1939 Not Until


    Hope''s laughter filled the air with a bell-like chime. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It really wasn''t fair at all. Hope''s views on Ryu were completely different from everyone else''s, not just because she had spent so long with him, or because he had saved her, but because from the very beginning, her ruler and gauge were different from everyone else''s.


    When they first met, she asked Ryu to be her husband because she could see through his potential. She needed someone with a strong path of Faith to follow because that was the only way to elevate her own from her otherwise grim fate.


    As such, from the very beginning, it could be said that she already looked at Ryu like he was already a Dao God. Otherwise, she would have never asked him such a thing because it was completely unacceptable to her to be anything less than a Dao God in the future. Without at least that much power, she couldn''t even begin to think about revenge for her home.


    Obviously, then, her views were simply different from everyone else''s and it wasn''t something that could be helped.


    An awkward sort of silence hung in the air. Well, it was awkward for others, Ryu didn''t actually care very much.


    It took a while for things to get sorted and for everyone to accept the reality that was before them. It was also tricky for other reasons.


    The Throne of their Sect was Ryu, not Hope. And though, technically speaking, Ryu could use his liberties to take resources for "himself" that he would inevitably hand over to Hope, that was also technically against the rules and the bounds of Karma would stop him from doing so.


    This was a weird grey zone no one knew how to handle, especially since just allowing a random Dao God to be out and about in the middle of your Sect wasn''t exactly something that anyone would just allow.


    They were in fierce discussions on how to deal with this as Ryu directly returned to his own courtyard for the first time in decades, having already allowed Hope to enter his Inner World to become acquainted with Eska, Isemeina, and Hrakka.


    However, what he didn''t expect was that after he finally returned, Ailsa would still be sitting in the same place he left her. Or, rather... her clone was.


    His goal was pretty simple. He would help her establish the connection she needed with her clone again. That would make it clear enough if she had done this on purpose or not.


    Ryu was far more powerful than he had been in the past, and his eyes had likewise followed suit. Although he had long since unlocked all 999 seals in his eyes, they were still limited a great deal by his cultivation. Now that he had strengthened so much, the cost of doing certain things had likewise plummeted.


    It had already been easy for him to establish a connection through [Third Perspective], though. So now, it just felt like breathing.


    As expected, it was only a moment before the connection was formed. When he confirmed that Ailsa had also felt it, he removed his finger.


    The dullness in her clone''s eyes flickered and soon faded away.


    "Okay. You can go now." Ryu said lightly.


    Then he turned and walked deeper into his courtyard.


    Over this over quarter-century, his soul clones had all been working on separate matters. There were a great deal of techniques, ideas, and thoughts that he had to consolidate before he went out on a rampage.


    That shouldn''t take him more than a few hours, honestly. After that, he would figure out his next steps.


    Ailsa''s clone watched Ryu''s back recede, a bit of a tremble in its pupils.


    She was Ryu''s Life Partner, she knew him too well. He didn''t even want to look at her if he didn''t have to... not until he was stronger than she was.