Flowing Frost exhaled a breath, one that she might very well have been holding for the many thousands of years she had been stuck here.
She had never been able to find a man that she loved in her lifetime, though that was mostly her fault. She kept comparing them all to her elder brother and none of them could seem to match up, no one even seemed to come close so she never learned what true love felt like.
Inwardly, she felt a bit guilty. Though her elder brother had never said as much, she felt that part of the reason he had pushed so hard to enter the Seventh Heaven was so that she wouldn't have to spend a lifetime never knowing such a wonderful thing.
It was quite funny. She would never know what that kind of love felt like, but she felt at peace nonetheless. She never knew romantic love, but she had known familial love, and that was something many cultivators would never know. How could she not feel satisfied with this much?
Flowing Frost didn't bother to trigger all the contingency plans she had prepared. Somehow, she trusted Ryu. Those eyes, that arrogance, that unwavering determination… it all reminded her too much of her brother… And she knew that her brother would never lie to her.
With a peaceful smile on her face, Flowing Frost faded away.
"I will leave my Frost Clan's legacy to you, then… I hope that our child will grow to have a temperament as resilient as your own… But more importantly… I hope that they will grow up experiencing the same love that I have…"
Ryu listened to Flowing Frost's final words in silence, allowing them to seep into his pores.
He exhaled a light breath, shaking his head lightly. This True Martial World was, indeed, a cruel place. A family with a foundation much firmer than his own, and having given birth to a talent maybe even greater than his current sealed talent, had actually been so unceremoniously wiped out.
It would leave a bitter taste in anyone's mouth.
Familial love, hm? He too had been lucky enough to experience it, and any child he had would definitely experience it as well. He knew that it would be terribly difficult for him to have a baby with sheer concentration of talent within himself, but if he dared to climb to the top of the world, how could he not dare to do this much?
Ryu took a step forward and picked up the ring that Flowing Frost had left behind. Within it, he found a woman that seemed to be sleeping ever so peacefully. She was even more beautiful that her projection had been, for whatever reason, Flowing Frost had actually dulled her own beauty in not only her statue, but even the projection she had left behind.
Ryu couldn't help but chuckle. What an interesting woman. He couldn't fathom why she had made such a choice, but knowing the complex thoughts of women and somewhat understanding how they worked, he knew better than to linger on it for long.
Ryu slipped the ring onto his finger and a frosty energy thrummed through his body.
He exhaled a cold, foggy breath and his mind cleared up considerably.
'What an interesting treasure. Not only does it preserve bodies in a half alive state, it seems capable of calming the mind and helping one enter a meditation state comparable to the first State of Meditation. This should be extraordinarily valuable…'
The value of one's Meditation State was incredibly high. Unfortunately, many, even absolute geniuses, could only experience it once or twice in their lifetimes. This was one of the reasons why Ryu's Heavenly Pupils were ranked number one.
But for this ring to allow you to enter a comparable state, its value didn't need to be explained. It was perfect for the current Ryu who had his eyes sealed away.
After putting on this ring, Ryu began to look around once more and what he found was a bit surprising. He felt that Flowing Frost had ended up leaving far more behind than she originally intended.
Ryu was fairly good at reading people. He could tell that Flowing Frost had been fairly resigned to her Fate and had only stayed here so long out of duty. She didn't believe that she would be able to find anyone worthy of the First Heaven, and even if she somehow did, such a person might not have the character to follow through on such a promise.
Of course, the ties of Karma would be far too strong for anyone to ignore, and it would eventually hamper their progress.
But, if one had to choose between never advancing to the higher ranks of Sky God, or losing their lives to a Nine Star power, what would the obvious choice be? At least they would get to live life as a powerhouse for the time being.
However, she had been lucky enough to stumble upon Ryu. She trusted her instincts, and as such, she left behind everything that she had managed to save from her Frost Clan.
The first thing Ryu looked at were the potion recipes.
The Frost Clan seemed to have been able to rise to prominence in a relatively short time because they had a great talent for potion making. As such, their wealth was vast and boundless, allowing them to have a leg up every time they rose to a new Heaven.
The number of Common Grade potions alone were easily in the several billion. The number of variations, notes and step by step evolutions was mind boggling. Ryu didn't even know if he could name a billion Spiritual Herbs, let alone a billion potions to be made from them.
Even the number of Sky God pills was in the several tens to even hundreds of thousands.
In fact, just to paint the picture of how little Flowing Frost had held back, there was a detailed accounting of every Alchemy God legacy their family had found and added to their repertoire.
Throughout their family's long history, they had claimed the Ruins of 167 Sky Gods, one of which was even a Chaotic Sky God!