Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The two laughed, strolling through the wilderness as though it was their backyard. They partook in the scenery of nature, seeing the Ninth Heaven in a way most didn't get the chance to.

In truth, having a Lower Ancient level Dao while in the Omniscient Realm was actually very good. It had to be remembered that the higher one went in Realm, the more susceptible one's Dao was to falling. Maybe a large part of the reason Ryu's Founding Dao hadn't caused as many waves as it should have was precisely because he was still at the False Sky God Realm.

However, in Ryu's eyes... it was too poor.

With the changes to his Internal Matrix, what everyone saw as a False Grade Dao was actually upwards of a Perfect to Transcendent Grade Dao depending on the situation. If he used his Dao Vessel, he could pretty firmly root it at a quasi-Transcendent Grade level.

That meant that he had the equivalent of a Founding Dao at the Transcendent Realm. And this wasn't something that could be ignored by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, it was enough to crush most without him having to even lift a finger.

As for the fact Elena "only" had a Lower Ancient Dao, he didn't think too much about it. He felt that he could help her raise it with ease, but there was no need to for now because he was confident that she could do so herself.

Elena's path had been obscured because of the odd mutation in her bloodline. But now that he had given her a clear path, he was confident that she could do it herself.

Ryu didn't actually think that there was a difference between her doing it herself and him helping her. Because of the methods he used, the comprehension was the same and there would be no drawbacks.

The reason he didn't was because he was guarding Elena's feelings as well. He could feel the changes in her and he could feel that she really wanted to carve out a lane for herself so that she could stand by his side.

He didn't want her to feel this way, he wanted her to put her complete trust in him. Even if she did nothing for the rest of her life, he would protect her. He was her husband, that was his duty.

But he also acknowledged that it was because he wasn't yet strong enough to block the skies with a palm that she was feeling this way. There was no way to force someone to feel a way they didn't grasp naturally, and he had no intention of using his Dao to force her.

In that case, he could only use time and his actions.

Plus, he was confident in Elena's talent. She was only so slow purely because she was lazy. Now that she had a reason not to be, he would allow her to rush forward at her own pace until he gave her the capital to be lazy again.

...

Ryu's lips met Elena's. It was a soft kiss, but one that was both innocent and filled with passion.

Elena pulled back with a gentle smile on her face. "Don't go dying chasing women on the Nether Plane."

Ryu laughed. Of course, he had already told Elena about Mae. Though she didn't care, that obviously started and stopped at the very point Ryu's life was still intact. If he lost his breath chasing other women, well... even a monk had their own tipping point and Elena certainly had her own.

Ryu saw Elena off.

With her current changes, he wasn't worried about her life in the Martial Gods... save for one thing.

With a step, he vanished. When he appeared again, he was standing in a courtyard more elaborate than any he had been in before.

He quickly found what he was looking for and then unleashed a stomp that shook the very foundations of the home. It shook and quakes with such ferocity that cracks spread through the sturdy foundation.

Ryu chuckled. 'What are you trying to hide with such a thick marble slab as your floor?'

To say that it was overkill was an understatement. From what he could tell, this marble slab was supposedly "just a floor" was at least 500 meters thick. No home needed a foundation that thick unless there was something nefarious going on.

Even Ryu's stomp had barely cracked it, and even that was only after he activated several abilities on top of targeting a weak point.

His Qilin Bloodline had an Earth affinity that he had never used, but there were several Bloodline Talents within that were helpful in this situation.

'Seems it isn't enough...'

"WHO?!"

The voice of Janus' mother rang in Ryu's ears, but he turned a deaf ear to it as the woman sped over.

He raised his foot again.

"[Rob the World of its Color]... [A God's Brush]... [Earth]..."

BOOOM!

The marble slab faltered along the earlier cracks.

Ryu didn't even wait to see the result as he vanished into thin air.

'Before I go to the Nether Plane, let's see what other tidbits I can unearth from the Ninth Heaven first... Selheira's mother mentioned the nine powers, but it's curious. She didn't mention the Ruin Master Guild... I wonder if there's a reason for that...'

...

Janus' mother appeared in her courtyard, her expression turning frighteningly ugly.

It was already too late. The aura hidden beneath her foundation was already leaking up, and it was impossible that others hadn't sensed it.

No, the main problem wasn't that many had sensed it, but rather that those she wanted to hide it from in specific had long since been alerted to what was happening here.

The weak that she didn't care about wouldn't even know what they were sensing, but those Dao Gods...

'Dammit...'

Where had Janus gotten the Yin Reaper Palm from? Well, that was all too obvious at this point.

She rubbed her temples, feeling some exasperation.

But what was interesting was that other than some stress... she didn't really look like a woman who had just been exposed for hiding the inheritance of a Taboo Power.