The more Ryu meditated, the more satisfied he seemed to become. This sort of confidence exuded by a love of your own Dao was fundamental to any cultivator. Only by having such a healthy pride in your own thoughts could you continue to forge ahead in those lonely moment where you might spend millions, even billions of year in seclusion with no one else but yourself.
But, even compared to most others, the happiness Ryu felt right at this moment was beyond. There wasn't even the slightest shade of doubt in Ryu's heart, none of the shaky confidence one might feel upon taking a road no one else had before. Instead, his back was straight, his smile was broad and his heart beat at a steady rhythm.
He could feel it. This Dao, though still in its infancy… It could take him to the peak. That glass ceiling, he could no longer sense it.
Of course, there was always the chance that he had just pushed the glass ceiling up to a level he just couldn't see at his current level. But, with the confidence gained by having broken it once, Ryu would never hesitate to claim that he could break it again. In fact, not only would he break it, but he would shatter it to pieces, ripping it apart for daring to stand in his way.
When Ryu reached this point in his thoughts, a light silvery glow enveloped his body. It vanished not long afterward and was hardly perceptible, even to the point that Ryu himself missed it. However, there was one person who hadn't…
Ailsa.
Ailsa watched on as Ryu meditated, falling deep within her own thoughts. She had, of course, built her own Dao long ago. Ryu had never probed to find out what it was, but she was fairly confident in herself as well. However, in recent times, she had felt it wavering.
Ailsa knew that this was an enormous deal and something she couldn't ignore, but there truly wasn't much she could do about it.
'That feeling just now… It was so similar to Little Ryu's fist technique… But what is it…?'
This was where all the doubt stemmed from. Ailsa's confidence was built upon her nurturing. She took pride in her abilities as a Cultus Faerie and had chosen to build her Dao upon it. Unlike Ryu, though, she had yet to choose a name for her own. To do so so early was something rarely done. In fact, it could be said that the fact Ryu had decided on a name already was almost more impressive than the strength of his Dao itself.
The picking of a name denoted supreme confidence, a confidence that couldn't be faked, and a confidence that Ailsa didn't quite have just yet, and it seemed that she was right to have these doubts.
She had built everything she knew based on the cultivation system she had known all her life, but what if what she had come to know was flawed and incomplete? In fact, she was almost certain that it was.
Ailsa had already broken through to the Cosmic Seed Realm. Her cultivation after being suppressed for so long was just as fast as advertised. But, she had come to a grinding halt here.
The Formation of one's Cosmic Seeds was maybe the final chance you would have at shifting the focus of your Dao. Though there were other methods Ailsa could think of, none were as perfect. All of these other methods would likely leave behind flaws.
In the past, maybe Ailsa wouldn't have cared much about this. But, the deeper in love she fell with Ryu, the more she came to understand that she couldn't allow herself to be normal.
The truth of the matter was that Ailsa was a prideful person all to her own. She was the perfect match to Ryu, how could she not be? Across all of time and Existence, these two were the ones brought together, the two of them were meant to be together.
Ironically, though, Ailsa felt that a lot of her sharp edges were being dulled. Her entire world revolved around Ryu, and she loved it that way, but it also made her complacent and not as hungry as she had once been.
What were her original goals? Wasn't it to prove her brother right? To deviate from the path of the Faeries and forge a better future for them?
She remembered in her youth how dissatisfied she was with the idea that the Fey were their superiors. The Ailsa she knew would have treated Sarriel as a rival to surpass and crush, and yet her love for Ryu had dulled those instincts to the point she even invited her with open arms into their 'family'.
Maybe Ailsa wouldn't even care to worry about these things if she was still as useful to Ryu as she hoped to always be, but it seemed that more and more frequently, her Life Partner was making breakthroughs without her. Even something as important as his Dao, something that she should have been the one to help him with, was formed all by himself.
This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened either.
Ryu's breakthrough while fighting the Heavens, their sudden discovery of the importance of Mortal Qi, even back to when Ryu found his Realm Heart…
Each and every one of those events was far more pivotal to Ryu's current strength than anything she had ever done, and most of these were things she had no idea or clue about. She wanted to build her Dao on nurturing, but she was so ignorant of so many things, how could she possibly still have the face to say such a thing?
Ailsa sighed to herself. The only time she dared to have such thoughts was when Ryu had lost himself in meditation. She didn't want to weigh him down with her burdens, he had enough on his mind and plate already.
But, she was at a loss and didn't quite understand what to do…
What should she do?