was a mere Path Extinction Realm expert, and yet there were only two Realms left that could threaten his life. However, the words of Sarriel had lit up that excitement within him. 

Beyond this, his run-in with these so-called Demigods enlightened him to the fact that the Martial Gods were definitely still holding back their true talents. Ryu had a feeling that Lioche wasn't the only expert of that caliber. 

Lioche himself wasn't half bad. If he hadn't been arrogant enough to come to fight Ryu while he was midway through a breakthrough, their fight could have been much better. Unfortunately for him, he only had the strength of his body, his soul and his comprehension to rely on, making it so that he was essentially crippled in their battle. 

If Lioche really had used his qi in their battle, he would have definitely undergone cultivation deviation. The breakthrough into the World Sea Realm was among the most dangerous and violent. After all, it required one shattering their Spiritual Foundation from a solid state into a liquid state. The danger of such a thing could be imagined. 

But, it was precisely this that made Lioche's feat so impressive. Maybe only Ryu could dare to say such disdainful words to a man of his caliber. To anyone else, he was a lofty existence they wouldn't' dare to slight. 

And this was precisely what made Ryu so excited. The Martial Gods apparently had a Throne, and Ryu knew for certain that it wasn't Lioche. That meant that there was an existence among them with Talent that so far outstripped Lioche that he or she was the clearcut number one talent of their Clans. 

This individual…. Ryu couldn't wait to crush them. 

With a flick of his wrist, Ryu retracted his knife.

'My thoughts… Are a bit all over the place…' He thought to himself. 

His two goals seemed to be clashing more and more everyday. He had always said that if the Martial Gods never appeared, he would want to rise to the highest peak under his own strength. But, such a goal had taken a backseat due to his thirst for revenge. Now, though, it seemed to be making a resurgence. Rather than wanting to slaughter every Martial God that came across his path, he wanted to not just kill them, but to also dominate them and force them into submission. 

It was a very subtle difference, and the two goals almost seemed identical on the surface, and the path they followed was even the same for much of the journey. But, Ryu's sensitivity to such things had been greatly heightened in recent weeks with the evolution of his Heavenly Pupils and the blooming of his Dao. 

Ryu sent another glance toward the Awoken Moon Sect but it was still enveloped by a blinding white light. By his calculations, it shouldn't be long before the curtain fell. Once that happened, this battle would basically be over and even Sarriel would get a pleasant surprise she wasn't expecting. 

Ryu had little doubt that the thing occupying Sarriel was this world itself. If he looked for her, he could probably find her with a sweep of his gaze, but he didn't want to let her know just how wide the gap between their Heavenly Pupils was just yet. 

As of now, she probably thought that her deception was much too great for him to be able to see through. But…

'Well, you like kicking people out of places, right? It's just me returning the favor a bit.'

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Ryza's eyes widened. If it wasn't for the fact that Ryu had told her to protect Ailsa and Yaana, she really would have accelerated away already. She didn't know what Ailsa was summoning, but she had already been at it for several minutes and the momentum was only growing scarier. 

The skies split, darkness pervading the surroundings. However, what came out of the other side was completely outside of everyone's expectations. 

It was a hand. A hand so fair and delicate that it didn't seem to belong in this world at all. The skin seemed coated in a layer of ice, reflecting a gorgeous light as the sun's rays bounced off from it. Every nail was perfectly trimmed and symmetrical, every vein pumping with a prominent health that seemed out of place given their paleness…

The hand came to a stop, reaching for the edge of the rift and tearing it completely open. 

In that moment, a rush of cold wind that drowned out the Moon World itself appeared. The snowy hills and mountains froze over completely, becoming solid blocks of ice. 

The weak faired no better, finding themselves either shivering or shattering into thousands of pieces. 

The wall of white fluttered in the skies and when it dispersed, the large finger of the hand had shrunk into a beautiful gorgeous beyond words…

She stood in the skies silently, her arms clasped behind her back and her gaze icy. 

Ryu shook his head and chuckled. His wife had really gone off and summoned a Demon King, the Ice Queen.