Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

A long while later, Elena managed to wake up, feeling groggy. The moment she moved, though, she accidentally blew a hole through the ground.

Ryu chuckled. "Hey, I put a lot of effort into making this world. Don't destroy it."

Elena blinked in confusion, still not quite understanding what was happening. When she realized what happened to her cultivation, she was stunned again.

"... What is that liquid?" She asked.

Ryu smirked. "You want a sex-ed lesson?"

Elena was speechless. How was she going to beat this version of Ryu? In the past, she was the one who'd be making the jokes, but now he was more quippy than her.

Well, he had always been good at that sort of stuff. It was just that he had always turned it on his enemies since his tongue was the only thing he could use to attack.

But now?

"It's Embryonic Qi," Ryu finally answered, deciding to not tease her anymore.

"... What?"

Elena didn't even know how to take what she was hearing. Of course, she knew what Embryonic Qi was, but how could Ryu possibly produce so much of it? Even a single drop was life changing, but he had practically pumped her with another drop every few hours.

In fact, she had a feeling that he could have done it more times than that, but it just hadn't been necessary. After a certain point, using Embryonic Qi just to replenish her from sexual exhaustion was just a huge waste.

But Ryu didn't seem to care at all.

"Don't use it like that anymore," Elena continued, her voice still hoarse. "Save it for yourself, it can be used at invaluable times."

"Is that so?" Ryu laughed. "I thought this was an invaluable time."

"No, really!" Elena tried to put it more seriously.

Ryu understood why she was being like this. She thought that he was trying to repay her for the technique and everything she had suffered through. But in her mind, if he did this, then all of her efforts would be in vain.

They were husband and wife, why did he have to be so stubborn about clearing debts with her? Quite frankly, it made her a bit unhappy, something she rarely experienced when she was with Ryu.

Ryu's smile didn't fade. With a wave of his hand, a small stream of glistening, milky white liquid appeared. It meandered through the skies and with a thought, the earth trembled.

The ground split and with a flick of his finger, the milky stream filled it, forming looping rivers around the world.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a refreshing scent, and the simple plants and herbs began to evolve at a pace too rapid for the eyes to consciously capture.

Elena blinked before her eyes widened.

"Your husband doesn't have limits," Ryu finally replied.

Elena blushed, realizing that she had thought too much. She had almost forgotten that her Little Ryu really wasn't a man who worked within the normal realms of common sense.

"Come here," Ryu beaconed. "I want to see something."

Elena suddenly felt her legs wobble again. A pleasing look reflected in her pink-diamond eyes.

Ryu laughed. "It isn't that, don't worry. I'll let you rest."

Elena giggled and slid into Ryu embrace, her smooth skin gliding around his as she sat in his lap, back against his chest.

Ryu pressed a hand into her lower belly and closed his eyes.

Elena didn't resist, allowing Ryu's senses to practically open her body up. It was a feeling that should have made her uncomfortable, but in reality, she was at peace. In fact, she almost drifted off to sleep entirely.

"How did I improve so fast?" Elena asked softly. "Is it really because of the Embryonic Qi?"

"That's part of it, but it's probably just a relaxation of your nerves and a consolidation of minor breakthroughs you've already made. Your Dao has likely been ready to move forward for a long while now, and I don't actually think you're done improving. What you're missing right now is probably a method to use your Bloodline, right?"

"Mm..." Elena nodded.

"Your Bloodline is a mixture of Divine Wing and Holy Wing?"

"Well... they call it a Bloodline, but in reality what's special about the Martial Gods is that our Bloodline decides four of our Pillars. Once a Bloodline is formed, whatever Soul, Meridian or Bone Structure talent we had before is replaced. At least that's how it works here..."

"But your Spiritual Foundation and Dao are not?"

"Somewhat... the Spiritual Foundation is truly random, but the Dao usually falls in line mostly by necessity."

"What's the difference between Divine Wing and Holy Wing?"

"... All three of the Hegemonic Bloodlines are related to suppression. The Divine Hegemony Branch suppresses the mind, the Divine Chain Branch suppresses the body, and the Divine Wing Branch suppresses the qi.

"As for the difference between Holy and Divine Wing, it's one part scope and another part methodology.

"The Holy Wing Bloodline relies on internal qi and methods to fuel and apply suppression while the Divine Wing Bloodline relies on laws and runes to do so.

"The latter is not only far more powerful, but it takes less effort and stamina to execute. The difference between Divine Hegemony and Holy King, or Divine Chain and Holy Chain is pretty much the same... they're all just a step down."

"And you?" Ryu asked.

"... I really don't know. I've been trying to understand, but it's so muddled. It doesn't seem to work like any one of them, and yet it works like both of them. But my ability to suppress others is limited. The best I've been able to get is that my qi control is better than most others."

Ryu fell into silence.

Of the three, he only knew of one... They said that the Divine Chain Bloodline could be described in one phrase...

To Chain the Heavens and Restrict it to the Earth...

"Mm, I think I understand now," Ryu said softly.