Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

While it was true that the Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies could increase one's soul by 1% of strength indefinitely, this was a bit misleading. It could be said that the limiter was one's soul itself as opposed to the Spirit Seeking Lilies.

Even if one had an infinite number of Gold Vein Petals, the largest they should be capable of making their soul was 9.9 centimeters tall. Hitting 10 centimeters should be impossible.

To put matters into proper perspective, even being born with a Soul Nature didn't guarantee having an Indestructible Soul. Only a small percentage of these individuals would ever reach such a level. This was all to say that unless you were innately born with an Indestructible Soul, even becoming a Sky God wouldn't change this fact!

And yet, Ryu had done so. In fact, it had been so easy that he didn't even seem to be breaking any rules. It made Eska question herself, as though she was the one in the wrong. Maybe she had misremembered? Maybe she had been wrong all along to begin with. This was the only explanation she could think of.

But, something was telling her that she hadn't gotten it wrong. In fact, she was definitely correct. However, Ryu moved on as though he hadn't done a single thing.

His golden soul punched outward. The air rippled, the booming sound of the sound barrier shattering resounding.

Ryu brought his hands together, his soul following his actions. At that moment, as though he had been possessed, his Fire Phoenix Bloodline began to boil all on its own.

His Rebirth Flame manifested from his real body's forehead, fluttering with its illusory red-gold. But, for some reason, at this moment, it seemed far more gold than red. On top of that, it looked far less illusory than it usually did.

The Rebirth Flame latched onto Ryu's golden soul, wrapping around it like the silk robes of an Emperor.

The Rebirth Flame fluttered, growing into a crown atop Ryu's soul and spreading two wings from its back. Red-gold Heavenly Patterns began to manifest one after another, growing in number and potency with each passing moment.

Ryu's soul became like a heavenly king. Despite being just ten centimeters tall, it radiated the aura of an existence above all, having a presence that could shroud the whole world under its protection.

At the same time, Ryu's Fire Phoenix Bloodline seemed to be undergoing a change, shackles that had been placed upon it releasing one after another.

It was said that the Fire Phoenix was the Ruler of the Phoenixes. Over time, the truth of this mattered was watered down to the Fire Phoenix being a simple mediator, the balance between Life and Death. However, the truth behind it all was far deeper and greater than just this.

It was the Fire Phoenixes that ruled the Phoenixes. It was a very small and specific subset of Fire Phoenixes that did. These Phoenixes were where the legend of nine lives came from. It was these Phoenixes who built their legend on the backs of their Indestructible Souls.

A crown of red gold etched itself across Ryu's forehead, dancing about with ancient patterns that almost looked like two wings coming together to form the representation of an Emperor.

The Heavenly Patterns continued to multiply. The capacity Ryu's soul had multiplied several times over. Before he could even understand what was happening, 9999 Heavenly Patterns had fused into his very being.

Every action his soul took seemed to cause the Essence of the Heavens to converge. Ryu's stamina felt almost endless and it wasn't contingent on his Southern Heavenly Wind.

His Fire Phoenix Bloodline pulsed and whined. Its desire to rule all had suddenly been stimulated to an extreme. For a moment, it felt as though it wouldn't rest until all other Bloodlines within Ryu's body were eradicated.

Veins popped up all across Ryu, his four Bloodlines fighting against one another. However, all of them, with the exception of his Ice Phoenix Bloodline, had grown to the point that they could bear teeth of their own. They rose up, feeling as though they had had their dignity impugned upon.

It was right at that moment that a small white flame that looked like a small ball of cotton upon Ryu's soul's forehead flickered slightly.

As though it had met something it no longer dared to fight against, Ryu's Fire Phoenix Bloodline practically snorted, ignoring the rest of Ryu's Bloodlines as its sunk into his Ice Jade Crystal Body, weaving in and out of his veins and bones as though to mark out its territory.

However, while Ryu would usually be infuriated about his talent rebelling against him, he allowed the Fire Phoenix to do as it pleased. He could feel that this was no small change his body was undergoing. This was a Spirit Body on a different level than his Rage Flame and Lightning Spirit Bodies.

The Emperor Phoenix's Spirit Body gave Ryu access to what could be considered nearly true Rebirth. With his Indestructible Soul as a foundation, Ryu's ability to ignore Dominions and atmospheric qi was on a completely different level.

At the same time, even if his body was destroyed, he would be able to reconstruct it without relying on outside treasures. It would be just as powerful as his real body and without any pitfalls or weaknesses that would come with reconstructing one's body with outside resources.

However, as great as this ability was, it wasn't what Ryu was the most fond of. If his body was destroyed in battle, he would consider that a failure. The fact he would survive it was meaningless to him. What he truly valued was the change in his soul.

To put it simply, Ryu's soul could now cast techniques he would normally only be able to with qi or Vital Qi. This meant that his soul could replace his body in carrying the brunt of the pressure.

What did this mean?

On the simplest level, it meant that Ryu could cast two techniques at once, one with his meridians and another with his soul.

On the highest level, it meant that Ryu could ignore the limitation of techniques and use powers that he wouldn't normally have enough Meridian Nodes to complete.