Ryu roared into the skies, unable to withstand the restructuring of his body in silence.
The Rite of Limitations earned its namesake for a reason. This Rite was meant to push past what one's innate talent was capable of. Although the Heavens seem to be unfair, gifting some talent and ignoring those without, this isn't entirely the case. There are many stories of those with poor talent ascending to the top of the martial world purely through their own perseverance.
Why was it that one's Mental Realm was so important? It wasn't just that cultivators must live for a long time and thus must have strong Spiritual Qi in order to not lose themselves to madness, it was also because one's mentality in cultivation was incredibly important.
The Rite of Limitations allowed cultivators the chance to exchange their pain for greater potential. Although this wouldn't directly boost the grade of your talent, what it could do is awaken hidden potential you didn't know you had. If this opportunity is continually grasped, it isn't difficult for the Lines of Karma to spin in your favor and provide you with a chance to advance in the future.
It was for this reason that this Rite was so painful for Ryu. Within the martial world, he already had what could be considered the peak-most talent. He was birthed with an Ancestral Great Circle. Seeking to break outside the limitations of such talent would be akin to enraging the Heavens. However, he did so anyway.
Ryu was pressed for time. It had to be said that even a heavenly talent like his wife took almost one million years to reach the Lower Dao Pedestal realm. His parents, two individuals who were world-shattering experts as well, used hundreds of millions of years to just reach the Higher Cosmic Seed realm. His grandparents, old monsters who had lived for billions of years, had only reached the Middle World Sea realm!
He didn't have a billion years. He didn't have hundreds of millions. He didn't even have a million.
The anxiety of not knowing what happened to his family was weighing on his chest. He tried to press it down, ignoring it to the best of his abilities, but it crept up time and time again.
Ryu couldn't rest of laurels. He couldn't bide his time and aim for better in the future. His family needed him now, and he would put everything on the line for them.
He knew he could do it. The reason cultivation slowed so much during later Immortal Realms was because it relied so heavily on comprehension. However, there was a reason his Pupils were ranked number one. There was a reason the Origin Flame was a nearly unmatched treasure. With these two things in hand, what did Ryu have to fear?
He would pierce through the Immortal Planes and shatter the barrier that surrounded his home. He would see his mother's smile again. He would bask in the proud glint in his father's eye. He would protect his wife to his back. He would do all the things he had only been able to dream of before. This was his resolve.
A second holy light descended from the skies, this one more than ten times the size of the former.
This was the Rite of Perseverance!
Ryu's Spiritual Foundation expanded madly in size, doubling once more as impurities of black mixed with the crimson blood that poured from his ever-growing wounds.
In the next moment, yet another pillar of holy light descended from the skies. However, this couldn't be considered holy at all. The light was a blood red, wafting with death and dense yin. It was as though the world had flipped and the Rivers of the Underworld rained down upon him.
This was the Rite of Death!
If Ryu's parents could see him now, they would have been shocked into a state of horror. Before Ryu turned seven years old, his father and mother had implored him to never attempt this twelfth Rite. With his talent, it simply wasn't worth it. What need was there for someone of the Ancestral Great Circle to put their lives on the line? It was simply foolish!
Ryu laughed into the skies as this red light descended upon him. The Higher Mortal Plane shook under his madness, not a single soul missed the sight of this crimson pillar of light.
Almost all his life, Ryu had been cold and withdrawn. However, there was a time when he was a bright-eyed little boy with a smile that could light up the world. His little chubby cheeks and large watery silver eyes were once the sun that lit up the otherwise bland Tatsuya Clan Palace.
Unfortunately, his hardships had changed him. He always had loving parents around him, but he felt that he wasn't enough. Everything was perfect, but himself.
This sort of mentality turned him into what he was. He didn't dare to fight against Fate because it seemed selfish to do so. He had everything in the world, so what if he missed out on this one thing? He would live a short life with his head held high. This was the old Ryu's resolve.
However, it was then that the lines of Fate began to change. The tides of the Tatsuya Clan's superiority seemed to be shifting and everything pointed toward their eventual collapse. It was at that point that Ryu realized that Fate wasn't magnanimous or fair. It wasn't all knowing or perfect either. Since it could dare to cause hardship to his loved ones, people who had loved him despite his faults, how dare it flaunt itself before him as it pleased?!
A look of recklessness took over Ryu's emotionless features. His face was bloodied by his sheered skin, bruises of black and blue coated him, making it clear that his inner body was just as devastated as what could be seen on the outside, and even his pure white hair became coated in crimson liquids. He looked no different from a Demonic Emperor, descending into the world.
He looked up into the skies, his silver eyes opening with a fierce glint. Their light seemed to pierce through the pillars, reaching into the skies and attempting to scatter the clouds above.
"I no longer fear death!" Ryu's voice was resolute, filled with the roar of a Tatsuya man. "Fate will never chain me again!"
The clouds in the skies trembled, flashing with arcs of golden lightning as Ryu's tenacity reached a new height.
"Come! Rite of Origin!"