Chapter 365: Sapphire
Despite the fact he had yet to awaken a Talent for his Qilin Bloodline, Ryu's resistance to lightning was objectively high. However, no matter how high his resistances were, the power that slammed into his back practically tore him apart.
'Focus, Little Ryu. The Awakening of Talents is fairly random in most cases, but this is only because certain beasts don't have the proper lineage, while humans with beast bloodlines like yours have it even worse. If you want any sort of control, you have to work with me.'
Ryu's bloodlines had the potential to be no weaker than true Ancestral Grade Bloodlines. As long as he continued to temper them faithfully, there was no doubt. However, this didn't mean that there weren't also disadvantages.
For one, despite the fact Little Rock's bloodline was far thinner than Ryu's own, it actually projected far better than Ryu's. This was regardless of the fact Ryu had four full Bloodlines while the young Lightning Hawk only had the wisp of one.
This ultimately meant that much of the true strength of Ryu's Bloodlines wouldn't manifest themselves until the point his power was sufficient enough to hold them. He had only just barely met the minimum threshold to begin reaping some rewards after his body entered the Immortal Realms.
However, this was where a new barrier was put up. Awakening bestial Talents with the body of a human was near impossible. At best, he could hope for one of the weaker Talents to awaken for him.
Of these, the Lightning Qilin had many. For example, there was their Sharp Sight Talent. It was part of the reason Ryu's Grandpa Kukan had such good archery skills. However, Ryu had the first ranked Heavenly Pupils in all of existence. What good would such a Talent do for him?
Aside from this, there was also the Earthen Hoof Talent that Ryu definitely didn't want. Just like his two Phoenix and Fire Dragon Bloodlines had wind attributes as secondary strengths since they were winged beasts, Ryu's Lightning Qilin Bloodline had an earth attribute as a secondary strength.
Of course, this so-called 'secondary' strength was far more powerful than most beasts could hope for. But, this was still nearly very last on the list of Talents Ryu wanted to awaken.
Earthen Hoof's auxiliary function was to strengthen the legs, provide a steady base, and act as a Kicking Art Inheritance. Its main function was a boosted control over the earth element, which also gave an even greater resistance to lightning.
Ryu didn't specialize in hand-to-hand combat, so a kicking art didn't interest him. In addition, he had no intention of branching into earth qi either. This Talent would just be marginally more useful than the Sharp Sight Talent.
In truth, Ryu was being a bit spoiled. Even the worst Talents of the Ancient Beasts were classified as the very Peak Heaven Grade. No matter how simple or seemingly useless their descriptions, they would ultimately be a great boost to his strength.
But, as a man lucky enough to have a Cultus Faerie by his side, it was only right that he was a bit spoiled.
'There are two Talents that I most want for you in your current state.' Ailsa thoughts projected into Ryu's mind as streaks of blue lightning coursed throughout his body.
'The first is Lightning Qilin Spirit Body. The second is the Storm Soul Talent. I will leave the decision up to you. The one you don't choose will have to wait until you have opened your sixth Body Vessel and are preparing to enter the next Body Realm…'
Ailsa didn't explain what these two Talents were because she was certain that Ryu already knew.
The Spirit Body Talent wasn't exclusive to the Qilin. Every Ancient Beast Bloodline had the potential to awaken this Blessed Talent. In addition, it would be considered the most fundamental, as well as one of the most powerful Talents a beast could awaken.
It allows a Qilin, or in this case, a human like Ryu, to tap into the deepest wells of a Lightning Qilin's strength. It's a fundamental boost to the Talents a Qilin has already awakened, while allowing the faster cultivation of lightning elements.
The strongest ability of a Lightning Qilin's Spirit Body is the One with Lightning state. This state allows a person who has awakened this ability to shift into the pure element out of their physical form and back again seamlessly. This not only increases speed to even more obscene levels, but it also acts as an almost impossible to deal with escape and defense mechanism.
Also, as a human, activating the Spirit Body Talent would allow Ryu to manifest qilin scales and output a multiplier to his strength for a small time.
The Storm Soul Talent is the second fundamental ability of the Lightning Qilin. Except this time, it is exclusive to them and doesn't share a name across Ancient Beasts. However… It is a Sin Talent.
The Heavens have many taboos, one of which could be considered controlling weather patterns and events. The Storm Soul Talent give those who awaken it the ability to steal strength from the skies and use the weather to power and strengthen their attacks.
Once this Talent is awakened, one gains access to the potential to unlock several of the Lightning Qilin Clan's most precious techniques… If it reaches a certain level, calling down Tribulation Clouds to smite one's enemies wouldn't be entirely impossible, though the penalty for doing so is harsh beyond compare.
It was a difficult choice, indeed.
The Sin Talent title might scare others away, but it didn't faze Ryu even the smallest bit. He really did find it difficult to choose.
Since the Spirit Body Talent was available to all of his Bloodlines, he could set it aside for now… But the issue was that there was no doubt that the Lightning Qilin's Spirit Body was the most useful and enticing. Turning into flames wasn't nearly as good for obvious reasons.
However, if he awakened the Storm Soul Talent, his power would take an instantaneous massive leap forward. And, once Nemesis' strength reached a certain level, he might even be able to pass on the ability to Little Rock.
The other thing to consider was that abilities that could turn one into lightning were somewhat scarce, but not exactly rare. However, as for ones that could control the weather… There might only be a handful in all of existence.
What should he do?
Ryu took a deep breath. 'My escape ability is too important to me right now. Choosing the Spirit Body Talent is smartest.'
'… Are you sure?' Ailsa asked. '… I know that your father had two Ancient Beast Bloodlines, and he was only able to awaken a single Spirit Body, so he chose the Fire Dragon Spirit Body. However, your mother awoke both of her Spirit Bodies because she had your Ice Jade Crystal Body to rely on. You don't have to choose one or the other even if the Lightning Qilin Spirit Body is most useful to you.'
Ryu took another breath and shook his head. 'No, I've made my decision. Controlling storms does me no good if I just end up dead.'
Ailsa nodded, her eyes closing as she rested her head beneath Ryu's chin.
Ryu suddenly felt a strong Spiritual Sense latch onto every cell of his body. He had already known that Ailsa was within the Soul Ascension Realm, but it was only after witnessing the power himself that he truly understood just how large the gap between them was.
In the martial world, such a gap should have made them people of two different worlds. Yet, here they were … together.
However, Ryu couldn't think about his for long.
A furious, uncontrollable roar left his lips. It was so powerful that the sound protections of his cultivation room cracked and splintered, followed by the sturdy materials beneath his seated form shattering.
The roar of Ryu's Ice Phoenix Bloodline had been mighty. When he touched the blue marbled ring now on his finger, it felt like it had been released from a shackle. However, the oppression of Ryu's Lightning Qilin Bloodline had been on another level. Of his four, it had been the most neglected. It was only made worse by the fact it had been being suppressed by its long-time rival, the Fire Dragon.
With a resounding snap, Ryu's second Body Vessel burst.
Ryu's gaze flashed open, his body crackling with endless power.
Beautiful blue sapphire scales rippled across his body, fading in and out between arcs of vibrant blue lightning.
However, the most captivating were his eyes. They slit vertically like a Qilin Emperor's, pulsing with a sky blue and being charged with endless power. They were like two gems, glowing in the darkness.
Even after his scales faded away and his pupils returned to their original circular shape and silver color, the subtle arcs of lightning hidden in their depths never stopped. Anyone now meeting Ryu's gaze would feel as though they had landed eyes upon an Ancient crouching beast.. Those that could last without lowering their heads would be few and far between.