Ryu quietly observed the Higher Mortal Plane for several weeks.
In truth, he had never expected to spend so long here. But, he unexpectedly found it quite peaceful. That in combination with the fact Ailsa was still deep in meditation and he didn’t really have much of a choice but to finally take a break.
In this place, there was no cultivation he could accomplish. After all, he had long since left the Mortal Realms and without Immortal Qi, he could no longer improve himself. But, he oddly found himself relaxing instead as he observed what remained of the Tor Bloodline.
It was suffice to say that Ryu’s actions had left a Dynasty that had ruled for countless generations in shambles. The Tor Kingdom was no more and it was the Opes Kingdom that had once been the weakest that was currently thriving.
After Ryu left his supposed father to bask in his own ruin, the Tor Kingdom had very quickly been divided up not long later. While Ryu had given Concubine Leilani—his mother in this life—a path to live out her days in peace and silence, he didn’t provide that same opportunity for his ‘father’. Ryu didn’t know what happened to him, but the man was definitely long dead and he had left descendants behind that could only be said to be struggling.
Ryu was very purposeful with his actions back then. He had acted in a way that lingering strings of Karma couldn’t affect his cultivation down the road. In fact, he gave more than he should have so that he could ensure that it would never harm him.
After Ryu awoke his memories, the truth was that he didn’t particularly care about the Tor Clan any longer. All the hardships he had faced and all the blood he had shed, he chalked it up to just being the pain he had to exchange for gaining a Spiritual Foundation. That was the reality.
If it had been up to Ryu back then, after he entered the Natural Order Sect and ransacked what was left of their wealth and he plundered the Crystalline Jade of the Zu Clan, he would have directly left to the Immortal Planes.
The competition of Heirs had been worth next to nothing to Ryu. Dancing around with those children was only made barely worth it when he handicapped himself and pretended to still be blind. Only then was he able to eek out a bit of worth to those events.
As Ryu had always said, the only reason he participated was to get revenge for Granny Miriam, the woman responsible for him to be able to stand here today. It was she who raised him up from his youth when his mother never did. It was she who was his support when everyone else seemed to hate him. It was she who didn’t blind his eyes when ordered to do so by his father, allowing him to retain one of the greatest foundations of his strength.
He owed her too much. That was why he insisted on giving her sister so much help after ascending to the Immortal Planes. By now, Melody was likely a great powerhouse of her own.
Ryu knew that Melody had entered his grandmother’s Legacy World, but he never got the chance to meet her face to face. He didn’t mind, though… Their path of Karma should have already come to an end, not much unlike his path with the Loom Clan’s young princess, Tae, had also come to an end.
Ryu’s mind drifted through all of these matters. With his Origin Flame, it felt like just yesterday he foolishly sat in the Heir position of the Loom Clan, making the mistake of tainting Tae.
Back then, his pride and rage was still at its peak. The current him would never make such a mistake, but the Ryu of then felt like the world owed him everything. In a lot of ways, it was only inevitable that he would stumble into a Clan and lay waste to it in such an almost comical way.
Ryu’s gaze flickered with fury when he thought of how Patriarch Loom almost made him kneel during their first meeting before that rage dispersed and he chuckled to himself.
It seems that maybe he hadn’t changed much at all. Even after getting revenge ten times over for that matter, it still bothered him.
Though Ryu joked with himself about this, the fact he could laugh at all showed just how far he had come.
Ryu felt no sort of responsibility toward Tae nor did he have any intention of marrying her. He had left her treasures beyond her wildest imagination and if she was the kind of woman he thought her to be, she had taken advantage.
That said, Ryu’s thoughts toward Tae’s cousin, Matteus, who he had recently met in the replica Nether Realm, were a bit more layered and complex. Matteus was a great talent, obviously since he was a Throne. His rage toward Ryu when they met for the second time wasn’t entirely unwarranted. Ryu knew that if he had a cousin or little sister he was close with that such a thing had happened to, he too would have flown into a rage.
Ryu shook his head. He decided that he didn’t feel guilty and his mind cleared tremendously. If Matteus wanted revenge, he was free to come. But by now, Ryu had left him far behind and he had no intention of letting someone he had surpassed to catch him.
Ryu’s mind drifted once again and it landed on the image of a beautiful young woman named Meralda.
Ryu met Meralda for the first time on the Blossom Plane. The instant he saw Meralda’s reaction to him, he realized that she recognized him.
Back then, he had some inkling as to why, but the moment he gained the full fledged Origin Flame, he realized where it was that he knew her… He knew her voice. She was the overseer of the Herbology Exam he took, the very same world he met Ailsa for the first time in.
When Ryu realized where he knew her voice from and he matched their faces, he realized then exactly what the problem was.
First, this woman definitely knew his name was Ryu Tatsuya. And second… She knew he was the one who gained Ailsa’s partnership back then.
Of course, the fact she knew these two things now wasn’t a big deal at all, Ryu revealed both to the world just a few hours ago. However, for her to have known this all those years ago… It could only be said that she held Ryu’s life and death in the palm of her hands, and yet she hadn’t taken advantage.
As Ryu thought about all these strings of Karma, he realized that he would definitely have to pay this woman back as well.
Ryu continued to drift through the Mortal Plane. Unbeknownst to him, the odd dissonance he felt with his power skyrocketing was slowly fading as his mind calmed, his talent slowly clawing back its advantage piece by piece.
One step at a time, the impact of completely unsealing his Heavenly Pupils began to show itself to Ryu and the world became a fantastical painting of floating Runes.
In a moment, Ryu subconsciously realized that he could view the world through different lenses and magnifications as he pleased.
There was the first normal view of the world. Then, with a shift in lens, he could view the world through <Ephemeral Tapestry> that he seemed to have gained the ability to turn off and on now. With this, he was able to see the invisible flowing qi of the world in vibrant, flowing colors.
With another shift in lens, Ryu could see the world through <Lines of Fate>. A world of black, white and grey strings, forming everything from the skies to humanoid figures.
Then, with another, he could layer <Ephemeral Tapestry> and <Lines of Fate>, opening himself up to a world of colored with strings.
Just <Ephemeral Tapestry> alone allowed Ryu the capability of seeing the flow of qi and making his cultivation speed even faster. Just <Lines of Fate> allowed Ryu to predict the probability of certain futures and see through the intentions and histories that connected people. However, when the two were brought together, those muddied images became as clear as day. Ryu could more precisely pinpoint exactly what he needed to know and grasp it, just like he had when he converted his Tatsuya Saintly Weapon comprehension into the foundation of his Great Swordstaff Inheritance.
However, Ryu had gained an even finer and more pinpoint lens. With a thought, he could zoom into this Lines of Fate and see the Fundamental Runes that made them up. Almost as though he was looking at the foundation of the world itself and way the Heavens constructed them…
The secrets of everything was laid out before him… And it felt good.
Of course, while Ryu was basking in the changes to how he could see the world, the entirety of the martial world had been thrown into chaos.
The news of the return of Ryu Tatsuya felt like a tsunami drowning out even the return of the Ancestral Beasts.