Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

"... Yes, ma'am... of course, ma'am... I'll never say that again, ma'am... You have my sincerest apologies ma'am... Yes, yes, I'll remember this day, ma'am... No, no, ma'am isn't the only thing I can say, ma'am..." Ianjor quickly spoke.

Ryu was doing his best to hold back his laughter after being scolded as well. Truthfully, he didn't even know what he did wrong, other than it being obvious he had "used" his mother. Then again, that was probably enough for Himari to give him a stern talking to.

It was amusing. The last time Himari had scolded him, he had been just about to turn seven years old. It was a common occurrence back then. After his Awakening Ceremony, though, most things changed. Namely, Ryu changed. Though one part of it was likely because his mother wanted to go easier on him because of the trauma his failure had caused, Ryu didn't believe that if he had taken a different path, his mother would have just stood by the side as he became a profligate playboy.

Most of the reason he had been "spared" was because he had practically entirely lost his sense of playfulness. Life wasn't fun for him, so he made it about work. It was hard to find something to pick at when your child spent 95% of their life in a library.

Though, now looking back, that was probably a blessing in disguise. The original Ryu would have never wasted his time on the arts, or the library. He would have never become a Ruin Master either; it was far too boring. He had liked to fight, and he had spent practically every waking minute swinging around his spear.

Finally, Himari seemed satisfied and let Ianjor go, causing him to walk away dejectedly. Only after she was finally gone did Ianjor give Ryu a death glare.

Ryu grinned. "Why are you looking at me like this, I got rebuked too-"

Ianjor clamped a hand over Ryu's mouth. "What the hell is wrong with you? Look at you what way? Are you trying to get me into trouble again? It was just a normal look, okay? A NORMAL look."

Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. "Is mother that scar-"

Ianjor's hand clamped down harder. "Stop!"

Ryu got a hoot out of that one. Ianjor was probably, what? At least closing in on a billion years old by now, and look at him. One would think that he was still a toddler.

"So do you want me to keep calling you Ianjor? It's a stupid name, it makes you sound like some giant brute. Though I guess that's not far from the truth."

Ianjor's nose wrinkled. "When will you ever tire of speaking bullshit? Yes, just call me Ianjor."

"Ai, giving up the name your parents painstakingly thought up for you in favor of something else." Ryu sighed and shook his head. "I hope they never find out about this."

"... One of these days I'm going to strangle you to death, and it will be your fault."

"What are you performing here, anyway? What happened with the True Nether Plane?"

"Chaos." Ianjor shook his head. "You love to trigger trouble and then up and disappear as though life doesn't go on after you."

Ryu knew that this was a dig at his suicide, but hey, since he had mentioned Primus and then Ianjor's parents soon afterward, he felt like he deserved it so he just laughed.

"The Fire Giants are still looking for Primus. I would have gotten swept up into it, so I had to leave sooner rather than later. I'm not that bastard's disciple, nor was I ever, but they wouldn't believe that."

"And what about Empana?" Ryu asked.

Ianjor raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking about him?"

"I felt a bit... bad about how I left things."

Ianjor snorted. "Look at how hard it was for you to admit that. Have some shame."

Ryu shook his head. "I'll do whatever I need to for power, but I have my own bottomline. I don't think I crossed it with Empana, not even close, but it wasn't exactly the best thing to do."

Ryu's senses weren't sharp enough to distinguish between Sky Gods back then, so he couldn't really tell Empana's nor Ianjor's level. But what he had known was that they were both stronger than Mae's father. This went to show their sheer level of talent. Ianjor convincing Empana to take him on rather than just directly killing them, and that had saved Ryu a whole lot of headache and probably heartache.

On the one hand, Empana would have never made it so far without him, especially considering the plot of his stepmother. So, in a sense, Empana did owe him. But on the other, it could be argued that Empana had helped him out.

Truthfully, Ryu sensed that he was just getting soft if there was a third hand to consider. The old him would have probably never thought about Empana again. After all, if he wasn't useful to the latter, would he have even lived long enough to take advantage of him in the first place?

Even so, Ryu's was less sorry toward Empana and more so toward Ianjor. After all, Empana and Ianjor had been friends, and Ianjor had used that trust to get Ryu an in.

"Don't overcorrect and suddenly become a pansy," Ianjor sneered. "Empana and I are friends, but we're also rivals. In fact, we'll probably have a real battle soon enough. Though, it'll probably be delayed given the circumstances."

Ryu knew that these two were probably part of the same Sect of the Eighth Nether Plane, and it seemed that not everything was harmonious up there. Though, that made sense for the Nether Plane. It was a world of demons, after all.

"Speaking of which, you could probably participate in that tournament now. Well, you're still way too weak, but there's still some time considering your speed of improvement."

An expression of "ick" spread across Ryu's face. He didn't have a lot of luck with tournaments. He didn't do well with sanctioned events, period.

Back in the Mortal Plane, his "father's" man had attempted to kill him. On the Pedestal Plane Patriarch Ember had tried to interfere and take his life. On the Sixth Heaven, he had been pushed to participate in that event to begin with. In the Incomplete Heavenly Path, the Dao Sovereign had snatched away the inheritance he had already rightfully earned...

All for what, exactly? Because he had the audacity to win. He adored to fight, but tournaments definitely were not for him. He was too good at pissing people off.