Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

"I'm not really sure what happened, most of the details I've just given you might be incorrect or off. I only know the general gist of the story."

"Primus didn't return immediately after the death of his wife and I'm not even sure where he is now. But I have heard some information about how he has returned to the True Martial World."

"However, while he's returned, he hasn't come back to the Clan, so it's hard to tell what his intentions are or if he even has any intentions at all."

"The main point is that your lineage is a bit... special as a result of this. At least part of you is the product of an unknown physique and a Dragon who broke free of its shackles. I'm not sure what that means."

"But at least under normal circumstances, the Fire Dragon Clan will not harm you. They might detain you, maybe even as a method of trying to get Primus to return, but harming you is unlikely."

"That said... your Bloodline also isn't very good and I can't see anything special about it. If you were born in the Fire Dragon Clan, your standing wouldn't be very high at all."

"You're also several generations removed from Primus as well, three if I'm correct. So whatever specialty he might have passed on has long since diluted. If you were his son, it might be a different situation. But at least for now..."

Veridia's voice trailed off as she realized that Ryu was wholly uninterested in these things. The matter of how good his bloodline was or wasn't would be dictated by him, not what he was born with and certainly not by Primus.

If there was anyone he had some interest in and sympathy for, it was his great grandmother. She probably didn't know she was marrying a psychotic bastard who would sit on his hands while their only son was murdered.

Primus sure sounded like great husband material.

As for Primus' background, he only gave a damn as far as it affected him. Knowing and understanding the Fire Dragon's stance was important to him.

"And you're sure that your Dragon Emperor has no animosity toward Primus?"

Veridia's gaze flickered.

"No. Like I said, the generation of the current Dragon Emperor and Primus are misaligned. Primus is actually much older and the two never truly clashed head on."

"Even if there might be a clash in the future, it wouldn't be as a result of animosity, that is simply the way of the Dragons. I'm sure any challenge will be accepted with open claws."

"I see," Ryu replied lightly.

That was a small boon, he guessed. But that wouldn't really stop the Phoenixes or the Lightning Qilin from being enraged.

"And as for my original question?" Ryu asked.

"Boy..." Veridia let out an exasperated sigh, feeling a headache coming on. "Do you even know what the nine powers of the Ninth Heaven are?"

"No."

Veridia shook her head and Selheira giggled.

"There are the Dragons. The Qilins. The Phoenixes. The Griffins. The Rocs. And then there are four human powers. The Martial Gods. The Beast Mimicry Sect. The Arcane Mancer Sect. And finally, the Devouring Heaven Sect."

"The human powers likely all have at least one method capable of cultivating the Chaotic Silk Meridians, but it would be nigh impossible for you to get it."

"The Martial Gods won't allow anyone without their Bloodline into their inner circles. They populate themselves too well and they have too many Bloodlines, they do not take in outsiders. And those they do certainly won't be able to earn a look at such a valuable technique."

"The Arcane Mancer Sect is one that dabbles in many mysteries of the mind. They are the strongest Mental Realm Masters on the Ninth Heaven and they have extremely high requirements for Soul strength and talent... the problem is that they're also the most sinister of the Sects as well. If you enter without a backer, you'll be devoured by one faction or another, whether it's their Soul Eaters, their Necromancers, or even their Illusionists. Even the most docile members of their Sect are extraordinarily dangerous and you would likely die before you even understood what happened to you."

"The Devouring Heaven Sect is the smallest of all of these groups and they only accept those with the Devouring Talents, that being the Perfect Blackbody Soul, the Devouring Heaven Meridians, the Devouring Heaven Bone Structure, and those of the like."

"The trouble with them is that they take in all their disciples as babies and children, raising them up from infancy. The other Sects you might be able to join as you are now if you jump through some hoops, but even then... it's impossible. They are even more selective than the Martial Gods."

"Then there's the Beast Mimicry Sect... They're dangerous for other reasons, especially to you. Even if you have the talent to be a Beast Master, just the fact you have Beast Blood in you will make you incompatible. Their techniques will be able to work against you, and if you attempt to use them, they will clash against your own nature."

"Even if by some miracle you managed to make it in, just by virtue of those last points not only would you be in danger of losing your mind to the control of another interested in having such a specimen under their control, but you never be able to rise up their ranks high enough to exchange for such a technique because your talent for their techniques would be far too poor."

"Even if you took a step back and tried for one of the Beast Clans instead, as there's no guarantee that they wouldn't have such a human cultivation method, you would be sliced up the moment you entered their borders. If they sensed your Bloodlines, they would chase you down to the ends of the Heavens."

"And that's the main problem you're facing. Even the Beast Mimicry Sect doesn't dare to tame one of the five Beast Powers, so they wouldn't even dare to take you in to begin with."