Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu held the sobbing Elena, his gaze dimming somewhat. This was his fault, he knew it was his fault.

Even if he had spent 999 years stuck in a cycle of Rebirth, a Rebirth that was likely responsible for the reason he had been able to relay his foundation so quickly to begin with, what about the almost decade afterward? It was an irrational feeling, he knew that.

Until quite recently, just setting foot on the Ninth Heaven would have killed him. This wasn't a matter of the Martial Gods hunting him down, but rather the environment itself was something his body simply couldn't withstand. That was a huge issue to contend with even before he got to the many people and things that would want him dead.

But even with all of this being the case, he felt that it was his responsibility to not be weak, his responsibility to be here, his responsibility to climb through hell or high water to be by her side.

The fact he couldn't was a notch against him, a blemish on his soul, and one he had no one to blame but himself for.

He could think of any number of acceptable reasons for why he couldn't be here, but none of it should have mattered... Especially when he thought about why Elena left in the first place.

For a long time, Elena was just content with what she had. She was content to live out the rest of her days in Sacrum, she was content to have a cripple for a husband even if it meant that he would only be in her life for a short time, she was content with what she had.

While her views were naive, they were pure.

The only reason she came back to this Clan she never really wanted to be a part of was because of Ryu. She didn't want to just sit back and watch him fight on his own, she wanted to be able to help him if she could.

And that was because he was too weak.

He was too weak to let her truly be as willful as she wanted to be, so she took up this burden for the sake of them both.

She would have much rather reclined and waited for him to wake up. But instead she came here and toiled away for the sake of giving their happiness a chance.

And he had all but ignored it until now.

He stroked her hair gently, holding her tightly to his chest. This was the first woman he had ever loved, she shouldn't have to shed a single drop of sweat in her lifetime, let alone blood... and least of all should she suffer.

Ryu cupped Elena's face in his hands, looking down at her tear-stricken eyes and cheeks. Although there was a hint of grievance hidden deep within, they were overwhelmed by happiness.

"Open your mouth."

Elena scoffed and laughed between her sobs. "You could at least take me out to dinner first."

Even though she said this, she did as she was told, opening wide as though she was expecting large.

Ryu smiled and shook his head. Then, a drop of Embryonic Qi fell on her pink tongue.

Elena's eyes shot open as she suddenly felt all of her injuries mending. Deep, hidden injuries she hadn't been able to deal with over the years, injuries that had slowed her down quite significantly, in fact, just vanished as though they were never there.

A hint of sadness crept up in Ryu's eyes. He could see a great deal of problems with Elena's body.

For one, the hidden injuries. The amount of hardship she must have suffered through was...

Rage flashed in Ryu's eyes. Elena was only a True Sky God, an ant to the Martial Gods. He didn't believe they didn't have methods of dealing with this.

The worst part was that this was only the easiest issue to spot.

The second issue was the large amounts of accumulated pill impurities.

Once again, with how large and powerful the Martial Gods were, how could one of their own end up with so many impurities? Even if they couldn't just churn out 100% pure pills, it looked like the pills Elena was using were 60 to 70% pure at best.

When it was considered that the best alchemists of the Clan could most definitely concoct Dao God Pills, it made it even more unacceptable.

However, deeper than all of that, Ryu could see hints of damage on Elena's soul, marks that infuriated him even more because they reminded him of the Yin Reaper Palm.

He took a breath, forcing himself to calm down. Whatever Taboo or Taboo adjacent technique there was, it didn't work. How could they take her Primordial Yin if it was with him?

However, he couldn't stop the smoldering flames from churning in the depths of his silver irises. He had only just slaughtered not just three, but five individuals. But he wasn't satisfied in the slightest.

Elena's gaze finally regained its clarity and they opened wide.

"Wah! What was that?" She asked in shock, checking her body. "Ew, gross."

Elena frowned. She had already not liked the fact that she wasn't in the best condition to meet her Hubby, but this made things worse. The impurities were practically oozing out of her and she didn't like it at all.

Ryu tapped a finger on her skin and a rush of frosty fog took shape. The smell was frozen away, and the impurities fell like shedding skin, leaving her as perfect as she was before.

Elena smiled and stood to the tips of her toes, giving Ryu a peck on his cheek.

Only then did she really settle down to the situation. When she saw that Ryu came and the ones hidden in the shadows didn't, she couldn't help but panic slightly.

"Ryu, you didn't..."

"Who injured your soul?" Ryu asked, gazing at her deeply.

"That doesn't-"

"Who?" Ryu asked again.

"Ryu, you..."

Ryu didn't reply, he held Elena's face gently in his hands. Even though he wasn't applying any pressure, she almost felt compelled to look him right in the eyes. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to look away.

"Ryu..." she said softly, biting her lip. "... This person is already a Perfect Sky God, and they're almost close to becoming a Transcendent Sky God. On top of that, they are part of the High Tier..."

"Who." Ryu asked again lightly.

Elena seemed to melt. Ryu's gaze was the same indifference she remembered, the same unbothered, unadulterated confidence.

She had known this would happen. His only doubts in his first life were toward his cultivation, but he never felt inferior to anyone. His only challenge was himself.

When she said she believed that he could destroy the Holy Wing Clan if he wanted, she had meant every word of it. When she tried to stop him from fighting against the Martial Gods, it was never about not believing in him... it was because she knew that the moment he did, any chance she naively thought they had at peace would cease to be.

"Okay..." Elena said softly. She didn't mention the name, but her words are effectively the same. It wasn't like Ryu would recognize the name anyway. All that mattered was the sentiment.

"Little Silk." Ryu called out.

A flash of sky blue cut through the skies. Beneath her, wrapped in bundles of silvery-blue silk, there was a familiar old woman whose eyes were opened wide with shock and rage.

"Leave her here. Don't kill her. Let's go."

Ryu took Elena's waist and took a step, appearing on Little Silk's back. His gaze flashed with a cold intent as the gorgeous butterfly shot into the distance.

Elena couldn't seem to see the scenery at all, her gaze focused on Ryu's chiseled side profile.

...

The High Tier of the Martial Gods was mostly made up of derivatives of the three Divines. The Holy Wings were part of this group as derivatives of the Divine Wings, there were the Holy Chains that were obviously derivatives of the Divine Chains, and there was also the Holy Kings, derivative of the Divine Hegemony.

They weren't the sum total, but they were probably the most important. As for where the person in question was, he was among the Holy Kings.

He was known as Young Master Janus. He was 28 years old this year and still had time to make it to the Transcendent Sky God Realm before his 30th birthday to remain on the genius track and maintain his current pool of resources.

He was just a step away, but even he knew that this was a difficult task. He was just a step away, but anyone who would say they were 100% confident could only be a conceited fool.

As for being a generational talent, that was impossible. Such a talent wouldn't ever be two years away from falling off the genius path anyway. Those freaks would have probably broken through to the Omniscient Sky God Realm 20 years in advance.

'I'll succeed in the task mother asked of me soon and that bitch will be dealt with. That should get me a few more resources. But I don't need more qi, I need inspiration to break through with my Dao... I'll have to trade them for a change using the-"

BOOM!

Janus' entire courtyard trembled as though the world was coming to an end.

"Who dares?!" He stood up in a rage.

Although he sounded enraged, his mind was calculating many things. Who the hell could make it through his protective formation so easily?!