Grand Ancestral Bloodlines
chapter-1493

Primus appeared high in the skies, facing off against a Fate Star that dwarfed him in size. To say that he was a speck of dust before it wouldn't be an exaggeration at all. The density of silvery light was so blinding that it was difficult even for him to look at it directly, and that was even after it dimmed considerably.

Even so, he reached forward and grabbed a chain link as thick as a world. Almost the instant he did, he felt something assault his very Dao Heart.

"Cute." He sneered to himself. "I suggest you come personally, or else I'll shatter your little contraption with a single squeeze."

"Do you think that's possible?"

A voice echoed from nowhere, and yet everywhere at once. If one didn't know better, one would think that it was the star itself that had spoken. But this was quite far from the truth. Rather, it was the owner of the chains.

"Someone like you who would seal away an infant in their mother's womb because you fear what they might become is weak. I do not believe you could form any technique that could pause my steps for even a moment," Primus replied.

There was silence for a long while before a response came.

"Then do it."

Primus' sneer became a wild grin as his claw snapped downward.

Dragon's Claw.

CRACK.

The roar of a dragon echoed through the depths of space even when Primus didn't open his lips. It was as though his movements alone could evoke the will of the ancient beast, reverberating through reality itself.

The chain link shattered.

A fluctuation rippled, and though it quickly calmed, nothing escaped Primus' senses, not in the depths of battle.

An uproarious laughter echoed. "If there was a child you should have crushed in their mother's womb, it should have been I, Primus Tatsuya."

Primus arms stretched out and an overwhelming strength billowed forth. He grabbed forward again and another chain link shattered, then another in quick succession.

Three attempts, and three successes. For every chain link that shattered, the entire length of chain would crumble and then dissipate, unable to maintain its strength.

Ryu's Fate Star, which was still struggling to turn, began to struggle even fiercer even as it slowly dimmed.

"The Fire Dragons want to stand in opposition to the Martial Gods? I would suggest you think about this very carefully."

Primus' gaze flashed, not with hesitation, but with fury.

Who dared to speak to him like this?

"Come and say those words while standing before me. We'll see if you dare to speak them a third time."

Primus' hand ripped forward and two more chain links trembled.

The voice suddenly chuckled. "Is there a need for all of this? At this point, it doesn't matter if I dissipate the chains at all. He's reached the end of his potential and the Heavens consider his dead. Even if the Heavens reverse their decision, the dissipated Fate won't suddenly return.

"The potential he was promised upon birth has dried up and he'll be lucky even to become an Omniscient Sky God.

"He should also be the one who formed the Founding Dao I sensed, correct? Without the backing of his original Fate, and with such a Dao anchoring him, he might not even make it to Perfect Sky God. What use would he be to you?

"But you insist on becoming enemies with me for a cripple?"

The words sounded truly amused. The dimming of Ryu's star wasn't just some cosmetic change, it was a visual representation of his potential being sapped away.

Ryu was born to be the luckiest man in existence. He would have had all the talent, and the Heavenly Favor to match it. He might have truly reached the pinnacle he sought after given enough time, and that time span would have likely been far shorter than anyone else had used to reach that stage in all of history.

But now, all of that potential was being eaten away at.

Even before, this was why he was so unlucky. He kept stumbling along his path because his Fate Star and the luck he was promised was locked away, while he kept reaching forward toward the potential he was promised.

But now, although he wouldn't be so unlucky as his Fate Star could finally move again, his future potential was still mostly cut off.

One didn't just need talent to reach the end, they needed luck. The more talented you were, the heavier that luck needed to be, or else you would end up like the little woman... having all of that talent and yet stopping at the Transcendent Sky God Realm as her life was expunged.

For Ryu who had a Founding Dao, he might not even reach as high as the little woman before reaching the end of his lifespan.

It also most definitely didn't help that this ordeal would take a huge portion out of his lifespan as well. You couldn't just straddle the edge of life and death lacking losing some life.

Putting all of this perspective, it made Primus' efforts seem laughable. The Dao God even assumed that Primus was doing all of this for the sake of familial love, something he found even more amusing.

However, Primus' grin didn't vanish.

"Do you think I give a damn?"

Silence fell.

"You talk about as much as I would expect from trash. If you desire to say more, come here and face me. If you're too cowardly, then stay where you are and shut your mouth, or else in the future, I'll make sure the name of the Martial Gods holds no weight at all."

CRACK.

Primus shredded apart chain link after chain link, and eventually, the balance was tipped.

Ryu's Destiny Star roared with life and finally began to rotate. At first, it was slow, but when it snapped its first chain on its own, it began to move faster and faster until it released a radiant light.

In the Life Shrine, Ryu's smile hadn't faded, and the cracked ceramic that was his body began to reassemble itself together again, solidifying once more as a flood of revelations returned to him.

'Hm? Those Lines of Fate...?'