Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

2086 Five Seconds

Ryu walked across the skies as though it was solid ground. But more shocking than that, no one could seem to tell how he had appeared, and that included the three Sovereigns in the skies. It was like in one moment, he hadn't even had a tangible existence, and in the next… like he had always been there from the very start. The pressure of the battlefield didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, his white robes only slightly waving in the wind no more than it should for a person on a leisurely stroll. He looked at ease, completely in his own element, and unbothered by everything around him. One would have thought that he had come to the Radiant Star Sect by coincidence. "Well, don't let my presence bother you. Weren't you going to kill him? Go ahead." Ryu's words seemed to shock everyone awake again, and Samson's expression couldn't help but change before it became somewhat sullen. If nothing else, Ryu's words made something quite clear. If others thought that he was here to save the Radiant Star Sect, they were sorely mistaken. At best, he was here to pick up a few more worthy Summons. Unfortunately… Ryu looked up and found that Aika was no longer as bright of heart and sharp of focus as she was in the past. But where there were losses, there were gains… His gaze shifted and landed on Jojo. She was only in the Omniscient Realm right now, but her Dao Heart… He couldn't help but smile to himself as he remembered their last interaction. He still found it amusing even to now. Jojo would have probably blushed with some shame if Ryu's last words hadn't pissed her off so much. She had no idea what happened between Ryu and Old Wan, but even if she had, she wouldn't have any idea why he would transfer that hatred to Samson. However… Ryu had a very clear line for how he did things. Even if he couldn't see it by Samson's mannerisms, the changes to his breath and heartbeat, or the fluctuations to his Fate itself, Ryu was smart enough to deduce many things. Even if Aika didn't know, he was sure that she wasn't stupid enough to have no suspicions at all. And if he was correct, Samson was probably the first to figure out what happened back then. Ryu didn't care if they were directly involved or not… Samson wouldn't be on the list of people he would be stepping in to save the life of. As for Aika… her naivete was mind numbing. He could practically see through her like he was reading an open book. When he looked up into the skies and met her gaze, it was as though he was the Sovereign and she was the Omniscient. In these years he had been away, she had certainly found clues that had left her raising her eyebrows. But she hadn't been willing to take the final step to acknowledge what might have happened because Old Wan and Samson were practically her two blood brothers. They had grown up together, faced the destruction of their Clans and Sect together, weathered the storms of survival in this harsh world of cultivation together… It wasn't easy for her to peel away that final veil even if she found many things confusing. That wasn't enough for Ryu to have a distaste for her the same way he did for Samson, but what it was enough to do was for him to draw a clear line between the two of them. If she was worthy, he would have taken her on as a Summon. But since her Dao Heart was in shambles and he still owed her, he wouldn't turn her into a Corpse Puppet. After these matters today were finished, he would write off whatever debts they had left and leave with Jojo… Of course, only after he had Old Wan's head on a pike. Ryu looked down from his gaze above. From start to finish, he didn't even give Old Wan, Black Worm, or the Chaotic Space Sky God a glance as though they weren't worth his time. "What's this? Still not attacking? I don't have the patience to wait here all day. If you're worried about me taking advantage of your fatigue, I'll gladly give you some rest. Or say the word and I'll just kill him for you so we can get this over with." "RYU!" Jojo's explosive temper finally couldn't take it anymore. She looked as though she wanted to cut Ryu down herself. In fact, her enormous sword had already appeared in her palms, her aura blazing like a sword piercing the clouds. "Hm?" Ryu looked over to Jojo. She was just as fiery as usual, her violet-red hair flickering like dancing flames. Her eyebrows actually seemed even more fierce than he remembered them, like two strikes of a match across her otherwise delicate features. Ryu had a preference for arrogant women who were very much in touch with their feminine side. All things considered, Jojo had the arrogance, but she was a tomboy through and through. But right now… the single hum that had come from Ryu's lips practically made the atmosphere freeze over. The only one who didn't seem to notice was Jojo who had let her temper get to her head already. It could be said that in this respect, she and Aika were two peas in a pod. "You ungrateful bastard! Did you forget everything Sovereign Aika did for you?! And who the hell do you think you are?! Do you think I can't see through the fact you're just an Omniscient?! Do you think I won't cut you down where you stand?!" Ryu gazed at her indifferently. The longer Jojo's rage-fueled words echoed through the skies, the more she seemed to realize that Ryu… was practically a brick wall. "Is that so?" Ryu finally asked lightly. A chilling breeze passed by, and for some reason, Jojo felt the fire in her heart dissipating somewhat. "Attack, then." Jojo froze. Goosebumps raced across her skin as a reaper's death grip wrapped around her throat. But it was then a blazing intent rumbled through her soul as her Dao Heart shattered her fear apart. She couldn't take a step back now. Not when the Sect's morale was already teetering on the edge of destruction. She slashed out with all of her might, a blade of fiery light crossing through the air and appearing in front of Ryu in what looked like an instant. Ryu didn't even move. He just stood there, his hands almost carelessly clasped behind his back. The fiery scythe clashed with an invisible wall… or maybe the word clashed was too bold for what truly happened. It was almost like a punch landing on air, so silent and unbothered that it was hard to tell if Jojo's attack was an illusion or not. Slowly, the attack blinked out of existence and Ryu appeared in their sights clearly once more, not an ounce of fatigue on his face. Ryu was far too lazy to explain himself. He wouldn't even do so to Aika herself. If she tried to stand in his way, he would kill her just the same as he would anyone else who pissed him off. The only reason Jojo wasn't lying dead in a pile of her own flesh and blood right now was because he had plans for her as a Summon. Nothing more, nothing less. In fact, the fact she dared to attack him after his aura descended only moved her up his list further. "You and I haven't been on the same level for a long while. Did you think those I've already surpassed could possibly catch up to me?" Ryu asked lightly. The words drummed against Jojo's soul, but Starlight's as well, just the same. "Now I will give you one more chance." Ryu shifted his gaze from Jojo to Starlight who was down beneath him. "Finish your battle quickly or I will finish it for you. I will give you five seconds." Ryu stood there silently as Starlight didn't reply. Time slowly ticked by, from one second to two… and then from two to three… No one knew what would happen after the fifth second passed, but time, for reasons none could understand, seemed to have slowed to an absolute crawl. And then the fifth second ticked by. Ryu didn't say a word. He simply brought out a palm clasped behind his back and lightly patted at the air. Samson couldn't even react before his chest seemed to implode from the inside out. Jojo's eyes opened wide and all the air seemed to be sucked out of the battlefield. BANG! Samson crashed against the Sect walls so heavily that they cracked and then collapsed, the formation that had once been protecting it seemingly being useless. ɽἈΝＯβЕṣ

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