Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

'It seems you've caught some unwanted attention.' Ailsa said lightly, her usually cheery expression having turned cold.

How could she not be upset? All her Ryu had done was take a seat and begin to eat. Compared to what he usually did, this was more than just a little tame. In fact, it was tame for anyone, especially considering the emotions Ailsa knew were swirling about Ryu's thoughts and heart at this moment. And yet, somehow, he was still being targeted for doing nothing else than being himself. Was that supposed to be some kind of crime.

Ryu continued to eat as though he couldn't sense the subtle killing intent of King Adonis. The latter probably thought there was no way that Ryu would be able to find him out. After all, what was a brat like Ryu to a World Sea Realm expert like him? Even a normal World Sea Realm expert could be killed with a single palm from him, let alone Ryu. However, if he knew that Ryu had sensed it and was simply unmoved by it all, maybe his killing intent would have only grown fiercer.

'It doesn't matter.' Ryu thought lightly. 'I've realized that being enraged toward dead people has no meaning. When they become the fertilizer for my Tatsuya Clan to rise up again, what worth would it all have then?'

The eerie calm of Ryu's thoughts shook Ailsa's heart. For a long while, she remained silent before she spoke again.

'I'm going to go and help the little ones to absorb the Magma Devil Blood. Don't do anything too reckless.'

Ryu nodded almost imperceptibly, his hands still cutting and his mouth still chewing. The amount of food he had to consume now to sustain his Bloodlines was enormous. In fact, he could eat for every hour of the day and it might still not be enough.

Unfortunately, there was no convenient ways to hunt beasts on the Shrine Plane without having a death wish. Any beast that could call this place home, especially after his mother's Seal was placed down, was no simple matter to handle. And, as though that wasn't bad enough, Isemeine only had food appropriate for Path Extinction Realm experts.

Though Ryu's body was technically in the Path Extinction Realm equivalent currently, his Bloodlines were so pure and high class that it couldn't consume just any normal food and be satiated. It would actually be best if Ryu had Dao Pedestal Realm beasts to eat, or more accurately, Ninth Order Beasts. That way he would need to eat a lot less. But, Isemeine hadn't had access to this food.

As for his Ice Phoenix Clan's treasures, meat wasn't exactly something that you would conserve for billions and trillions of years like you would other things. And, the meat that was quality enough to warrant this sort of treatment was beyond Ryu's means to digest currently.

Luckily, this banquet had this and even higher caliber food in large spades. So, how could he not take advantage?

Not only was Ryu finally eating to his full for the first time in a long while, his body was even growing more and more powerful with each bite. If those around him didn't know better, they would think that he was some sort of ancient slumbering beast. The Vital Qi he gave off, despite not being a Martial God, was practically palpable.

Just when it seemed like the atmosphere wouldn't be able to take it anymore and implode, a large sweeping force of qi rose up. Ryu didn't need to look up to know that it was a spatial qi. And, at this level, it could only be a teleportation array. It seemed that things would finally be starting soon…

Several sharp auras began to manifest. Before these individuals had even truly stepped foot into being, it was as though the world itself would split in two just to form a path for them to walk.

One after another, large numbers of individuals began to appear. By the end of it, there must have been at least 50 of them with more still appearing, each with auras just as sharp.

When they came into view, it became clear that they were led by nine youths, each with strong, unbridled auras. Without fail, each one was deep into the Cosmic Seed Realm. The fact that one could call them youths at all was a testament to just how talented they were to begin with.

These nine 'youths' didn't wear normal robes, or rather it didn't seem like it. Sharp qi swirled about and surrounded their bodies making it impossible to see what was beneath. It felt like they were enveloped by a whirlwind of energy, any bit of which could mince a lesser expert into minced meat at any time.

Even without observing them closely, Ryu could tell that these 'youths' must have been from the Armament Guild. There was only one organization in this world who could bring together a group of weapon's masters like this and there was also only one group of such weapon's masters that would be worthy enough to be called here by the Martial Gods and be daring enough to make such a display. There was no questioning it.

As for the qis that surrounded them, this was even more obvious. These were the nine core weapons that built the Armament Guild, the nine weapons with the greatest Faith backing them in the whole of the Martial World.

The Hastam Clan's Spear. The Ferum Clan's Sword. The Virga Clan's Staff. The Arcus Clan's Bow. The Lorum Clan's Halberd. The Gladio Clan's Glaive. The Gione Clan's short sword. The Securis Clan's Battle Axe. And the Scire Clan's Saber.

Each one of these youths represented a pinnacle of what it meant to be the master of a weapon.

'Hm?'

At that moment, the Hastam Clan's Spear had his eyes drawn over to the same scene everyone had just been enraptured by. Seeing Ryu sitting there without a care, his brows arched and eyes widened.

'This little brat. He was actually still alive?'