Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu and the Heaven's Warrior shot out a fist at the same time. Battle intent blazed in Ryu's gaze and billowing plumes of dark gold flames erupted from within the Heaven's Warrior.

The moment their fists met, Ryu felt as though his entire arm was collapsing. Having long since lost his sleeve to the violent surge of dark gold fire from earlier, his fair skin was in plain view for all to see. Veins warped like flood dragons beneath his skin, beautiful Heavenly Patterns of blue overlaying them all, crackling about like particles of crystalline ice.

Ryu was immediately pushed several heavy steps backward, but the Heaven's Warrior was likewise forced a single step back, the heavy clinking of its armor resounding through the arena.

Up ahead, the void swirled and rumbled, looking almost like a cyclonic cumulonimbus cloud. It seemed to be responding to the fact that Ryu actually dared to attack, that he had the audacity to fight back, the unmitigated gall to descent.

However, Ryu himself couldn't' care less, his gaze blazing and a mad grin spreading across his handsome face. His hair fluttered backward, suddenly sparking with several arcs of lightning that whipped about almost as violently as it did.

"Come!"

BANG!

Ryu shot forward, his speed feeling like a blur. Despite the sudden disappearance of his cultivation, he somehow held onto an obscene amount of his strength. Just watching it made one feel as though their scalps were going numb. How a mere Awakening Realm expert could display such strength was beyond them all.

Ryu's fist clashed with the Heaven's Warrior once again. Despite being two heads shorter, he felt as though they were on even ground, every swing of his fist carrying with it a devastation. Cracks shot as though space was as fragile as glass every time their knuckles met.

The dark gold flame seemed to want to swallow Ryu up completely. However, whatever fear Ryu seemed to have had for it vanished. He pressed forward, his hips torquing, his torso twisting and his back and arms exploding with power.

With every punch he through, his movements became more fluid and unhurried, his heart pumping and his gaze flashing like lightning.

"Is this everything that you have?!"

Ryu's voice was like a clap of thunder that awakened everyone from their stupor. The shock that they felt bore down on their souls so heavily that many had forgotten to speak or react. It had felt like they were the ones in Ryu's position previously, unable to even raise up an ounce of resistance.

Ryu took a step forward, his right hand raising in an enigmatic arc. With an ease and smoothness, he slapped the side of the Heaven's Warrior's wrist, executing a perfect [Parry].

His footsteps shifted, his body gliding to the side of the warrior and executing two sharp [Jab]'s right to its kidneys.

Ryu could feel the hollowness that was within but it didn't stop his actions for even a moment. The satisfying feeling of metal crumbling beneath his fist lit a spark within the depths of his heart.

The World Sea Realm experts who had already stood to their feet found themselves unable to sit back down. They had never witnessed something like this in their entire lives. The worst part about it was that the dark gold flames that should have been going toward Galkos with every strike Ryu landed seemed to all go toward him, Galkos didn't even have a single chance to fight for it.

Galkos himself, who obviously hadn't heard Ryu call him a dancing clown earlier, was in shock as well.

The way things were supposed to go was that these nine would hold the vanguard, allowing him to save his stamina. Their actions would benefit them with a small piece of the dark gold flame, but much of it should come to him.

After refining this flame, it would make the next coming challenge far easier for him. With his talent and his refined combat prowess, he should have been unmatched in collecting this dark flame, and yet it couldn't even get by him.

He wasn't the only one suffering from this either. Overseer Eudo, who was supposed to benefit from Ryu as well, had yet to taste even a sliver of this dark flame. No matter how he tried to make use of the tag on Ryu's body, the flame seemed to be under Ryu's complete control.

Ryu was completely oblivious to the rage he was causing. Or, more accurately, he simply didn't care. His battle intent was the highest it had ever been. He wasn't even paying attention to anything around him. He didn't care about the other eight fighting Heaven's Warriors of their own, he didn't care that his Rite of Origin had been exposed, he didn't care that his talent was being bared before all to see, his mind was only focused on one thing.

'Kneel. Kneel! KNEEL!'

Ryu's endless torrent of fists rained down, the cracks and dents in the Heaven's Warriors armor growing to the point it seemed it might collapse like porcelain at any moment.

Ryu's fist tore into its chest, getting lodged within.

He reached out with his free hand but was forced to stop midway. He executed a [Roll] block with his shoulder, rolling it forward and causing the Heaven's Warrior fist to skim by it while keeping his chin safe.

The instant the fist shot by Ryu, he grabbed at its shoulder guard. Using his arm stuck in its chest as an anchor, he ripped down, a roar escaping his lips.

The arm of the Heaven's Warrior was torn off as Ryu ripped his hand out of its chest.

He pummeled the Heaven's Warrior head in with a fist, an endless barrage of blows leaving craters in its body armor.

"KNEEL!"

Ryu's hair erupted into a blaze of golden red fire. It waved about like it had a life of its own, the whites being accented by the golds and reds. His current appearance made Galkos' claim to be a Deity feel like no more than a joke.

The Heaven's Warrior found its opposite shoulder being ripped down, its knee falling to the ground as dark gold flames continued to billow in and out of its mouth.

The rumbling rage of the clouds above suddenly exploded, existential dread in its purest form being shot down from above. It was a though this clap was a final warning… A warning that Ryu should know not to take things too far.