Ryu nodded. "Good. Until I can reconnect to my Spiritual Foundation, my strength will be hard-capped at about the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm. If this takes longer to fix than I hope and I hit that ceiling, I can only rely on those two…"
"Ai. I have similar thoughts." Ailsa agreed. "They're still weaker than you now, but they will advance rapidly. Plus, Little Rock has the strength of an Earth Grade Beast thanks to its bloodline. And, though Nemesis only has a Black Grade Bloodline, its Ancestral Grade Bloodline talent, currently, also gives it the strength equivalent to an Earth Grade Beast. So, battling Common Grade Sixth Order beasts is no problem for them… Though it's rare for beasts with such weak bloodlines to reach that stage…
"Also… As promised, Nemesis' second Bloodline Talent has awakened."
Ryu's eyes lit up. Ailsa refused to tell him what this ability was before, but it seemed she had finally stopped playing around.
"Like I said before, this talent is known as Bloodied Lineage Reversal.
"If Bloodied Lineage can pass down Talents to other beasts, Bloodied Lineage Reversal can steal them!"
A tremble coursed through Ryu's heart. The applications of this ability… They were unimaginable!
"If the Bloodied Steed has such a powerful Talent, why aren't they more powerful? Or, maybe the better question to ask is why they haven't all been captured as beast pets?"
"Of course, that's because normal Bloodied Steeds are limited in ways Nemesis is not. This is why he's so valuable.
"Bloodied Lineage is looked down upon because the Bloodied Steed is a mere Black Grade Beast, who would want the abilities it has? The same way, Bloodied Lineage Reversal is limited in the Talents it can absorb.
"Simply put, as a Black Grade Beast, a Bloodied Steed can only steal other Black Grade Talents. If it tried to steal an Earth Grade Talent, its body wouldn't be able to handle it and it would die. And, even then, it's not 100% effective. There's an element of chance involved.
"For example, if the Bloodied Steed attempts to snatch a Talent from another Black Grade Beast that say has two Common Grade Talent and one Black Grade Talent, there would be a forty-five percent chance that either one of the Common Grade Talents would be 'Reversed' and only a ten percent chance to snatch the Black Grade Talent.
"The Bloodied Steed has no ability to choose. Or, rather… It doesn't have the Spirituality needed to.
"Remember what I said about talents being preset for Beasts? And how our three paths are fused as one for them? Well, the Bloodied Steed is known as a hot-headed creature with low intelligence. So, its Bloodied Lineage Reversal is left up to chance.
"However… Nemesis has several advantages normal Steeds of his race do not.
"First, his Adept Body Talent allowed him to rearrange his talent. Now, his talents are perfectly balanced between the Qi, Body and Mental Realms. This allows him far higher intelligence than others of his race, and as such, though there is still an element of chance, it's far more favorable than the past.
"And second, once more due to his Adept Body Talent, Nemesis has strength comparable to an Earth Grade Beast. Meaning, he can snatch up to Earth Grade Talents currently. As his strength improves, it will become possible to snatch higher grade talents.
"To make things even better, due to his Bloodied Lineage Talent, he doesn't necessarily have to snatch these Talents for himself. He could very well share them with Little Rock or any other beast companions you may gain later."
Ryu stood abruptly, his fists clenched. Even if he was unlucky in some areas, he still had astounding luck in others. Or, maybe, he was just lucky to have Ailsa. If it wasn't for her, would he have even given Nemesis a second look?... Maybe not…
He gave her a grateful look which made Ailsa push out her already ample bosom. Truly, if his mind wasn't so firm, her might feel his nose heat up with blood.
Taking a deep breath, Ryu gathered himself.
"Let's go."
"You don't want to check out the second floor anymore?"
Ryu shook his head. "I feel that I've already gained enough for now. Plus, if I delay any longer, catching up will be difficult. Matheus won't be able to enter the top eight while hiding his true strength alone, especially since Taedra isn't participating. Also, this Small Realm is an excellent place to raise the strengths of Nemesis and Little Rock."
Ailsa frowned unhappily at these words.
"Why do you care so much about that damned Matheus and his Loom Clan. I'm sure you know he could have helped you but chose not to."
Ryu shrugged. "What obligation did he have to help me? I too would choose my family over him every time. Being mad would only make me feel inferior. I don't need such hypocritical feelings."
Ailsa sighed. She knew from the very beginning that Ryu would feel this way.
Ryu's mind left the crystalline jade, a sinister light in his eyes as he swept through the dark cave.
Was he worried about being found by the Zu Clan? Of course not.
First, even if he didn't yet have the strength to kill a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, one would be hard pressed to even touch a hair on his head right now. Plus, the Zu Clan was made of Mental Realm masters, if they actually dared to attack his mind… Flora's Visualization would leave a nice surprise for them.
And second, didn't he have his cloak? He couldn't escape Lucien, Vygil and Annbar because they had their eyes on him back then. However, the Zu Clan obviously had no clue where he was right now.
This Small Realm would become Ryu's own playground. That pent up frustration in chest? He would allow the Zu Clan and the Core Region geniuses to feel it well.
They would know the wrath of Ryu Tatsuya.