Chapter 18: Experimentation and Conclusions
Tang San returned to his lodging stealthily, and saw that Wang Zhong was still quietly cultivating on his bed. Tang San could sense that he was deeply immersed in his Wind Wolf Transformation cultivation.
Tang San also sat on his own bed, quickly activating the Mysterious Heaven Technique to process the portion of the Wind Wolf bloodline power he had just absorbed.
Today's experiment was crucial for him, as it would determine whether he could continue to break through bottlenecks and find a way to higher realms. If it was successful, it would greatly benefit his future cultivation.
The experiment had two parts. One was whether, after absorbing the Wind Wolf's bloodline power, he could break through his bottleneck. The other was whether the third-order Wind Wolf whose bloodline power he had absorbed could recover its power or if it would permanently lose it.
These aspects were crucial and would significantly impact his future cultivation path.
He had long since reached the peak of the third order, and the sensation of the bottleneck had become quite clear after absorbing the bloodline power of the third-order Wind Wolf earlier. However, he found the sensation fading when he tried to activate the Mysterious Heaven Technique again. The previously loosening bottleneck of the Mysterious Heaven Technique seemed to be tightened again by some invisible force, preventing him from breaking through.
The obstacle made Tang San frown. If things didn't go as he had imagined, it would be a significant setback for him. Being stuck at his current level of cultivation meant that the future would be really, really bleak. He needed to find another way out. He remained patient, silently circulating the energy from the Mysterious Heaven Technique to gradually absorb and assimilate the bloodline power he had taken.
His energy grew denser, and although it didn't allow him to break through to a new level, there was more energy within him and it also seemed more substantial. At the same time, Tang San noticed that the bloodline imprint belonging to the Wind Wolf had also grown stronger. In simple terms, he would be able to condense stronger wind blades now. Before, when he activated this imprint using the Mysterious Heaven Technique, there would be some traces of Wind Wolf energy in his aura. Now, this change was even more visible.
Initially, right after absorbing Zhu Jiaxin's Leopard Flash and the bloodline power of the Wind Wolf, the leopard bloodline imprint had been more potent than the wolf one, resulting in better effects. It could be effectively used within a ten-meter radius, and its performance was excellent. On the other hand, while the wind blades had some decent power, they were nothing really exceptional.
Today, after absorbing the bloodline power of that third-order Wind Wolf, the Wind Blade bloodline imprint strengthened. When he used the Mysterious Heaven Technique to activate the bloodline imprint, the Wind Wolf's aura became more substantial, and the wind blades became significantly more powerful. In fact, it seemed that they could reach a power level similar to when a third-order Wind Wolf used them.
Tang San silently absorbed the energy and felt the changes within himself. Finally, he formed his first conclusion.
By this point, he was reasonably confident that the Mysterious Heaven Technique could empower him by absorbing the bloodline power of demons. During this absorption process, the energy would become a part of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, accelerating his cultivation speed. Simultaneously, the characteristics within the bloodline would also form bloodline imprints, allowing him to transform and utilize the abilities represented by those bloodline imprints through the Mysterious Heaven Technique.
This rather unique transformation was most likely exclusive to his Mysterious Heaven Technique. In other words, by producing these bloodline imprints, he was the only one able to use abilities belonging to different demon races.
Looks like a great direction to work in.
Also, his earlier speculation seemed to be on the right track. If he wanted to escape the constraints of this plane and break through the bottleneck, devouring the bloodline power of demons seemed to be the only way forward. He had sensed the bottleneck loosening back then, and it appeared that the main issue preventing his breakthrough was that the energy he had devoured was simply not enough.
His target had been a third-order Wind Wolf, whose bloodline energy intensity was not even as high as his Mysterious Heaven Technique at the third order. In that case, there was one clear path to continue to break through and avoid the suppression of this dimension—devouring the bloodline power of a fourth-order Wind Wolf.
If he absorbed the bloodline power of a higher-order demon, his aura would temporarily rise to the level of that demon. When the world’s suppression loosened at that moment, he could likely break through the bottleneck and reach the fourth order. Moreover, he strongly suspected that from the third order onward, all his future breakthroughs would have to be done this way to avoid the world’s suppression.
In any case, he now had a direction and a goal in his cultivation. The next step, naturally, was to find a fourth-order Wind Wolf and attempt to absorb and assimilate its bloodline power.
A fourth-order Wind Wolf wasn't actually a common sight in Wind Wolf Town, but there was actually one right here, in Tang San’s house! Wang Yanfeng himself had the bloodline of a fourth-order Wind Wolf. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live in such a house with his vassal status. He was definitely the strongest among the vassals in Wind Wolf Town.
The next step of the experiment was to observe whether the third-order wolf demon whose bloodline power he had previously devoured could regain its bloodline strength. Tang San could begin preparations to find a fourth-order wolf demon if the third-order one could recover without raising suspicion. However, if the wolf demon could not regain its strength, Tang San would be forced to lay low for a while. Members of the clan mysteriously losing bloodline power would undoubtedly raise suspicions among the Wind Wolf Clan. One such incident might be chalked off as an odd but unimportant occurrence, but if another wolf demon experienced the same issue, and it was a fourth-order one to boot, it would be clear that something was amiss.
Armed with renewed determination, Tang San diligently cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Technique. Even though he couldn't shatter the barrier like that, his extensive experience in cultivation had taught him the importance of building a solid foundation. When the time for a breakthrough arrived, it would flow smoothly. Strengthening his foundation now would make his future cultivation journey all the more effortless.
In the following days, Tang San and the other five students continued their daily routine of learning and training with Wang Yanfeng. Mornings were dedicated to acquiring knowledge, while afternoons were reserved for practicing the Wind Wolf Transformation and its variations.
The five of them now led fulfilling lives, worlds apart from their previous routine as slaves. Despite Ling Muxue's often somber mood, she displayed exceptional dedication during their training and learning sessions.
After days upon days of learning, everyone's innate talents began to emerge. Among the Wang siblings, surprisingly, Wang Chao had the least impressive talent. At the same time, Wang Zhong and Wang Xiaolei showed better potential. The three of them were slightly behind Ling Muxue regarding talent.
Ling Muxue, after a few days of guidance and practice in Wind Wolf Transformation, had progressed to the point where she could partially transform into a Wind Wolf. Although she couldn't yet manifest wind blades, her improvement was so rapid that even Wang Yanfeng had to praise her for it.
As for Tang San, he was different from the rest. Wang Yanfeng was quite surprised when he noticed that Tang San's wind blades had grown larger. However, Tang San didn't undergo a Wind Wolf transformation at all; forget about partially transforming, he couldn't even produce a single wolf hair. Naturally, this piqued Wang Yanfeng's curiosity, but nothing much could be done about it. Nonetheless, he did impart some additional techniques for controlling wind blades to Tang San.
During these past few days, Tang San's experiment was completed. Every night, he would quietly sneak out to find the wolf demon whose bloodline power he had devoured. He didn't find it on the first day or the second day. However, on the third day, he spotted the wolf demon from a distance.
The wolf demon appeared noticeably weaker than before Tang San attacked it. However, upon closer examination, Tang San discovered that its bloodline power had partially recovered and gradually improved. The fact that it hadn't appeared in the past two days showed that it was probably resting at home to regenerate its bloodline power.
In other words, the bloodline power Tang San devoured could be recovered through rest, but it required some time. To the wolf demon, it probably felt like some kind of sudden illness that went away after a few days of rest.