Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The sixth technique Ryu chose was a battle ax technique known as [Winding Paths].

It was actually designed to be a dual wielding technique and its function was in its relentlessness. It was designed to use the arms like a pendulum, pressuring an enemy until there was no path left to them but death.

The seventh and final technique Ryu chose was a menacing halberd technique, one that could even be considered half a Soul Technique as much as it was a Qi Realm technique. This technique was known as [Howling Wraiths].

For every enemy slain, this technique would rip apart their soul and absorb their blood. These two parts would fuse into a whole, forming a wraith that made the base of this technique's strength.

When this technique was used, it influenced the soul of an enemy even before physical strikes landed, disorienting them and placing them in a vulnerable state. But its actual physical attack was even more tyrannical, carrying with it a strength that existed on a level all to its own.

Of all the techniques he chose, this was without a doubt the most violent, but it was also the most powerful, being of peak Heaven Grade. It was definitely a sinister technique that most wouldn't dare to use for fear of affecting their Dao hearts.

But quite frankly, Ryu could care less. If he was using this technique to kill someone, as far as he was concerned, his conscience wouldn't be affected even the slightest bit. He moved as he pleased and acted as he pleased. No arbitrary moral compass would be able to dictate the weight of his heart.

Once Ryu had these techniques figured out, he began to design his Great Swordstaff. In fact, the reason he chose his techniques first was so that he would be able to design a Great Swordstaff that would be able to take into account all of these aspects as one.

This experience had taught him the level of synergy his Dao had and he was quickly realizing how his paths could all slowly form into a single whole.

He would be a man that could not only touch upon the core essence of any weapon he wanted, but he would be able to pair them all with Dao Charm techniques, and then form the perfect weapon to use them all.

In this world, he really wanted to see who would dare claim to have a better Dao than himself. There would come a day where he stood unmatched.

It took Ryu several weeks to plan out the blueprint for his great swordstaffs. The main reason was not only due to the complexity of the project, but also because he wanted them both to be forged at the exact same time so that they could truly be identical.

Since he was using Tribulation Lightning and Feng Shui to accomplish it, it took extra tweaking and balancing to ensure that everyone would go off without a hitch.

The most complicated part wasn't actually deciding how to best accommodate the first six techniques, but rather how to fuse them all with the seventh. The halberd technique was truly tyrannical, and if Ryu wanted a weapon that matched it well, it needed a few soul type materials.

However, soul type materials were usually used in auxiliary treasures that could come in the form of defensive artifacts or Mental Realm amplifiers. But they were rarely seen in weapons.

In fact, that was why the twin daggers Ryu had which could directly attack the soul were so special. The fact they could was an extremely unique trait.

Of course, it wasn't actually necessary for Ryu's great swordstaffs to have such materials. After all, the strength of [Howling Wraiths] came from the technique and Ryu's soul, it didn't actually need a weapon that fused with it, none of this was actually necessary.

But that was also precisely why Ryu was doing this.

If he was correct, if he truly combined all of his disciplines so seamlessly into one, his combat strength would take an enormous leap forward.

When his blueprint was complete, he was even more certain of this.

If his calculations were correct, so long as these great swordstaffs came out as expected, they would actually have an extraordinary effect: while Ryu was using them, they would be able to increase his comprehension of his Dao Charm technique by two stages.

This meant that if Ryu was at Initial Success, which represented that he could use 1% of his qi in using the technique, with his great swordstaffs in hand, he would be able to use them to Large Success, which would allow him to use 20% of his qi!

Once he reached Great Circle of Perfection, which would allow him to display strength beyond 100% of what his qi could produce, pulling in from the atmosphere, the final strength would actually double so long as he had his great swordstaffs in hand.

And he watched his great swordstaffs being formed after another month of preparations, Ryu was filled with a sense of assuredness. This was the path for him.

His combat prowess, his blacksmithing, his alchemy, his formation mastery… They would all fuse into one to make him a stronger and more lethal existence. When the time came, whether it was the bastards who dared to brand his forehead or the Martial Gods who caused his grandparents' deaths, he would wipe them all from existence.

A mighty and final strike of lightning fell from the skies under Ryu's gaze.

With a step, he flashed forward, appearing above the final product to find two great swordstaffs trembling with heavy runic patterns.

They both radiated a wild aura, wafting a dense black-red fog. They were so large and thick that they could almost be mistaken for a pair of lances rather than a pair of swords.

When Ryu grabbed them out from the ground, the weight almost sank him to his knees. But with just a drop of blood, they became as light as a feather, causing a raging tempest of wind to fly about the surroundings and slice apart the land.

Their spines were a dense black but their blades, surrounding the spine entirely, was a dense crimson that thrummed with a will for murder.

'A pair of Runed Peak Heaven Grade weapons. Perfect.'

Ryu held them both out, almost hearing the dancing heartbeat of the two.

At that moment, the ground beneath his feet rumbled and he looked up. He knew then that it was time. The Radiant Star Sect was ascending to the Second Heaven.

'Elena… I'm coming. Ailsa, Yaana… be patient, I'll unseal my eyes soon. Father… I know you're out there somewhere. This son of yours won't let you down.'