Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Patriarch Ember didn't seem shocked by the change. Though the Ember Clan had swallowed the Pedestal Plane for themselves, they were still under the jurisdiction of the Martial Gods not much unlike how the Mortal Planes were still considered to be as well. The difference here, though, was that the Martial Gods cared enough about the Immortal Planes to make an appearance.

The Apostles. It was a title that struck fear in those of the Shrine World and that of other worlds as well. It could be said that their presence alone was enough to maintain control over the holdings the Martial Gods had claimed as their own.

The moment Patriarch Ember saw their appearance, his gaze flashed.

The group of Apostles was led by a young man with wildly golden hair. His body was almost covered in it, making his sideburns and beard look more like the mane of a lion and his chest look more like one might expect to see from a golden ape.

The sheer vitality wafting from him was on a complete other level and just the strength of his body alone was clearly far beyond the Path Extinction Realm, let alone his Qi Realm cultivation.

Ryu stood in the skies, unmoved. His bow still rested in his palm, but he hadn't bothered to raise it even once since all of this began. He had killed a lot of Martial God geniuses that day, but it wasn't nearly enough. It seemed the Heavens had blessed him with another opportunity, and he had no intention of missing out on it.

BANG!

The Martial Gods came to a harsh and sudden stop. The wall of the force that led their charge sent those with weaker strength spiraling out of the air. It was no surprise that the only ones who seemed capable of holding on were Ryu and Patriarch Ember himself, as for the others, even City Lord Loom found himself crashing into the ground below, a deep fear hidden within his eyes.

"Immediately gather your men. We need to set up a protective barrier around the base of Martial Mountain—"

"I think you meant to say Shrine Mountain."

Patriarch Ember had had every intention of exposing Ryu, of letting these Apostles know that this was, in fact, the Ryu Tatsuya they had been looking for. But, he seemed to have completely forgotten the kind of young man that was before him now. Ryu…

Was a madman.

The gaze of the Heaven's Dew Branch member narrowed.

"What did you just say?"

"Are you hard of hearing?"

Ryu took a step forward, appearing so close to the golden haired man that their noses were only a hair's breadth away from touching.

"I said it's called Shrine Mountain, not Martial Mountain. In fact, while we're at it, the highest Plane of this world is called Shrine Plane, not the Martial Plane. Oh, and…

"The Golden Era hasn't ended just yet. Not while I live and breathe."

Ryu's aura was suffocating. All the endless vitality and breath this ape of a man was giving off was suddenly swallowed whole, stamped down by a mountain far heavier and taller.

Ryu's head tilted to the side, looking past the man before him as though he wasn't worth much at all. His gaze landed on the Apostles that had followed him, staring them up and down as though they were meat on a chopping block.

The golden haired young man gazed toward Ryu deeply. Of all the things he thought he would find here, someone who dared to spit in the face of the Martial Gods so blatantly was the last. But, after a moment, he understood.

This aura, this arrogance, that white hair and those silver eyes…

This was most definitely Ryu Tatsuya.

The young man went by the name of Khan. Among the Apostles, he was ranked quite highly and after he had stepped past the Path Extinction Realm, he had found a place for himself amongst the elite rankers of the Dao Pedestal Realm as well.

To think that such an opportunity would come to him of its own accord. Ryu's head wouldn't only get him promoted to Demi-God, the resulting riches would be far beyond his wildest imagination… And none of that even included the treasures Ryu must have on his person right this moment.

Then, there was the best part of it all… The Number One Ranked Heavenly Pupils in the universe!

"Cut off his paths of retreat. His life is mine." Khan growled.

He had barely finished saying these words when his hand shot forward like a blade. Ryu was so close to him that it was impossible to take out a weapon, but it didn't matter. The confidence he had in his body's strength was enough to build a sky all to itself. He could already envision his arm slicing through Ryu chest. And yet…

The light sound of skin slapping skin resounded. It was far too soft the momentum that had been behind the strike. There should have a cacophonic boom, a violent swish of wind and a collapse of space and earth. And yet, other than a light rustle of robes and a sound that reminded one of a light pat on the cheek… There was nothing else.

Khan's pupils constricted. He suddenly found that no matter how hard his pushed forward or pulled back, he couldn't seem to budge his caught hand.

CRACK!

Khan's eyes widened, a sharp pain assaulting his mind as he wrist lost all of its structural integrity at once. Whether it was his skin, flesh or bone, all of it had become nothing more than a pile of mush, unable to exude even the slightest hint of strength.

If Khan was a lesser man, he would have screamed out in pain and horror. However, as a Body Realm expert, he had long since become used to the harsh realities of pain. He was more than capable of dealing with it. But, there were several matters that made this far worse.

For one, the gap between his own strength and Ryu's felt so large that he couldn't even begin to fathom it. And secondly, his passive healing factor was among the best considering the Branch he had been born into. But, with the way Ryu was squeezing his arm, any attempts at healing only multiplied the pain several times over.

But that was when the sickening sound of tearing flesh resounded.

Ryu only seem to lightly pull down, his movements weren't even all that fast and could have probably even been followed by a mortal. And yet, with it, the entirety of Khan's arm was taken with it.

BANG!

Ryu's bow tapped Khan's head. To him, it happened exceptionally slowly, but he already knew what it meant before it even landed…

He was dead.

His head imploded into bits and pieces, coloring the snow red and yet not leaving even the slightest speck on Ryu himself.

Ryu took a step forward, his finger looking as though it had teleported to tap the chest of another Apostle. A scream of horror resounded as they combusted from the inside out, their body falling from the skies in a rain of ash.

Ryu took another step, his body appearing to the back of another Apostle. This time, his finger lightly touched their back and their body froze.

What sounded like glass shattering resounded, the figure that remained cracking into countless little gem-like pieces and falling from the air.

Every time Ryu took a step, he vanished. Every time he reappeared, he would stretch out a finger. Every time he stretched out a finger, another death would follow.

'Protecting the Shrine Mountain from the beasts, huh? It seems I need to make a trip and bathe in a little blood…'

BANG!

The last head imploded as Ryu looked into the distance. He could feel his palm itching and he suddenly very much wanted to watch the world burn. What good was unlimited stamina if he didn't use it? He really wanted to see if the Southern Heavenly Wind truly had no limits. However, first…

He turned his head toward Patriarch Ember who stood frozen in the skies. The latter couldn't even begin to wrap his head around how this had happened. How had Ryu grown so powerful so quickly? HOW?!

Ryu stretched out a hand and Patriarch Ember's neck flew into his palm of its own accord. The mighty Patriarch Ryu had had no choice but to run from just a few years ago was now nothing more than a dangling chicken between his fingers.

"Wait! Wait! You can't kill me! You have no idea who's backing me!"

Ryu paused for a moment. Of course, this wasn't because he was afraid of Patriarch Ember's backer. He was about to lay a massacre on the Martial Gods and it could be said that Patriarch Ember was the only one stalling this.

But, Patriarch Ember wasn't a fool… Relatively speaking, anyway. He had just seen how many Martial Gods Ryu had just slaughtered, so he couldn't possibly be stupid enough to threaten Ryu with more Martial Gods, right?

Everyone had heard the words he spoke just a few months ago. He should know he had no fear of them.

"Oh? And who's backing you?" Ryu smiled.

"You couldn't possibly imagine! An Ancient Race comparable to the Ancestral Beasts! I have a Fey Queen on my side! You can't kill me, she doesn't fear even the Martial Gods!"

Ryu paused. Of all the things he had expected to hear, this was the very last.