Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

When Ryu appeared again, a bolt was just passing by before it froze. Young Master Bright was so fast that even though he reacted instantly, he was already thousands of miles ahead of Ryu by the time he turned around. His pupils constricted into pinholes. How… how had Ryu made it here before him? Ryu didn't even look at him. Like he had been from the very beginning, these geniuses were nothing more than stepping stones in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, he would crush them one after another, no matter the challenge they posed, no matter the state of his body, no matter what… outside forces wanted to interfere. The result would be just the same in his eyes. He would never lose. Ryu vanished again. Young Master Bright hung in the skies as some began to catch up. The Dragon Prince and Princess soared in after him, their speed slowed down by the fact they insisted on moving together. Then came the large number of figures. But Young Master Bright was still there in a bit of daze, unsure of how to act or react. He was a genius; he could vaguely sense what Ryu had done, but this… 'Was that Breath of Quintessence?' Meditation State. Breath of Earth. Breath of Heaven. Breath of World. One with Self. One with Earth. One with Heaven. One with World… And then there was the absolute highest of them all, a State of Meditation that loomed mighty and should have been untouchable. Breath of Quintessence. It was said that a single whiff of this so-called breath could bring a mortal to Dao God in an instant of time. It was also said that this was the energy that descended when a mortal reached enlightenment, allowing the gentle progression of their abilities to the very peak. How could someone just… casually enter it? It wasn't that Young Master Bright didn't know of the abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. It might not even be an exaggeration that he was more familiar with their parameters than Ryu himself was. This wasn't to say that Ryu didn't understand his Heavenly Pupils. But Ryu's Pupils were very different from those of others because he had unlocked all 999 Seals so early on in his cultivation path, not to mention pushed them so far they went dormant, only to be revived by a mutated Phoenix Rebirth Talent. Ryu's Pupils simply weren't the same as others of the Mystery Lineage to begin with. Plus, there was the fact that Young Master Bright had grown up in a far better environment than Ryu, not to mention had a vested interest in understanding everything about the Mystery Lineage. That was all to say that he knew that the Focus skill of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils existed… but maybe even Ryu didn't know that he wasn't supposed to be able to use it with such impunity. Ryu had never struggled with Focus. As early as he unlocked his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he had easily been able to sink into the first three states. As his cultivation increased, the others came only just as naturally. It wasn't even remotely a struggle for him. When he could finally touch Breath of Quintessence, he didn't even second-guess it. But aside from shock right now… there was a light of furious greed in Bright's eyes. If he could just have the faintest whiff, just the slightest bit of a touch of Breath of Quintessence… just how powerful would he be? He clenched and unclenched his fists as others soared by him. He hardly reacted to them at all, his mind elsewhere. He had been studying the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils for too long, and they were simply perfect… to complement his War God Pupils. The strongest combat Heavenly Pupils paired with the strongest comprehension Heavenly Pupils… Just what sort of monster would that create? Young Master Bright pivoted in the air and shot off again, this time even faster than before. He zoomed by one participant after another, a fiendish howl coming from his Dao Heart. This place… this place would be where he rose to the very top. … Young Master Shade came to a stop, once again at the end of the group. He rose his nose to the skies, sniffing slightly. Then, a peculiar expression crossed his face. 'He passed me? When? What scent is that? Why is it so strong? Why does it fill me with such excitement?' He didn't realize it… or maybe he did, but he was standing in the same exact location Ryu had been in when he suddenly appeared on the second platform. 'Fascinating… Fascinating… Fascinating… I can even sense Nether Qi coming from him. Is this the power of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils? No… it feels more powerful than any I've seen before…' Shade chuckled. It seems that there was a reason why it had taken so long for another pair to appear. The balance of Karma was hard to predict, and if such a valuable talent was born, then it could only be the case that Heaven had given it a lot of tender care and affection before it was successfully formed. Shade licked his lips, the excitement in his eyes only growing with every passing moment. His bloodthirst sank into his very being and threatened to overflow once again. A tent began to grow on the lower half of his robes, his blood flowing to places it hadn't in a very, very… very long time. His excitement reached a peak and he covered his face with a palm, laughing up to the skies. He had really thought that he would be bored coming here. But to think… to think that there was such a man waiting. "Good. Good. Good." … Ryu appeared on the highest of the clouds, his expression calm as he looked ahead to find that someone had arrived first. Solara.