Ailsa stood frozen. Little Gem was buried in her chest, the little one looking around in confusion weakly before laying back down to enjoy her nap.
The world of Monarchs… it was said that the Ruler Realm was the watershed of the Immortal Realm, a symbol of one leaving the land of mortals. But, the reality was that this was at most dipping one's toes into this new Realm.
The true embodiment of Immortals was the formation of one's Small Realm, the sign of officially becoming the Monarch of one's Inheritance.
The first Realm, the Heir Realm, was just the beginning. It allowed one to call upon Essence to strengthen one's attack and its impact was minimal.
The Impose Realm allowed one to touch the world of Domains a small bit. One could form Realms of suppression and impede the strength of one's enemies.
The Rule Realm, the first instance of Immortals, was where one truly began to Control one's Inheritance. It gave one freedom of control never seen before, allowing a flexibility in battle impossible to match with the Impose Realm alone.
However, the formation of the Small Realm was a different beast entirely. It made one the Monarch of an area, allowing them to control strength far beyond one's means.
It had to be remembered that the marker of the Immortal Ring Realm was the ability to control atmospheric qi. When one steps into this Realm, using their Immortal Rings to resonate with the surrounding qi and make use of it, one's strength takes a qualitative leap.
Ryu, after mutating his Heavenly Pupils and gaining Ethereal Tapestry, had gained some capital to manipulate atmospheric qi. But, compared to true Immortal Ring experts, he was severely lacking.
However, after forming a Small Realm, not only would this issue become practically non existent… it would be like adding wings to a tiger!
Within one's Small Realm, not only would all qi be absolutely obedient, but…
One could use atmospheric Essence!
To put how massive such a change was into perspective, one had to comprehend the normal use of Essence.
Whenever Essence was called down, it used one's body as a medium before being filtered into one's weapon or attack. However, the body was ultimately a funnel. It was subject to being a bottleneck and could also erode over the course of a battle.
However, a Small Realm allowed one to snatch Essence directly and implement it into one's strength without even bothering with the body at all!
For someone like Ryu, who was still a mortal, the change was absolutely enormous. It would allow him to use Immortal Qi without worrying about the burden to his body in the slightest!
Knowing all of this, it was no wonder Ailsa was so shocked. The increase to Ryu's strength wouldn't be as simple as one or two times. He was already a Middle Divine Vessel Realm expert capable of doing battle with Higher Connecting Heaven Realm experts who were considered great talents. He could even battle Immortal Ring experts who had formed Black Grade Immortal Rings. Just what level of strength would he have now?!
Ailsa's expression suddenly changed again as a violent wash of Essence descended.
'Dammit!'
How could she forget?! She was so shocked by the changes to Ryu that she had forgotten that with every new comprehension, there was a corresponding amount of Essence. The issue was that this was the largest amount Ryu had ever received.
Not only was this the largest amount, but Ryu was still immersed in battle, his mind in a completely different state than his body. This was the worst kind of state to accept Essence in.
As though this was already bad enough, in the past, the type of Essence Ryu accepted was of a specific kind. For example, he would comprehend his Rage Flames and thus the Essence would have the greatest effect on his Fire Dragon Bloodline, so on and so forth. But, this time, it was a completely different animal.
Ailsa could tell that this Essence wasn't biased in the slightest, it had no strong ties of Fate pulling it in any one direction, meaning that it would rampage about as it pleased unless there was someone to direct it.
Ailsa took a deep breath and calmed down, letting her previous panic vanish like the wind. Isn't that was she was here for? If she couldn't guide Ryu through this, then how could she be his Life Partner?
The question was, what should she do?
Ailsa sank into a partial state of meditation, time dilating and her thinking speed accelerating as numerous calculations began within the depths of her mind.
With this amount of Essence, there would be no problem for Ryu to open his Fifth Body Vessel. Such strength would even allow him to battle Half-Step Path Extinction Realm experts without issue.
Comparatively, though, the same amount of Essence would allow him to soar through the Divine Vessel Realm and complete the Connecting Heaven Realm in one clean sweep. This would allow Ryu to focus on finding his Spiritual Foundation once again and finally completing his Spiritual Severings.
This option would have a less exaggerated impact on his immediate strength, but the long term benefits were undeniable.
It hadn't escaped Ailsa that the Phoenix Sky God's Inheritance had yet to make itself known. She had a feeling that it wouldn't truly begin to display its might until the Path Extinction Realm. But, it should begin showing tidbits of its power at the Immortal Ring stage.
Knowing this, Ailsa leaned more toward the second option than the first. Finding Ryu's Spiritual Foundation was simply too important.
But… if she was going with this logic, there was no more important part of Ryu's strength than his Heavenly Pupils.
Finding Ryu's Spiritual Foundation was entirely reliant on his Heavenly Pupils. Without them, even Ailsa wasn't confident in helping unless their intimacy reached an extreme. But, this wasn't something that could be hurried. Their relationship was already making nice progress, there was no need to hurry it.
However, according to Ailsa's calculations, it would only be possible for the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to help after undergoing their first evolution, and that would require unlocking nine nodes.
Though Ryu had Chaotic Qi to help this matter along, according to Ailsa's calculations, it would still take several more years to accomplish this.
In the past, this wasn't a big deal. After all, cultivation slowed considerably after the Divine Vessel Realm.
It had to be remembered that Ryu would only be able to reconnect his Spiritual Foundation after completing the Connecting Heaven Realm. Only then would the mutation of his Chaotic Silk Meridians be complete enough to not devolve back to its original state and take much of Ryu's combat prowess with it. So, it was previously worth it to be patient.
But now…
Ailsa took a deep breath.
This was a tough decision especially since this was just the tip of the iceberg. With this much Essence, too many things could be done. It would even be possible to help Ryu's partners and his Mental Realm.
In fact, even beyond that, with some special means, Ailsa could use this Essence to awaken other Talents of his Bloodlines that Ryu had missed out on previously. Even the Storm Talent would be in play.
After a while, Ailsa made a decision.
'Let's do it like this.'
Her eyes flashed open.
"Go on little one, mama will be back soon, she just needs to help papa."
Little Gem snuggled up against Ailsa and sent a look toward Ryu, a hint of fondness on her little expressions.
"Yes, yes. Papa is always making us worry. I'll be sure to teach him a lesson."
Ailsa giggled, sending Little Gem off to the Incubator.
Her expression turned serious, approaching Ryu's back and tearing the clothing on him apart.
She placed her palms on his back and sank into a state of absolute focus.
'First, your Heavenly Pupils.'
Ailsa made this decision not just for the sake of finding Ryu's Spiritual Foundation. At the moment, Ryu's Heavenly Pupils were still in their Mortal State, yet it was already able to help him to progress so far so quickly. Ailsa had a feeling that it had played a large role in this sudden boon.
In that case, why not invest in the golden egg laying goose?
Numerous pops rang out in Ryu's eyes, howling winds surging through the Moon World.
A pressure that could shatter earth and sunder skies descended.
By this point, every powerhouse of the Moon World shivered, each and every one looking in the same direction.
Ailsa smiled, her eyes still closed.
There was a second reason she had made this decision. Compared to the Essence of breaking through to the Monarch Realm… just what kind of changes would the evolution of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils have?
The clear skies of the Moon World suddenly went completely black.
Then, one after another, Stars of Fate began to twinkle to life.
Those below could only shudder. Right above their heads, their own futures lingered before them.
However, did they dare to look?