Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The shockwave was strong enough to shatter the heart of a Perfect Sky God by the sound alone. If Ryu wasn't so far from the battlefield, and if he hadn't hidden away in the void, it would have been entirely impossible for him to survive as well.

And then came the spiraling wave of flames and the Phoenix cry that peeled across the skies. It was so light and airy, almost like lightning during a spring's light drizzle.

The flames took shape into this Phoenix, its body soaring into the skies and spreading its wings with the majesty only a creature of its caliber could match.

Auras surged and the skies trembled.

The Dao Sovereigns who were just about to get into a battle of their own found themselves shocked.

They backed away, confusion and then awe appearing in their eyes.

There was no doubt what this was. It was Rebirth, a pure, shocking Rebirth.

When they realized that it could only be coming from Titus, their hearts seemed to freeze over. Didn't he have Fire Dragon blood?

Much of these issues had started over that blood in specific, when had he gained the strength of the Fire Phoenix? Was that even a Phoenix at all?

It looked like a Phoenix, the aura matched the shocking presence of a creature of that caliber, and there was even that elegant shape they had only ever seen in stories.

But it was laced with black.

The proud, ruby feathers, each one perfectly sculpted and glistening under the sunlight seemed to have been tainted by a devilish aura. It didn't just understand Rebirth, it seemed to command it.

And right then, the light cry of the Phoenix seemed to be matched by a visceral, gritty roar, one that shook the earth and caused mountains to collapse in the distance.

The Phoenix's blackened aura quickly gained scales and its form changed. From a majestic creature filled with elegance, it gained a sharp row of teeth and its long tail, still spiraling within a cyclone of flames, became barbed and menacing.

At that moment, the form of a man hidden within its head was seen. He had likely always been there, but the sheer majesty of the creature and taken up the entirety of their psyches.

Only then did Ryu relax a bit, cursing beneath his breath. This old man really knew how to make him worry.

BOOM!

The aura of an Omniscient Sky God broke like a dam and with its destruction came the roaring might of a Dao Lord.

High in the skies, a formation that covered the whole of the Eighth Heaven pulsed with life, completely enraged as it accumulated bolts of lightning.

Titus still had his eyes closed, seemingly not realizing what was happening around him until the bolt formed and the phoenix in the skies vanished.

The bolt curved through the skies, following after the Phoenix-Dragon of flames until it appeared before a male Dao Sovereign.

In that instant, though Titus was right there, he seemed to have vanished entirely. The bolt lost its target, and yet maintained its trajectory, passing right by and crashed into the chest of the Dao Sovereign.

He spit up a large mouthful of blood as half his chest was burnt through. He flew back like an iron ball from a canon, moving so fast that he was already out of eyesight for most of the instant he got hit.

"TITUS!"

The woman roared, infuriated. However, deep in her eyes, there was a conflicted expression. Just now, she really thought she had killed him and her heart was in turmoil, and now he attacked her master instead of her despite the fact she had just dolled out a killing blow.

"Don't overthink it," Titus said coldly as though drawing a hard line in the sand. "I can't deal with him yet on my own, but I can certainly deal with you."

The woman's dreams shattered and her anger seemed to flare up again.

Titus' flames surged into his body and in an instant, a man covered in scales of red with dancing black runes within them appeared. His horns seemed capable of poking holes through the skies and his wings spread out so far around him that they seemed to dwarf him.

A battle erupted in the skies as Ryu's heart rate calmed down a bit. He looked down at his bloodied arms and shook his head. What a mess.

He had half a mind to take his old man back to the Radiant Star Sect right now, but he wasn't the type to do that to begin with. He'd only feel better when he killed Old Wan himself.

However, that didn't mean that he could leave Eska and Selheira in danger because of his own selfish wants. So he'd have to ask his father to do something about that.

'But how...' Ryu wondered. By the look on his face, one would have never guessed that such a world-shaking battle was happening in the skies.

The truth was that Ryu was actually quite wary of Old Wan. He was the kind of man who, when given enough information, would be especially dangerous.

He miscalculated because Ryu had changed enough and there was enough about him that he didn't know. But the addition of Hope was a new bit of information, if he also found out that Ryu had a Dao Lord for a father, it would be another bit of information, and things would begin to add up very quickly.

Simply put, he couldn't just let his father stroll into the Radiant Star Sect and then stroll out. He had to find a way to remove his women from an otherwise dangerous situation, while also keeping Old Wan in the dark about it. He would probably also have to keep Aika and the others in the dark as well, because he couldn't trust them either.

Ryu mulled it over. He almost didn't realize a familiar woman was suddenly falling from the skies like a streaking meteor.