Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu smiled as his eyes quickly scanned the region. He had been about to choose this particular challenge, but then he came to a stop just before, seemingly thinking about something.

The choice wasn't as easy as it seemed, that being because his Dao was weakened considerably. He needed to find a challenge that could be cleared with the Dividing Chaos-that being the fusion of his Dividing Dharma and his Dividing Sin.

But the problem was still quite clear. His Dao was less useful against inanimate beings, and now that it was weakened even further, it was even more difficult to use it for outside its intended purpose.

Dividing Dharma was the mirror of Dividing Judgment. It was meant to present punishment. The latter was a punishment of the Heavens, and the other was a consequence of cause and effect.

To make a complex matter simple, Dividing Dharma could only work when there were Karmic Strings formed and a line of cause and effect could be followed, and that required intent.

Dividing Sin was even more unreasonable on this front. It could be said to be a punishment as well, but rather one doled out by Ryu himself. It once again required a target that had an intent of their own, or else how would he manipulate them?

These last months had taught Ryu a lot about the weaknesses of this Dao. Truthfully, he had gotten complacent and cocky within himself. He had formed a Founding Dao, something only a handful of people throughout all of history had been able to accomplish. Why shouldn't he be cocky, especially when that was his normal disposition to begin with.

But whether it was his battles against the Protector Spirits, or this trial, he had come to understand that there might very well not be such a thing as a flawless Dao, even if that Dao was a Founding Dao.

From the beginning, his Daos and his comprehension ability had been two of the main reasons he was so confident in his ability to reach the peak. While he had always been focused on improving his other talents as well, this was always something that he could hold on to.

But now, it was almost too obvious to him just how flawed that line of thinking was. These chains could even strip him of his connection to his Dao, and why would that be surprising in the first place? If it could even stop his Spiritual Foundation from connecting with him, stop his Fate Star and strip his Fate from him, stopping him from sensing his Dao seemed like the easiest of that long list.

Ryu looked down at the chains that bound him.

He had known long ago that the chains that he could replicate were missing the essence of what these Divine Chains truly were. It was part of the reason he was so lazy with naming them and also why he rarely used them. But their strength was still undeniable, and quite frankly more than he had thought them to be originally,

At the same time, there was another thing as well...

A clue.

In the Sky God Realms, what separated Daos wasn't just a name. The gap between an Immature Dao and Mature one was far deeper, and it was also the Realm of existence one had to be in to begin using their Dao as a conduit for self-created techniques. These were called Dao Methods.

Dao Methods were a lot like Dao Charm techniques, but far stronger. The use of Dao Charm techniques would still be prominent in the Sky God Realms, but only because creating Dao Methods was so difficult.

Ryu suddenly wondered... Since his Dao could exhibit the strength of a Mature Dao thanks to his mind, could he create a Dao Method in advance?

He turned his palm up and down, observing the chains that bound him.

He knew what his Divine Chains were lacking. His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had gotten the form perfect, what it lacked was the substance within. Ryu had a crazy idea and it was actually that at the highest levels of the True Martial World, it wasn't just five pillars that aligned, but all six.

If he was correct, whatever branch of the Martial Gods that had this chain as their main ability, would in due time learn how to fuse their Daos into it, following a line of progression that would make their abilities stronger one by one.

Bloodline. Soul Nature. Meridians. Spiritual Foundation. Bone Structure, Dao.

All formed into a single line, wound around one another.

The more Ryu thought about it, the more the thought churned and bubbled in his mind.

These chains... would actually be the perfect vessel for his Dao, and it could build the foundation of his first Dao Method as well.

Of course, most would only have one path Method that they constantly trained and perfected over a lifetime, but this wasn't something that Ryu would allow himself to be tied by.

But the question was... should he do it?

"Is this fool too scared to choose?" Litaor sneered.

Ryu didn't seem to hear the words, nor was he rushed.

He looked internally. Namely, he focused on Elena's Primordial Yin. He didn't really know much about the upper echelon of the Martial Gods, or what level Elena was at. But if her father was any indication, it was probably very high.

There was something about the Martial Gods that allowed them to exist as they were. It was quite curious, how could they be of just one Clan, and yet form so many different Bloodlines?

Looking at the chains wrapping around him, Ryu felt that he understood, even if, albeit, an inkling.

The Holy Wing Clan of Sacrum had been known for their wings. They weren't real wings, but rather a manifestation of power that took shape. They didn't walk around like human birds. Rather, they only appeared when they fought.

What Ryu didn't know was that the Holy Wing Branch of the Martial Gods was a weakened corner of one of its top three strongest branches, the Divine Wing Branch. But that information wasn't an important distinction to him at the moment.

What was important was that in the past, he had thought the Holy Wings to be akin to an Immortal Rings. He knew that this wasn't entirely true now that his scope was much broader, but it wasn't entirely false either.

What was more important than any of that, though, was his comprehension of the fact these manifestations, the Holy Wings, the Divine Wings, or these Divine Chains, each had a unique ability to hold... Spirituality.

This was the best word that Ryu could find to describe it, and he felt that it was a secret that might be able to fix the weakness of his Dao.

But he knew that he couldn't do it all in a single step. Even trying would be foolish.

Much like his Lineages which would have taken trial and error to figure out if not for his Bone Structure, his Daos were much the same except far more complicated in his opinion.

However, Ryu still felt that it was a bit poetic.

A Chain for his Dao of Dividing Chaos.

Wings for his Dao of Dividing Order.

There was really only one question. How would the Martial Gods react to this?

The moment he thought of the question, he laughed. The timing of his laughter, due to his speed of thought, was barely after Litaor had finished.

What would the Martial Gods think? Why would he give a damn?

Ryu clapped his hands and chains began to surge out from him. At the same time, his soul connected with Elena's Primordial Yin. He caught the vague outline of a pair of wings and he latched onto it.

Immediately, Ryu realized that he was being too casual with his thoughts. He could feel a strong suppression against his actions. It was immovable and suffocating....

And yet nothing against his Cosmos Fog.

The resistance shattered as Ryu's Cosmos Fog flooded the chains and the wings, severing them from the greater bounds of existence and from the Karma and Fate that bound them.

The process was far easier than Ryu thought it would be, his Bone Structure shouldn't be so strong yet. But he understood why this was a moment later.

The chains were as bound to him by Karma as they were to any Martial God. Since his very birth, it had been tying down his Fate, changing the course of his life. In a way, he had more of a right to control these chains than any junior of the Divine Chain Branch. Since they had taken so much from him, he would start collecting that owe now.

As for the wings, they were his wife's. By dominating Elena's Primordial Yin, they were as much his as they were hers. Who would dare to interfere the matters between a husband and wife?