Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The square of people turned silent. Had they just let a World Sea Realm expert... escape them? Just what level of Spatial affinity did that take? Of course, they had seen the God Treasure, but they were all specialists of the Seventh Heaven, how could they not comprehend that Ryu could enter the emptiness even without the aid of that treasure. Just who was that boy? Was he from the Eighth Heaven? They looked toward one another, but no one had an answer. They could only wait.

What none of them expected was that that wait would take another three months. Ryu had exited the Heavenly Path, so they had all assumed that the next batch would come soon, but this wasn't what happened at all.

After waiting for so long, some even began to think that maybe it was the case that Ryu had fallen for the allure of the treasures and he wasn't that great at all. That would explain many things, and maybe the artifact he had taken out was just a facade for the real treasure he used to escape?

But very soon, as their geniuses finally began to come out, they soon realized just how ridiculous their thoughts were.

These thoughts, though, didn't even have a chance to fully take root as a rumbling of the ground shook them to their core.

A Sect was rising?!

They had lost count of how many generations had passed since this last occurred. The suppression of the Seventh Heaven on the Sixth was so absolute that they even dictated the number of Hegemonic Daos that could appear below.

They sent individuals recently to deal with the fact that this quota had been surpassed, and this was a bit of a precursor to the fact that it seemed the Sixth Heaven was rebelling, but they had still received no news in return as to why this might be the case.

And now, it seemed that they were going to receive their answer.

The Seventh Heaven was completely shaken when a Sect they thought to be long gone had returned.

Not only had the Radiant Star Sect come back... But they had come back with a Dao Sovereign at their helm.

...

"How could you all allow this?! Didn't I say to slaughter every Radiant Star Sect member you came across?!"

"We did," Starlight replied lightly. "Unfortunately, their rise to the Seventh Heaven was accomplished thanks to one person. And even if he didn't succeed, Selheira would have done it on her own."

"... So Selheira truly joined the Radiant Star Sect? What is she thinking, exactly?"

"Her family allows her to do as she pleases despite the tantrum she is throwing. It is simply the way of the Crystal Dragons. They do not force obedience. They simply allow individuals the time and space to realize and come to comprehend the error of their ways. They believe that Selheira will one day return to them of her own volition once she realized that they had always been correct."

Starlight spoke in a light tone.

In truth, he had always been a calm person. He greeted mostly everyone with a smile that was just as calm, and the only one who had ever made him lose his temper was Ryu Tatsuya.

Now, he seemed to have matured further and his calm had solidified. Even facing his elders now and their uproarious rage, he was still just as calm.

Currently, he stood in a grand hall of the Fading Star Sect. The walls and fixtures were decked out in black marble with sparkling veins of silver. Chandeliers of gold with flickering flames of dark rainbow hung high from the ceilings of off of the walls.

It was hard to tell if this place was meant to be a paradise, or if it was nothing more than a depiction of hell. The atmosphere was no different.

At the helm, an old man with a vibrant aura of youth sat. His skin was partially greyed, but his eyes were sharp.

This was a man who rarely showed himself, and the one Dao Sovereign of the Fading Star Sect.

Sovereign Black Worm.

It was hard to tell why such a man would pick such a name for himself, but what was obvious was that he had already reached a station in life that cut off any thoughts of snickering or subterfuge.

Of all the enraged voices in the hall, only he and Starlight seemed to be calm.

"You seem confident, child." Sovereign Black Worm uttered softly.

The entire hall became silent. Any roars or unruly voices becoming muffled in an instant.

"I have succeeded in my goal for now, and I've already set a new one. I have purpose and drive I didn't have before, Ancestor."

Sovereign Black Worm looked at Starlight for a long while. Just when he was about to say something, he changed his mind and a peculiar glint lit his pupils as he veered the conversation in a different direction.

"Explain."

"I faced a true Founding Dao almost a year ago now and it awakened something within me. I've realized that I still have much room for growth and a long road to travel. I cannot, myself, form a Founding Dao, but forming a Founding Dao is not the only way to reach Godhood. The Dao is ultimately just one of six pillars, and if I cannot bring one to the extreme, then I will do my best to raise up the others.

"After the last round of the Heavenly Path, I was lucky enough to receive the complete inheritance of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign."

"Oh?"

The eyes of the various elders lit up even more than Dao Sovereign Black Worm.

"Yes. I will take from the inheritance what I need and discard the rest. I will make it into my own path, and once I succeed, I will face that Founding Dao wielder once more and this time, I will not cower."

Dao Sovereign Black Worm's very eyes seemed to curl into a smile.