Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Chapter 2044 [True Blade]

Ryu was attempting to do several things that were dangerous.

He was trying to accomplish something with his bones that only Beasts could do. This didn't sound like a problem until one realized that the Beasts were highly favored by the Heavens, and many of the things that they accomplished were as a direct result of the help they received from the Heavens.

Ryu attempting to do this on his own without the support of the Heavens would not only be highly difficult, but it might very well infuriate the Heavens as well, causing the difficulty to spike considerably as he wouldn't just be fighting against his own insights and comprehension, but the suppression of the Heavens themselves as well. But this was just the tip of the iceberg. Because the only way for Ryu to actually succeed, he would have to do what his Bone Structure did best and break free of the Heavens.

What was his real plan?

It was to steal the Insights of the Beasts, make them and their power his own, and then infuse it into his body.

That meant that he would also be fighting against the wills of the Ancestors of the Ancient Beasts themselves. Without their acceptance, or the help of the Heavens, he might very well be fighting against two enemies at once that would both like him better off dead.

And yet, that still wasn't the most shocking danger that Ryu would have to face. Because in the end, the worst of the danger came from none other than his own self.

As Ryu had said, his Spacetime Soul Nature that was usually untouchable and shocking... was actually highly limited here. Or more accurately, it just wasn't enough. He didn't have enough insights.

Ryu had given up much of the immediate power and comprehension of the Silver Star of the Zu Ancestor-or rather his future self-in favor of potential instead, allowing his Perfect Blackbody Soul to swallow it up.

As such, in order to offset that weakness, he needed a Spacetime World that he could swallow up for more immediate gratification.

Instead of absorbing these insights into his Inner World like he usually did, he actually planned to circulate his Body Realm Cultivation method and direct it to his Bone Structure, allowing the Holy World's Blessings to guide the final steps of his method. But the question was why?

This was because Ryu was about to firmly remove one of the three pillars from the Heavens themselves.

After he succeeded, an entire third of his Cultivation Realms would no longer be reliant on the Heavens and would be built on no one other than himself.

And doing this was exceptionally dangerous. It meant allowing his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure to truly be boundless, and without any sort of regulation, he could easily lose himself.

If things went wrong, he might be trapped in a time loop he thought lasted only one second, when in reality he had been trapped for trillions of years. Or, his soul might end up losing its sense of direction in the endless fog, and he might not be able to retrieve it. Or, his Dao Heart, which was already causing him problems, could appear in a nook of his Bone Structure, concocting plans he wouldn't even be aware of until it was too late.

The problem wouldn't be his talent, but rather that the scope of his Bone Structure was far too large and it needed guidance.

And yet, despite knowing these dangers, not only was Ryu taking this step...

But he was doing so in the middle of battle.

BOOM!

A confidence that couldn't be taught emitted from Ryu. It wasn't something that could be given. It could only be built on a mountain of corpses.

From the time his father first handed him a spear and he took his first lessons, he had been building this confidence into his bones. Even when he no longer believed in his ability to cultivate, that confidence had transferred to other things.

He had always refused to be a useless man. Even when the Heavens abandoned him in one way, he insisted on improving in others.

Now, he saw this situation as no different.

He was Ryu Tatsuya. He would forge his own path to victory.

A spurt of blood came from Ryu's mouth, his pores practically pouring out with his valuable life's blood. However, he brandished his great swordstaffs, his aura climbing. Space crackled like black lightning around him. Furious storms of time warped the air. Silvers and blacks swirled above, and the tug of Fate and Karma sharpened considerably as though they had all been pulled tight.

Deep in Ryu's eyes, scenes of shocking events played out one after another.

The image of a dragon's head rising out from an erupting volcano. Volcanic ash billowed from its nostrils and golden lava flowed down between its scales. The image of a qilin raising its horns into the tribulation clouds of the Heavens, its body sparking with gorgeous blue lightning that shimmered like gems.

The image of a Phoenix rising not from the ash, but the deep abyss of the Nether Plane, spreading out its wings and enveloping the world in its caring warmth. One after another, shocking images that could hardly be described in words danced by, forming Runes that took shape only to be drilled into Ryu's very bone. With every one that formed, Ryu's aura skyrocketed.

And then the confusion began to set in.

Ryu found himself looking several seconds of time in large leaps, almost as though the world was skipping around him.

The more he separated from the Heavens, the worse his anchor and feel for time and space became.

In every one of these instances, Sarriel would casually attack, causing another deep wound to appear on his body.

But then...

CHIIII! SHIIIIING!

Sarriel's casual strike sparked against Ryu's scales, and for the first time, her attack

didn't make it through his defenses.

Sarriel paused, surprised by the outcome.

Ryu's movements were becoming more erratic. Sometimes they would be locked in fierce battle, but then he would randomly stop. She could have killed him several times

already, but her curiosity was getting the best of her.

What was he doing? And what sort of stupidity could cause such a thing?

She attacked again, using a little more force this time, but...

CHIIII! SHIIING!

Ryu snapped out of it, his arms moving with even fiercer speed. He parried the blow to

the side and aimed a second great swordstaff right for her neck.

Somehow, Ryu's speed seemed to have increased several times over. His arm bulged with muscles, his scales looking several orders of magnitude brighter.

However, just as Sarriel was about to pay for her arrogance and her head was going to soar into the air, Ryu froze again.

A flickering light danced in his eyes, and he felt like he was frozen in time and space.

A dense grey fog that exuded an ancient, primordial air started to come from his eyes,

ears, and mouth.

His aura became more ancient as well, and he seemed to be both right in front of Sarriel and yet a world away at the same time.

Sarriel recovered, but the confusion in her eyes only deepened.

10-17

The injuries on Ryu that hadn't even been able to close before were doing so rapidly.

And yet, Ryu was more vulnerable now than he ever had been.

SHIIIIING!

Sarriel attacked again, this time piercing forward and putting in even more power

than before.

The tip of her sword finally cut into Ryu's scales. And yet, it only drilled in a half inch

before it came to a stop, and Ryu was sent flying as though he had been hit by a

hammer.

Even after landing on the ground, Ryu didn't awaken immediately. He looked into dead

space in a daze.

Sarriel looked down at her blade, almost wondering if Ryu had done something to it.

Her katana wasn't as powerful as Ryu's great swordsstaffs, but the difference was that

it was actually one of her eye's abilities as well.

The [True Blade]. This Truth Pupil ability could manifest a blade dependent on its user's Inheritance, allowing one to access a Godhood of sorts based on

weapon-related illusions.

At least... that was its ability with Sarriel.

The reason Ryu didn't recognize it was because [True Blade] was supposed to be a lot

like Ryu's mutated [Rob the World of its Color], capable of cutting reality.

This original ability was why Ryu hadn't been able to heal easily. However, it had mutated with Sarriel, allowing her to manifest a weapon much like the

War God Pupils might.

When both the mutated form and original form of this ability came together, they displayed real strength. But as with all Pupils abilities, they were limited by Sarriel's cultivation, which was why they couldn't possibly be as strong as Ryu's weapons. But it also didn't matter because Sarriel could just continuously repair her weapon as

well.

And yet, this blade that she trusted with her life... Couldn't cut through Ryu's undefended body with ease?