Chapter 678 Oh, Right!
"So Dragon Soul is the ultimate form of Dragon's Might… I see." Ailsa nodded.
Ryu smiled. Dragon's Might? It was indeed an inferior form. His grandfather hadn't even bothered to explain it to him. It was clear that to Saint Tatsuya, no grandson of his should waste time on such a thing.
This was why the words of the Blood Essence's soul resonated so much with Ryu.
'Don't blame your blood for your own cowardice…'
No matter what the race and no matter what your talent, often times your disposition was the most important. Even among the Dragons, there would be the scum and the unworthy. If just having Dragon blood made you invincible, they would have never lost their throne to begin with.
Ryu Bloodlines receding may very well have been due to them being nothing before the Heavens, but it wasn't just them to blame either. Hadn't Ryu also felt fear before he forcefully pulled himself together? What right did he had to castigate his own Blood?
His Bloodlines were weak because he had yet to make them strong, not because they were inherently weak. Only with such a mentality could Ryu ever hope to reach the pinnacle of cultivation.
If there came a day where his talent wasn't enough, where his bloodlines weren't good enough to claim his seat at the top of the mountain anymore, what would he do?
Ryu had already answered that question long ago….
Wouldn't that just be wonderful?
"Yaana."
"Hm?" Yaana looked up quickly from her own thoughts, seemingly a bit flustered.
"The Ice Phoenix Clan doesn't really have many palm and hand experts outside of my grandmother. But the treasures she used were all Ancestral Grade so they might be a bit much for you. The Tatsuya Clan had a long more fist experts so you can probably find something you like that doesn't have a Fire character that's too overwhelming while also being of a decent level. Feel free to look around."
"Oh, yes… Right."
Yaana was still thinking about her reaffirmed resolve from earlier. Treasures were the absolute last thing on her mind.
"If you want to use a weapon, though, you can also let me know. I have too many things and could never use them all."
Ryu smiled lightly toward Yaana then walked to a wall. Along it, row after row of spears, glaives and halberds could be found. It was difficult even to approach them without being burnt to a crisp.
In the Tatsuya Clan, not everyone could learn the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. It wasn't about gatekeeping, but rather that one's Bloodline had to have a certain density in order to succeed. Without it, you'd end up fracturing your bones and rupturing your meridians and blood vessels. It was that serious.
If Ryu had seen this rack of weapons before he switched to the Great Swordstaff, he would have been excited beyond belief. But now it just felt more depressing than anything else. It was like a vast amount of wealth that he couldn't use.
"Who said you can't use it?"
Ailsa appeared to Ryu's side with a smile on her face. She had been taking inventory of everything, trying to find the best way to torture Ryu next when she noticed this.
"What do you suggest?" Ryu asked.
"Well, you said you wanted to go to the Armament Guild, right?"
"Mm."
"Well, your goal there is to build up a new discipline for yourself. But, have you ever thought of why your great grandfather is called the Saintly Weapon Sky God instead of just the Spear Sky God or the Halberd Sky God?"
"He isn't good enough." Ryu replied straight forwardly.
That was right. The simpler the name attached to a Sky God, the more powerful they were. Not being able to call yourself a simple name was the product of your Dao not being able to encompass all that it entailed. His grandfather could only claim a very specific style attached to these very specific weapons, thus his moniker.
"It may seem like that one the surface, but that's only one aspect of naming. The word 'Saint' holds a lot of weight. In addition, he doesn't call himself the Saintly Spear-Glaive-Halberd Sky God. He calls himself the Saintly Weapon Sky God. The word Weapon is broad and all encompassing. Objectively, its an even simpler term than Halberd or Spear which could both be considered to be quite specific."
Ryu's gaze glowed, but he remained silent.
It wasn't like he hadn't thought of this before, it was more like he didn't like giving his great grandfather credit. The idea that he might be even more powerful than someone calling themselves the Halberd Sky God was annoying to Ryu, not because he feared the man, but because he didn't feel this man deserved any of his respect.
Even in his final three hours with his Grandpa Tatsuya, the latter had only mention his father once. But, he didn't elaborate or go into any depths. Even Ryu's Grandma Kunan had spoken more about that man.
"So what do you think this means?"
Knowing that Ryu was being petty again, Ailsa didn't let him off the hook. In the past, she might have chosen not to press. But by now, her relationship with Ryu was so deep that she wasn't worried about angering him. Even if he got angry, he'd forgive her in a few days at most.
"It means that the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons are conveying a message, an idea. It just so happens that the Spear, Glaive and Halberd are the easiest mediums for conveying this message, but it's a message that can be expressed with any weapon."
Ryu replied to this question quite easily and calmly, but Ailsa knew that it was like raking his knees across glass to say such words aloud.
"If you want to go about forming your own emotion to convey, that's fine. But, that doesn't mean you have to be stuck with a single weapon to do so. What makes the Great Swordstaffs great is that they can allow you to do what the Halberd cannot.
"The Halberd is a weapon well known enough that it's difficult to pull its Faith in one way or another. But, the Great Swordstaff is a forgotten weapon, lost to the ages. This allows you to take what you like from each discipline and build up your own."
Ailsa reached out and grasped a ruby spear that was eight feet tall. It was covered in scales and deep trenches that pulsed with golden lights.
She tossed the spear to Ryu before reach out again and picking out a great sword that was about a foot wide and a meter and a half long. Its blade was an abyssal black that swallowed all light and its handle and guard were a simple ashy silver.
Ryu quickly caught the weapons, only to almost fall back.
'… Heavy…'
Ailsa didn't seem intent on stop as she picked out several other weapons. By the time she was done, she had force Ryu to hold every single one of the Armament Guild's nine weapons. There was even a dragon bow hanging around Ryu's neck with a bowstring made of true dragon tendon. He didn't even know if he had the strength to pull it back to 10%, let alone use it's full potential.
"Until you can find a strand that connects all these weapons into one, you can't use your Great Swordstaffs anymore."
Ryu blinked. "… What about my fists?"
Suddenly remembering her awkward failure during the descent of Heaven's Punishment, Ailsa blushed red.
"Ah, right, yes. Oh, look over there, I think I see some good Herbs for Little Gem."
Ailsa scurried away.