Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

It suddenly became incredibly difficult for normal individuals to breathe. The atmosphere was simply too tense. They couldn't understand how a junior dared to say these words to the Apostles!

Ryu didn't say he wanted to spar, he didn't say he wanted to battle or test his skill… He said he wanted to kill!

"Do you understand the gravity of what you've just said?" Fidroha drew out her words long and slow.

Ryu calmly found his spot on a familiar platform of white tile. It was as though he didn't notice that Byrine's body still lay unconscious, nor did he care that the stage judge was attempting to care for him. He only met Fidroha's gaze once more with a bland, emotionless light.

"Of course." He responded. "If I put it any other way, there would be too many excuses later on. It's better for me to make myself clear right now."

Fidroha wanted to speak more, but Edwin's laughter didn't allow her the opportunity.

"Commander, please allow me this. Do not worry, I won't kill him… I'll only break every bone in his body to the point where he won't dare to fight back again!"

Edwin's words caused many astute individuals to frown. He promised not to kill Ryu? Why was this Ryu so important? Was this the reason he dared to be so unbridled?

Edwin leaped from Fidroha back, his leg strength alone being enough to carry him through the skies over a hundred meters before he landed with a quaking boom upon the arena. The stage judge had no choice but to fly from the stage, Byrine's body in hand.

"The kind of person I hate the most is the kind who overestimates himself."

Edwin released the restraint on his aura. When he was around his Commander, showing off his slight skill was nothing more than asking to be punished. However, before an ant like Ryu, he could be as unbridled as he pleased.

A familiar red aura shook the air around him. Spiraling cracks deformed for the white tiles beneath his feet, spreading outward in a pattern that was both ferocious and oddly beautiful.

The last time Ryu had seen this qi, Edwin had used it to attack him. However, it didn't truly seem like qi either. It felt more like Vital Qi, but wasn't entirely like that either.

Vital Qi was the energy type cultivated during Body Realm cultivation. When Ryu tempered his blood, what he was really doing was saturating it with Vital Qi. As his Body Realm cultivation increased, this saturation point also increased, allowing his body to withstand more and more.

As his Vital Qi increased, his blood would circulate about his body and uniformly greaten its quality and strength. This was the cycle of Body Realm cultivation.

'This is a very special cultivation technique, Little Ryu. These Apostles have the ability to create a fusion of the Body and Qi Realms. This is not a simple additive impact on their strength, it's very nearly exponential. His strength is already a sliver away from a normal Immortal Ring expert.'

Ailsa hadn't bothered to explain these things to Ryu before because she knew he would do this anyway. But now that it was already happening, she felt she had to say something.

'If it wasn't at least this difficult, why would I waste my time coming here? If his strength was already below mine, I wouldn't even care to seek revenge anymore.'

Ryu swept a gaze over Edwin and turned his head up toward Fidroha.

"Have you agreed?"

Edwin was so eager to battle that he seemed to have forgotten that Fidroha had yet to give her assent.

Fidroha's expression flickered. She suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. Why was it that this Ryu had no reaction to Edwin's strength?

'It doesn't matter. No matter how talented he is, he was raised in this pitiful environment. There aren't more than a few handfuls of Eleventh Order Thrones in all of the Cosmos, and there are even few that dare to make such a Throne their second. Taking him to the headquarters is already as good as fulfilling my mission even if he wins by some inexplicable miracle…'

"I agree."

Thinking to this point, Fidroha calmed. Even if she gave up all of her wealth now, the rewards she would receive for bringing Ryu back wouldn't be small.

The one with the worst reaction to this situation was Fuoco himself. How could he not see how valued Ryu was by these Apostles? How could he ever get his hands on his pupils like this?

Nodding faintly, Ryu turned back to face Edwin. With a casual wave of his hand, a storm of death qi suddenly enveloped the arena. It was so suffocating and dark that many lost color as though their blood was being drained from their bodies.

By the time their sight cleared enough to lay eyes on this corpse puppet, their hearts were struck with an incomprehensible feeling. Was this really a corpse…? Why did it seem so alive? How was it possible that it had the sinister aura of a blood sucking demon, yet also the elegance and beauty of a dark elven princess?

Esme's body was wrapped in a bold armor alternating in black leather and shining obsidian-like metal. Her grey skin gave off an exotic aura even as her hair, black as night, whipped beneath Edwin's pulsing qi.

Despite her delicate frame, she held a violet spear with a silver head that stood more than a foot taller than her. Yet, considering the sharp qi that wafted from her, it didn't even remotely feel out of place.

"Peak Sixth Order corpse puppet?!"

The other participants of the Final Selection Tournament suddenly felt faint. All of their pent up dissatisfaction toward Ryu had already mostly dissipated after he defeated Byrine so easily, but seeing for themselves how truly large the disparity was made whatever remain disappear entirely.

Matheus' eyes narrowed. He wasn't a layman in Necromancy like these people were. He could see just how extraordinary this corpse puppet was with a single glance.

'I… I really can't tell what sort of refinement method he used…' Matheus was inwardly shocked.

"Esme?! ESME!"

In that moment, a roar shook the arena. The rage of an Immortal Ring expert was nothing that could be ignored.

Two white haired, middle aged men shot into the skies, their eyes bloodied with indignation.

Ryu didn't even need to look toward them. He knew how this matter would end.

A light snort completely suppressed their bubbling cries of fury, leaving them frozen in the air.

"I ask that these two experts of the Zu Clan not interfere. This matter is already beyond your reach."

Though Ancestor Ember spoke calmly, there was an undeniable magnetism within his voice that left the two Zu Clan members completely stifled.

Who else could these two men be if not the two Immortal Ring Realm experts the Zu Clan sent to lay their foundation within the Core Region?

The fact that Ryu was using Esme as his own personal soldier was already enough of an insult. But, for him to not even bother to attempt to hide her identity was a smack in the face that was completely intolerable. However, how could the two of them face off against a Path Extinction Realm expert?

The two experts fiercely trembled, but in the end, they could only swallow their rage and leave the arena at their fastest possible speed. How could they have the face to remain here?

Ancestor Ember's purpose in appearing here wasn't to observe the youth. He could care less which genius of the younger generation earned the right to enter that Legacy World. His true purpose was to act as the anchor of Pedestal Plane and ensure that no one tested the prestige of the Apostles. Though Fidroha could do so herself, if he allowed this to happen, there would be consequences he wasn't equipped to deal with.

Since Fidroha had agreed to this bet, how could he allow others to interfere?

Edwin sneered at these turn of events. "It seems you're nothing but a fool who seeks to make enemies at every turn. After I teach you a lesson, I won't mind handing over your half-dead body to the two of them for a little while."

"The term enemy implies that I see you to be at or above my level. For a person like you or them, it's more accurate to call you a steppingstone."

Hearing these words, Edwin was so enraged that he began to laugh.

"This puny little corpse is why you're so overconfident? Watch as I pummel it into the ground!"

The moment this roar left his lips, the ground beneath his feet shattered as he propelled himself forward.. The devastation left in his wake was so severe that the stage array's foundation faltered and cracked, sending his qi barreling out of its confines.