Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ailsa sighed. "I don't like it at all. Because of what they did, your Fate is now tied with the Phoenix Sky Gods by necessity. Without the Phoenix Sky God, it would have been impossible for you to have your current accomplishments because it would have been impossible for you to cultivate. 

"To make matters worse, I can't tell whether having your Fate tied to this person who has long since passed is a good thing or a bad thing…"

Usually, Sky Gods left their Legacies behind to gather good Karma for themselves. This good Karma would help them to reincarnate in more favorable situations and live out peaceful lives again and again even if they never return to their former Peaks as Sky Gods. 

However, with how ambitious one would need to be to become a Sky God to begin with, it was obvious that there would be many who weren't satisfied with just this alone and might use passing on their Legacies to fulfill greater dreams and aspirations they might have. 

Of course, the Heavens provided protection for those who would take on the mantle of a Sky God. But, Ailsa couldn't help but feel uneasy about an existence as Enigmatic as the Phoenix Sky God. 

Even Ryu himself had no idea what the real story of the Phoenix Sky God was. He had read so many legends and folktales about this man or woman, but each one of them was different. Much of them didn't even make coherent sense. 

Everything about the Phoenix Sky God was shrouded in mystery and the unknown. But, how could one have such a powerful name and title, and yet simultaneously have no one know about you? This spat in the face of everything Ryu knew about Faith and Fate. The Phoenix Sky God had somehow become ubiquitous without divulging a single ounce of information about themselves. 

It was this sort of person that was the most fearsome… A person who couldn't be read… 

And now, for better or worse, Ryu's Fate was tied with this mysterious individual. And, maybe the scariest part was that he hadn't even considered this problem until just now… if not for Ailsa, who knew how long it would have taken him to realize such a thing? 

Ryu frowned lightly, but those wrinkled lines soon became smooth. There was already nothing he could do about this. 

As for what rage he should be feeling now… Could it match up to what he felt about the death of his grandmother? How could someone stealing his talent possibly match up to that sort of pain and agony? He would trade everything he had right now if he could guarantee the life, safety and happiness of his family. 

As far as he was concerned, he was already as determined as he could be to wipe the Martial Gods from existence. This hardly moved the needle one way or another for him. 

Ryu suddenly smiled. "I have someone I want to introduce you to. Yaana!"

Ryu called out to make sure that Yaana was prepared before a swirl of spatial qi manifested her from thin air. Yaana had been so focused on training during these past several days that she had hardly realized how much time passed. 

"Ah! You're awake." Yaana suddenly became a bit shy, not certain of how to interact with Ailsa. She almost felt as though she had been caught doing something wrong, and that only cycled into her feeling even more embarrassed. 

However, Ailsa didn't seem to mind in the slightest, reaching forward and pinching Yaana's cheeks. 

"Look at you, you're so pretty." Ailsa smiled brightly. 

Watching two beauties tease each other like this left Ryu almost feeling bad the rest of the world couldn't witness something like this. It was too bad, though, that he had no a single intention of sharing. 

Yaana felt far more at ease when she saw how Ailsa was acting and the two almost forgot Ryu existed for a while. But, Ryu was more than a little content just watching from the sidelines with a light smile playing his features. 

A full sprite and a part sprite. Just having the two of them together seem to make the energies of the world sing. 

"… I see, I see. I think I understand what happened to you now. You fused with your Life Partner."

Ryu, who hadn't really been listening to their conversation and was only happily enjoying the sights while ignoring Isemeine's pouting and glares almost choked on air. He coughed lightly, trying to regain his bearings from his embarrassing display. 

Ailsa looked over at him and smiled mischievously.

Ryu cleared his throat, taking another sip of his grandmother's favorite drink. The coolness immediately reset his demeanor, allowing him to calm instantly. Then, he took out Little Gem who almost instantly began to lick at his face repeatedly as though to admonish him for forgetting her for so long. 

"Yes, yes. You treat me the best, Little Gem. How could I not play with you more?"

Ailsa burst out into a fit of laughter when she saw this. 

"Alright, alright. I will stop teasing you. From what I can tell, Little Yaana's Life Partner is the Black Rose."

Ryu's gaze shot up, his pupils constricting into pinholes. 

He knew that Ailsa was teasing him, trying to make it seem like Yaana's Life Partner was another man to gauge his reaction. Toward this, he could only give her a point toward victory. But, after hearing this, he almost stood up. 

The Black Rose was a simple name. But, as things went, the more powerful an object or person was, the simpler the name they tended to have. There was a reason that weaker Sky Gods had elaborate or niche names… It was because only the powerful would dare to have a name that might be misconstrued for another. Even Ryu's great grandfather had to call himself the Saintly Weapon Sky God and not the Spear God or the Halberd God… At least, that was how Ryu saw it considering he very much didn't like his great grandfather right now. 

The Black Rose was an existence on that level of absolute simplicity. As such, it was no surprise that it was not only an Origin Grade Spiritual Herb, but it was a pinnacle Origin Grade Spiritual Herb that put even the Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies to shame. 

"… Just what did that lock on your soul seal away…?" Ryu asked, baffled. Ailsa's sharpness seemed to be on a completely different level than what it once used to be. 

"Oh, that? Well, you could say I'm half Quibus Faerie." Ailsa replied with a sweet smile.