Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

"… But… Your… Spiritual Foundation…"

These were the words Ryza finally managed to squeeze out.

Ryu's birth was something the entirety of the martial world had been shaken by. The appearance of such a talent wasn't just a matter of celebration, for many it was a matter of great worry. It meant a great shift in the balance of power and a great possibility that the Hegemony of the Tatsuya would only continue to expand.

The Tatsuya had seemingly only continued growing ever since their inception. Despite their relative youth, they grew rapidly, becoming the main Clan of a top tier world like the Shrine World.

It had to be understood that before the creation of the Tatsuya Clan under the leadership of Primus, those with Dragon blood were greatly independent. Due to their unruly nature and the foundation of their Daos, they didn't do well in Clan structures and often went off on their own. Many of the world's loan experts back then had been those with Dragon Blood who insisted on being leaders of their own.

It wasn't until the appearance of Primus that many of these ambitions of individuality were quelled and the Shrine World fell under a single power's control. However, quite ironically, Primus himself seemed to disdain the lack of individuality his own Clan had formulated and left not long after his own son matured, never to return.

The appearance of the Tatsuya was both surprising and shocking to the martial world, but it worked. Year after year, they displayed the astounding birth of talents and without the need to go off on their own and forge a path of individuality, the powerful talents with Dragon blood began to flourish all the more, displaying the true might of Dragon blooded humans.

When Ryu was born, it was like the pinnacle of this ascension. The martial world had to face a reality where maybe, just maybe, its entirety might fall under the control of just a single Clan, something unprecedented in the history of the universe.

It was maybe the first time even Sky Gods paid attention to the birth of a child as it was maybe also the first time a child who was practically guaranteed to step into their ranks had been born. Not only did Ryu have the talent, he had the heritage and the background.

With the strength and power of the Tatsuyas, he didn't even have to worry about being killed before he was matured either. His parents were practically undefeatable with the Cosmic Seed Realm, and when working together could even challenge World Sea Realm experts. His grandparents, and especially his grandfathers, were untouchable within the World Sea Realm. And his great grandfather…

Well, the looming existence of Primus Tatsuya was the exact reason that though the Tatsuya Clan was young, and though they had yet to birth a second Sky God after him, no one dared to think of touching them…

However, how could anyone have expected that the day the Tatsuya would face a crisis that would wipe them from existence… He wouldn't even show up?

Ryza's mind sped into overdrive.

The martial world collectively sighed a breath of relief when it was realized that Ryu's Spiritual Foundation was False. Many felt that things were only right this way. How could so much talent be concentrated into a single person? The Heavens didn't play favorites, they should have expected something like this to happen.

Ryu had entered the Tatsuya Library not long after his failure, so he didn't have to witness all the sneering faces and fake smiles that had come to give their 'condolences' to him and his family, but he could practically feel the searing heat still lingering on his skin… That shame he had felt that day, the moment his perpetual smile turned cold and froze over.

'If he really is him, then… Is there a cure for a False Spiritual Foundation? Could it be that the Tatsuya faked his Awakening Ceremony…? No, wait. It's impossible for a mortal to live for a billion years, and a talent like Ryu, even if he had a Common Grade Spiritual Foundation, he couldn't possibly still be using Immortal Qi after so long. The Grade of a Spiritual Foundation won't start to matter until the Dao Pedestal Realm… Not truly, anyway…

'It can't be that they faked it either for the same reason… After almost a billion years, he couldn't possibly still be so weak…'

Ryza's lips twitched at her own deductions. She had just watched Ryu cripple a Sky God, was this still considered weak? Even she couldn't do this…

'There's only two explanations I can think of, but only one makes sense. But there's no way for me to know the details.'

Ryza was only certain of a single thing: Ryu had reincarnated. And, by some miracle, he managed to gain a Spiritual Foundation through this process.

"Finished ogling now? I would still like to see Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn as soon as possible. I've wasted enough time here."

Ryza took a deep breath. She had had too many bombs dropped onto her in the short time she had known this young man. She really didn't know if this would be her fortune or if this would go down as one of the worst things to ever happen to her…

"Okay, I will bring you to see big sister Wynhorn. But, whether…"

Ryza was about to say it would be up to Ryu whether he was worthy of asking for her help or not, but thinking back to Wynhorn's standards and what Ryu had displayed… Maybe this would be the smoothest commission the swords faction Goddess had ever received.

Ryza placed a palm on Ryu's shoulder, causing him to inwardly roll his eyes. What was with all these Sky Gods ferreting him around like some sort of rag doll? They were Sky Gods. Didn't they have modes of transportation more convenient than this?

Without a care for Ryu's reaction, Ryza flashed away, weaving in and out of the Holy Battle Ground with groundbreaking speed. Compared to Aberardus before, it might as well have been like night and day…