Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

1280 Plural?

Ryu and Selheira flew through the air in silence. There didn't seem to be a need to exchange many words, neither felt a particular need to be chatty. Just the same as always, Selheira took Ryu to a place where the two could eat and watch with a smile on his face as he did so.

The only thought in Ryu's mind was why it seemed that Selheira wasn't hiding herself like many others were. But he felt that it was only right. If she was from the Seventh Heaven, she probably would be outside the net of people that the others would be trying to catch, and by proxy of his relation to her, Ryu also gained this sort of protection.

That said, Ryu was still quite curious, and he was only becoming more so, about Selheira's identity.

It seemed odd that she would have such a high standing in the Seventh Heaven, and yet come down to join the Radiant Star Sect. And beyond that, wasn't she afraid of implicating her current family? Why was it that she was unmoved by the trouble that might come with being a part of the Radiant Star Sect?

Ryu was sure that Aika and the others were aware of Selheira's identity although he hadn't been told. So it was even more confusing that Selheira would openly admit to being his senior sister. She didn't seem to care about hiding anything at all.

It had to be remembered that the fall of the Radiant Star Sect was as a result of the machinations of many powers of the Seventh Heaven, not just one, and that number included what was probably the most powerful Sect of the Seventh Heaven as well, the Fading Star Sect.

Ryu himself was a person who was reckless with making enemies, but he was never eager about implicating those around him. If there was a Tatsuya Clan here that he had to protect, he wouldn't tell anyone his last name, that was the truth.

Though he didn't know Selheira's last name, the fact that Jojo was very familiar with her spoke volumes on its own.

This might be explained away by Selheira's Clan having a great relationship with the Radiant Star Sect, but if the relationship was so great, why wasn't their support more than a single World Sea Realm expert? And how had they avoided being implicated and thrust down to the lower Heavens just like the Radiant Star Sect had been?

None of this seemed to make much sense at all.

Ryu looked into Selheira's radiant eyes. Most would be forced to look away at this point, the purity and gentleness within them was too much. It made one feel as though they were stepping on only a floor of white marble covered in thick layers of mud. It was the feeling of dirtying something that shouldn't be dirtied, blaspheming something that shouldn't be blasphemed.

She was like a blankslate that forced those who looked upon her to reflect on their own insecurities, their own weaknesses, their own failures. It was an uncomfortable reality for many, and one that many refused to face.

And so, they would look away, unable to continue maintaining their gaze with this beauty.

However, Ryu was unmoved by it all. Maybe there did exist some insecurities deep within him that he wasn't willing to face, but the reality was that the current level of Selheira's abilities weren't enough to force him to look at himself. His Dao Heart was far too firm to be moved by anyone beneath the Sky God Realm.

He seemed to want to look for answers within her eyes, but he didn't ask anything. He wasn't the type of person to pry into the life of another, and he also didn't like explaining himself very much, so he wouldn't force others to do so.

Selheira's smile deepened, her gentle brows seeming to relax to another level. Staring into her eyes truly felt like peering into a lake of crystals, her white hair giving off a gentle fragrance and light that made it seem far more alive than dead.

"A "little" stronger, hm?" Selheira said lightly, recalling Ryu's evaluation of his own strength. She found it to be quite amusing. If this was a little stronger, then what had everyone else been doing with their lives?

Ryu didn't respond immediately and instead took another bite to eat. "... Meaningless in the grand scheme."

Selheira's gaze flickered. She could tell by that single sentence just the kind of standards Ryu held for himself. It didn't seem fake, or to be for show, this was just what he held in the very depths of his bones.

"I see..." Selheira nodded. "... I should tell you that your wife's Clan had gone into seclusion, something that happened just before those of the Seventh Heaven descended. I'm not sure of the reason why, but you might know more than me."

Ryu's gaze narrowed. Mae had returned for the sake of completing one of her Clan's coming of age ceremonies, and she had vaguely described to him what it was, but she hadn't gone into much detail likely because she couldn't. Ryu hadn't blamed her for that, these were obviously the secrets of her family, and without him being accepted by them first, her telling him such things would only put his life in danger.

Clans took their secrets very seriously, and Mae knew this well. The Samsara Wheel of the Dream Asura's was especially something that should be kept under wraps, the fact that she had even told Ryu any tidbits at all was too much, quite frankly.

"Understood. Thank you for telling me."

Ryu hesitated for a moment and then ended up asking anyway.

"Have you heard anything about the woman associated with the Taboo Powers currently?"

Selheira blinked in slight surprise. Ryu rarely took the initiative to ask her about anything, so the fact that he had made her realize that this was probably important. He was too content to sit in silence and listen to their breathing, so she didn't believe for a moment that he was just trying to make some small talk.

"... I don't know much. But, no news is good news, right?" Selheira uttered with a smile.

Ryu's irises flashed with a peculiar light, but he didn't say anything. Selheira's word choice was too obvious to need to be explained. However, he didn't refute anything she had said, the fact that he had asked in the first place meant that he was willing to take this sort of risk with this person in specific.

Did he trust Selheira?

Well, there were many things one could fathom from a game of Domain that even millions of years of relationships couldn't allow you to comprehend. How one strategized, how one dealt with hardship, how one attacked, one's capacity for violence, for vengeance, for love. It was all laid bare before him in a game of Domain.

So if he had to answer the question, it could only be yes.

Not long later, the two got up and left the restaurant they had entered and Selheira led Ryu to a teleportation platform. Soon, they had smoothly entered the Fifth Heaven and made their way to the region of the Radiant Star Sect.

However, what Ryu hadn't expected was the thick scent of blood in the region. They hadn't even gotten close, but it was so dense that the air was practically painted in red as well and a stinging sort of heaviness was trying to make his eyes droop.

Ryu raised an eyebrow, just how much slaughtering had taken place while he hadn't been present? It felt like he was bearing witness to a bloody war that had raged on for centuries. What had happened here exactly?

Soon, he could see the familiar outline of the Sect over the horizon. The sound of clashing weapons echoed in his ears.

He looked toward Selheira and her face was deadpan.

He had known Selheira for years now, and this was only the second time he had seen such an expression. Her usual had always been a gentle elegance and smile, this expressionless appearance was something that was very clearly not that.

Ironically, both of these instances had happened today.

The first was against Jojo. And the second was privilege here and now.

Ryu looked toward the distance once again. He didn't see even a single known face in that crowd, not one. He continued to scan the battlefield, but that conclusion remained as accurate as it had been the first time he thought it.

However, what was clear was that all of these people were excellent, all of them were in the World Sea Realm, and all of them were at the pinnacle standards of the prodigies that Ryu had met up until now, maybe only shy of Selheira and Jojo.

Just what was going on?

"They're fighting for the privilege to be Senior Aika's husbands."

Ryu didn't believe his ears for a moment.

A bunch of World Sea Realm experts fighting to be that miniature tyrannosaurus rex's husband? Did they have a death wish?

He didn't know Aika's cultivation, but just logically speaking, at worst she was a Dao Lord. Without at least strength of that level, how could she dare to do all of this? In fact, if Ryu had to bet on it, he felt that Aika was definitely a Dao Sovereign.

Was this supposed to be a joke? A grand prank everyone was pulling on him as a return gift?

But that blood, that smell, their fury....

All of that was very much real.

Also... Husbands? Plural?