Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu allowed the Dragon to carry him forward. Though, quite frankly, he didn't really like the feeling. He could see an amused glint in Lysander's eyes as though he was aware of this as well.

Ryu was slowly beginning to understand why it was that Selheira was annoyed with her family. That said, he seemed to treat Selheira herself extremely well, but that seemed to grate on Selheira's nerves all the more.

The trio flashed and appeared deep within the Crystal Mountain. All around, Dragons continued to fly, most of them Crystal Dragons, but Ryu spotted a few who weren't, a number much larger than what he would have expected.

The method of reproduction was a bit odd as far as Ryu knew. Having a child by two Crystal Dragons increased the chances of birthing one, but it wasn't guaranteed.

It was odd since humans who were born with Dragon Blood were guaranteed to have an offspring that had this Bloodline. However, it wasn't the case here.

He had already seen a Wind Dragon, a Lightning Dragon, he had even seen a Spectral Dragon.

Dragons were all arrogant, even if it manifested in different ways. He was certain that regardless of how the Crystal Dragons acted, they too, deep down, were also cut from this cloth.

And these Bloodlines were the perfect example of how.

When two Dragon Bloodlines were formed in the same body, only one could come out dominant. There would be no mixing or fusion of the two, and this was the ultimate result.

Sometimes, a long line of Crystal Dragons might randomly form a Wind Dragon because the suppressed Wind Dragon genes had a sudden flare up. Or, it could be the opposite in that the Crystal Dragon genes were much too weak.

In the end, this was their result.

Selheira suddenly frowned. "I don't want to go there."

It hardly seemed like a coincidence to Ryu, but the moment Selheira began to speak, Lysander suddenly vanished and appeared deep within what was likely the very place Selheira didn't want to be.

Ryu looked up and found himself in a world of crystal. He frowned when he looked down, realizing his Golden Moon World ring was no longer on his finger. In fact, Lysander disappeared and Selheira seemed to be shaking with fury.

Looking at this scene, Ryu had a few guesses.

He didn't believe that a Dragon he believed to at least be a Dao Sovereign, if not a Dao God, would take a fancy to what was ultimately a Sixth Heaven level treasure. He obviously took it because he sensed Ryu had people inside of it.

Unfortunately, these Crystal Dragons were simply too hard to read. Ryu couldn't even get a grasp on their exact cultivation level even with [Third Perspective], let alone what their intentions are.

He grabbed a hold of Selheira's hand, just trying to manage her shaking a bit.

It was only after a long while that Selheira was finally able to regain some of her bearings. Even so, from time to time, her pupils would quake.

"What is this place?" Ryu asked after she had controlled it to a manageable level.

"... This is our Holy Ground..."

Ryu thought of Mae after she said this. Was it similar to the Samsara Wheel? Then why was he here? Was he supposed to be the stabilizing factor that didn't allow Selheira to go wild?

If she was on her own, who knew how much worse her reaction would have been.

Clearly, this was a place where Crystal Dragons came to accept their inheritance, but Selheira wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

"... We're supposed to come here to reach tranquility. It's a journey by foot up the mountain. The only way out under normal circumstances is to make it to the top. The difficulty is dependent on several factors, but age plays the heaviest role..."

She seemed to be dragging her feet with her explanations, as though every word was like another hot coal she was raking her tongue over.

But this explanation was enough for Ryu. Looking up, he saw that the mountain ahead of them was nothing but a long path ahead. However, the path was incredibly subtle, almost as though it was encouraging you to take whatever path you chose.

What was even more odd than this was the fact that such a trial... it should definitely be taken on your own, so why had Ryu come with Selheira? Was it even possible? Would they move as though they were alone? But then what was the point of bringing him in here as well?

"Hey," Ryu let go of Selheira's hand, wrapping the arm around her shoulders.

Selheira leaned into him, feeling his warmth and slowing her breathing.

"Come on," Ryu lifted Selheira up, hoisting her onto his back.

The girl was heavy, as heavy as he would assume her Dragon form was. But after tossing her around for a few rounds in bed, Ryu had long since known this.

He was used to his own body being as light as a feather, mostly due to the Northern Heavenly Winds that he had, not to mention his former Bone Structure. However, that didn't mean that that was all his body was capable of taking.

Selheira was taken aback. Her first reaction was to say that she wasn't a little girl, but thinking about her actions, she wasn't all that different from that reality either, now was she.

Being a little willful, she rested her chin on Ryu's shoulder, feeling more at peace.

"Let's go," Ryu said with a smile. He began trudging up the mountain, but he didn't forget about Selheira. In fact, he began to ask her questions.

"How was your childhood, Selheira?"

She was a bit surprised. "Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

"Shouldn't a man know about his wife?" Ryu asked with a smile.

Selheira smiled beside herself, tightening her grip around Ryu.

"Well... my childhood was very good, actually..."