Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Inwardly, despite the relaxed expression on his face, Ryu's soul was roaring. He was pouring everything he had into this next moment, and compressing it. His Cosmos Fog was an excellent secret weapon in this situation, but it wasn't perfect. Against a Dao Sovereign, it would probably be used up in less than an instant of time, that wasn't enough for him to do anything. So, he was pouring all of his recently recovered Embryonic Qi into, fueling his bones and forcing them to produce more and more.

However, even when he had tapped out his Embryonic Qi reserves, it didn't quite feel like enough. It seemed that he had still underestimated Primus. No, he had underestimated what it meant to be a Dao Sovereign, one with a step into the Dao God Realm at that.

His Cosmos Fog wasn't infallible and he was learning the hard way. However... he wasn't done yet.

At the instant of time before the portal closed, the cry of a Phoenix suddenly echoed.

Ryu's body exploded forth with countless Runes, each radiating a white gold. At the same time, his soul released a subtle ripple, one that could only come from the Unbalance Mantra. And as though even that wasn't enough, a pair of translucent wings appeared to his back, rippling with strong wind and spatial qi. And then...

His Founding Dao erupted.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. First his Cosmos Fog formed a thick layer around his body, breaking him free for an instant of time.

Primus looked down with an indifferent expression, hardly reacting to this matter. But the fact that he took his eyes off of what he was doing at all spoke volumes. Even so, it didn't mean enough to change things. He would simply increase the range.Plus, he could tell that whatever Ryu had used just now was running out, quickly at that.

However, just when he wanted to lock onto Ryu again, there was a distortion. Ryu's Unbalance Mantra seemed to warp reality itself, but it wasn't it alone. Those White Runes that coated his body seemed to latch onto those warped rules, shredding them to pieces and putting them back together in a completely incomprehensible way.

In that split instant when Primus failed to react to the change, Ryu's Spectral Wings had already flapped, his body surging forward and crossing the distance that wasn't even 20 meters.

Primus looked down from above. It was such a short distance, one that wouldn't even take a World Sea Realm expert a second to cross, let alone one with a Space Soul Nature and the support of a God Treasure. It was a truly insignificant amount of time indeed. But what good was a short amount of time, if in the eyes of a Dao Sovereign... it was still too long?

'Maybe a little amusing' Primus thought.

His forte was obviously in fire gi. It was what he had always focused on, that and the Body Realm and his Saintly Weapons. Attacking from a distance, locking down space, and especially doing so without harming someone, could all be uttered to be what he was absolutely weakest in...

But that was only relative.

Just because it was his weakest ability, didn't mean that it was weak in comparison to other Dao Sovereigns. And even more importantly than that in this situation, what good was the weakness of a Dao Sovereign to an ant not even in the World Sea Realm yet. The gap between them was so large and impossible to cover that even if he had never practiced such a thing in the past, it would mean nothing.

Even with all of this said, why did he have to do any of that? In fact, he would simply use his strength.

His hand paused and he suddenly vanished. When he appeared again, it was already too late for Ryu to stop.

BANG!

Ryu shot back like a ball out of a canon, spitting up a mouthful of blood. He ricocheted across the earth, suddenly finding himself several kilometers away from the portal he had just been a few meters from. The gap between Dao Sovereign and World Sea Realm experts wasn't something that could be closed by a few tricks.

The other Sky Gods remained silent. Primus' speed was unlike anything they had ever seen before, even Aika felt a cold sweat drip down her back. She had had her suspicions before, but now she was certain. She wasn't just a small measure weaker than this person, she couldn't even track his movements.

Primus could have moved long before, but it was as though he had purposely waited until the final moment he could, and even then, it seemed like he could have waited even longer if he had really wanted to. It was a hopeless disparity.

At that moment, the portal closed, blinking out of existence. The wind came back and the birds began to chirp once again, the rainbow clouds above fading out of existence as a silence fell.

Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then another, while Primus only gave him a glance, ready to vanish once again. But right then, Primus' gaze focused as he turned back toward Ryu.

Eska had rushed over to his side, a sparkle of worry in her eyes as she bent to his side. But when she touched him, Ryu's body seemed to crumble. First the white Runes dissipated, and then his skin crumbled, leaving behind a fog that scattered into the air. But there was something else mixed within the fog, something heavy and dense, so much so that when Eska's finger touched it, she recoiled it, looking at her once slender, beautiful finger in shock.

Right now, her once flawless finger was bruised and crushed as though it had been chewed up by some sort of mechanical beast and spit out. Despite the pain, she felt far more shock.

As the last of Ryu's body crumbled, a formation took the shape of two middle fingers, causing Eska to be speechless. Since when had Ryu been so childish?

"Fuck you, old bastard. I'lI see you on the other side."