She finally understood.
Ian didn’t just want all this Essence Blood to refine Potions; he was also using it to feed this Summoned Demon.
And the growth rate of this Summoned Demon... was so terrifying it made her scalp tingle.
In the days that followed, Ian didn’t stop.
Aside from Meditation, he poured nearly all his energy into this one Witchcraft.
He was like a tireless machine, refining, fusing, and experimenting day and night.
Within his Sea of Spirit, the pale gold Crystal Core maintained a steady rotation.
His Elementalization progress advanced slowly but surely: 11.3%... 11.4%... 11.5%...
Meanwhile, the experience for his [Bloodline Purification Technique] began to skyrocket at an astonishing rate.
Fueled by a continuous supply of Essence Blood, the progress bar for the Limit-Breaking Second Stage began to jump wildly.
(1100/3200)... (1200/3200)... (1800/3200)...
On the seventh day, it broke past (2500/3200).
On the tenth day, it broke past (3000/3200).
On the fifteenth day...
Late at night, the Laboratory was brightly lit.
Ian sat before the workbench, his hands hovering over the final batch of Essence Blood.
This was the third batch Ashia had sent, and it included three complete portions of Tier Two Essence Blood.
Thunder Eagle, Earth Fire Lizard, and a rare portion from a Shadow Leopard.
The Energy fluctuations were exceptionally violent, causing the very air in the Laboratory to tremble slightly.
Ian closed his eyes, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
The ceaseless, prolonged Purification of Essence Blood took a terrifying toll on his Spiritual Power.
But he didn’t stop.
Pale gold Energy Threads bored into the Essence Blood like the most precise scalpels, beginning to strip away impurities, Devour residual Beastiality, and Awaken the bloodline’s information...
Time ticked by, second by second.
The Laboratory was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.
Gaga crouched on Ian’s shoulder, its small claws gripping his collar tightly, its mismatched eyes filled with worry.
Aidele and Delia stood guard at the door, holding their breath.
At some point, Old Finn had also arrived. He leaned against the doorframe, his back stooped, the embers in his pipe long extinguished. His murky eyes were fixed on Ian.
Finally,
A low "WENG!" resonated from within Ian’s body.
It wasn’t a sound, but a deeper sort of tremor, one that seemed to touch the level of the Rules themselves.
In his Sea of Spirit, the Witchcraft Rune for the Bloodline Purification Technique began to adjust, melt, and converge...
Finally, it formed an even more complex, dark red Rune.
The instant the Rune formed, the Tier Two Essence Blood of the Shadow Leopard in his palm also transformed into pure Blood Essence.
The deepest level of the Spiritual nature of shadow flowed within it.
And in his mind, the long-dormant progress bar finally reached its end.
[Bloodline Purification Technique Skill Level +1]
As the final point of Skill Level drifted forth...
[Bloodline Purification Technique: Limit-Breaking Third Stage (0/6400) (Limit-Breaking Effects: 1. Spirit Devourer, 2. Awakening, 3. Original Blood Origin Tracing)]
[Original Blood Origin Tracing: For a short period, the user’s body, in part or in whole, will manifest an ancient, spectral image of the bloodline’s source.
This is not a true transformation, but a temporary overlay at the level of Rules, where the world’s Rules will temporarily acknowledge the user as part of the original species.]
The information on the new effect flooded into his consciousness like a torrent.
After a moment, once he had processed the information, Ian opened his eyes.
Deep within his pupils, a flash of scarlet light vanished as quickly as it appeared, swiftly covered by a pale golden starlight.
He slowly raised his hand and looked at his palm.
A single, pale gray bead of the Shadow Leopard’s Blood Essence glittered, as if countless, intricate Runes were flowing within it.
"Original Blood Origin Tracing..."
He muttered to himself, his voice filled with an irrepressible shock.
’This isn’t simple Purification.’
’This is touching the very essence of a bloodline, reverse-engineering its origin to get closer to the pure, original blood of its "progenitor."’
’If the previous Blood Essence was just a finished product with impurities removed, Awakening some of its Extraordinary Information...’
’...then what I can refine now is a seed containing the information of the bloodline’s very origin.’
’It can do more than just replenish Energy and retain traits.’
’It can also trigger a deeper resonance, even stimulate the evolution of a bloodline.’
Ian thought back on the evolution of the Limit-Breaking Effects for his Purification Technique.
’The first was [Spirit Devourer], which purified impurities and nourished my spirit, resolving the hidden dangers within the Blood Essence.’
’The second was [Awakening], which read Extraordinary Information and Inheritance imprints, further increasing the potential that could be unearthed.’
’This time, [Original Blood Origin Tracing] condenses the essence and touches the origin, faintly reaching the level of "Rule Resonance."’
"If I keep Limit-Breaking... could I trace a bloodline directly back to its source, and maybe even surpass it?"
Ian turned his head to look at the restless Gaga on his shoulder.
The little one had sensed something long ago, and a silver-gray light flashed violently in its mismatched eyes.
"Ian..."
Its voice trembled. "I... I really want to eat it..."
It was the ultimate temptation, welling up from the depths of its bloodline—a desperate desire for metamorphosis.
Ian took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his excitement.
"Not yet. When you’re a little stronger, I’ll let you have it."
Gaga was very obedient and didn’t continue to pester Ian for it.
That was just its subconscious desire. It knew it couldn’t absorb such a powerful Blood Essence yet.
Ian turned and looked at the mountain of notes piled on the workbench.
Notes on the improved fusion of the [Rock Bear Potion] and the [Earth Barbarian Bear Potion].
Notes on the theory of bloodline fusion, on the reconstruction of energy pathways...
Previously obscure and difficult points of knowledge now seemed to be connected by an invisible thread, illuminated by the light of the "Original Blood Origin Tracing" effect.
A fusion plan that had been stuck at a bottleneck was suddenly clear.
Conflicts that had seemed unsolvable now had clear paths to resolution.
Ian snatched up a Feather Pen and began to write frantically on a blank sheet of Parchment.
The nib nearly tore through the paper.
Line after line of formulas, diagram after diagram, deduction after deduction...
They poured out like a flood from a broken dam.
Old Finn stood at the door, his pupils shrinking as he watched Ian’s almost frenzied state of writing.
He didn’t know what epiphany Ian had achieved.
But he could feel that the air in the Laboratory was undergoing some kind of qualitative change.
As if something... was about to hatch.
Finally... the pen stopped.
Ian looked up. The silver and scarlet light in his eyes intertwined before slowly settling into a profound calm.
He set down the pen and picked up the filled sheet of Parchment.
In the very center of the page was a brand-new recipe for a Tier Two Bloodline Potion, one that fused all the strengths of the [Rock Bear Potion] and the [Earth Barbarian Bear Potion] and incorporated the core theory of "Original Blood Origin Tracing."
A recipe that belonged to him alone.
It had no name, but Ian knew what it should be called.
He looked at Gaga on his shoulder, a confident smile slowly forming on his lips.
"Twenty days... The timing is perfect."
His voice was soft, yet it was like a sword being slowly unsheathed.
"I will make everyone remember what a true Bloodline Potion is."
Outside the Laboratory, the night sky was deep and the stars were brilliant.
"Tomorrow will surely be a beautiful day!"