Chapter 618 Yes
Ryu smiled lightly, reaching a hand forward to ruffle Yaana's hair, but to his shock, he ended up getting his hand slapped away.
Yaana's pout caused Ailsa to burst into a fit of laughter.
"If you want, Little Yaana, I can sneak you into his bedroom. He's not very good at controlling what's down there."
Hearing such vulgar words, Yaana immediately flushed red.
The truth was that she didn't know what Ailsa and Ryu had secretly communicated about, so she was in the dark about the things she herself had done. So, when she saw Ryu stretch a hand forward to ruffle her hair like she was some little girl, she immediately showed some snappiness.
She knew that if she let Ryu get too comfortable with treating her like a little sister, she really wouldn't have any chance left. So, if there was anything she was determined to do, it was to make sure that Ryu took her seriously. As for what happened after that, she would just accept it.
However, Ailsa's words had really been too much. She didn't even know where she should hide.
She thought of hiding behind Ailsa, but she was the one who had just said those vulgar words. Clearly she was a traitor.
On the other hand, she couldn't possibly hide behind Ryu. After all, she couldn't even face him right now without becoming a ripe tomato.
Not knowing what to do with herself, Yaana covered her face and vanished into the void. In the blink of an eye, it was as though she had never been there to begin with.
"Ah…" Ryu's eyes opened wide.
For one, this exact action was one he had seen too many times. This was exactly what Nuri always did after Elena teased her. But, that alone wasn't enough to warrant his surprise.
The space on the Shrine Plane was extraordinarily tough. It was one thing for Nuri to enter the void as she pleased as her cultivation had already been very deep during Ryu's first life. But, it was a completely different matter entirely for a Yaana in the mere Immortal Ring Realm to do the same thing. Simply put, it should be far beyond her means.
Even Ailsa revealed a surprised expression before a sudden understanding came over her.
"Though she didn't get to keep her memories, she managed to keep an instinctual understanding toward what she had already comprehended in her first life. It's like watching a play of poor quality and missing several acts. But, when it comes to cultivation, this is actually a benefit to her."
Ryu nodded. He understood exactly what Ailsa meant.
Though the Black Rose could allow one to reincarnate with their memories, it didn't allow you to bring along your Inheritance comprehensions.
This sounded weird. After all, if you had all your memories, shouldn't you also have all your comprehensions as well? It was all your own thoughts to begin with, no?
Unfortunately, things didn't quite work like this. In a lot of ways, to both the Heavens and in real life, how you came to know or form an opinion is just as important as what opinion you held.
For example, someone who held a belief system from birth might value that belief system less than someone who believed something else and had to construct a new belief for themselves rather than being indoctrinated. The first individual might very well hold a factual belief system, but it was innately worth less than the second person who took a thorny road to the same conclusion.
Of course, this wasn't universal. The first individual might have adequately challenged their beliefs and thus reaffirmed their beliefs in an unbiased fashion that makes their conclusion worth just as much as the second individual. But, once again, that is a process in and of itself.
Comprehension of Inheritances worked the same way.
Every time Ryu took a step forward in his Inheritances, from an Heir, to a Ruler, to a Monarch and so on, he was reaffirming his belief or building a new layer of complexity to it. The Heavens recognized this process and thus blessed him with greater Essence to use in combat.
However, if Ryu suddenly reincarnated with all his memories, he wouldn't suddenly form a Dominion from day one. He would need to reaffirm his comprehensions again and again all the way back up to that level. On top of this, the bar he needed to meet for the affirmation would be far higher than it was the first time. In exchange for this, his Inheritance would also be far more powerful than it was originally as well.
As with everything, there was give and take.
That said, Yaana didn't have her memories. As such, all she had were vague ideals that she had built during her first life. This left her in a limbo between someone who had preconceived memories and someone else who knew nothing. The result was her blazing through much faster than either, taking benefits from both.
Ultimately, to Ryu's surprise, Yaana had already formed a Dominion. Not only that, but she was just a step away from forming Divinity, her peak achievement during her first life.
Ryu looked toward Ailsa and they both grinned, seemingly understanding exactly what this meant.
Yaana, who was within the void, peeked through her fingers to witness this scene. She suddenly felt a cold shiver down her back. Why did she suddenly feel like meat on a chopping block?
In opposition to her thinking, though, Ryu's thoughts were wild, but not in the way she thought. Once Yaana managed to reform her Divinity and reach her peak once again, they would be able to move through the Shrine Plane almost unhindered just as they had in the past. By that point, there would be many things he could do…
Ryu sat back down, allowing his heart to reach a state of ease once again. He pet Little Gem, allowing some of his Chaos Qi to flow into the little one.
"How much trouble are you planning on causing?" Ailsa asked with a smile.
Ryu's lip curled. "Yes."
Chapter 619 Greatly Important
Ailsa shook her head and laughed. Ryu's answer didn't make much sense at all but she definitely understood what he meant.
"What do you want to do about your Great Swordstaffs?" Ailsa asked, seemingly feeling that Ryu had already thought of a potential solution.
"The Armament Guild." Ryu replied lightly. "If there's any place that can help me forge a new weapon path, it's them. Right now, I feel like despite my Great Swordstaffs being just a step away from stepping out of the Monarch Realm and forming a Dominion, it feels more like an accessory to my power than anything else. Sometimes I even feel like it's a hindrance and I would be better off fighting hand to hand."
