Grand Ancestral Bloodlines
chapter-1996

It was such an obvious answer that Ryu couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it earlier. Of course the answer would be something hiding in plain sight; it wouldn't even make sense if it was something that was completely out of the blue.

In a way, the reason Sacrum had yet to properly stumble onto the Dao was because there were too many things that could be mistaken for it.

In fact, now that Ryu thought about it, he had had that exact same thought in the past. Inheritances, Natural Enlightenments, Mortal Endowments... each one of these things was a form of comprehension, and they could casily be mistaken for a Dao under the wrong circumstances. In fact, each one could easily become a Dao should one make it the center of their cultivation.

It was easier to avoid someone when you were hiding where they least expected it, and often where a person would least expect it would be at the very scene of the crime.

It was the reason Sacrum had been lost in a fog for so long, and now it seemed to be the reason the Lord Realm was obscured by such difficulty.

There were such detailed analyses for the Control at each Realm every step of the way. But then you reached Lord Realm...

And then what?

What was even the difference between Lord Control and Sovereign Control? Just that the latter was a little stronger?

What about God Control? It was just a little stronger than that?

When Ryu thought about it, that seemed to be the answer. He couldn't find another answer even after several more moments of thought. It was like a shroud over the whole thing.

Even when he first committed himself to studying the Realms of the Sky God, he subconsciously stopped after finding a detailed explanation of the first six, thinking that he was stopping before he could bite off more than he could chew.

But was this really the case? Or was he just convincing himself to follow through on something someone else wanted for him?

'What is it... Atmospheric Qi? Immortal Ring? Something else...?'

Almost immediately, he thought through several possibilities.

Controlling Atmospheric Qi and his Immortal Ring seemed like the most standout features. Could it be that he was supposed to do something more with his Immortal Rings?

It would make sense. After all, such a powerful ability was basically pushed to the wayside. He didn't even use his Immortal Rings anymore; it was a waste of time.

Controlling Atmospheric Qi was a huge part of one's battle strength. And Control seemed to be a perfect offshoot of that.

Ryu started reworking his cultivation system in his mind, but he had too many ideas, too many paths to take, and in the end, he wasn't sure if any one of them was the right one.

In truth, he wasn't even sure if this was really what he was supposed to be seeing in the first place.

The destruction of the Fate Chains obscuring his vision had been too easy. Although that was in part due to the evolution of his eyes, he had a hard time believing that whoever this was would make it so easy on him.

Ryu suddenly frowned as another question popped into his head.

Why was it that his future self went back in time for the Zu Clan of all things? Setting aside the fact that logic made him feel like it should be impossible in the first place, what purpose was there?

Was it for Eska's sake? Did someone else find the jade in that timeline and he ended up marrying her anyway? Was there another story that he was unaware of?

'Is the Fate seal mine?"

The thought was like a whirlwind that hit him almost as though someone else was suggesting it. Or rather, someone else wanted him to realize it.

'Why? Is now not the time?'

Ryu's gaze flickered as he seemed to piece things together.

Maybe there wasn't some hidden cultivation method obscured by the elites of the world after all. For once, it didn't seem like he was being targeted by someone above. Instead, it might just be that he had created this method.

He had been thinking about recultivating for a while now. It was just that he needed a method to do so, and he hadn't thought of the perfect one just yet.

It seemed that he had now not only stumbled onto it by accident, but he had also comprehended another secret.

What was so special about the Zu Clan? He really didn't understand. Other than being good with Visualizations, there was nothing else that was particularly important about them.

Something made Ryu feel like he was once again facing an obvious answer, one that was right in front of him... and yet, there was nothing there for him to peel away this time.

Ryu suddenly awoke from his daze to find that the three youths had already completed their ascent into the Lord Realm.

However, Ryu still felt like he was in a bit of a daze. It was hard to snap out of such realizations... and he had a feeling that this might very well not be the last realization he had about this version of

himself... and that was because he already had another thought.

The White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation... it was a type of Control as well, wasn't it? It was a Control type built right into a Spiritual Foundation, a gift from the Heavens at the birth of a young genius.

In that case... if there really was a secret to be found about Lord Control, Sovereign Control, and God Control...

Then wouldn't it be found in it?

And if he was really pushing things to the logical extreme of it all, if this version of himself really had managed to find a way to avoid paradoxes and return, and it grasped this new method of

cultivation...

Could it be that his future self had allowed himself to be taken over by the Phoenix Sky God on purpose just for a look at this secret?