In the moments before the lightning struck, despite the grin on his face, even Ryu somewhat felt that he had lost his mind. What he was doing now had no real precedent, he hadn’t relied on Ailsa’s expertise and he knew quite well that if he had tried to, she would have stopped him at all costs.
However, Ryu was a man who had faced the wrath of the Heavens just months earlier. Not only had he faced it, but he had defeated it with his fist. The confidence that coursed through his veins was unlike anyone had ever experienced before.
Ryu knew that his eyes were simply too important to him. As much of a fuss as everyone made over his Bloodlines and his Meridians or his Bone Structure and Spiritual Foundation, Ryu knew that the greatest of his talents was undisputedly his Pupils.
This alone was able to paint the picture of just how Ryu felt when he came to this sudden realization. The greatest of his talents, the one meant to pave a path for him into the future, would actually end up becoming the greatest obstacle to his future progress.
There was only one way Ryu could think of to escape this Fate, and that was to force his Heavenly Pupils to mutate just like his Bone Structure had.
He had succeeded in this before. His <Ephemeral Tapestry> was an ability that had never before appeared in the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and could be considered to be a mutation. This mutation occurred thanks to the influence of Ryu’s Bone Structure on his Heavenly Pupils, resulting in a perfect synergy that allowed him to lay eyes on otherwise invisible qi.
However, this mutation was superficial. It couldn’t possibly change the foundation of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and Ryu was of the belief that he likely wasn’t the first to wield these Pupils that had experienced a similar sort of mutation.
That said, while it was superficial, this experience told Ryu that it was possible. His Pupils could be morphed and changed to his image, mutated to the point where the glass ceiling he saw ahead could be shattered through and destroyed beneath his will.
And that was where this Heavenly Tribulation came in.
Thanks to his Storm Talent, Ryu had already gained a modicum of control over Tribulation Lightning. The instant he had awakened it, he had formed a Dominion. But, unsurprisingly, said Dominion had fallen back down to the Ruler Realm just like all his other comprehensions had.
Regardless, the truth was that even if this fall didn’t happen, the Tribulation Lightning Ryu could control wasn’t enough.
The Lightning Qilin were Ancestral Beasts and were, as such, darlings of the Heavens. Much like their counterparts, they were given control over a dominion that blessed them with untold strength. However, this didn’t mean that there wasn’t a limit and limitations to said strength.
The Fire Dragon could endlessly fuel their strength with their Rage. This was a ridiculous concept and one that humans couldn’t even begin to grasp. To a human, emotion in battle wouldn’t help in the slightest. If anything, it would only put you at greater danger as you would lose hold of your rationality.
Likewise, the Lightning Qilin had control over a dominion humans couldn’t even begin to imagine as well: A control over Judgment, the Tribulation of the Skies.
By now, it was quite obvious why Qilins and Dragons head butt so often. One was the representation of fighting against the Heavens while the other was the arbiter of Justice and Judgment for the Heavens. How could two such species not absolutely abhor the other?
However, this hatred and clashing was exactly what Ryu needed, and it was also precisely why blood flowed out from all of his orifices, slowly beginning to drench his white robes in a deep crimson color.
Ryu knew that even if the Heavens bestowed his Bloodlines with such astounding capabilities, there would always be limits. And, in this case, that limitation was his own comprehension. Though he had gained the memories of all his Ancestors, his Tribulation was already here and he simply didn’t have the time to go through them one by one, it was simply impossible.
The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils could be considered to be treasures forged by the Heavens, a mere Dominion ranked comprehension would do nothing to change it, and in Ryu’s opinion, even comprehension at the level of a True Sky God wouldn’t move the needle.
The only chance Ryu had was to lay a foundation that relied on the help of the Heavens above, only it would contain the amount of strength he needed, only it would be able to help him now.
That was why Ryu was smiling right now, it was why he was laughing as a bolt of lightning that could eradicate his very existence descended from the skies.
He was a man who had hated the Heavens for as long as he could remember. It had taken everything away from him, or at the very least, it had snatched what he thought should have been rightfully his. He had had all that talent and yet there was nothing he could do but stab a blade through his own heart and leave his family to be eradicated down to its roots.
He could still remember all that anger and fury he had on the inside, all that angst and hatred for the world. Maybe if he had never met Ailsa, he would still be holding onto that hatred, his head stuck in a dark cloud and his rage fueling his every dark action.
But since then, he had learned so much, grasped so much…
He had faced the Heavens, fought with their warriors, looked down the gaze of death and crushed his fears. And then… He had learned. He had learned that the Heavens weren’t his enemy, they weren’t even real beings, at least not in the more literal sense. All that rage he had bottled up inside was aimed at nothing more than a concept, an almost empty meaning.
However, he had also learned that his Rage wasn’t useless. When his talents had abandoned him, when his spine had frozen him in place, when his mind had gone blank of all thoughts and emotions outside of fear, it was that spark of fury that allowed him to carry on.
And now, facing the Heavens once more, it was that very same spark that allowed him to dare to do such a thing.
It was a beautiful balance, a delicate symphony of perfectly layered notes. The strings, the horns the percussion… They rose together in a steady tide, thrumming against the hearts of those who were lucky enough to witness it all.
There it was, the perfect and most complete of Daos.
On one side, there was Dividing Karma. It was a blasphemous action that stole from Gods and slapped their faces, ripping away the strength the Heavens had bestowed upon the strong and shaming them to their faces. It was the kind of Dao that spit upward at the Heavens and dodged the falling spittle that had lost to gravity, the kind of Dao that perfectly embodied the Fury of the Fire Dragon.
And on the other side… There was Dividing Tribulation. It was a holy action, embodying the Judgment of the Heavens and following the letter of the Law. It was the kind of Dao that ingratiated itself with the Heavens, soothing itself within the loving caress of Mother Nature and lulling itself to sleep and on the soft golden clouds of Heaven.
It was beautiful in its irony.
In order to complete his Dao, Ryu embraced the Heavens. And yet, this was only the first layer.
The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were bestowed to him by the Heavens. He willed to surpass their limitations and reach beyond, an act in clear defiance of his benefactor. And yet still, it was only by embracing the skies above that he could accomplish this feat.
Beautiful in its irony, gorgeous in its cyclical cycle… Elegant in its simplicity.
BANG!
The pillar of lightning crashed into Ryu’s Birthed Phenomena. It took no more than a single instant afterward for him to violently cough up several mouthfuls of blood. He nearly fell over from Nemesis’ back entirely, but luckily his partner compensated for his faulty balance, managing to keep him on his back.
Ryu was, indeed, a madman. A large reason why Birthed Phenomena would so severely weaken after their Tribulation was because, in order to save themselves from the damage, their creator would weaken the connection to lessen the backlash.
However, Ryu had done the exact opposite of this. Not only had he used his Storm Talent to hold the tribulation back and force it into an even more infuriated state, he had strengthened the connection to the greatest degree, making it seem as though his very soul was being shattered.
In that moment, Ryu’s Birthed Phenomena cracked. As though a porcelain doll, its body became covered in spiderweb-like fissures, each radiating with a blinding golden light. It looked as though a single touch would cause it to splinter into countless pieces, vanishing into the void, never to appear again. It teetered on the edge, more and more cracks spreading with every passing moment.
Ryu couldn’t even spare it any attention, his body strongly convulsing and threatening to collapse itself.
But even then, he released a bloody grin, his orifices still bleeding.
“This… I will call… Dividing Heaven.”