Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu's hair rustled in the wind, his gaze meeting Mordecai's without the slightest hint of wavering. He looked as though he could truly palm the entire skies in a hand at the moment, and looking at his back, Elena felt tears threatening to fall.

The Ryu she knew was obsessed with reaching the top of the world, but his thoughts were never about doing the same for everyone around him. It was a pursuit that could almost be called selfish under most lenses, and it was there only to satisfy his own vanity.

Those were thoughts she kept to herself because they never seemed to matter. For one, the Ryu she fell for couldn't cultivate to begin with. And second, well... it was easy for you to ignore the flaws of someone you deeply loved.

Another part of Elena, at least in recent years, felt that her evaluation of Ryu was unfair. Just because she didn't feel any ambition to do much, didn't mean that others had to be the same as her?

Originally, she had felt that Ryu was being silly. He was already born to the greatest Clan of Sacrum, what was there for him to pursue?

Even after she learned about the wider world and the existence of the True Martial World, she felt that it was unnecessary to go so far. Why not stay put where they were the kings and queens of their own little world? How much easier would their lives be? How much longer could they live? How many little princes and princesses could they have?

Wasn't that the life everyone should aspire to?

When Ryu actually came after her so soon after his rebirth, Elena realized that he had changed. He wasn't the same person, he smiled more, he was more caring... no, Ryu had always been caring, but it was in ways that most wouldn't see unless you truly looked into his eyes. But now... it just felt so free, so out in the open.

She had hardly been around him for more than a few moments, but she had known him so well, and for so long, that she spotted the changes instantly.

And these words he had just spoken... seemed to solidify that.

She wiped at her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. She didn't want to embarrass Ryu any more than she already had.

Embarrassment wasn't really a feeling that Ryu felt often, but she was his first wife, his first love. This thought was something that had driven her for a long while, and it was the reason she had been able to withstand so much pressure from her surroundings for so long.

If she was going to stay in such a role, she couldn't have Ryu carry the brunt of their Faith alone. She had to be better.

Even if someone was strong enough to make her fold, they would have to break her to do so.

Something changed in Elena's eyes and Mordecai, who was still mulling over Ryu's words, looked over, his gaze akin to an abrupt flash of lightning.

He raised an eyebrow, and didn't say much more. Geniuses like Ryu didn't listen when they had already made up their minds one way or another.

His gaze landed on Janus, and for the first time, he frowned.

He was dead? When had he died?

Mordecai looked toward Ryu again who was standing there as though nothing had happened.

"You killed him?"

He wanted to ask when, but he felt like the question would deal a blow to his prestige. He was certain that Janus had been alive all the while, and in that state, he should have lived for several days at worst with the strength of his body. Even his own mother, though anxious, hadn't been to the point of losing her mind because she felt that her son still had a good path toward survival.

"That's only natural," Ryu said lightly. "I was never going to allow him to survive. Anyone who touches my wife will suffer the same Fate."

Ryu's gaze turned toward Sashi who seemed to only just be allowing the information to settle in.

Her son had died...? Within what felt like arm's reach to her...? A single bound for a cultivator of her caliber...? And she hadn't even... noticed?

The cruelty set in like a meteor falling from the skies, and crashed into her in endless waves. Her chest felt like it had been hollowed out and her eyes sunk into despair and fury.

She looked toward Ryu, huffing breaths in and out as though she was some sort of feral animal.

"YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE!" She screeched, lunging at Ryu.

Ryu looked at her calmly as Little Silk flapped her wings once, creating a solid barrier of ice as he took a step back, crossing several layers of space as though they weren't even there.

Sashi tried to smash the barrier to pieces, but the moment she touched it, she felt her qi freeze over in an instant.

Ryu appeared by Elena's side and took up her waist.

"Where's your residence?" Ryu asked.

Elena took a breath, her gaze shimmering with confidence before she pointed out a direction.

With a flash, they appeared on Little Silk's back and shot into the distance, leaving a stream of blue frost in their wake.

"I will kill you personally, Ryu Tatsuya." Valerius' calm voice echoed.

Ryu's lip curled and he didn't bother to look back. It seemed that he didn't even need to give out his full name these days for people to know him.

...

Ryu and Elena touched down in an untouched compound. Despite Elena's living conditions, the courtyard wasn't bad and only a little shy of Janus' own.

Elena took Ryu's wrist and pulled him along.

Ryu chuckled. "You don't need to be so eager. Shouldn't I at least take a shower first?"

Elena glanced at him and looked her husband up and down as though she might really eat him.

"I'll eat you up later, there's something else."

She pulled Ryu into the basement. They passed through several seals before they stood before an altar with a single jade sitting on it.

"What's that?" Ryu asked.

"For your Meridians and Spiritual Foundation," Elena said with a bright smile.

Ryu felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

Could it be that the reason Elena's living situation was so poor was because she had traded everything for this?