By the time he finished, every mid and peak Blue-tier stone had been consumed, leaving only the faint mineral tang of residual energy on his tongue. His status updated in rapid succession:

Vitality: 111.9 → 115.9 [211.9 → 215.4]

Strength: 96.2 → 110.1 [196.2 → 210.1]

Agility: 94.2 → 101.5 [194.2 → 201.5]

Stamina: 94.7 → 109.9 [194.7 → 209.9]

Intelligence: 163.7 [263.7]

Mana: 14,733 [23,733]

Thankfully, his Vitality didn't spike too wildly—not like the unbalanced surge caused by the Earthpulse Lifecore. Once he consumed the purple-tier ones later, the uneven spread should stabilise fully, smoothing out the imbalance left by the earlier three level-ups.

After eating just five Low Purple-Tier Heartstones, his stats aligned even more closely. Only Agility lagged, now the new lowest.

Vitality: 115.9 → 120.1 [215.4 → 220.1]

Strength: 110.1 → 121.4 [210.1 → 221.4]

Agility: 101.5 → 108.7 [201.5 → 208.7]

Stamina: 109.9 → 119.3 [209.9 → 219.3]

Intelligence: 163.7 [263.7]

Mana: 14,733 [23,733]

The remaining hearthone was only put to charge even if it was 82%.

Low Purple-tier Heartstone charging – 82%[Estimated time: 19 hours]

Now came the next step.

It was time for Shyra's bloodline enhancements.

He exhaled slowly and checked the cores that could be used for her advancement. Their distinguishing colour makes it easy to identify. Even the system could tell the beast information after a few seconds of looking at them.

Venomstripe Panther (Mid 2-star) — Ordinary Bloodline

Embercoat Puma (Peak 1-star) — Ordinary Bloodline

Shadowstripe Lynx (Pseudo 3-star) — Mortal Bloodline

Three usable cores—good.

Two ordinary and one mortal—bad.

Leo grimaced.

These will barely nudge her above five percent… if that.

Even the heavily blood-soaked Mistprowler Tiger had only pushed potency up by fifteen percent. He had learned from repeated experiments that a beast's star rank had no bearing on how much it increased bloodline purity. A mortal beast at 4-star would contribute the exact same purity increase it would have as a 1-star.

Still, there was one upside:Shyra had three chances to gain new skills.

Unlike Niri—who had gained a skill instantly upon reaching Pseudo 3-star—Shyra hadn't gotten one from advancement yet. From what he knew, each minor advancement gave a 5% chance to awaken a new ability; every major advancement had 20%. Individually pitiful, but when stacked, they reached a staggering 80% chance at every major advancement under 2-star and 85% above 2-stars—pseudo-ranks included—if none had been gained earlier. The percentages are accumulated and reset after acquiring a skill.

In short, a beast was practically guaranteed to get a new skill every two major ranks.

His only real concern was whether skills obtained through essence absorption counted toward that reset. And since there was no way to confirm it…

He simply activated his talent [Beastiary Of Souls]

Leo breathed out. "Alright. Let's do this."

Ding!

Beast core essence has been absorbed by the recipient: Obsidian Panther Cub.

Bloodline: Noble [Purity 20% -> 26%]

Ding!

3 skills have been extracted.

Shadowstripe Lynx — Skill: Ghoststep Pounce

A swift, semi-ethereal dash that blurs the Lynx's outline for a heartbeat, letting it slip past an enemy's guard. It doesn't grant true invisibility but creates enough distortion to confuse foes. The final pounce gains slight penetration force, though it remains stamina-intensive.

Mana: 300

Venomstripe Panther — Skill: Toxic Pulse Fang

The Panther infuses its diluted venom into its fangs, causing its next bite to release a short-lived paralytic shock. The toxin isn't lethal, but it briefly numbs muscles and slows reactions.

Mana: 150

Embercoat Puma — Skill: Coalflare Swipe

The Puma heats its claws until they glow like smouldering coals, scattering embers with each swipe. The flames can ignite dry surfaces and cause lingering burn irritation, but lack explosive force. Maintaining the heat drains stamina rapidly.

Mana: 100

Skill Compatibility Check…

Venomstripe Panther's Skill: Toxic Pulse Fang — Level too low for recipient beast.

Embercoat Puma's Skill: Coalflare Swipe — Level too low for recipient beast.

A faint tremor of energy rippled through in the spiritual space,

Cross-attribute resonance detected. Initiating forced skill fusion…

The air crackled, tinged with a metallic heat and a sharp chemical bite.

[New Combined Skill Acquired: Violet Hellbrand]

A rare hybrid art born of venom and flame. The beast's claws or fangs ignite with searing violet fire—both corrosive and burning. Wounds inflicted continue to smolder even after contact, while the venom slows muscles and interferes with regeneration. The flames cling unnaturally, resisting water and extinguishing only once their poison fully seeps in or is forcefully neutralized.

Mana: 400

Skill Compatibility Check…

Detected Skills:

• [Stealth] – 2% (Peak)

• [Ghoststep Pounce] –1% (Low)

Analysis:

Core principles overlap: shadow-melding, sensory distortion, burst-motion evasion.

High compatibility confirmed.

Initiating Hybrid-Skill Synthesis…

[New Skill Created: Umbral Rift Pounce]

The user slips halfway into an interstice of living shadow, becoming a blurred after-image as they launch forward. During the dash, all senses fail to latch onto their presence, and the final strike manifests from a different angle than the initial movement—warping perception and bypassing most instinctive defences. Wounds inflicted carry residual "rift distortion," momentarily inhibiting the target's healing and balance.

Mana: 500

[System Note]

• [Stealth] can still be used independently. Activating it separately reduces mana consumption and allows quiet movement without engaging the full offensive art.

• Independent usage makes the [Stealth] skill's grade and effectiveness remain unchanged(2% Peak).

• Offensive power of Umbral Rift Pounce is unaffected by Stealth's proficiency.

• Over time, both skills harmonise and boost each other's effectiveness—boost each other's learning speed.

"Wha— System can integrate skills? That's fucking awesome!" Leo said excitedly as he went through the description.

He didn't waste a single moment before copying them.

Skill copied:

[Violet Hellbrand] - 1% (Low)

[Umbral Rift Pounce] - 1% (Low) /- [Stealth] - 2% (Peak)

And as the system said, Umbral Rift Pounce only took 1 skill slot, all the while able to activate [Stealth] separately until it harmonised(reached the same proficiency level) with [Umbral Rift Pounce]. And looking at the description, it seems that the learning speed of the [Umbral Rist Pounce] has been increased in accordance with the [Stealth] skill's level.

Leo nodded in satisfaction, keeping in mind to test them out when he went out of spiritual space.

---

A/N: Time skip! Finally.

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