The clash of the two Ryus immediately grew heated. When Ryu used a spear, his shadow used a spear. When he used a glaive, his shadow used a glaive. When he used a halberd, his shadow used a halberd.
The changes to Ryu's battle style were swift and seamless. At times his attacks would be sharp and clever, at others they would be commanding and overbearing, and still yet they could be without obstruction and fierce.
With each exchange, the bottleneck loosened further and further.
Ryu remembered with absolute clarity that the moment his [Basic Stances] reached the Lower Small Success stage, it was that very moment he became an Heir. However, this 'small success' moniker was by the standards of his father's image in his memories. By the standards of someone just beginning to cultivation, he was well beyond the Circle of Perfection.
To now, Ryu's [Basic Stances] had remained at the Lower Small Success stage, creeping forward ever so slowly. This could only be expected. His father was a Dao Pedestal Realm cultivator, how could he replicate his image any better in such a short time?
As far as Ryu knew, his father had already formed his Dominion and was only a half-step away from forming his Divinity in the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. Ryu couldn't even imagine wielding that kind of strength. The fact he had reached the Small Success stage already was shocking enough.
Within the dark cell, a violent pressure began to flow outward from Ryu's body. But, Ailsa worked quickly to shift the qi into the ethereal realm, making it impossible to sense even for Immortal Ring realm experts.
She sucked in a cold breath. 'Just a step away from the Impose Realm…'
There was only a single barrier between the world of an Inheritor and the world of a Lord, but it could only be described as the difference between Heaven and Earth.
Within the category of Mortal Endowments, there were seven realms, each more powerful than the last. But, unlike cultivation technique grades, improving one's cultivation didn't necessarily mean that one could take the next step forward.
When one breaks from the Pulse Opening Realm, you would naturally graduate to Black Grade techniques. When one breaks from the Spiritual Severing Realm, you would naturally graduate to Earth Grade techniques. However, in the martial world, there were no shortage of Connecting Heaven Realm experts who could only be Inheritors, while geniuses like Ryu existed that could become a Lord before even stepping into the Fourth Order!
Ryu's body trembled, a flood of Essence flowing into his body like a raging tide and washing over even as his deeply buried marrow.
The wave didn't cease at one. Just an hour later, there was a second. And just six hours after that, there was a third.
Like the push and pull of a perfectly balanced system of counters, Ryu's path stretched equally in three directions.
In one, there was the scholarly God Emperor, in the other, there was the imposing War God, and finally, like a beast roaring from the mountain tops, there was the mighty Dragon God.
A steamy breath left Ryu's lips. The scolding fog singed the metal bars before him, causing them to give off a red-orange glow. But, Ryu didn't leave the crystalline jade. Completely immersed in his own world, he trained like a madman. It was only Ailsa, who was by his side every waking minute, who knew that the City Lord wasn't worthy of causing such a change in Ryu… He trained like this every day.
'His Dragon God inheritance is agitating his Fire Dragon bloodline. It's no wonder his Rage Flames awakened despite his Fire Dragon bloodline not having been provided enough Vital Qi…'
Essence was the highest form of energy in existence. Just like neutral qi, it was compatible with everything. The issue now was that Essence, under the guidance of Ryu's comprehension of his halberd inheritance, was becoming the Vital Qi his Fire Dragon bloodline needed.
This would be a great thing in any other situation, but Ryu was current in prison, having just angered a Connecting Heaven Realm expert. But now, just his latent breath alone was a few ticks away from melting Black Grade metals. If this continued, Ryu's situation wouldn't become better, it would become worse!
If this City Lord found out Ryu had such an overbearing bloodline, who knows what he'd do?
Ailsa took a deep breath. This Life Partner of hers really makes others worry.
She concentrated to her best ability, slowly siphoning away the monstrous heat into the ethereal realm. Slowly, but surely, the cell temperature returned to normal, but Ryu's body heat didn't lessen, instead, it grew.
The Essence continued to fuel his Fire Dragon bloodline, forcing its strength upward by massive increments of ten thousand jin. In the blink of an eye, it surpassed his Lightning Qilin bloodline, soaring past fifty thousand jin, past one hundred thousand jin, before violently slamming into a barrier it couldn't cross as 170 000 jin.
Ailsa sighed. 'It's just as I thought… The limit of strength of his Fire Dragon bloodline should be 200 000 jin, but he lost some of its strength due to it sharing a body with three other bloodlines. In the end, though… It only lost thirty thousand jin…'
In the end, the latent fire type Vital Qi spilled over into Ryu's Fire Phoenix bloodline. The Essence only finally slowed to a crawl after his Fire Phoenix bloodline reached 31 600 jin of strength. It seemed the thirty thousand Ryu lost out on was replenished elsewhere…
It had only been three days, but the gains were unimaginable. The crackling of Ryu's bones was so fierce that they would have resounded through the whole of Looming City had it not been for Ailsa.
Ryu's presence alone had become so overbearing that the air almost seemed to solidify around him, not daring to move. His total strength had reached 256 600 jin, the equivalent of a cultivator with a single Ancestral Bloodline opening all of their Body Vessels before continuing to fill their blood with Vital Qi to about twenty-five percent. In simple terms… The strength of a Half-Step Connection Heaven Realm expert was one million jin for someone with this caliber of bloodline, and though he wasn't quite there yet, Ryu's strength could already be considering to be of the Middle Divine Vessel Realm in bodily strength.
Ailsa shuddered. 'So this is the strength of having four Ancestral Bloodline… Even with them losing power while balancing and restricting each other… This is too much.'
Soon she calmed down. If it wasn't for Ryu reaching the Imposing Realm… this could have never happened.
Unfortunately, Ailsa didn't get the chance to rest, because the unassuming black Glove of Order began to greedily evolve under Ryu's new comprehension.
Still, as she was working to contain yet another phenomenon, Ailsa couldn't help but wonder… If Ryu comprehended an Ice and Lightning Inheritance to the Impose Realm as well, wouldn't he gain the strength of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert in one swoop?
In the end, she shook her head and focused. It took Ryu four years despite his talent and diligence to reach the Impose Realm in his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. But… Even as she thought this, Ailsa suddenly remembered something else… The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons were Birthed Phenomena, but Ryu's Ice and Lightning Inheritance were hidden within his veins… Wouldn't comprehending the latter be easier…?