Ryu's [Vector Eagle] was exceptional. Became of its incredibly slim and thin design, it had to deal with practically no air resistance. At the same time, Ryu managed to keep [Piercing Ballista]'s malleable mercury body, thus allowing Ryu to change [Vector Eagle]'s form as he pleased. Minor changes in the technique's wings gave it a maneuverability [Winding Arrow] could only dream of. As for its piercing power, this hardly needed mentioned. With such a slim formfactor, how could it be lacking.
'To think Little Ryu has such talent in the Mental Realm…' Though Ailsa thought this, she wasn't too surprised by this turnout. Those who wielded the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils in the past often migrated toward the Mental Realm as well.
Though the pupils were obviously also greatly beneficial for the Qi and Body Realm, it was far easier for them to turn their comprehension into strength in the Mental Realm.
At this point in his life, Ryu was actually ahead of other wielders of this number one ranked set of pupils because he had already undone eight seals. Usually, this wouldn't be accomplished until one had already stepped into the Peak of the Connecting Heaven Realm.
Nine. Ninety-nine. And nine hundred ninety-nine. These three hurdles represented the peak of the Mortal, Immortal and Cosmic Grades respectively. The fact Ryu was nearly at the pinnacle of the Mortal Grade already despite only being of the Divine Vessel Realm spoke volumes.
Though Mental Realm techniques didn't have any grades of their own and a person of any Mental Realm could theoretically learn any Visualization, there were obviously differing layers of complexities to every technique.
While Ryu had yet to become capable of seeing the Runes of [Immortal Sakura], for techniques tailored toward Spiritual Awakening and Endowment Realm cultivators, seeing through them was far too easy for him!
'Sorry Grandpa Kukan…' Ryu thought to himself somberly.
There was a reason this was the first technique Ryu chose to create. He found his long-range abilities to be far too lacking. He didn't seem able to grasp the quintessence of archery as easily as he had done for the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons.
Of course, Ryu was aware that this wasn't because he was lacking in talent. His grandfather had always said the most important thing to an archer were his eyes. Who in existence would dare to claim they had better eyes than him? Ryu just suspected that maybe his heart wasn't in it.
After so many centuries of being nothing but a frail cripple, he longed for battle in a way archery couldn't satisfy. Maybe in the future when his blood cooled, he would try again. However, for now, if he ever needed a long-ranged attack, it was better if his hands were still free to wield his halberd.
Ryu hadn't even noticed the lost expressions of the Zu Ancestors, he had long since moved on.
After completing his primary task, there were a host of other techniques to choose from. There were categories of illusion techniques, there were sense augmentation techniques and even mental attack techniques.
Ryu tossed out the idea of illusions for the same reason he chose to set aside archery, he wasn't interested.
Sense augmentation techniques were decent, but could they compare to this [Third Perspective]? So he ignored this category of techniques as well.
Ryu spent quite a bit of time reading through mental attack techniques, and even memorizing everything that could be used by the Soul Birth Realm and below, repeating the same with illusion techniques, but he also didn't practice any of these. He wanted to be prepared for anything he might face in the future, but this wasn't a path he wanted to follow.
These mental attack techniques were the very reason Mental Realm Masters became taboo in his Shrine Realm to begin with. Everything from causing mental disorientation to techniques capable of enslaving masses could be found here. Ryu didn't feel like delving into such a world.
Ironically, the first category of techniques that caught Ryu's attention were defensive ones.
One might think that with [Immortal Sakura] he had nothing to worry about, but Ryu disagreed with this vehemently.
Firstly, [Immortal Sakura] took far too much Spiritual Qi to sustain. In the end, even though he only used it to the peak of its second stage, it was a Sky God's technique. It was fundamentally different from these lower tier techniques. Ryu couldn't bring it out every time he needed an extra shield.
Secondly, [Immortal Sakura] was very draining on his Focus Qi. The key to its amazing defenses was in the blossom petals that fell from its large canopy. The defensive petals didn't just manifest from thin air. If they did, it would ruin the quintessence of the technique which relied on the majesty of the Immortal Sakura.
As a result, Ryu not only had to predict the trajectory of an attack, he also had to cause a petal to accurately flutter down and into its path.
This was worth it if he was fighting a strong enemy, or maybe multiple strong enemies. But it wasn't practical otherwise.
The technique that intrigued Ryu the most happened to be one he recently ran into, [Ethereal Ripple]. It had been used by Youkai to stall and preserve his life, and Ryu himself felt it had a lot of potential, it was just that its flaw was too glaring. Someone adept in the Mental Realm wouldn't have to roar like Ryu had, a simple controlled frequency of Spiritual Qi would be enough.
But… if some modifications were made…
Ryu's mind sped through all of the techniques he had read, something that was exceptionally easy to him not only due to his own memory, but also the Origin Flame.
'[Ethereal Ripple]… [Earthen Veins]… [Sonorous Roar]… [Warp]…'
These four technique swam in Ryu's mind. He picked them each carefully from a pile of extremely similar techniques before he was certain his experiment had a near eighty percent chance of success.
Seeing the golden Runes flying in the air, the four Ancestors looked on with incredulous expressions.
[Earthen Veins]… That was a sense augmentation technique. It used Spiritual Qi to send vibrations in the earth like tendrils on a creature. Its range was easily ten to even a hundred times one's Spiritual Sense.
[Sonorous Roar] was a mental attack technique. It used high frequency ripples of Spiritual Qi to disorient one's senses for a moment, throwing off the balance of one's inner ear and delaying their reaction time.
[Warp] was a unique teleportation technique. Instead of opening a rift like [Minor Teleportation] did, it folded space, effectively shrinking the earth beneath one's feet. Its range was far smaller than that of [Minor Teleportation], but its versatility was greater and was far better for use in battle.
As for [Ethereal Ripple], it was a defense skill. It formed a shield within the Ethereal Plane capable of influencing the Real Plane. This, theoretically, made it a great defense that was difficult to take down without having keen insights into the Mental Realm.
Understanding these things, you could see why the Ancestors would be astonished. These techniques… They were completely different from one another! They even came from drastically different categories of technique! At least before, Ryu had been fusing techniques from the same category, but this… This was simply madness!
"If you don't want him to die, you should stop him now. Experimenting with Runes isn't a child's game." Eska said seriously. "A Rune is the representation of a Heavenly Law no matter how simple that law may be. And, it mustn't be forgotten that these Runes are using his Mental Realm as a source to appear. That means if they're combined in a dangerous way, he could shatter his own mind."
Eska spoke to Ailsa seriously, but all she got was a glance that scorned her words.
"My Little Ryu isn't a fool."
Eska's brow furrowed. But she suddenly came to understanding. As Ryu's Life Partner, Ailsa could read his mind at her leisure. The fact she wasn't panicking meant that Ryu's chances of success were extraordinarily high!
If it was a normal person who felt this way, Eska might ignore it. But at the end of the day, Ailsa was a Soul Ascension Realm expert! Her depth of knowledge wasn't something a normal individual could compare to.
The days ticked by. Ryu slaved away, computing countless iterations as though he didn't know the meaning of fatigue.
However, the fact he had survived so long alone was enough for the four Ancestors to tremble. He was really doing it…
"Condense." Ryu said lightly.
A ripple swept through the library. The sound of turning page sounded as books loose from their shelves flipped wildly.
Ryu smiled. There was something endlessly satisfying about this process. It was the kind of feeling he had only gotten when he completely swept through a complicated Ruin in his last life…
"I'll call you [Warped Ripple]…"