Comprehensive Upgrade

Xiao Heng carefully examined the combat skills before him, then brought up the fusion chart.

He silently said, "Fuse all movement-type combat skills!"

This fusion was quick, taking only a little over ten minutes! A system message appeared:

Fusion successful. The new combat skill is Mystic Grade High, possessing extremely strong burst power, high evasion capability, and excellent long-distance pursuit ability! Please name it.

"Explosive Step!" Xiao Heng could not be bothered to come up with a name, so he casually picked one. After all, the greatest strength of this movement skill was its explosive power!

Name registered successfully. Mystic Grade High combat skill "Explosive Step." Learn it?

"Don't learn it!"

"Fuse all fire-attribute combat skills."

Fusion successful. Mystic Grade High combat skill. Please name it!

"Flame Kill. Don't learn it for now! Fuse all defensive combat skills!"

Fusion successful...

"Rashomon! Fuse all energy-impact-type combat skills!" Xiao Heng might not have known how to name things, but he knew how to plagiarize!

Fusion successful...

"Lion King's Wrath! Fuse all swordsmanship-type combat skills and all remaining martial skills!"

Fusion successful... Please name it!

"Why is it still Mystic Grade High? System, how can I raise swordsmanship martial skills to Earth Grade?"

A system message appeared:

It is recommended that the host exchange for Nine Solitary Swords. Fusion may produce an Earth Grade sword technique!

Xiao Heng took a deep breath. "Fine, exchange for Nine Solitary Swords and fuse it!"

Insufficient Energy Points!

Xiao Heng took out several more second-tier Magic Cores and some medicinal ingredients before finally gathering enough Energy Points!

"Fuse!"

This time, it took quite a while again.

Fusion successful. Please name it!

"Immortal Slaying Sword Art!"

Finally, Xiao Heng used his remaining Energy Points and Combat Skill Points to fuse the previously Low-grade Xuan Tier Mountain Breaking Strike as well, raising it to Mystic Grade High. However, he did not change its name.

After this round of fusion and upgrades, the little stash of Energy Points and Skill Points Xiao Heng had managed to save up was gone again! He had originally wanted to upgrade his sword too, but he had no Energy Points left!

He only had ten cultivation art Skill Points remaining, while his combat skill Skill Points were even worse off—not a single point left. His Energy Points had also fallen to zero, leaving only Heavenly Dao Points! He realized he was getting a little carried away, so he decided to draw again next time!

"Next, it's time to cultivate all these gains again!"

After clearing everything out, Xiao Heng put all his original belongings into that Alchemist's Storage Ring. It was a mid-grade Storage Ring. Not only was it much larger than Xiao Heng's original one, it was also more stable and secure. Basically, as long as he did not die, it would be useless even if someone else got hold of his Storage Ring. Though then again, if he did not die, others probably would not be able to get his Storage Ring anyway.

He placed that pile of weapons and ores into a separate Storage Ring, then put the Gold Coins into another Storage Ring! Xiao Heng looked at the three Storage Rings on his left hand with satisfaction!

When he pushed open the door, it was already evening again! He had no idea where Xiao Yi Xian had gone, and Blue Eagle was nowhere to be seen either. Xiao Heng helplessly shook his head and returned to his room to cultivate!

"System, learn the Ascension Art!"

A vast amount of knowledge then flooded into Xiao Heng's mind! After accepting all of it, he felt rather dizzy for a moment!

The new cultivation art used more meridians. In addition to the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, it added another thirty-six meridians. Eighteen of them had yet to be opened, so it would likely take quite some time!

Opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians meant that opening the other meridians would naturally be quick. Xiao Heng spent one night opening them all!

He opened his eyes and glanced at the light outside. Then Xiao Heng closed his eyes again. "Continue."

Once the meridians were opened, he had to circulate his original Dou Qi according to the new cultivation art's route until his body fully adapted to it. He had to convert all the Dou Qi from his old cultivation art into the new cultivation art's Dou Qi. Once he could basically circulate it, the conversion of cultivation arts would be considered complete. The rest was simply a matter of steady effort—circulating it constantly to improve his proficiency!

The first circulation was rather slow. Mainly because some meridians had only just been opened, Xiao Heng had to be extremely careful to prevent the Dou Qi from injuring them as it passed through. In addition, he was completely unfamiliar with the circulation pattern of the new cultivation art, and the conversion of Dou Qi was also very slow!

