Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The Heavenly Warrior froze and slowly turned back to Ryu. Donning a familiar black armor with golden accents, the warrior didn't seem to understand what was happening. It stared blankly at Ryu, but it didn't move. It was like a robot that had run into a scenario it hadn't been programmed for, so it was constantly rebooting and reassessing the situation as though it was looking for a way out.

Ryu's eyes narrowed. Had he overestimated the intelligence of these Heavenly Warriors? But the last one had spoken to him, it even seemed to have emotions, so what was going on here?

Just as he was thinking so, the skies split.

BOOM.

A much taller Heavenly Warrior, standing at three meters and towering over Ryu appeared.

"Heaven's Chosen, what are you doing?"

Ryu's gaze flickered. This was the second time he was called this, and he still had no idea what it meant. If he was such a Heaven's Chosen, why'd these fools allow him to be a cripple for so long?

If he had never been compelled to reincarnate, just how much faster would he have been able to progress in his cultivation with the full backing of the Tatsuya Clan? And with his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation at that! Not only would he not have to concern about the ticking time bomb that was likely to be his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, he would have been able to save his family from collapsing.

Of course, he knew that things weren't so simple.

For one, he would have never met Ailsa. Although she had left her family with her own problems, by the time she made that decision, Ryu would have been well along his path, and he would have shunned her with great vigor for the sake of Elena.

If not for the fact he had been separated from Elena, Ailsa would have never been able to crack his cold exterior.

Then there was his Chaotic Silk Meridians. It would have been impossible for him to find its true path, and he wouldn't have been nearly so powerful without gaining Chaos Qi. His ability to fight above his level would have been greatly hindered as a result.

That was just two of the many changes that would occur had he not been crippled at birth, and he knew that. But he liked to grumble anyway.

If the Heavens put him through that kind of pain on purpose just to raise him to this level, he would definitely have no love lost for it. He wouldn't tolerate being the puppet of anyone, even if that someone was the Heavens themselves.

"Since I'm your so-called Heaven's Chosen, don't you think it's about time you actually did something for me?"

The Heavenly Warrior was speechless. Since when had anyone ever spoken to him like this? Every time he descended anywhere, there would be nothing but reverence and adoration-

"Don't allow your mind to wander, I still want to go visit my mother. I don't want to waste time here. Tell me, I need a treasure capable of holding the essence of Heaven itself. It's the final piece I need to bring my Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to the World Sea Realm and unleash its true strength."

Although Leonel couldn't see a face, he could almost feel the Heavenly Warrior frown. When he did, the world itself reacted.

"The Heavens do not give gifts, nor do they help cultivators directly."

Ryu scoffed. "What kind of Heaven's Chosen does that make me, then? Do you just throw out that title when you feel like trying to guilt trip me into things?"

"The title of Heaven's Chosen doesn't imply any sort of selection or active choice on the Heaven's part; it only implies that a particular large amount of Faith has gathered around you. This is your luck, but do not expect anything else."

"So the Heavens can punish, but they can't give gifts? What happened to balance?"

The Heavenly Warrior fell into silence.

Ryu raised an eyebrow. After the warrior's initial response, he had already given up.

It was clear to him that whatever strength Sacrum's Heavenly Warriors had, they were only displaying a fraction of a fraction of it. For some reason, they didn't send out their best to wipe out these invaders in a single bound, and they also seemed to restrict themselves to the Chaos Plane for another unknowable reason.

He thought about what it might mean to try and kill one of these guys. Maybe if he killed enough, he could convert their essence into what he needed. But he felt that it would be greatly inappropriate to do so. These were the people that were protecting his home.

He, of course, wasn't a soft-hearted person. But he knew how not to ruin his own benefits as well.

If there was no one protecting Sacrum, and it became overrun, it would fall on his mother's shoulders to handle everything. And if that happened, how would she be able to heal her injuries?

But this Heavenly Warrior actually paused.

"From my understanding of your Spiritual Foundation, you do not need such a thing."

"Humor me." Ryu said.

Following Heaven's path for you would only get you so far. Ryu trusted his instincts just as much as he trusted the information the Heavens had given him. Since his instincts told him he needed one more thing, he believed it.

"You are already on a path to doing so. You have Shrine Mountain's will on you."

Ryu frowned. He was gazing for something deeper than that.

"You have left your world, and now you look down on it. Yet you return to it for help."

Ryu's frown deepened when he heard this. He didn't look down on his world; he simply acknowledged the reality, and that was that it was weaker than the True Martial World.

"Reach the state of Natural Breath first, then you can consider such things."

Ryu's brows shot right up.