"I'm sorry."
Ryu released Ailsa. He knew well that she was over drafting herself to maintain her true form all for his sake. Luckily, since she wasn't using energy or any techniques, it was possible to hold this state for longer than the usual hour limit.
Ailsa giggled. "You felt up this big sister's body for so long, yet showed no reaction. You really know how to break a girl's heart."
Ryu opened his lips to reply, but in the end he sighed and shook his head in defeat. To think he was actually worried about this Life Partner of his blaming herself. If she could still joke like this, it seemed she had experienced her own breakthrough.
Ailsa wasn't wrong, though. Her body felt practically boneless and was soft beyond compare. Ryu had only acted on instinct, but she really did have the capital to comfort anyone, man or woman.
"Are you alright?" Ailsa's voice softened.
"I'm fine." Ryu replied without much emotion.
"In the end, he was still your grandfather." Ailsa said lightly.
"Yes. Yes, he is."
Ailsa's eyes glowed for a moment at these words before the light in her gaze vanished.
Ryu's meaning was clear. Before, no one from the Tor Clan was worthy of being called family by him. But, Amell Tor was now a man Ryu would call grandfather sincerely.
The matters of the past? Didn't matter. The reality that his Tor blood had been eradicated by his four beast bloodlines? Didn't matter. The fact that Amell was actually far weaker than himself? Didn't matter.
King Tor? He was no father of his. Concubine Leilani? She was no mother of his. Isla and Dahlia? They were no sisters of his.
However, Amell? Ryu wholeheartedly accepted him!
Ryu stood, flexing his arms, legs and torso to see if any damage remained. Even though he could no longer cultivate, what cultivation he did have still remained. So, he was surprised to find that he couldn't sense even a small shred of a lingering injury…
It had taken Ryu months to get over a single punch from a Connecting Heaven Realm expert just less than a year ago! Was the awakening of his Ice Flame really so potent?
"Not just your Ice Flame, but I have a feeling it's the synergistic effect of three factors. First, your Nirvana Flame seems to have an amplification effect on Phoenix Flames. It was it that finally allowed your Rage Flame to be subdued so you could finally start on your path toward healing.
"Second, there's your Ice Jade Crystal Body. One of its four ability aside from Friend of Beasts, Cultivation Skin, and Absolute Balance is its Heal Talent. And thirdly, the Absolute Balance of your Bone Structure allowed these abilities to not only not impede each other, but actually work together to produce a result larger than the sum of its individual parts.
"Normally, only Body Realm cultivators who've entered the Blood Tempering Realm could regrow limbs, but I feel that you have the ability right now even without awakening your Ice Flame's Heal Talent."
Ryu nodded in understanding before suddenly realizing that he was actually naked.
Still, he didn't react much to this fact and simply communicated with his spatial ring to put on a pair of loose black pants and left it at that. Since he currently had no qi, there really wasn't a point to putting on the robes woven by a Spiritual Seamstress now. If he did, they would only be needlessly destroyed without the support of energy. It was better if he wore clothes of little value.
"Are you worried?" Ailsa stood to her full height from her knees, looking toward Ryu with a curious light.
"No." Ryu replied. "I believe in you."
Ailsa felt a warmth in her heart hearing these words. If Ryu had said this in the past, it would definitely have been more empty than anything else. After all, did he have any other choice but to believe in her? However, Ryu had been won over by Ailsa's resolve.
This kind of confident woman – one certain in her abilities – only this kind of woman could grab Ryu's attention. If Ailsa truly wanted to be his big sister, she was practically competing with the Heavens themselves. It was difficult to budge Nuri's position in his heart.
But… This step she had taken... It was the right one!
"Good!" Ailsa said with a grandiose air, her golden hair suddenly whipping under her momentum.
"You may think that cultivation is impossible but this isn't entirely the case. Someone born without a Spiritual Foundation truly wouldn't be able to, but your starting point is no longer zero. Though it will be more difficult and slower to cultivate, it is still possible.
"The first step is your Mental Realm. Even if you couldn't cultivate, you could still create new Visualizations, no? Even if you couldn't cultivate, you can still find stronger corpses, no?"
Ryu's eyes lit up. Theoretically, with his current Mental Realm cultivation, his peak potential should be the equivalent of a Half-Step Immortal Ring expert. Having expanded his Mental Realm to twenty kilometers already, he was definitely qualified to display this strength.
So why hadn't he yet? Simple. He hadn't invested enough time. The period he had spent cultivating was still too small. He had yet to truly grasp the strength of his [Immortal Sakura] technique, and he hadn't learned any Mental Realm combat techniques!
"Then how do I compensate for my lack of qi? How do I form Death Seals? I no longer have access to Grave Qi, nor can I accumulate more through cultivation. In addition, I haven't comprehended a Death Inheritance, so I can't rely on this either. To make matters worse, without a Spiritual Foundation, I can't establish a line of communication with the Heavens, so it is impossible for me to comprehend a Death Inheritance now."
Ryu didn't question Ailsa in despair. If he was saddened by these thoughts, his eyes wouldn't be glowing. He asked these questions because he believed that Ailsa had a solution!
Ailsa smiled widely. "Of course this Big Sis of your has a solution!
"Even if you cannot cultivate death qi, so what? Even if you cannot comprehend a new Inheritance, so what?
"Essence isn't the only energy my Cultus Clan can forcibly take control of. We are known as nurturers for a reason. If we were limited by affinity, how would we dare to claim such a title?"
The glow in Ryu's eyes became fiercer. Ailsa was right! Cultus Faeries couldn't possibly be limited by affinity, or else wouldn't that mean that there would always be talents they couldn't nurture? If this was true, how could they dare give themselves such a grandiose title and be among the top ranked Faeries?
"All Little Ryu has to do is follow me. I will bring you to Death Qi rich areas. Then, you can rely on me to forcefully control the atmospheric qi and mold the Death Qi as you see fit! Though I am not as adept as Quibus Faeries in controlling death qi, I am still more than enough!
"As for where your energy stores, this is even more simple. Even if you cannot store qi within your meridians any longer, don't you still have your Mental Realm? I have seen multiple Visualizations within the crystalline jade capable of fulfilling this feat!"
Ryu's heart beat with a staunch resolve.
Controlling atmospheric qi? Taking the ownerless qi and making it your own? This was only something those who had completed the Connecting Heaven Realm and formed their Immortal Rings could do!
Upon forming one's Immortal Ring, each ring would be capable of snatching qi from the air, thus resulting in a massive qualitative change to one's strength upon crossing that barrier. Yet, by relying on Ailsa, Ryu could do it!
Hadn't he done it already? Wasn't it because of his connection with Ailsa that he could control Essence to form his Qi Blade? Wasn't it Ailsa who had controlled Essence back during his Throne challenge to heal him?
This was the true strength of a Cultus Faerie!
"However, this much is only the beginning." Ailsa said resolutely. "I am certain that we will find a way to re-establish your Spiritual Foundation connection with your meridians. And I believe that the secret lies within your Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.
"With these first ranked pupils, you can even peer into the Tides of Fate and gaze upon the Fate Stars, I don't believe for one second that with this ability, you will be unable to find your Spiritual Foundation.
"In the end, one's dantian is simply a Unique Small Realm. It has coordinates of its own, it's a tangible existence, it hasn't simply disappeared. As long as you become strong enough to find it through space and time, your strength will skyrocket.
"The Heavens love to take things away, but when it comes across those able to snatch their belongings back, the rewards will be unimaginable.
"As difficult as it is to cross the Spiritual Severing Realm with Chaotic Silk Meridians, the rewards for doing so must be grand beyond compare!"