After completing the first major circulation of the new cultivation art, Xiao Heng opened his eyes with delight. Looking outside, it was already close to noon.

"Next, I'll just keep circulating it!"

Xiao Heng closed his eyes again and began circulating the cultivation art from the start. This time, it took half as long as before, roughly one shichen! Then he did it again, taking half a shichen, and repeated the process!

Two days later, Xiao Heng was finally able to circulate the cultivation art freely. The Dou Qi in his body had also changed from its original Milky White to red and white, like a drop of chili oil added to a cup of milk, along with a Sichuan peppercorn, some chopped scallions, and fried peanuts that had been burnt. However, those colors were not abundant. Milk still made up the majority, with the other things merely adding a little decoration!

Xiao Heng stood up and circulated his Dou Qi. The Dou Qi cloak formed over his body was still mostly white, with only a few streaks of other colors around the cuffs and hem. He let out a sigh of relief. He did not want his Dou Qi cloak to turn gaudy and multicolored. Strength was the most important, but he wanted it to look good too!

He stretched out his right hand, his fingers naturally curled, and condensed a mass of white Dou Qi in his palm. Then, through cultivation art conversion, it turned red, cyan, green, and yellow.

He drew the Dou Qi back into his body. Sure enough, it was not bad. Now, he could freely convert and use all five attributes. The white Dou Qi was Attribute-less, and also the most fundamental!

Xiao Heng clenched his fist and broke into a broad grin. "Good! The quality of my Dou Qi has increased by at least double!"

This doubling was not something to underestimate. Given Xiao Heng's foundation, doubling it was already an enormous increase. He felt that the quality of his Dou Qi now would definitely not be inferior to that of a Da Dou Shi! It might even be slightly higher than that of some Da Dou Shi who cultivated low-grade cultivation arts.

After preparing the meal, Xiao Yi Xian looked toward Xiao Heng's room. It had been more than three days. If she had not seen that nothing seemed wrong with him, she would have thought something had happened to him!

Just as she was about to turn back and eat by herself, Xiao Heng pushed open the door. Xiao Yi Xian smiled sweetly. "You're awake. Come eat."

Xiao Heng had already smelled the aroma from inside his room. His eyes lit up as he came over, picked up a bowl of food, and started wolfing it down. Xiao Yi Xian could not help laughing at the sight!

"Hehe! You look like a pig rooting through food!"

Xiao Heng did not mind and said irritably, "I'm starving! How long has it been since I ate? If I look like a pig rooting through food, then so be it!"

Her bell-like laughter rang out. "Who told you to cultivate for so long? More than three days! If you still hadn't come out, I would've gone in and dug you out!"

Xiao Heng finished one bowl of rice and served himself another. He paused blankly. "Three days? That long? No wonder I was really starving!"

Xiao Yi Xian looked at him speechlessly. "So you didn't even know how long you'd been cultivating?"

Xiao Heng kept eating, finding time to answer between mouthfuls. "I had a rough sense of it, but I didn't expect it to take three days!"

If he had switched to another Earth Grade Cultivation Method, it probably would not have taken so long. But the Ascension Art he cultivated was different. Though it was only Earth-tier Low Grade, its complexity was no less than that of an Earth-tier High Grade method. The conversion of Dou Qi attributes within it was especially intricate, which was why it had taken so much time.

Xiao Yi Xian rested her hands on her knees and quietly watched Xiao Heng devour his food. With a soft chuckle, she said, "Then eat more!"

Xiao Heng hummed, then suddenly looked up at Xiao Yi Xian. "You're not eating?"

Xiao Yi Xian shook her head. "You eat! Watching you eat is enough to fill me up!"

Xiao Heng did not say anything else and continued eating.

Propping up her head, Xiao Yi Xian watched Xiao Heng wolf down his meal. A smile unconsciously appeared on her face. It wouldn't be bad if things could stay like this forever! But my constitution...

The Calamity Poison Body!

It could be considered one of the strongest constitutions on this continent. Yet strength came at a price. The price of gaining powerful strength by consuming poison was that one would basically never have friends in their entire life—let alone family or a lover.

