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Chapter 41: Fusing New Bloodline Imprints
This was undoubtedly the worst-case scenario, but it wasn’t like Tang San had any choice in the matter. When he first arrived in this world, understanding its system was paramount. The fact that he was able to absorb the Wind Blade and Leopard Flash had actually opened the door to this world for him, leading to his current situation. Thus, Tang San was prepared; if his skills were limited in number, he'd have to tolerate the continual presence of Wind Blade and Leopard Flash, finding ways to enhance and better adapt them for himself.
At this very moment, as the three new imprints were absorbed, for some unknown reason, the two deeply ingrained skills in his bloodline suddenly felt distant, as if they could detach from his bloodline at any moment.
This discovery filled Tang San with joy, suggesting that the energy from the Mysterious Heaven Technique, combined with various powers of this world, could undergo more transformations. Although unclear about the nature of these changes, they undoubtedly opened up more possibilities.
Rather than hastily activating the latest three imprints, he silently sensed their differences and relationship with his body.
The imprints of the Wind Blade and Leopard Flash were undoubtedly larger and brighter among the five. The Leopard Flash was newly upgraded and it still couldn't compare to the Wind Blade, but it had clearly improved significantly.
The other three abilities hadn't reached the fourth order. Amid the battle, Tang San had been unable to absorb too much of the bloodline power of his opponents, lest his devouring ability be exposed.
Thus, the Ironhide Shield of the rhino demon, Falcon Eye of the White-Crested Falcon demon, and Discerning Heart's Gaze of the Aetherhorn Deer Demon were all around the third order.
The two fourth-order imprints appeared more vivid because they had already merged with Tang San's bloodline. The other three were still “outside the system” in a sense, though they were kept under control by the energy of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.
After observing silently, Tang San could feel that all five imprints were relatively stable. Even the three that hadn't merged into his bloodline were contained within a specific range, showing no signs of leaving his body or dissipating. This was quite interesting.
As the Mysterious Heaven Technique's energy circulated, the energy in his dantian turned into a vortex, with the two skills already imprinted in his body rotating with it as if they were a part of it. The three new skill imprints floated above the vortex, drawn by it but not integrated. [1]
It wasn't that they could not merge, but that Tang San was not controlling his energy to draw them in.
The observation was not in vain, as Tang San gradually sensed something marvelous. Although these three new skill imprints weren't merged into his body, their existence was nourished by the energy of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. In other words, floating outside the vortex in his dantian, they could silently absorb some of its energy to sustain themselves.
With a thought, Tang San used his mental power to sever the connection between himself and the Ironhide Shield imprint.
Instantly, the Ironhide Shield imprint trembled slightly and began to fade at a visible rate.
Tang San immediately redirected energy into it, and the imprint became clear again.
He quickly concluded that these demonic god transformation bloodline imprints provided skills and required the nourishment of energy from the Mysterious Heaven Technique. The utilization of the imprints was, in fact, a form of conversion for this energy.
These skill imprints would disappear if he severed their connection to the Mysterious Heaven Technique. As long as he maintained the energy nourishment, they would persist.
Could he then switch between merged and unmerged skills at will?
Thinking this, Tang San began experimenting, using his mental power to guide the Leopard Flash imprint to detach from his bloodline.
As he moved the Leopard Flash, Tang San immediately felt his energy become restless, and the stable vortex within began to churn. His mental power was incredibly steady, so he didn't rush to extract the imprint; instead, he carefully and gradually pulled it out while observing the changes.
Quickly, he noticed something. The Leopard Flash imprint was being slowly pulled out, and during the process, the imprint's glow diminished, and the recently enhanced power seemed to decrease.
Tang San didn't stop. Understanding the relationship between the Mysterious Heaven Technique and these skill imprints was far more important than preserving the power of the Leopard Flash. He could always devour the bloodline of another Flash Leopard, but without clarity on bloodline integration with his Mysterious Heaven Technique, he couldn't further advance himself.
Finally, Leopard Flash was separated.
The moment it completely detached, its power dropped from the recently attained fourth order to the third. Still, the Leopard Flash imprint and the other three new ones now floated silently, rotating above the Mysterious Heaven Technique vortex.
Oho, it’s possible!
They could be separated, and other skills could be swapped. Tang San was elated. This meant he wouldn't hinder his growth by wrongly merging a particular skill.However, his previous idea of switching skills at any time was dashed. If each separation decreased the skill imprint's power, such separations needed caution. His current third or fourth-order imprints didn't matter much, but advancing a level at higher orders would not be easy, and losing that progress due to separation would be painful.
The Wind Blade couldn't be separated, as it was tied to his Wind Wolf Transformation and the identity he had gained thanks to it. That was why the Leopard Flash was the subject of the experiment.
Observing the four skills floating above the energy vortex in his dantian, Tang San continued experimenting. The next step would be integrating all these four imprints into his body.
First was the return of the Leopard Flash. Perhaps because it had already been merged before, the Leopard Flash's reintegration into the Mysterious Heaven Technique was smooth, and it almost instantly returned to the vortex. However, it remained at the third order; the previously dissipated imprint level had not been restored.
Next came the Ironhide Shield. The integration of the Ironhide Shield imprint was significantly slower than the Leopard Flash. In addition, during the merger, Tang San discovered his bloodline was affected as he merged with the technique. The power of his bloodline became more robust, and it appeared his physical strength was also enhancing.
Does this mean that the imprints not only offer me the skills themselves but also some characteristics of the original bloodlines they belong to?
He hadn't felt this distinctly when merging with the Wind Blade and Leopard Flash imprints. Perhaps it was because the bloodline of this rhino demon was of a higher order?
Next was the falcon demon’s Falcon Eye imprint. As the Falcon Eye integrated, Tang San distinctly felt a refreshing coolness in his eyes, similar to the benefits he reaped when merging with the rhino demon's Ironhide Shield.
If that's the case, then it means the more potent the original bloodline of the skill I merge with, the greater the benefit to my overall abilities after merging! That's excellent!
1. In the future chapters, the raws say that the Mysterious Heaven Technique circulates, the Mysterious Heaven Technique becomes chaotic etc. These instances have been replaced with “Mysterious Heaven Technique’s energy,” “energy vortex,” “dantian,” or other contextually appropriate terms. ☜