Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu made it to the stone maze. However, rather than carefully picking his entrance like many others did, he simply chose the first one he came across, standing the furthest to the right.

He rose his head, his gaze happening to meet King Adonis'. The latter, who had just finished explaining things, had been observing the proceedings much like everyone else had been. Without much surprise, his gaze had spent most of its time on Ryu.

Having become used to Ryu never looking at him, he hadn't been prepared for the sudden change and by the time their gazes met, it was already too late to look away. But.. who was he, as a World Sea Realm expert, to fret the gaze of a small pup like Ryu?

However, rather than getting into a staring contest, Ryu only matched King Adonis' gaze for a split moment before looking away, the depth of his gaze almost reaching the heart of the World Sea Realm King. Somehow, Adonis felt that he had been seen through completely.

'He has Elena's aura on him.'

Ryu's gaze flashed with a blazing cold light. If not for his control, his gaze alone would have dressed down this King Adonis. He wouldn't be surprised if this supposed King was one of his wife's many suitors, and yet he had to stand here an accept it.

His mind flashed with thoughts of trampling the Martial Gods beneath his feet, of filling the Shrine Plane with forests of fire and skies of lightning. A deep, murderous intent caused his heart to thump and beat wildly even as his face remained expressionless.

If one could cut open his chest right now, it would be possible to see his heart covered in violet scales, pumping as though the heart of a Dragon or Qilin. It caused a rush of vitality to fill Ryu's body, breathing life into him with each contraction.

"… Begin."

King Adonis' words were slow and deliberate, but Ryu's steps were equally so. He strolled into the forest of stone without looking back, his body vanishing in the darkness.

Despite the fact the maze seemed to have no overhead cover, when those who entered looked up, all they could find was a vast nothingness as though they had entered the depths of space. It was only the spectators on the outside that could see their actions.

However, to Ryu, his pupils were completely unaffected. Even though he too was shrouded in darkness, with just a single thought, he could see right through it all.

His steps seemed to be slow, but he was far beyond what a mortal could match at full tilt. Ryu realized very soon, though, that this maze wasn't so simple. There was something working against his steps. He could even feel that the maze was actually shifting around as well. In fact, what the maze was shifting about seemed to be fixed as well.

It was hard to explain but easy for Ryu to conceptualize. Whatever movements the maze was making now was akin to different sized gears moving about one another. The speed at which these parts spun was dependent on the speed of the person who had entered the entrance.

From what Ryu could tell, depending on which tunnel you entered, it was beneficial to you to either be slow or fast to minimize the number of opponents you would come across.

After some simple calculations, Ryu realized that his particular entrance required a speed of about two meters a second to minimize the number of opponents he was facing. This would fluctuate depending on what those who entered the entrances by him did. However, Ryu was always able to instantly adjust.

If it was any other situation, Ryu might have done the exact opposite of this, choosing the speed that would maximize his opponents so that he could continue to train and push himself. But, this situation was a bit different from others.

He could feel a lingering guillotine over his head. This was why he didn't care about anything else and focused on eating as much as he could. It was also why he hadn't gone all out to kill Arteur as fast as he could previously.

He had come here not to prove anything, nor was he foolish enough to think that he could deal the Martial Gods a blow in his current state.

He had come for two reasons alone: to see his wife and to make sure that she was safe. There was nothing more and nothing less.

Knowing that Elena would likely be in danger during her ceremony only made Ryu's resolve to come all the more sturdy. As her husband, he wouldn't allow any burden he could carry to land on her shoulders. She had carried enough in these last near billion years. He wouldn't let her carry any more.

To outside viewers, Ryu's movements were shocking.

He would perfectly speed up and slow down, often avoiding another entrance connecting to his own by a hair's breadth.

He strolled through and his pace seeming to be even. The only thing that changed was the length of his stride. However, everything from the rhythm of his breath to the pendulum of his legs remained exactly the same, almost eerily so.

By the time everyone looked up, Ryu had made it to the opposite entrance, not having fought even a single battle and being the very first to claim one of the nine spots despite the fact he hadn't been moving nearly the fastest.

The difference was simply too striking. Some unlucky bastards were forced to battle again and again and again, barely surviving one onslaught only to fall into another. Sometimes, even three or four entrances would come together, leading to battle royales with often tragic endings where not a single soul survived.

Clashes of battle rang through the stone maze, but Ryu didn't even turn back as it had little to nothing to do with him.

A sparkling tag of qi began to form before him. With an outstretch of his hand, Ryu grasped it, his expression indifferent.

A trial of the Martial Gods? A contest of children? This wasn't the stage he planned to stand on.