Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Chapter 2095 Humiliation

There was something different at play here, something hidden in the shadows that couldn't be explained in just a few words. But even after thinking about it for a long while, Ryu couldn't quite grasp what it was.

Why was it that the Ancestor of the Heavenly Court could see through his status as a Chosen, but Ryu himself, despite having eyes tailor-made to pierce through Fate and Kharma, could not?

Could it be that it was akin to observing someone's cultivation, something that was less of an exact science and more based on feel and experience?

Ryu didn't believe that. Not because it wasn't possible that it could be true, but rather because it didn't matter even if it was. If that was the case, he would have certainly figured it out by now.

The reality of the matter was that even the inexact science that was cultivation was completely grasped by Ryu. Even when he came to a new world, it didn't take him more than a few interactions to figure out what he was dealing with. It didn't make any sense for him to have not grasped something like this, especially after specifically looking for it.

That could only mean one thing...

It was related to something beyond him or something that he had never thought of. "When you die... what happens to you?" Ryu suddenly asked. His eyes still seemed unfocused, like he was looking through the Aspirant rather than at him.

His movements remained fluid, his fists countering the sabers of the Heavenly Warrior as though they too were formed of precious metals.

With every reverberating beat of his heart, his Jadebound Clearheart Bone Structure sent a ripple through his body, making his skin look almost like reflecting ice as it countered the sharpness of the sabers.

However, Ryu truly only seemed to be playing around. It was fine enough to use his Jadebound Clearheart to defend, but then he would shift and change it for seemingly no particular reason at all.

An iciness suddenly appeared in the air as his Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure heaved a heavy frost Domain into the surroundings. Crackling ice appeared around the Aspirant's body as it slowed considerably, weakening the swings of its blades. Then, as though he was bored of doing this as well, Ryu swapped to his Eternal Dawn Bone Structure, radiant golden lights coming from his bone as he shifted with a blinding speed and sent out piercing beams of light that reflected off the sabers' surfaces and sent them reeling backward.

He danced and swapped between his Bone Structures like he was doing carnival tricks more than battling. Anyone who was systematically observing the battle to try and understand Ryu's battle tactics would quickly find themselves confused.

It didn't even make sense for Ryu to swap from using his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure, but if he wanted to, fine...

Under normal circumstances, that is.

The main issue right now was that the Heavenly Knights were able to learn from one another. They already understood all of Ryu's talents, but not how he might use them. Right now, every time he displayed a new skill, the Aspirant grasped it and began to learn to counter it.

The experiences of this Aspirant would then be passed onto the others.

To make matters worse, even if the Heavenly Warriors weren't capable of doing this, the fact that Ryu was allowing Old Wan and the others to see all his trump cards didn't make any sense either. And yet, he continued to do so.

His question lingered in the air, but the Heavenly Warrior didn't respond.

Ryu was certain that it could talk. If those unranked Heavenly Warriors could, then this Aspirant most certainly could as well.

He really wanted to understand more about these warriors. Who or what were they? Did it make sense that he was continuously referring to them as "Its", or were they actual people like those of the Heavenly Courts?

Ryu was leaning toward the latter being false, which was why he had a hard time looking at this man like he would a "he", but he was very much open to being wrong.

This question he asked though... what happened to them when it died... that felt like the end of a string in a tangled mess that he could tug on. It was the only stone that Ryu had left unturned.

If nothing normal could explain it... then it could only be related to Reincarnation, maybe the most mysterious thing in the world.

Maybe others didn't think much about it, but after experiencing what he had related to Reincarnation, Ryu had spent a lot of time thinking about it.

It seemed that every world had their own individual Paths of Reincarnation. But they also seemed to be connected, in a way.

Ryu had seen all of his past lives, and they certainly hadn't all been lived in Sacrum. But oddly enough, Hope's Path of Reincarnation, and that of those of her world, were cut off because of the destruction of their Path of Reincarnation and Nether Plane. How could both of those things be true? Why could Ryu be born in so many worlds, and yet Hope lose the ability to do the same?

The answer could only be that the Paths of Reincarnation were connected, but were also only one-way paths.

But that still left the question of... were there really just a set number of souls throughout. Existence? Had the world just been spawned with trillions upon trillions of sparks of life and they all separated themselves honestly through the worlds of

Existence?

That made no sense.

Existence sparked from nothing. And if that was the case, then there couldn't have been anything that came before it, and naturally that would mean that life existed the

way it did now only because something had created it.

And that process... that process of creation was likely precisely what Ryu didn't understand...

"You see... I've been patient..." Ryu said slowly. "But I'm really going to need you to

answer"

The dullness in Ryu's eyes suddenly sharpened and his Dao bloomed across the world.

The Daos of those in the True Martial World had yet to even catch up. However, Ryu's

own Dao had long since reached the ceiling here.

The aura of a Peak Founding Dao bloomed, but it was still very much in the Omniscient Realm. It seemed that even his Heavenly Pupils weren't able to push him

past that level. But in reality...

Ryu hadn't allowed it to.

Right now, the paths he could see through Fate didn't carry what he wanted.

He wanted something beyond Fate.

Something beyond Reincarnation.

If he wanted to stand at the peak of the world, he couldn't just rely on his own talent, he had to do exactly what he had done with his Bone Structures, superseding logic and conventional understanding.

Ryu was more confident in himself than anyone could ever claim to be. He was certain that he was on the right path, that the secret he was looking for was down this road.

Now... he just needed to grasp it.

Ryu's figure suddenly exploded in speed, clouds pulsing with gorgeous blue-green veins appearing beneath his feet as he soared like a dragon.

His Azure Cloud Vein Bone Structure pulsed with life as he appeared behind the Aspirant, grabbing onto a piece of its armor and viciously ripping down.

CRACK.

The armor tore off, the aura of Dragon's Claw coming from Ryu's hands as he formed a

vice grip on another and ripped down as well.

CRACK.

The Aspirant spun around, swinging its sabers at Ryu's head, but Darkmoon Veil manifested and the weapons seemed to pass right through Ryu's shadowy figure as

though he wasn't there at all.

CRACK.

All of a sudden, the Aspirant found its chest bared to the world.

Of course, this was hardly an issue, it was a man, after all. What was more interesting

was that its skin was an unnatural bronze color as though it was forged from the

metal, or was maybe circulating an odd technique.

Ryu attacked with a figure, piercing a hole through the Aspirant's clavicle as though to

test something.

However, it seemed perfectly normal. Skin was pierced, bone was broken, blood

flowed naturally, but there didn't seem anything else to observe.

'It's deeper. I need to find a way to...'

Ryu was lost in his thoughts as he flickered around the Aspirant, and soon the man

found himself completely naked, being dissected before the eyes of all those watching

the Tribulation.

Horror didn't seem to be enough to describe the emotions of those watching, it was like they were watching the Heavens themselves being humiliated.

The rumble of the Dark Gold Clouds above seemed to grow fiercer, but Ryu directly

turned a blind eye to it all, not paying much attention in the slightest as he continued to litter the body of the Aspirant with holes.

The more he did this, the brighter his gaze seemed to become.