Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

"You have all these materials?" Okie finally asked. 

"I do." Ryu nodded. "So long as your price is in Qi Stones, I should be able to afford it as well."

Okie gaze Ryu a deep look. To tell a Sky God you could pay any price took some balls. But, Okie didn't refute it. 

At a certain point, he had stopped caring about money anyway. Due to the uniqueness and intricacies of the design, he would work on it for free if he could. It was just that some of the materials that would be needed to make this work were so rare that even Okie's Clan itself didn't have any in store. Some of these things were practically extinct, and others were just exceptionally rare. 

Though Okie's Clan had rare items on this same level in store, having items on the same level and having the items themselves were two completely different concepts. What was the use in having a supreme water treasure when what the design asked for was fire? 

"The final process will need both you and Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn to work together, so it could be better if you forged at the same time."

Okie raised an eyebrow. "You've gotten that woman's help?"

"Not yet." Ryu replied. 

Aberardus was speechless. Why was Ryu's tone with a Sky God so casual? One would think he had spent his whole like conversing with people on this level. 

Of course, this wasn't true. The first Sky Gods Ryu had met were the Zu Ancestors and they were nothing more than spirits. It was just that Ryu wasn't one to be moved by gaps in cultivation or seniority. In fact, he was more apt to be less than indifferent to it all. 

The stronger his cultivation became, the stronger this feeling became as well. Things that were difficult for others seemed simple to him and things he had yet to accomplish only felt that they would take a matter of time. In that case, it was hard for him to feel heartfelt respect and awe for anything. 

If you were guaranteed to accomplish something in the future, then how could you hold it in reverence? By then, whatever that accomplishment was would feel no different than another day to day occurrence, as simple as walking, breathing or eating. There was no suspense to it at all. 

**

Ryu left the design with Supreme Blacksmith Okie for him to analyze and inspect and exited along with Aberardus. 

"Getting the help of Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn won't be easy, and I unfortunately don't have another favor to cash in for you. Though, even if I did, it would be a toss up as to whether or not she would agree to use it on you.

"The good news is that the sword faction of Blacksmiths are very straightforward and they don't like to scheme. As long as you can meet their requirements, it wouldn't be impossible to get their help. But, Wynhorn's requirements are very, very high…"

Ryu lost himself in thought when he heard Aberardus' words. From what he understood, Blacksmiths who specialized in swords were often as eccentric as sword masters themselves. Though Aberardus was of the opinion that all weapons were just as important as swords and that sword masters were just better at advertising themselves, when it came to stereotypes there was always a kernel of truth hidden within. The question was actually whether the kernel of truth hidden by said stereotype was attached with proper context or not. 

Take sword masters. They were portrayed throughout history as being esoteric, enigmatic, and eccentric. Some of the best sword masters in the history of the martial world were individuals who had taken their Daos to the extreme, many of whom followed a path of severing emotion and being only tied to one's sword. 

Why was this? 

Ryu fell deeper into his thoughts. He felt that he needed to grasp something before he went to find this mysterious Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn. 

The moment Ryu put his mind to something, it truly didn't take long for him to grasp it. He suddenly thought back to a memory he had long since buried, the day his grandfather sacrificed his life for him so that he could live. 

That day was the day Ryu failed to enter the Spiritual Severing Realm. Ryu wasn't one who failed at much of anything, so this could be considered to be a great blight on his record. It only made it worse that this failure was connected to the death of a man Ryu had gained great respect for. 

When Ryu awakened to his memories in this life, he had always considered the Tor to be beneath his notice. In fact, if not for Granny Miriam, he wouldn't have even bothered to seek revenge at all and he would have been more than happy to leave them behind. The fact that they would lose the right to be associated with him in the future was punishment enough. 

However, that day, Ryu's Grandpa Tor sacrificed his life for Ryu's sake. 

Ryu took a deep breath and sighed. 

It had been a long time since he thought of those memories. Life and human emotions were two things that all of Ryu's comprehension couldn't possibly get to the bottom of. Or, at least that's what it felt like in his state. Who knew, maybe if he too experienced trillions of years of life, there'd be a day where he came to understand… 

He recognized his grandfather as his family only after he died, leaving him in a state of regret. But, knowing himself, could he ever have forgiven that man if not for him going so far to begin with? 

It was a heart wrenching paradox. To feel something for him, his grandfather had to die. 

There was something about that sentence that felt quite profound. Almost like how for their to be the rich, there had to be the poor. For there to be happiness, there had to be sadness… And yet, while those were taking the grand scale of the world as its sample size, the death of Ryu's grandfather was greatly personal. 

But, it was exactly that that made Ryu remember it all so vividly. He felt he would remember it so vividly even if he didn't have the Origin Flame… 

The blade that fell that day, the very one that fell for them all, and the one Ryu failed to follow through on… 

Was a sword.