Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu looked up. The feeling of the world around him was truly suffocating, but he felt that his body was slowly adjusting.

He remembered that the first time he stepped into the Nether Plane back in Sacrum, the Nether Qi acted much like this. Back then he had been much weaker, so the effects were far more exaggerated. There was a great suppression that most faced in this world, especially when they didn't use Nether Qi themselves.

Their arrival caught some attention immediately. It was impossible for this not to be the case. Lu'card wasn't the type of existence that could be hidden, especially when he didn't want to be hidden in the first place.

He stood tall and proud, his shimmering silver scales being practically the only light in the dreary atmosphere.

There wasn't a single Demon present that didn't look over with lightning-like gazes, their shock plainly measurable on their faces.

Even if it wasn't for Lu'card, the group was too conspicuous. Other than Elise and her butler, none of the others exuded any Demonic Aura. One seemed to be human, another seemed to be both human and not, and the last was a Dragon.

This sort of group composition didn't even make much logical sense.

"The Demon Kings aren't present yet," Ryu thought to himself.

The teleportation platform that Elise used was actually quite a distance away from the actual gathering. It was just that such a distance didn't mean much to existences of this level, and even if it was an ant, they would at least give it a cursory glance in this sort of situation. The stakes were much too high.

What they didn't expect was what they saw instead.

"Let's go," Ryu said calmly.

He held Selheira's hand and walked forward, his strides long.

He pierced through the veil of Nether Qi with a calm cadence. An aura of chaos flickered around him. Arcs of dark gold lightning flashed, and the Nether Qi was fried to ash.

He exuded a powerful aura from the very beginning.

Elise was a very smart individual, and the words she spoke earlier were actually quite correct. Being too low-key would have the opposite effect.

Plus, he was here to see his wife. Considering how popular she had gotten, he had no doubt that he would be forced to kill some ignorant fools very soon.

It was best he draw a line right here and now.

Although there were no actual Demon Kings present, at a single glance Ryu could tell that most present were at least descendents of them. This seemed to be the minimum requirement for even daring to show up.

The group picked a mountain peak and staked out their land. Ryu's initial impulse was to pick one of the nine main mountain peaks, but he was no longer the Ryu of the past. At the very least, he knew when to show some propriety when he should.

Even so, many were shocked by the mountain peak he chose regardless.

In the current situation, there were several mountains surrounding what looked like a valley from some angles and a pit to hell in others.

It had to be remembered that the True Nether Plane was actually the inverse of the True Martial World. You didn't go upwards to reach the Ninth Plane, you went downward. And whatever was below seemed to be even further down than even the Ninth Plane.

In the foremost positions, there were nine vacant mountains. These mountains were struck by the black lightning descending from the skies the most often.

Between these mountains and a small amount further back, there were much shorter mountains. The mountain that Ryu had picked was among a second tier of existence and it was among a group of mountains just shorter than the nine main peaks... It also happened to be the last one available.

"When'd you become such a coward?" Lu'card snorted.

Ryu yawned. If he was alone, he would stand where he should. But his father was right, he had been too selfish these days, especially in regard to his wives.

If he chose one of the main mountains, he would get into a conflict with Demon Kings he couldn't even match up to right now, and then what would happen to the odds of his seeing his Mae again?

Still, while he was willing to compromise, he wasn't willing to compromise much.

At that moment, another teleportation formation lit up, but this time it was from a platform much closer to the core mountains.

Suddenly, the lightning sparking in the skies grew more agitated, as though it wouldn't be satisfied until the entire sky was cracked and fissured.

When the images of the approaching demons cleared, Ryu could sense a small air of trepidation coming from the surroundings.

Ryu almost lazily looked over, and at that moment, a smile curled his lips.

'Interesting...'

The figures could only be said to be wreathed in black lightning. Somehow, they both seemed tangible and not at the same time. It was a sight that was hard to parse apart, until you understood even though they were humanoids, they fell firmly within the category of Wraiths.

They were ghosts that fed on the emotions of others, and these emotions seemed to fuel their black lightning.

Ryu had never seen such demons personally before, but he had read of their descriptions.

The Black Thunder Wraiths.

In Sacrum, they were a Race of Demon Princes. Their standing was quite exceptional. But what was interesting was that they had always had quite high standing in general. It could be said that amongst those beneath the Demon Kings, they were ranked first. And on top of that, they had many talents that could likely stand toe to toe with the Demon Kings.

Right then, from an amorphous, vaguely humanoid blob of sparking black lightning, a young man took shape.

His face was incredibly pale, but his eyes shone a bright golden hue. For a moment, his head seemed to be floating in a cloud of black lightning until a pair of legs manifested beneath it.

His black lightning became like a cloak of energy, fluttering like a robe around him, while every other part of him seemed to become distinctly human. If not for the fact his face was far too pale to be natural, they could truthfully pass off a young man of exceptionally handsome stature.

It was rare that Ryu met a man who could match him in the looks department. His Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure might not have been strong, but it had done wonders for his proportions and looks. Funny enough, it might not be an exaggeration at this point to say that this was the strongest ability of that Bone Structure.

Even after his Bone Structure had changed, his body composition remained the same.

But this young man was truly a looker, and his pale skin, rather than making him look unhealthy and sickly, gave him a demonic touch almost like a black and white painting with just the slightest hints of color.

The young man's golden eyes shifted slowly, scanning through the second-tier mountains one by one and quickly realizing that there were none left.

Everyone thought that the next result was obvious. Didn't it only make sense for Ryu and the others to be targeted? They were clearly the group that was not like the rest.

But the young man's thoughts weren't like this at all. It could be the reason Ryu said this was interesting was not because of their Race, but because he had sensed something from this young man in particular.

"Scram."

The young man spoke softly. His voice wasn't too deep and even could be considered a bit higher than average. But the strength behind it was undeniable.

A Race of skeletons with blackened bones and fluttering blue flames in their eye sockets were shocked.

The older generation frowned and looked toward the young Black Thunder Wraith's elders. Were they really going to allow this?

They were the descendants of the Skeleton Kings. In many ways, they were the second most powerful here after the appearance of the Black Thunder Wraiths.

The young man hadn't picked the weakest; he had immediately picked on the strongest. His goal was obvious.

Did these people think that his Black Thunder Wraith Race could only pick on the weak? The moment these people saw them coming, they should have cleared a lane themselves.

"Not going?" The young man spoke unhurriedly.

When there was no response and a young man of the skeleton Race was about to step forward, the Black Thunder Wraith youth suddenly vanished in a spark of black lightning.

BANG!

When he appeared again, a fair palm was being held out and the young skeleton that had stepped out was directly sent soaring off the mountain.

The young Black Thunder Wraith stood amidst the skeletons without a care. He wasn't a match for the older generation, but did he need to be?

The skies rumbled as sparks flew, the conflict coming to a head.