It would have been one thing if this was a problem being faced by the Armament Guild alone, but all over the martial world Or rather, the Sacrum Universe, spatial riffs had cracked and split open, unleashing a flood of Ancient Beasts on the human population for the first time in several Eras.

To make matters worse, not only had these Ancient Beasts returned seemingly wielding more power than they ever had before, but they were able to rally lesser beast Clans under their banner, causing a surge of beast tides across worlds and an awakening of many slumbering creatures.

Many human Clans and Sects were completely caught off guard by this change. In just moments, many had already died and even more weren't certain of what the future would hold from this point forward. But, what was clear to those with sharp minds was that the Ancestral Beasts had yet to put in even a modicum of their true effort.

The strongest of them were only lower Eleventh Order existences who relaxed as they sent their juniors forward. It was as though they were trying to crush the morale of humans piece by piece, making them realize just which of them were truly the superior race and which of them deserved to be crushed beneath the feet of the other.

All those years ago, the beasts had been thoroughly humiliated. They gave everything they had to defeat the Fey and when they finally got a chance to rule the world as they themselves had earned, their Bloodlines began to weaken and wane, allowing humans to take advantage and become the new ruling race.

Generations of fury and pent up frustration was all unleashed at once and the difference was drastic.

Humans already had trouble fighting normal beasts at the same level. As these beasts with denser bloodlines and higher talent manifested themselves one after another, the disparity only grew greater. Beasts capable of fighting across two and even sometimes three Realms of cultivation began to appear, drowning out the efforts of Humans attempting to fight back and condemning them to hell.

Battlefields scattered across Sacrum began to flood the earth with rivers of blood And yet, the Armament Guild, one of the largest targets for the Ancient Beasts, had ironically become among the most peaceful.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ryu and Lu'card's battle didn't seem like an exchange between juniors. They weaved in an out of space like Cosmic Seed Realm experts, wielded comprehensions that put World Sea Realm experts to shame, had pure bodily strength that some weak Sky Gods couldn't dream of replicating

It felt as though all those spectating had been drawn into a dream and forced to acknowledge their inferiority.

'Interesting' Ru'cil's gaze narrowed.

Neither had used their Heavenly Pupils. Ru'cil had been shocked that Ryu even had Heavenly Pupils to begin with. He had only initially felt that Ryu would be a good candidate to be the first crushed. With his insight, he was able to tell that if Ryu fell, there probably wouldn't be anyone else worthy of stepping up. By then, everything would end simply and easily.

But, what he didn't know was that Ryu was a relative unknown to most of the Armament Guild. It was only after he removed his mask that some eyes widened, but even then, it was only among the highest echelon.

Simply put, his loss wouldn't have the impact that Ru'cil was expecting. And, to make matters worse It wasn't certain that he would lose either.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ryu's saber was as flexible as a whip and as fast as lightning. He didn't use any techniques because he simply didn't know any, but it didn't seem to matter in the slightest.

Every one of his swings was venomous to an extreme and seemed to carry a unique air to it capable of slicing through any and everything. Due to this, Lu'card had had no choice but to unleash his strongest defense, coating his body in a dense layer of spatial qi that warped reality wherever it passed.

Lu'card himself, though, was no less impressive. His fists weighed like mountain, his claws were as sharp as blades, even his kicks were just as venomous and whip-like as Ryu's saber.

He was an absolute expert in close combat. Whether it was his fists, elbows, feet, even something like his shoulders and head, they all became weapons. Beneath the might of spatial control, even the dullest blade could become sharp enough to split the skies in two and even the slowest attack could cross an impossible distance in the blink of an eye.

If it wasn't for the fact Ryu was able to see the movement of invisible spatial qi with his eyes, locating the open and closing of portals and the start and finish of rippling blades, he would have lost his life long ago.

But, at the same time, if it wasn't for Lu'card's astounding defense and enigmatic movement, he too would have long since fallen beneath Ryu's blade.

BANG!

The two shot backward, their feet drawing deep trenches in the folds of space, their gazes locked onto one another as though connected by a line of fate.

Lu'card took a deep breath, his exhale coming out in a low, rumbling growl. His chest boomed and vibrated, his muscles rippling and his scales shimmering with a resplendent light.

He hadn't wanted to use his Bloodline Talents because he felt that Ryu was looking down on him. However, after several exchanges, it became clear that unless they were willing to go all out, this battle would last months if not years.

If this was just about him, his pride would have won out. But this matter was larger than that.

"Children." Ru'cil's voice suddenly rumbled. "Rain down hell."

The roars of hundreds of Dragons shook the skies, causing Lu'card's gaze to narrow, his rage smoldering within his heart. This action was very clearly his father-in-law losing faith in his ability to end this quickly.

At that moment, the relatively peaceful Armament Guild fell into its own brand of chaos.

"I would advise your juniors to be careful who they target. Because if I find out my woman was involved Well, my temper isn't so good." Ryu said lightly.

Lu'card was so enraged by these words that he grinned, his draconic head becoming the picture of sinister intention.

A clap of thunder rang through the skies as the qi around Lu'card turned more and more violent.

"Spatial World."

The sound of shattering glass resounded through the skies.

"I guess It's about time." Ryu looked up into the skies, his horns flickering with sapphire blue lightning.

"Storm."

[Check out my Instagram to see the soon to be update cover of GAB (starring Ryu and his Fate Star) >>> @Awespec_ ] (note the underscore)