Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu smiled lightly, reaching a hand forward to ruffle Yaana's hair, but to his shock, he ended up getting his hand slapped away. 

Yaana's pout caused Ailsa to burst into a fit of laughter. 

"If you want, Little Yaana, I can sneak you into his bedroom. He's not very good at controlling what's down there."

Hearing such vulgar words, Yaana immediately flushed red. 

The truth was that she didn't know what Ailsa and Ryu had secretly communicated about, so she was in the dark about the things she herself had done. So, when she saw Ryu stretch a hand forward to ruffle her hair like she was some little girl, she immediately showed some snappiness. 

She knew that if she let Ryu get too comfortable with treating her like a little sister, she really wouldn't have any chance left. So, if there was anything she was determined to do, it was to make sure that Ryu took her seriously. As for what happened after that, she would just accept it. 

However, Ailsa's words had really been too much. She didn't even know where she should hide. 

She thought of hiding behind Ailsa, but she was the one who had just said those vulgar words. Clearly she was a traitor. 

On the other hand, she couldn't possibly hide behind Ryu. After all, she couldn't even face him right now without becoming a ripe tomato. 

Not knowing what to do with herself, Yaana covered her face and vanished into the void. In the blink of an eye, it was as though she had never been there to begin with. 

"Ah…" Ryu's eyes opened wide. 

For one, this exact action was one he had seen too many times. This was exactly what Nuri always did after Elena teased her. But, that alone wasn't enough to warrant his surprise. 

The space on the Shrine Plane was extraordinarily tough. It was one thing for Nuri to enter the void as she pleased as her cultivation had already been very deep during Ryu's first life. But, it was a completely different matter entirely for a Yaana in the mere Immortal Ring Realm to do the same thing. Simply put, it should be far beyond her means. 

Even Ailsa revealed a surprised expression before a sudden understanding came over her. 

"Though she didn't get to keep her memories, she managed to keep an instinctual understanding toward what she had already comprehended in her first life. It's like watching a play of poor quality and missing several acts. But, when it comes to cultivation, this is actually a benefit to her."

Ryu nodded. He understood exactly what Ailsa meant. 

Though the Black Rose could allow one to reincarnate with their memories, it didn't allow you to bring along your Inheritance comprehensions. 

This sounded weird. After all, if you had all your memories, shouldn't you also have all your comprehensions as well? It was all your own thoughts to begin with, no? 

Unfortunately, things didn't quite work like this. In a lot of ways, to both the Heavens and in real life, how you came to know or form an opinion is just as important as what opinion you held. 

For example, someone who held a belief system from birth might value that belief system less than someone who believed something else and had to construct a new belief for themselves rather than being indoctrinated. The first individual might very well hold a factual belief system, but it was innately worth less than the second person who took a thorny road to the same conclusion. 

Of course, this wasn't universal. The first individual might have adequately challenged their beliefs and thus reaffirmed their beliefs in an unbiased fashion that makes their conclusion worth just as much as the second individual. But, once again, that is a process in and of itself. 

Comprehension of Inheritances worked the same way. 

Every time Ryu took a step forward in his Inheritances, from an Heir, to a Ruler, to a Monarch and so on, he was reaffirming his belief or building a new layer of complexity to it. The Heavens recognized this process and thus blessed him with greater Essence to use in combat. 

However, if Ryu suddenly reincarnated with all his memories, he wouldn't suddenly form a Dominion from day one. He would need to reaffirm his comprehensions again and again all the way back up to that level. On top of this, the bar he needed to meet for the affirmation would be far higher than it was the first time. In exchange for this, his Inheritance would also be far more powerful than it was originally as well. 

As with everything, there was give and take. 

That said, Yaana didn't have her memories. As such, all she had were vague ideals that she had built during her first life. This left her in a limbo between someone who had preconceived memories and someone else who knew nothing. The result was her blazing through much faster than either, taking benefits from both. 

Ultimately, to Ryu's surprise, Yaana had already formed a Dominion. Not only that, but she was just a step away from forming Divinity, her peak achievement during her first life. 

Ryu looked toward Ailsa and they both grinned, seemingly understanding exactly what this meant. 

Yaana, who was within the void, peeked through her fingers to witness this scene. She suddenly felt a cold shiver down her back. Why did she suddenly feel like meat on a chopping block? 

In opposition to her thinking, though, Ryu's thoughts were wild, but not in the way she thought. Once Yaana managed to reform her Divinity and reach her peak once again, they would be able to move through the Shrine Plane almost unhindered just as they had in the past. By that point, there would be many things he could do… 

Ryu sat back down, allowing his heart to reach a state of ease once again. He pet Little Gem, allowing some of his Chaos Qi to flow into the little one. 

"How much trouble are you planning on causing?" Ailsa asked with a smile. 

Ryu's lip curled. "Yes."