"Alright, since you insist, that much is fine. But, you have nowhere you need to be, right?" Ryu asked.
Selheira blinked and paused for a moment before she lightly shook her head.
She had no responsibilities, not truly. No one in the Radiant Star Sect dared to order her around. The only one who would command her to do anything was Old Wan, but even he was simply directing her about like she was his granddaughter, not a servant.
Her days were quite leisurely, she only cultivated and nothing else. She had even been free enough to come here with Ryu, so she obviously didn't have much to do.
As for what that meant for what she was doing here, maybe only Selheira herself knew.
"Then just stay here. I don't plan on leaving this place until it is time for the selection, there's nothing worth it out there for now, nothing but annoyances."
Selheira's brows raised. It seemed that Ryu was just as if not more stubborn than her. If she was here, what else could she do aside from reading techniques? By then, Ryu would also get what he wanted.
She opened her mouth to reply, but Ryu had already closed his eyes, quickly going through one technique after another, clearly searching for something.
Selheira smiled and shook her head. Since Ryu had already said so much, she truly didn't have a reason to leave.
…
The hut fell into a comfortable silence, only the slightest rustles being heard from time to time.
Ryu rifled through techniques, his mind having already forgotten about everything other than his improvement.
Although there were many techniques, and even Dao Charm techniques, far better than his [Thirteen Soaring Azures], [Roaring Sky Serpent] and [Whispering Petals] techniques, he didn't seem to have any intention of changing them.
As far as Ryu saw it, he had already invested a lot of time in these techniques and there wasn't enough time left for him to change things from here on. Dao Charm techniques took too long to learn and even longer to master.
The truth was that if Ryu really wanted to do it, he could thanks to his Dao having evolved to the Hegemonic level. However, there was something far more pressing on his mind, something that was making him itch, and that was his body's weakness.
Despite his somewhat frail bone structure, the prowess of Ryu's body had always been one of his strong suits, and how could it not be with Dragon and Qilin Blood running through his veins?
Unfortunately, he couldn't casually bring out his Bloodlines, so he had to rely on the base strength of his body, but it was very lacking. And as a result, it was also holding back the potential of his soul as well, which was currently Ryu's greatest strength without a doubt.
Ryu felt that his best odds were to recultivate the Body Realms just like he had the Qi Realms, this was the only way for him to bring out more of his strength and potential. However, in order to do so, he would need a technique to match, a technique he couldn't seem to find no matter how hard he tried.
The Frost Clan had access to countless techniques. And truthfully, Ryu felt that if he couldn't find a solution here, he might never find an absolutely perfect one.
The [Refinement Sutra] was simply too perfect. It allowed for recultivation through the absorption of Heavenly Favor. It was a smooth process that didn't interfere with any of Ryu's foundations, and in fact, only strengthened it.
But the body was simply more tyrannical. Many Body Realm cultivation techniques required very early measures to be taken on, and some had great restrictions on the type of Bloodline you could have. Those that didn't would be very ordinary in nature and not even worth Ryu's time.
For example, what Body Realm cultivation technique had Ryu been using all this time? Wasn't it the [Phoenix Heavenly Body]? It was one of the, if not the strongest Body Realm cultivation techniques there was in Sacrum, and one HAD to have Phoenix Bloodlines to use it.
However, [Phoenix Heavenly Body] was ultimately a technique that had too many flaws. It was created in Sacrum and, as such, relied on its laws. The problems with Ryu's foundation, as a result, were equally lacking.
Ryu realized that even as his Bloodline shackles were undone, the increases to his body's strength were actually minimal, something that made no sense. After all, the Body Realm's stages all relied on tempering the blood. Logically, as Ryu's Bloodlines were unshackled, his physical strength should skyrocket.
It had to be remembered that in order to cultivate his body, Ryu had to absorb the Vital Qi of beasts that shared his affinity to satiate his Bloodline. Only when he reached the limit would he continue.
However, obviously, because his Bloodlines were shackled, he never pushed them to their true potential in the first place, resulting in his increases in strength being minimal despite his Bloodlines having improved by leaps and bounds.
Ryu shook his head as he placed down the final Body Realm technique of the Frost Clan. There was truly nothing here he could use.
'Is there really no solution?'
Ryu frowned. It wasn't impossible to take this path. There were many Qi Realm cultivators who focused mainly on their qi and allowed their bodies to just naturally progress on their own. There were very few who paid great attention to their bodies in the first place.
And as things went, Ryu was actually quite lucky because he also had great Mental Realm talent.
If he relied on his qi to strengthen his body first, he should be able to slowly improve his soul beyond its current limits as well.
But… Ryu was unsatisfied with his. Greatly unsatisfied.
It would be fine if his Bloodlines were simply useless, Ryu had already learned long ago that they were unreliable from the moment they cowered before the Heavens of Sacrum. Who knew when they would abandon him in the face of the Heavens of the True Martial World?
However, for them to be here and for Ryu to simply not be able to make full use of them because of where he was born left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Ryu closed his eyes, calming his heart. Why did [Refinement Sutra] have to purely be a Qi Realm technique? If only he could use it on his body…
Ryu fell into silence for a very long time.
There was nothing he could do. Calling down Heavenly Favor required a very specific circulation pattern that only Meridians had, it was impossible to use it for the other pillars of cultivation.
The Meridians and Meridian Nodes of the Qi Realm had very special and ingrained patterns and formations within them passed down through the human race. Over countless generations of evolution, these patterns were studied, and many were found to contain the profundities of the Heavens, thus allowing techniques like [Refinement Sutra], or rather, [Pill Refinement Sutra], to be born.
The veins of the body, though, weren't as strict and exacting as they varied wildly depending on what Bloodlines and Bloodline mutations you had. This was why many Body Realm techniques could only be used by those with certain lineages.
At that moment, Ryu's eyes suddenly snapped open, his gaze glowing with a fiery light.
'Master… It seems like this disciple of yours is going to have to rely on you again.'
Ryu's cold expression suddenly gave way to a wild grin.