Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu's eyes shone as bright as torches. "Let's move. We're changing directions."

There was something peculiar that Ryu had noticed until now. First, other than the time that he had faced off against the six Sovereigns at once, beasts didn't cross into the territories of other beasts, even when there was a huge commotion. This didn't sound like much, and Ryu, too, felt that it was an insignificant matter. After all, respecting everyone's territory was the best way to protect yourself in a world like this one. But there were several problems with this. The first and most obvious was… how could such a disorganized Beast Domain suddenly become so organized? The second was that there was no way that a beast wouldn't be interested in a battle of equal power and strength between those that it was also wary of. After all, these beasts had the intelligence of humans and far surpassed the intelligence of humans in many cases. If someone was attacking their neighbor, they should want to know. It could be said that part of the reason they had had such an easy time of it was because of this very reason. And the third was just a matter of greed. These beasts were obsessed with evolution, weren't they? Two beasts of power equal to their own fighting in their territory should be a feast to them. If they both got injured, and one of them died, wouldn't that be the perfect time for them to swoop in and take advantage? Lu'card's figure flashed and sliced through space, suddenly coming to a stop. There, down below, was the corpse of an enormous blue-scaled crocodile. It had been there for days and it was still there. Although some of the weaker beasts had tried to eat it, its scales were too powerful and its aura too menacing. This was part of the reason why Ryu had chosen to just leave it there. Since they couldn't subdue this one, leaving it as a reminder of what could happen to those that didn't obey was the best use of it. When they saw that they could do nothing even to its corpse, this would settle in all the more. However, it had been several days since then. An entire three, to be exact. And yet, there were no Sovereigns that had taken action to seize the corpse? Ryu had left detection mechanisms to know when this occurred so that he could be ready to deal with them instantly. That was also part of how Lu'card had made it back here so quickly. At first, he had thought that maybe someone had managed to get by his detection mechanisms, but when he saw that the corpse was still there, his expression became more solemn. Something was beginning to piece together in his mind, and he searched through his memories, recalling the layout of territories. They were so strict with their territories, to the point of not coming out even at the sight of something so enticing… And the only time they broke that rule was when they sensed a roar of a beast they didn't recognize… Did they even truly break the rule either? Only six beasts appeared, and for his own safety, Ryu chose a place in the middle of several territories so that it would take a while before the Sovereigns got to him. After all, he couldn't deal with a Sovereign alone. So, on the one hand, the rule might not have been broken at all because he was in a no-man's land, and on the other… the might of a Dragon wasn't part of this little land of theirs, so they had likely seen it to be an outsider. The more Ryu thought about this, the more he felt that there was something particularly shocking going on. 'A breeding ground? A prison? A jail where the prisoners are its own wards? For what purpose?' Ryu didn't need to think much. Just logically speaking, he could tell what the value was. Hundreds of beasts that had all reached the pinnacle through different paths and means… if it wasn't for the sake of finishing his wife's goal for him earlier, then he would have been interested in checking their corpses as well. But he hadn't had the chance to… Until now. Ryu waved a hand and the crocodile corpse entered his inner world. He then ignored everything else and poured all of his attention onto it. Then he began to cross-reference what he was seeing with the other six corpses that he had gathered from their first battle. The more Ryu looked, the more he was unable to find anything. He would have already begun to grow frustrated in the past, but right now, separate from his Dao Heart and his Perfect Blackbody, he could feel hints of his true self returning… That man who sat patiently in a library for years, trying to make something useful of himself so that he wouldn't disappoint his family, his Clan. That was when it struck him. Soul. He looked into their souls and didn't find anything immediately. Beasts didn't have souls in the normal sense, and everything was perfectly integrated into their bodies. As such, it was hard for Ryu, who didn't have a normal understanding of them, to find much. But then he recalled something far more important. He did have experience with beast souls. Wasn't that how he formed his contracts? How did he act then? And how was that different now? As these thoughts swam around in his head, he began piecing together the last pieces of the puzzle, and then his gaze suddenly flashed. 'This is possible too…?'

If Ryu was correct, this was the most shocking plan that he had ever seen. Whoever was controlling this Beast Domain in the shadows wanted one thing: to take advantage of the strong Dao Hearts of these beasts, taking it for themselves and finding a shortcut to strengthening their Temperament and thus their talent. BANG!

The moment Ryu had this thought, he felt as though a crimson bolt of lightning had struck him in the head. A heart-rending pain tore his heart apart.

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