Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

1760 Boon

'Truly fascinating…'

It wasn't just flesh and bone being regenerated. It felt like Ryu was watching the recreation of a Race. But what was even more shocking than this was the fact that this Race was also mutating at the same time.

It was practically like watching the constellations change in the skies; it was truly that fantastical.

Aside from this, he had already been impressed by Empana's Dao heart before, but now it was as bright as day.

Enduring this kind of near death experience and crawling back, albeit slowly, wasn't something most could do. In fact, almost no one could do it.

It was like the first time Ryu came in contact with the Divine Chains of the Martial Gods. Except even then, his subconscious knew that it was an effect of the chains and not reality. Yet it had still taken a moment for him to pull himself out of that state.

What Empana was going through was very much real, and yet he was still clawing and biting. Ryu could almost sense a savage, demonic nature coming from him. One that was one part unbridled rage, and another part almost… psychotic and primal, in a way.

Ironically, Ryu was learning a lot more about temperament while observing this than anything else. He could almost watch as Empana's tendencies and personality were being baked into himself, how his Bloodlines were trying to force him to act in a certain way.

More interesting than that, he could see exactly what aspects of his Bloodline were forcing it, and exactly how the mutations were either enhancing or weakening them.

As the hours ticked by, Ryu had slowly raised the pressure back up the sixth layer.

Empana's progress was still moving forward at the pace of a snail, but the fact he could withstand the sixth layer on his own now spoke volumes about the kind of progress he was making.

His body still looked like it was in pieces. His limbs were still missing, his skin was still cracked and riddled with wounds, even his soul was still trapped in a layer of hidden runes that he had yet to manage to shed.

However, Ryu could feel his vitality coming in greater and greater surged, and by this point, the observers on the outside and also come to notice exactly this as well.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Most didn't have an understanding of talents so far up the Planes. But those that did soon explained what was likely happening, causing the entire atmosphere to sink.

It wasn't that Empana was alive that really pissed them off. They didn't care whether this Lizard Demon lived or died. It wasn't even that they had hoped to see Ryu in despair, either. After his initial reaction to Empana's state, it was a clear that he didn't have deep feeling for this Lizard Demon.

The main issue they were all thinking of was…

How was Ryu using Bloodline Resonance so easily and so continuously?

It was clear that Ryu had managed to have an unfathomable breakthrough. They had been worried about it before, but seeing the actual result left their expressions twisted and ugly.

…

Ryu slowly increased the pressure until it returned to the seventh layer. Then he let go.

He sat there in silence, knowing that this was where things would truly begin to ramp up.

While he was using Bloodline Resonance, he had no choice but to suppress the actual effects of the Rotten Sea. Due to that, Empana was only getting small segments of the surrounding waters.

Now, however, he was truly basking in the pressure of the Rotten Seas and getting a full baptism.

Almost instantly, the cracks across his body began to glow a bright red. His progress suddenly accelerated and his Bloodline was tempered again and again.

Ryu's eyes narrowed because he could sense something ancient awakening in Empana's Bloodline.

Ryu had already said that he didn't believe the Lizard Demons descended from Dragons, but he was inclined to believe that they had descended from some powerful snake beasts of the past, and maybe even the World Serpent.

The rivalry between the Dragons and World Serpents was well known. It was so deeply ingrained that even after the World Serpents became the Bone Serpents; it was still a grudge that remained.

It was said that the World Serpents were the largest beasts in all of existence, known for having bodies that would wrap all the way around entire worlds at their peak.

It was also said that even as children, they had worlds inside their bellies, allowing them to devour any and all things. They were insatiable creatures, and rather than wrapping around a world, it was more accurate to say that they swallowed them whenever they got the chance.

Just now, Ryu had sensed a hint of that devouring character coming from Empana. How could he not react to it?

However, it was clear that this devouring character was mutated and seemed to also be tailored toward flames.

Ryu didn't care. This was a huge change, and an unexpected boon at that.

He had never told anyone, but he had a theory for why it was that Dragons won their battle, and it wasn't that the World Serpents were weaker.

The World Serpents were a creature very much hated. They threw off the balance of worlds and their Karma was absolutely terrible. Even before they became Demons, they were well known as such.

In their prime, the World Serpents might have been even stronger than the Dragons. Their abilities were more shared across their species, so they had larger numbers of experts working on refining the same path. By contrast, the Dragons had countless variations within themselves.

If Ryu could awaken a World Serpent, at least in part…

This would be a huge boon.

BOOM!

There was a sudden BANG! that came from Empana's stomach and Ryu's eyes began to shine as bright as stars.

He had actually done it. He had formed the World Devouring stomach.