Things were still alright for now, since her poison body had yet to fully awaken. But in a few years, even ordinary people would die merely by approaching her. Such a constitution doomed her to a life of loneliness!

Yet as she looked at Xiao Heng, she seemed to have found hope to keep living. She had a friend now. She wanted to live.

Smiling gently, she asked, "Where are you going afterward?"

Xiao Heng finished the last bite in his bowl and held it in his hands as he replied, "Afterward? I'll probably head to the Tagor Desert first, then pay a visit to the Alchemist Association! What about you? Where are you going afterward?"

Xiao Yi Xian thought for a moment. "I don't know! I haven't decided yet. My dream is to travel around everywhere. I might stay in the Jia Ma Empire for a while, then perhaps visit some other empires!"

Xiao Heng served himself another bowl and spoke as he ate. "Then do you want to come with me?"

Xiao Yi Xian smiled brightly. "What, are you worried about me? It's fine. I'm not some helpless weak girl! You know that."

"I know you're not weak. But... there are a lot of bad people out there."

"It's fine! Don't worry!"

Xiao Heng could not really persuade her further, so he asked again, "Then when do you plan to leave?"

Xiao Yi Xian pursed her lips and said indifferently, "That depends on you! Whenever you leave, I'll leave around then too. I'm not in a hurry!"

After roughly calculating the time he would need, Xiao Heng said, "I'll probably need a little over a month!" A month should most likely be enough for him to relearn all those Dou Techniques and practice his alchemy as well. After all, he was going to the Alchemist Association next. He could not go without any skill.

The Dou Techniques were fine; he estimated he could finish them all within half a month. Alchemy was more troublesome, and improvement would not come so quickly!

"Oh, right. What are you going to the Alchemist Association for? You're not even an alchemist!"

Glancing at Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Heng revealed a smug grin. "Who told you I wasn't an alchemist?"

Xiao Yi Xian immediately deflated. Like a young wife who had been tricked, she stood up and pointed at Xiao Heng. "You're actually an alchemist too?"

Xiao Heng widened his eyes, looking utterly innocent. "Yeah! Didn't I tell you? I remember telling you!"

Xiao Yi Xian was so angry that she did not know what to say for a moment. She pointed at Xiao Heng furiously. "You clearly never told me! You liar!"

Taking a sip of soup from his bowl, Xiao Heng said comfortably, "Then you didn't ask! We're friends, aren't we? Would I hide something like that from you? Right?"

Xiao Yi Xian suddenly did not want to talk to this guy anymore. He was actually an alchemist, and he had not told her! With an offended huff, she returned to her room. Ever since she was little, she had wanted to become an alchemist more than anything, but she had never had the chance! She was so disappointed! And her friend was an alchemist, yet he acted as though it was no big deal. It was infuriating!

Xiao Heng cleaned every last bit of food from the table, then licked his lips with lingering satisfaction as he rubbed his stomach contentedly. Xiao Yi Xian came back out. This time, she wore a flattering expression as she walked behind Xiao Heng and began massaging his shoulders!

Xiao Heng jolted in fright. "Miss, what are you trying to do? Let me tell you, I'm a good man. I won't accept any of your temptations, so give up!"

Though she already wanted to strangle him to death, she still had to keep up appearances! She said ingratiatingly, "Brother Xiao Heng, do you think I have the potential to become an alchemist?"

Hearing that this was what it was about, Xiao Heng immediately relaxed. "Put some more strength into it!"

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes flashed with ferocity, but she still endured it and increased the force in her hands. "Is this amount of pressure alright, sir?"

Xiao Heng nodded enjoyably. "Not bad!"

Xiao Yi Xian said, "Then can Brother Xiao Heng tell me whether I can learn alchemy?"

Xiao Heng said, "No. You don't have the talent!"

"Ah!"

"Let go, let go! Don't pinch my waist! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

A woman's ability to pinch people seemed to be written into her genes. No one needed to teach them; the moment they used it, they were already masters.

After twisting the soft flesh at Xiao Heng's waist in a full circle and kicking the hateful fellow once more, Xiao Yi Xian turned and left angrily. "You damned liar, wash your own bowls!"

Though helpless, Xiao Heng could only obediently wash the bowls! He was not about to apologize. He had done nothing wrong, so why should he apologize? She really had not asked! Right?