Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu's mind left the Dream World.

After a few moments, he managed to calm himself, regaining his usual demeanor. He understood that there was nothing to be happy about. Experts who treated their descendants with love like his parents and grandparents did were incredibly rare. Usually, mostly out of necessity, grand cultivators, especially at the Sky God level, grew detached as a method to protect their state of mind.

What would happen if you gained the ability to live trillions of years, but those you loved could never do the same? Why would anyone want to subject themselves to the pain of suffering such losses again and again? If it grew severe enough, such experiences could lead to an irreparable Heart Demon that would ensure that the expert never progressed in their cultivation again.

Though they never talking about, Ryu knew that his grandparents had had more than just one child in their lifetimes of several billion years, it was just that his parents happened to be the only two that survived as the most talented. As for his great grandfather, the losses he had faced were likely several times more. This was something all those who stood at the top of the world faced.

Ryu didn't expect his great grandfather to suddenly swoop down and take him under his wing, treating him with love and affection. It was very possible that his great grandfather didn't act as the Tatsuya Clan was being destroyed precisely because he had no intention of entangling himself in such worldly affairs.

If that was the case… He wasn't Ryu's ally, he was an enemy.

Ryu's gaze grew colder.

Ryu didn't need anymore evidence. The fact that his great grandfather hadn't contacted him immediately despite the fact Ryu was certain he was already aware of his existence was telling. With their connection through Osiris, it would have been as easy as breathing for him to do so.

Primus Tatsuya wasn't someone Ryu could rely upon. But… Ryu had every intention of milking his Sky God title for all that it was worth. His usual disposition would have him rather die than accept the help of someone who cared so little for him, but Ryu wasn't in a position to act as he pleased.

His great grandfather had better hope that his loved ones survived, or else there'd come a day where he would grow powerful enough to force him to kneel before their graves for the rest of his life!

Ryu slowly closed his eyes, only opening them back up once he had regained his calm. His injuries were still too severe to allow his emotions to grow so agitated.

Ryu immediately threw himself into his training. Since his body was in no condition for battle, he would focus on comprehending new techniques. As of now, he repertoire of techniques was too shallow. In addition, with the vast improvement in his Mental Realm, Ryu believed that a leap in his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons was only a matter of time.

Of course, all of the techniques he chose were from the Awoken Moon Sect. Until Ailsa explained to him how she planned on subduing the Zu Ancestors, this was the best option he had available to him.

If Ryu wanted spear, glaive or halberd techniques, the Awoken Moon Sect was likely one of his more terrible options among the Outer Ring's twenty-seven Fifth Order Sects. However, Ryu didn't join them for their techniques, he joined them for the sake of the Moon Realm. It was just unfortunate that going there would be so troublesome.

As for how Ryu would train these techniques with an injured body, he had Zu Palace to thank for that. Since he could project his mind into it, he essentially had a private space where he could train at his leisure. The best part was that since thinking speed was much faster than the body could react, the crystalline jade almost acted as a pseudo time warp treasure, allowing Ryu to train faster than he otherwise would.

This advantage didn't seem to extend to the Dream World, Osiris. This was because the world had to sync the minds of countless individuals in order to function. For everyone's mind to be sent into the same artificial space, there had to be a so-called 'basic unit' of conversion. Everyone was measured against this basic unit and scaled up depending on the strength of their true bodies. This was another reason why the evaluation was necessary.

Still, as a Fifth Order Sect, the Awoken Moon Sect did have a decent selection regardless. At least of Black Grade techniques, that is. This aside, Ryu was still content with his choices.

[Breaking Charge]. This was a defensive type technique that worked regardless of what weapon you used, or even if you were a weaponless specialist. It focused on stopping the momentum of your opponent's attack by targeting strategic weak points. It was usually avoided because a portion of the technique required tempering the eyes with special herbs in order to sharpen vision, but for obvious reasons, Ryu could skip this step.

Though Ryu could often see the weaknesses of his opponents, he didn't always have the perfect method of abusing those weaknesses. Though [Breaking Charge] was a mere Higher Black Grade technique, it taught a set of foot and body techniques that greatly improved one's ability to receive and mitigate attack strength.

[Lined Assault]. This was a movement type technique. Ironically enough, Ryu still felt that his Common Grade [Gliding Cloud Steps] didn't need to be changed as of yet. This technique simply supplemented it well in Ryu's opinion. It focused of explosive straight-line speed, something [Gliding Cloud Steps], which focused on evasion and agility, was lacking in.

This was a Peak Black Grade technique that focused on using the body like a bow. As such, training it required great flexibility and tendon strength. At just its first of four completion stages, it could increase peak speed by fifty percent in a line. At Great Circle of Perfection, there was a four-fold increase.

[Curving Arrow]. A Lower Black Grade archery technique that allowed one to shoot a homing arrow within certain parameters. It could also be used to make one's arrow path more unpredictable.

[Monumental Pierce]. A Higher Black Grade spear layering technique used a combination of striking speed and feints to gather momentum and confuse the opponents. It gave the illusion of a layered strike rather than truly being one.

[Ronin's Final Stand]. A Lower Earth Grade sword technique that Ryu planned to adapt for his glaive and halberd. It used a sturdy base and indomitable will to fuse qi into a wind blade-like strike.

[Twin Titan Dance]. A Lower Earth Grade dual battle ax wielding technique. Ryu believed that if he ever mastered this technique with his halberd, even Divine Vessel experts would have to fear him.

The final technique was a Higher Earth Grade technique. It was interestingly a puppeteering technique called [Demonic Strings]. It was broken into two important parts. One that increased one's resonance with their weapons, and another that allowed control of one's weapons without touch.