Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Falling Snow was beaten back again and again. Every strike of Ryu\'s curved through the skies, blending into the wind, caressing the snow, slipping through the shadows, and gliding upon the rays of light. His elements began to seamlessly blend into his combat style as he poured on the pressure. He seemed to have had enough with playing around with Falling Snow and was almost a bit disappointed that this was all he had. Falling Snow\'s rebuttals only became duller until suddenly. Ryu\'s blade accelerated, and a slash cut across Falling Snow\'s shoulder. Blood spurted into the air, a deep shade of crimson catching all of their attention. The blood seemed to arc in slow motion as the snow falling around the young man slowed to a crawl as well. It was as though the shedding of Falling Snow\'s blood was a blasphemy that could overturn the Heavens. Ryu found that even his blade slowed somewhat. Although he was able to pull back, and the feeling was extremely subtle, with his level of control over his body and the sharpness of his own senses, he knew what he was feeling more clearly than anyone else. \'Interesting…\' Falling Snow stood there, looking at the spurt of blood along with everyone else as though he too couldn\'t believe what he was seeing. It was as though this was the most shocking moment of his life, something that he couldn\'t accept no matter what. But that shock didn\'t show on his face. There was just the very same dullness. His tail slowly swung through the air. If one looked closely, it was possible to see deep ripples echoing around it as though it was swaying through water rather than open air. "My blood…" he said softly. Ryu didn\'t rush to attack, placing his great swordstaff on his shoulder as though he was watching an amusing scene. Was this supposed to be scary? Was he supposed to be impressed that Falling Snow had never seen his blood before? BOOM! A violent, bestial aura rocketed out from Falling Snow\'s body. His tail seemed to double in size, his shoulders becoming broader as even his canines grew in length. The points of his ears sharpened and his hair became more jagged. The savageness of his aura powered through everything else as he tore to another level. The muscles on his shoulder squirmed and fussed about until they overlapped, forcefully closing the wound… And then he stomped on the air and shot for Ryu. Ryu\'s eyes narrowed. \'Fast, indeed…\' For him to have such an evaluation of someone, it could be imagined just what level they had reached. His eyes were at the point where they could track the movements of even Dao Gods. He could do so before their mutation, let alone now. However, his body wasn\'t at that level, not even close. Even so, for him to call someone fast, it was definitely more than just about their speed outstripping his own. For him to call someone fast, not just their speed had to be greater than his, but his ability to react to it and maneuver around it had to be compromised as well. He was someone with a Spacetime Soul Nature, and his ability to read and react to opponents was unmatched. And yet, Ryu stood there, his great swordstaff still on his shoulder as Falling Snow\'s saber appeared at his throat. It seemed as though he was much too slow to react, that his head would go flying into the air. Yet the reality was much different from expectation. BANG! A fluttering line of blossoms appeared along the length of Falling Snow\'s saber, blocking in place. The harsh winds echoed across Ryu\'s face, threatening to send his head flying with just the pressure from it alone. But the real threat was the second saber. Ryu\'s great swordstaff finally moved. He slashed downward, but he missed Falling Snow completely. Instead, his polearm was inverted, and Falling Snow\'s second saber slashed right across it. BOOM! This second saber carried even more power than the first, and Ryu felt a power that almost ripped his arm from its socket. Tap. Ryu was forced a step back.