Ailsa nodded. She hadn't been there, but it was easy for her to get caught up on Ryu's memories so she knew everything just as clearly as he did.
"It's good that you're thinking ahead like this, at least that way I know that you won't be throwing your life away. You knew from the very beginning trying to become their Throne was a foolish idea, you were too eager."
Ryu smiled a bit bitterly, but he couldn't refute.
Not to mention how they would definitely try to gatekeep their Throne trials, becoming the Throne of the Martial Gods would handcuff Ryu as well. Even though it might protect him for now, when he grew powerful enough, it would become a restraint that would stop him from doing as he pleased.
The stronger the expert, the more important Karma was. There were many stories of experts who had to return to their home towns and complete ties of Karma in order to succeed in their breakthroughs. Likewise, there were many stories of absolute powerhouses crumbling from heart demons birthed several epochs ago.
It could be said that Ryu was far too rash in thinking to do something like this. Unless he could somehow break the bounds of Karma, he would never be able to destroy the Martial Gods in his lifetime.
Of course, it might not be so exaggerated and the restrictions were often dependent on just how powerful the Clan or Sect was. But, weren't the Martial Gods about as powerful as they came?
Ryu shook his head.
Ultimately, he had just wanted to vent and shout from the roof tops that he was Ryu Tatsuya and yet there was nothing they could do to him. He still kind of wanted to do that, but he would just have to be smarter about it. Now that his right hand was here, she could stop him from making stupid decisions.
"Good." Ailsa smiled. "Then what we need to do before the ceremony begins is just a few things.
"First, you need to recultivate and consolidate the strength of your body with he complete [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique.
"Second, you need to assimilate your Visualization with your Heavenly Patterns.
"Thirdly, you need to improve your Visualizations to match up to the current strength of your soul. This is the first time I have personally laid eyes on an Indestructible Soul, but I have read a lot about it. Its abilities are quite unfathomable and will only become more so as you continue.
"Fourthly, you need to learn Heaven and Mystical Grade techniques worthy of your current battle prowess."
Ailsa shook her head. She had only been unconscious for a few months and yet look at him, he was all over the place. His strength had accelerated so much but he had yet to tap into its full potential.
The fact that Ryu didn't have weapons strong enough for his current prowess was just the tip of the iceberg. The issues were so long that Ailsa felt her head spinning trying to list them all.
Just as a start, Ryu was still using [Fragrant Breeze], a mere Earth Grade movement technique. To put that into perspective, Earth Grade techniques were meant to be used by Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm experts. To make matters worse, it only made use of Ryu's Wind Inheritance and took no advantage of his Spirit Bodies.
His movement techniques were bad enough, but the only offensive technique Ryu had that was worthy of his was [White Serpent's Dance], but it was ultimately a spear technique that didn't take into the account the flexibility of a sword, let alone a swordstaff.
It was no wonder Ryu had no choice but to rely on his Bloodlines and their hidden techniques to battle Sarriel. He didn't really have much of another choice. If he didn't use Dragon Claw, what else could he use?
Ryu's current body was akin to a Ferrari and it most definitely came with its engine. And yet, he simultaneously insisted on only driving 20 miles per hour. It was a travesty.
In Ryu's defense, his combat prowess had skyrocketed so quickly that he hadn't really had time to change these things. But, it was clearly a problem nonetheless. Knowing this, Ryu immediately started on Ailsa's plans. By the end of these few months before the ceremony, he would likely undergo a major qualitative change.
While Ryu got to work, Ailsa began to take inventory of the resources of the Ice Phoenix Clan. Her mind spun as she began to calculate many things.
Eventually, Yaana snuck back out of the void and slipped into the Incubator without a word, taking Little Gem—who she had grown greatly fond of—with her.
Ailsa smiled but didn't say anything. After a while, she glanced toward Ryu who had already slipped into Breath of Heaven without a word. It was as though everything else in the world had vanished to him. With each passing second, he progressed by leaps and bounds.
Ailsa nodded before stepping into the house to find Isemeine also meditating. It was clear to her at a glance that Isemeine had come to some sort of agreement with Eska. Isemeine, who had only been in the 1st Path Extinction Realm when Ryu met her was already nearing the 2nd. It didn't take a genius to understand that Eska was somehow helping her improve. After all, sharing a body with a Sky God must come with its perks.
Isemeine opened her eyes, meeting Ailsa's gaze. Though there was a hint of annoyance in her eyes, she still didn't lash out as she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere.
"Let's talk for a moment, Isemeine."
Isemeine rolled her eyes. "What do you want, lady? I'm not interested in your hubby though I guess his cock is alright."
"Just alright?" Ailsa laughed.
Isemeine wanted to retort. But, remembering her less than elegant actions from before and how Ailsa could recall anything that Ryu could recall, she just snarled and didn't bother to retort.
"I didn't come for that. My Little Ryu can have as many concubines as he wants, this saves me slaving away too much to keep up with him. I'm still a fragile young lady, as you can see."
"Then what did you come here for?"
"I'm just curious." Ailsa said lightly. "I have a feeling that being part of a Queen-to-be's entourage isn't just a simple matter, right? Or else your mother wouldn't have to come here to inform you of it personally…"
Isemeine's brows shot up. Then she understood. While she was out of it, her mother must have come. But, Ryu had yet to get around to telling her about the message she passed on.
Now she was caught between feeling embarrassed that her mother had seen her like that and being angry at Ryu for being so neglectful. He actually didn't tell her about something so important.
Because make no mistake… It was greatly important.