Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu looked into his body and felt that those Lines of Fate that he had thought had vanished due to the Divine Chains of the Martial Gods had come back. It seemed his rewards hadn't just disappeared after all, they were just heavily suppressed. Even so...

Ryu sighed. He had spent decades within the influence of the black hole. Due to his Spacetime Soul Nature, this hardly bothered him and he was likewise still able to make great progress in his cultivation, at least in terms of comprehension. But that didn't change the fact that that amount of time had truly passed.

The Lines of Fate he received from the Heavens were designed to fade with time, and now, they were far more difficult to get a read on than the first time Ryu had laid his eyes on them. Even with his Dao being the equivalent of a Fragmented Dao currently, it still wasn't enough to put anything in sharp detail.

He already couldn't get much information about his Taboo Paths for the same reason it was harder to heal his body with Embryonic Qi. But now, he also couldn't seem to get a clear look at his Meridians or his Spiritual Foundation. Everything was fuzzy.

'I'll need to break into the Sky God Realm so that I can get a good look again...'

Ryu took a breath and exhaled.

He had two things to accomplish before he took that step, though. He had already reached the peak of the World Sea Realm, and he felt that he only needed a small spark to push his Dao into true majority.

What he needed to do now was help his body and his soul to enter the Sky God Realms first. First, he would do his soul.

This choice was the obvious one to make. The more powerful his soul was, the more focus he would have to undergo those ridiculous Life Destructions. He would be able to keep his mind about himself and keep his will focused on the edge of death.

In addition, his soul was the most flexible part of him. It could withstand a huge amount of strain and it was nigh invulnerable, not in terms of being immune to damage, but in terms of the damage that it could recover from.

He could split his soul into countless pieces and still reform them with great ease. Such was the benefit of having his soul type. If he was going to take any sort of risk, it would obviously be best to do so with his soul.

"Mother," Ryu called out, opening his eyes. His next words, though, were caught in his throat. Why was his mother crying again?

Himari wasn't a sensitive woman, but today she had already cried twice. The last time Ryu had seen her cry before today was the day his Awakening failed, and even then it wasn't in front of him, but rather something he had stumbled into.

Back then, she had done her best to reassure him that everything would be alright. But his [Third Perspective] was too powerful. He had a Spiritual Sense that even a Cosmic Seed expert, which his mom had been at the time, couldn't sense.

Since then, though, [Third Perspective] or not, he had never seen his mother cry. For it to happen twice today, it could only mean that something had happened.

Ryu got up and moved toward her, but he didn't get to say much before his cheeks were cupped a little too firmly. He couldn't even properly move his lips as his mother checked his body to make sure that he was truly alright.

It took a while before Ryu discovered what happened, and that just made him confused.

He turned his senses to the outside of the Life Shrine and his eyes narrowed. Primus wasn't there.

Ryu didn't believe for a moment that the old man would have just given up and vanished. He definitely wouldn't leave until the ten-year period was up, and he might even gather him up and throw him in a prison if he had the choice. But he was just... gone.

He pondered of the possibility that he was hiding from his senses, but Ryu shook his head after some thought. That wasn't Primus' style, he would be front and center if he could be and he didn't care to hide anything about himself, whether that was his thoughts or his actions.

That said, he also wouldn't bother to explain himself if he didn't have to.

That was when Ryu put two and two together. The only way Primus would leave would be if he pondered that he had properly severed Karma. And what better way would there be than to release Ryu from the bounds of his Fate Star?

There was only one way to know. Ryu would have to unseal his eyes and gaze upon his Fate Star again, but he had a feeling he already knew what he would see...

His expression relaxed.

Since Ryu had pondered through all of this, he could also guess the state of his Fate Star at the moment. He was the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Although it was sealed, he had a nigh innate comprehension of Fate, Karma and the strings that bound all those with life.

He knew more intimately than anyone what had happened to him, but so what?

Ryu grinned at his mom. "You know, mother, I never really got to take advantage of being the son of a powerful Clan."

Himari blinked, not quite understanding what Ryu was getting at. The words would have made her feel a little sad if it wasn't for the shit-eating grin on Ryu's face.

She smiled beside herself. She hadn't seen that grin in such a long time.

She squeezed Ryu's cheeks, hard. "Are you attempting to mock your mother, Little Ryu?"

"Haha! I'm going to break into the Sky God Realm. I need a protector, and who better than the woman who can guarantee my life?"