Grand Ancestral Bloodlines
chapter-1901

Ryu's expression was entirely indifferent. In fact, he had already retracted his blade as he took another step.

He didn't use his Spacetime Soul Nature for reasons only he was aware of. He was sharp and unbothered as a small soul appeared on his forehead. His, however, seemed to be completely counter to the delicate tea green of Emerald Vine's. His own was pitch black and exuded an aura as such.

Ryu vanished again and attacked once more. Emerald Vine was far more serious this time and was ready to counter as well. Her soul began to form hand seals again, but at this moment, Ryu mumbled something.

"[Lines of Fate]."

The world turned into black and white lines in his eyes, even the beautiful Emerald Vine becoming nothing more than a series of probabilities.

He focused on his soul, and in the eyes of everyone else, the moment Emerald Vine's soul began to form hand seals, his moved at the same time.

At first, it seemed like Ryu was directly copying, but only Emerald Vine could see through the secrets. He wasn't copying, he was countering.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

…

Those on the outside were shocked once again. Manifesting the soul like that was extremely difficult. The lower the cultivation, the more difficult it was.

This all but guaranteed that Ryu's soul talent was exceptional.

When they recognized the talent, their hearts skipped a beat.

"The Perfect Blackbody…"

Those words hadn't meant much to Ryu in the past, especially not when he first got it. But to the world, it was known as the soul with endless potential, endless room for growth, endless paths to take…

Now, it seemed simple and unadorned as though Ryu had never bothered to pull out its full potential. But it was hard for any of them to say this when the next scenes unfolded.

…

Ryu's blade appeared flashing through the skies and Emerald Vine was forced to dodge again and again.

No matter how fast her soul moved, how many times she changed her approach, it didn't matter. Ryu countered them all. At one point, his soul even began forming hand seals faster than hers did.

Every time she was countered, she was forced to escape again and again.

Realizing that things weren't going well, Emerald Vine grit her teeth and changed tactics. She spread out her palms and a pair of whips appeared, lashing out at Ryu from two sides.

Ryu didn't seem to fear these at all. He parried them both with his great swordstaffs and it only took him a single exchange to realize that Emerald Vine was far weaker in direct combat. That much was obvious by her initial combat style… and that left an opening for him.

His wrists twisted and the vines flicked off to the side.

Emerald Vine was about to use her movement technique again, but this time, the instant she vanished into a cyclone of green leaves, so too did Ryu vanish.

By the time she realized what was wrong, it was already too late.

Ryu was in front of her when she appeared, his blade slicing down in the same arc.

The green-skinned woman was cut in two.

…

Silence.

It was hard to tell when the last time anyone had talked was in the first place. From the start, it didn't even seem like it was a battle between two characters of vastly different cultivation levels. Many even felt like the projection didn't do Emerald Vine justice at all.

That was when everyone noticed that there was a new addition to the crowd.

It was a beautiful woman with delicate tea-green skin. She had a light smile on her face and a graceful elegance to her. Just the slightest whiff of her fragrance could leave one feeling endlessly at peace.

Sovereign Emerald Vine.

Their expressions couldn't help but change. The woman was actually here, how did she feel about this?

"There's no need for all of you to look at me like that," she said with a smile. "I've never been good at direct combat and this boy is… an excellent counter to me. I rely on Feng Shui a lot in my combat, and the Goddess has told me once before that it was a mistake to rely on it too much unless I could guarantee that I wouldn't run into an opponent that's better than I am in understanding it.

"I've since changed my reliance on it thanks to the guidance of the Goddess, and looking at this battle now, it seems quite clear that she was correct."

The words were light and airy, but it sent another wave of shock through them all. That was because this was essentially admitting that in the field of Feng Shui, Ryu was actually better than a Transcended two steps above him who had dedicated her life to that very method.

It was truly shocking and difficult for them to expect. But Emerald Vine wouldn't lie to put herself down in favor of a young man they didn't even know.

In fact, of them all, Emerald Vine was probably among the most angry that Ryu hadn't bowed to the Goddess. How could she come to protect him?

All of their gazes moved back to Ryu, their expressions flickering.

…

Ryu didn't seem proud of his accomplishment at all. He felt that it was only natural. This woman did have a particularly large weakness. In fact, he didn't even need to use his Chaos Qi to defeat her. Before him, she was as weak as wet tissue paper.

But that wasn't bad either. At least he got to save on stamina.

The world rippled and soon a second figure began to form.

It was a lanky man with flowing black hair and deep abysses for eyes. His eyes didn't have any sclera at all; they might as well have been a pair of black marble balls.

Ryu's eyes narrowed. 'Quibus Faerie?'

He didn't expect this at all.

What he also couldn't see was the horror of those on the outside.

How could this disgrace appear in their trial?