Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Violet arrows of crackling flame and arching lightning shot through the air one after another. Their speed and precision was on a level that could hardly be matched. But, Ryu wasn't satisfied. He still felt that his skill was far too lacking.

Something like drawing his bow and shooting accurately was a simple task for him. He had absolute control over his body and his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were the dream of any bowman or woman.

The problem was that he didn't have the grace of a bowman. It felt like he was swinging a sword and could follow the arc a diagram detailed perfectly, but he had none of the artistic conception, none of the feel, and none of the subtle, nuanced comprehension.

Ryu had always felt that he was lacking in this aspect. Ironically, accuracy, something many bowman struggled the most with, was the easiest to him.

'The most important thing to a bowman are their eyes… The strongest bowman can make it seem as though a target invited an arrow into their home…'

These were the two sayings his Grandpa Kukan always repeated time and time again.

Ryu wondered, was artistic conception just a roadblock for him? Now that he thought about it, he was able to bring out such artistic flair with his Great Swordstaffs and his movement techniques… but wasn't that because he had techniques to follow? The artistic conception never truly came from himself.

Ryu felt as though he had just opened up another door. His back relaxed, the movement of his fingers became smoother and faster, his shoulders evened out, feeling less hunched.

Even as he raced forward, raising his bow every time an enemy appeared, he only seemed to grow more calm and unhurried.

How could he ever have grasped artistic conception before? He had always been so closed off from his own emotions, so how could he be in tune with such a thing?

Ryu began to bask in the feeling of his resentment, of his disgust, of his willingness to change and grow for the better.

His feet glided across the snow, the Glove of Order pulsing with greater and greater fervor as it grew from a glove, to a gauntlet, to an arm sleeve. The arrows it began to form grew heavier and more solid. Eventually, even the flickering flames and arching lightning vanished, forming a sleek and stable body that began to form Runes of its own.

The more Runes that appeared, the more powerful the arrows grew.

Suddenly, Ryu, in almost a daze, leapt over a snow beast, his feet landing on the crystalline trees and soaring into the sky.

His body spun horizontally, his bowstring twanging as he released yet another.

It shot through the air at empty space, the fabric of reality itself threatening to collapse beneath its might.

In one moment, it looked as though it would hit nothing but air. In the next, the very snow beast he had leapt over roared, its body expanding just enough that the very center of its forehead suddenly found itself in the path of Ryu's arrow.

Ryu landed on the ground, not bothering to look back.

Ryu felt that he had finally grasped the Heir Realm of the bow. It was quite amusing, to his current self, the Essence descending currently was negligible to an extreme—it couldn't even move the needle. And yet, it felt like a breakthrough that weighed the most to him.

Ryu couldn't help but smile despite the fact his steps didn't stop.

It was quite odd, even as others were weighed down continuously by the resentment that constantly hung in the atmosphere, it seemed to give Ryu a clarity he hadn't had in a long while. His smile was only growing brighter with every step forward he took. He almost couldn't be bothered to care about the snow constantly sapping at his qi.

Ryu had never gained a specific Inheritance for the bow before. He had built up his comprehension on his Grandpa Kukan's two sayings alone. But, he believed that these two phrases were exceptionally profound if his grandpa had repeated them so many times. Ryu believed that he could build an Inheritance of his own no less powerful than his Great Grandfather's Tatsuya Saintly Weapons with these two sayings alone. Not only that, but he would elevate his Great Swordstaffs beyond a level he could fathom.

When the time came for him to face the Saintly Weapon Sky God, he would display the artistic conceptions he built the foundation for today on the grandest of stages!

'I wonder how far I can get with the bow before I leave this world…'

Ryu's gaze lit up with a competition spirit.

**

Across the Ice Devil Legacy, youths were appearing from all over. Among them, there was Sarriel who had been randomly teleported, Yaana who had surged in after them, and geniuses of both the Martial Gods and others alike.

However, amongst these number of individuals, there was one that stood out especially and that was because unlike everyone else, she seemed capable of picking out individuals with great ease. In the blink of an eye, she had already gathered a group together. Ryu hadn't been capable of finding even a single person after he entered, and yet she didn't seem to have this problem in the slightest. And, while everyone else was doing their best to rush toward the looming mountain in the distance, her plans seemed to be far different.

She wore a veil almost identical to Yaana's, making it seem as though she had been within that group previously. In addition, she wore a deep black dress that made it almost impossible to see her figure, and yet simultaneously made her stand out like a sore thumb amidst all the endless white. In that way, she seemed to be a lot like Ryu.

Had Ancestor Ember been there, though, he would have recognized this woman immediately.

She was none other than the woman who was responsible for him having conquered the Pedestal Plane in Ryu's absence. She was also the very woman who had captured a certain youth from the Basteel Clan who had taken the Herbology Exam with Ryu…

The very woman who was well aware that Ryu's last name was Tatsuya.