Ryu's frown relaxed after a moment. Closing his eyes out of habit, he took a breath before exhaling slowly.
He understood why this had happened. His Dao was infinitely close to a Hegemony Grade Dao, that was already far better than the foundation of the Daos used to create these Dao Charm techniques. If he was correct, these were True or Lineal Dao Charm techniques at best, only would have to enter the Sky God Realm to even think of trying to use stronger Dao Charm techniques.
The reason for this was quite simple. Not only was it rare for higher level Daos to be dumbed down to the point of a Heaven Grade technique, but the stress on a cultivator was even greater.
This was all to say that the problem here wasn't the grade of Ryu's Dao. What Ryu lacked was depth.
The moment Ryu had stepped out of Sacrum, he had had an odd feeling, but it was only now he understood exactly what that feeling was.
The Daos or rather, the Heavens of Sacrum were far too weak compared to everywhere else. This was also the very same reasoning for why Ryu's Dao wasn't as powerful as he thought it would be.
The "Heavens" he was Dividing were weak Heavens. Unless he could reform his Dao in the True Martial World while facing its Heavens, it would remain as a Dominion Ranked Dao.
Ryu also had a feeling that he would need to do this for each one of the True Martial World's Nine Heavens. Only by standing on the Ninth Heaven and daring to Divide it would he be able to complete his Dao and enter the Realms of a Founding Dao.
What Ryu had no idea about was the fact that forming Hegemony, Ancient and Founding Daos wasn't so simple.
In a certain folk tale Ryu had read before, there were only 3000 Great Daos. This was a legend passed down to most, what Ryu didn't know was that there was truth to this, not the number itself, but rather the fact that there were only a limited number that could exist.
That limit had long since been reached and the birth of a new one meant destroying an old one. This wasn't an easy process by any stretch. Just touching the realms of Hegemony would be shocking enough, but the formation of a new Founding Dao… Well, such a thing hadn't happened in countless Eras.
Ryu's gaze flashed. If this <Thirteen Soaring Azures> thought that this was enough to make him back down, it was sorely mistaken.
'Go ahead. Crack my Dao, shatter it, in fact, destroy it if you can.'
The crack in Ryu's Dao was forcefully closed beneath his will, his fighting intent blazing.
If others had seen this sort of scene, they would have been shocked beyond belief. The reformation of an injured Dao wasn't as simple as thinking it. Such a crack represented a shake in one's belief, a blow to their will, the idea of someone rebounding back so fast didn't make any sense.
Ryu's practically blind confidence in himself would be enough to make a Sky God slap their foreheads, but it was precisely this blind sort of arrogance that allowed him to recover as though nothing had happened at all.
As far as Ryu was concerned, the only thing holding him back was the fact he had yet to lay eyes on the Nine Heavens just yet. Once he did, it would only be a matter of time before he could divide them just the same. But, for now, he would focus on these techniques before him. Every time his Dao cracked, he would repair it with a new understanding, allowing it to get stronger and stronger.
Ryu knew that surpassing his current level to enter Hegemony wasn't the only way to strengthen his Dao.
There were two dividing lines of Daos. One was its Grade and the other was its Strength.
The grades were: Common Daos. True Daos. Lineal Daos. Dynastic Daos. Sovereign Daos. Dominion Daos. Hegemonic Daos. Ancient Daos. And, finally, Founding Daos. Of course, Ryu was nearing the very limit of the Dominion Dao.
This could be considered to be the foundation of a Dao.
However, then there was the strength of a Dao. Nurturing Phase, Fragmented Daos, False Daos, True Daos, Perfect Daos, Transcended Daos, Omniscient Daos, Ordered Daos, Chaotic Daos and finally, Origin Daos.
Ryu was currently in the Nurturing Phase which was separated into six Mortal Dao levels, three Immortal Dao levels and two Cosmic Dao levels. Specifically, he was at the First Immortal Dao level.
For Ryu, who was only in the first of the Immortal Realms, this was excellent. No, it was more than excellent. Even if he had only had a Common Grade Dao, it would have been excellent. This was because Daos tended to trail cultivation level. However, due to their power and the sheer importance of Dao, they could make up the difference with their presence alone.
Someone in the Immortal Ring Realm like Ryu would be considered a genius for just having a Fifth or Sixth Level Mortal Dao. Yet, Ryu was currently trying to strengthen his Immortal Dao even further.
Since the problem wasn't the Grade of his Dao, Ryu knew what he was lacking in was the strength of his Dao.
He also understood that this wouldn't normally happen if he wasn't trying to use his Dao to comprehend this technique. If he had used his soul instead, his Dao would have never cracked in the first place. However, Ryu was nothing if not stubborn.
He had stumbled into a masochistic technique only he would dare to use to strengthen his Dao.
There were several complicated factors working at once here, that much Ryu was certain of.
The first issue was that a True or Lineal Grade Dao shouldn't have been able to crack his Dao, at least not when it was "dumbed down" to the Immortal Dao levels like it was for his Heaven Grade technique.
This meant that compared to other Dominion Grade Daos, Ryu's was far more fragile. This should be because there were glaring flaws left behind by forming his Dao in Sacrum.
The second issue was that while the Dao had been dumbed down to form a Heaven Grade technique, about the equivalent of an Immortal level Dao, whoever had reached a high enough attainment in their Dao to create the technique was definitely well into the Sky God Realms.
This meant that compared to normal Immortal Level Daos, this technique was far more robust.
And, as though these factors weren't complex enough, it was Ryu who was trying to forcefully use his Dao to comprehend it, something that could be considered a sort of taboo.
However, it was also because of all of these factors that Ryu was improving so rapidly.
Over time, the frequency of the cracks went way down. Ryu was absolutely relentless, his pursuit of perfection vast and boundless.
As the cracks became less frequent, Ryu's comprehension of <Thirteen Soaring Azures> also rapidly improved.
And then, on one fateful day, he crossed into Initial Success. And then, Small Success.
When Ryu looked up, blood had dried from his nose, eyes and down his ears. His expression was pale, but the fierceness of his aura had never wavered.
'I was naïve.'
Ryu's gaze narrowed.
Without how boundless his Dao was, training just this one Dao Charm technique wasn't nearly enough to improve it. His Dao encompassed the Heavens, but this technique only touched upon Daos of Hot and Cold.
It was like Ryu's Dao was a house in need of renovations, and <Thirteen Soaring Azures> had only helped him tile a single corner of a single room.
If Ryu wanted his Dao to improve as a whole, he would probably need to practice hundreds of Dao Charm techniques of this level. Or, he would need to risk his life to train far stronger Dao Charm techniques which touched upon far more profound concepts.
However, even Ryu wasn't foolish enough to do that. A Dao was the representation of a piece of Heaven being sealed within you. Even with his will, it took Ryu time to fix the cracks that appeared. In addition to this time, the backlash of the cracks wasn't small either. Every time there was a crack, a rampage of heavenly energies would wreak havoc within his body. If the cracks were any bigger than they were, he would only die.
'How long has it been. Two weeks? A bit slow…'
Ryu's brow furrowed.
If others knew he was unsatisfied with reaching the Small Success stage of a Dao Charm technique in just two weeks, he would be unlikely to make it out of the mob safely.
However, Ryu didn't care about the thoughts of others. He only cared about his own standards for himself, nothing else.
With a thought, he switched over to <Roaring Sky Serpent>
Almost immediately, a crack resounded in his mind and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Ryu's gaze flashed. This technique was much stronger.
There were no labels, but Ryu was slowly building his own understanding of the divide between Dao Charm techniques. Soon, he would be able to naturally guess at the strength of a Dao Charm technique much like he could with a target's cultivation.
Ryu slowly repaired his Dao, only to jump right back in. For the sake of power and strength, he didn't mind being a masochist. He wouldn't allow anything to block his path.