Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu sat in Isemeine's backyard. It was impossible to read much of anything from his face and he looked to have practically fused into one with the world. Every so often, dense lines of Heavenly Patterns would dance in the air around him before vanishing.

Ryu found comprehending and using Heavenly Patterns to be exceptionally easy, almost too much so. In fact, he did so, so quickly that he didn't even have a true concept of what was a lot and what was too few. It was difficult to separate out his progress in comparison to the rest of his cultivation.

But, he did know two things.

The first was number. The more Heavenly Patterns he had, the more powerful he became.

The trouble with this that Heavenly Patterns had their limits as well. The number of Heavenly Patterns that could fit onto Ryu's body or something extended from him were limited. There was a limit to the number of Heavenly Patterns Ryu could withstand before his body imploded. Likewise, there was a limit to how many Heavenly Patterns say a Great Swordstaff could withstand before it too shattered.

What was curious, though, was that the limit on Ryu's soul was far greater than the limit on his body. That was to say that despite the size of his soul, he could draw more Heavenly Patterns onto it than he could his actual body. This made him realize that Heavenly Patterns resonated with certain things better than others.

It reacted with Spiritual Qi well, but was less receptive to Qi and even less to Vital Qi. This same thing could be applied even to techniques. It resonated the best with Visualizations and the least with bodily techniques… Unless they were related to the Phoenix.

The second thing Ryu knew almost intuitively was that the level of his soul was important as well. The higher grade his Spiritual Qi, the stronger his Heavenly Patterns would be. It was just that simple.

Ryu was confident in stepping into the Soul Refinement Realm very quickly. He had still yet to use the Essence he had gained from awakening his Storm Talent and forming a Dominion. This meant that he had an easy gateway toward the second opportunity. But first…

Ryu settled himself, taking out a Gold Vein Petal. Without much more hesitation, he swallowed it.

At that moment, the natural energies of the world seemed to converge around Ryu. It felt not much different from a rain of Essence one might gain from breaking through a realm of comprehension.

Gorgeous vein patterns of gold danced within Ryu's Spiritual Sea, pushing against their size and expanding twofold. At the same time, these gold vein patterns sunk into Ryu's soul which also sat in meditation along with him.

His soul continued to grow, pulsing slowly in a gradual change.

Despite the doubling of strength, Ryu felt that if he projected his soul now that it would be about six centimeters tall. Ryu realized then that a single centimeter of change was worth more than it seemed to be worth on the surface. In fact, every incremental change was enough to overturn the world.

The appearance of Ryu's soul floating just before his forehead made the space around him whine and twist. Its presence alone carried almost more weight than Ryu's flesh and blood body. And yet, without hesitation, Ryu simply swallowed a second leaf.

Standing within the home, Isemeine stood watching with a hint of shock on her expression.

It might seem like Martial Gods wouldn't have strong souls, but this was very much not the truth. Though their Vital Qi was the root of their greatest strength, they could be considered to be all-rounders. They had no real weaknesses. If they did, they wouldn't' have allowed Mental Realm cultivation to recover after they took over the Shrine World.

This was all to say that Isemeine had seen her fair share of powerful souls in her life. But, this was completely unlike anything she had ever witnessed.

A soul that was five centimeters tall upon manifestation was already the largest she had ever seen. Even Galkos—Ailsa's supposed fiancé and the man soon to be celebrated alongside Elena—only had a soul that was 4.9 centimeters tall. And yet, not only had Ryu's started at five centimeters, but after eating that leaf, it had increased to six!

To her horror, Ryu wasn't done yet.

It took him two more leaves to reach seven centimeters, one more after that to reach eight, one more to reach nine centimeters… Then, in a feat that left Isemeine at a loss for words, Ryu swallowed three in a row before he seemed to hit a ceiling, his soul glowing so brightly that the sturdy space of the Shrine Plane threatened to collapse completely.

Every 100% increase in his strength added another centimeter to the point he could no longer grow any further, having reached a cap.

It was then that the white motes of light that constructed Ryu's soul began to fall away piece by piece, revealing a solid gold interior that sat almost like a meditating buddha.

Upon this buddha's forehead, there was a singular flickering white flame, shimmering like its emblem.

A radiant light spread across Ryu's Spiritual Sea. Everything became bathed in a sea of gold, a radiant light spreading across his Mental Realm making it look as though it was dripping in the precious, liquid metal.

At that moment, Isemeine's gaze flashed with something that was distinctly not herself. Eska's shock shone through, changing her temperament for just a moment.

'Indestructible Soul… What kind of karmic luck does he have to have run into so many Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies. Not just that, but for him to actually have the patience to wait until this absolute perfect moment to use it…'

The Indestructible Soul was a legend amongst legends. Usually only those born with Soul Natures would have one. But, this was the first time she had ever heard of someone awakening artificially, and that was because of one simple reason…

It should be impossible. Even with Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies.