Technique Fusion

"You were looking for me."

"Who?"

The Ma Family's Three Brothers, who had been cursing and were about to leave, immediately turned around at the ghostlike voice, drawing their long blades and watching cautiously.

At once,

Ye Xiaofan slowly emerged from the darkness with his sword folded in his arms. His eyes shone like stars, so bright that the Ma Family's Three Brothers narrowed their eyes and dared not look straight at him.

"Kid, you actually didn't run. Hahaha, tonight, my three brothers are destined to strike it rich. Hand over everything you have and your cultivation techniques, and we'll spare your life."

Once Ma Dafei saw Ye Xiaofan's attire clearly, the stone hanging over his heart finally dropped.

The moment Ye Xiaofan entered the Black Market, the three brothers had set their sights on him. A man with no visible Blood Qi had entered Sihai Pavilion to trade, and the shopkeeper had even personally seen him out afterward. He had to be carrying something valuable.

As for whether the three brothers feared Ye Xiaofan might be some hidden expert—

What a joke. They had prowled Qingyang County's Black Market for two and a half years without ever failing once.

With their horizons, how could they know that some cultivation techniques could suppress Blood Qi fluctuations and conceal one's true cultivation level?

Ye Xiaofan shook his head. It was no easy feat for intelligence like this to survive to adulthood in the cultivation world.

Meeting him tonight counted as him teaching them a lesson.

The tuition fee, however, was death!

"Hand over all your silver and cultivation techniques, and I'll spare your lives."

Ye Xiaofan stepped toward the three brothers one step at a time, strange light flickering endlessly in his deep eyes.

Ever since he had counter-killed Gou Congxin and obtained a large amount of cultivation resources, a door to a new world in Ye Xiaofan's heart had been pushed open by a crack. His strength simply did not yet permit it; otherwise, he would have kicked the entire door open long ago.

A towering building rose from level ground. These three were but grains of sand within that building, yet they were indispensable.

The Ma Family's Three Brothers looked at one another. The world had truly turned upside down.

"Big Brother, did you hear that? This kid told you to hand over your silver and cultivation techniques. Hahaha!"

Ma Shuangfei came back to his senses as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. His shoulders shook violently as he laughed until he could barely catch his breath.

"Second Brother, this is my—"

Ma Dafei had just opened his mouth.

The next instant,

A sword cry rang out, and the air seemed to freeze.

Snow-white cold light flashed through the pupils of the Ma Family's Three Brothers.

A warm breeze brushed past them, and the hairs on their bodies stood on end.

Ma Shuangfei stopped laughing. He raised a hand to touch his neck, where he felt a slight sting.

Ma Dafei stood with his mouth open, not daring to move a muscle.

Gradually, boundless terror filled their eyes. Their racing hearts stirred their Blood Qi, and fine cracks suddenly split open across their necks as blood sprayed out.

The sound of two heavy bodies hitting the ground was especially piercing in the narrow alley. Ma Sanfei's Adam's apple bobbed wildly as though all the blood in his body had frozen. He stared straight at Ye Xiaofan, not daring to move.

"Hand over all your silver and cultivation techniques, and I'll spare your life."

"I don't want to say it a third time."

Ye Xiaofan still held his sword in his arms as he stood two steps away from Ma Sanfei and spoke calmly.

"You, you... if you want to kill me, then kill me. My three brothers were inferior in skill, so we deserved to die. Don't dream of getting our silver or cultivation techniques."

Ma Sanfei gathered every ounce of strength in his body, forcing himself to muster the courage to stammer those words out. Beads of cold sweat the size of beans streamed down his face.

After saying that, Ma Sanfei seemed to regain a sliver of courage. Trembling, he raised his long blade and chopped at Ye Xiaofan.

He looked like a child who had only just learned to walk, wildly swinging a long blade.

The sword left a trace as it came out. Ma Sanfei's eyes widened, and his pupils gradually lost focus.

"Alas!"

It was somewhat regrettable. Ye Xiaofan had thought he could obtain these three men's collections, just as he had from Gou Congxin.

Looking at the three brothers' corpses, Ye Xiaofan let out a long sigh. Then, no longer acting cool and aloof, he crouched down and began searching them nonstop.

A moment later, beneath his mask, Ye Xiaofan revealed an innocent smile.

Three Blood Qi Pills and over a hundred taels of silver.

After confirming that no one was following him, Ye Xiaofan returned home.

He had twenty Blood Qi Pills in hand, enough for him to cultivate to the Body Refining Third Level.

"Unfortunately, I'm short on money. The Sword Drawing Technique still hasn't been simplified."

"System, fuse the Black Tiger Roaring Mountain Technique into the Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique."

With a thought, one hundred taels of silver vanished, and the panel began to flicker faintly.

The Black Tiger Roaring Mountain Technique disappeared. A new cultivation technique appeared in his mind. After carefully comprehending it, he discovered that fusing one low-grade cultivation technique had improved the mid-grade cultivation technique by roughly seventeen percent.

At the same time, the technique's proficiency had fallen from max-level perfection back to having only just broken through to perfection.

"Looks like I only need to fuse six low-grade cultivation techniques to raise this mid-grade cultivation technique into a high-grade cultivation technique. I can accept that."

Name: Ye Xiaofan

Lifespan: 3 days (moderate poisoning) (suppressed; using Blood Qi may cause it to erupt at any time)

Realm: Body Refining First Level (70/200)

Techniques: Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique (Perfect 0/20000), Sword Drawing Technique (Proficient 1500/4000), Wind God Steps (Perfect 10000/20000)

After closing the panel and washing up, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next day,

Sun Chenyu swaggered into the Reserve Demon Suppressors' training room with his nostrils pointed at the sky, walking with his feet turned outward. Several young men immediately crowded around him.

Only a small number of youths looked on coldly.

"Young Master Sun, good morning!"

"Young Master Sun, good morning!"

"Mm."

Sun Chenyu lost himself amid the repeated cries of "Young Master Sun." He greatly enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded, and joy blossomed in his heart as his eyes crinkled into slits.

"Has Ye Xiaofan still not come to check in today?"

Sun Chenyu sat down in his seat, glancing sideways at a sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced youth as he snorted through his nostrils.

Seeing that Sun Chenyu was asking him, Hou Xingwu's eyes lit up and his face reddened. He hurriedly lowered his head slightly and said, "Young Master Sun, Ye Xiaofan has never come."

"Hmph, utterly outrageous. Today is the new instructor's first day of class, yet he doesn't come. He simply doesn't respect the new instructor."

Sun Chenyu's face darkened as he berated him, though inwardly, he was blooming with joy.

For Ye Xiaofan to come, he first had to be alive.

Just then,

A middle-aged man entered, dressed in a Minor Banner Officer's uniform. He had narrow, slanted eyes and a flat nose.

The training room immediately fell silent.

Sun Zhigao nodded in satisfaction.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Minor Banner Officer Sun Zhigao, at the Body Refining Third Level. Starting today, I will be your new instructor."

"Here, you only need to do three things: cultivate, cultivate, and fucking cultivate."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, we understand!"

"Very good. Is everyone here?"

"Reporting to Minor Banner Officer Sun, Ye Xiaofan is absent."

Hou Xingwu glanced at Sun Chenyu. After receiving the latter's approval, he immediately stood up and said so.

"Hmph, utterly outrageous. Go find the logistics personnel and have Ye Xiaofan brought here."

"I'll repeat this once more. Here, regardless of your talent, you must listen to me. Every day, you must gather in the training room."

Sun Zhigao's blade-like eyes swept over the crowd before finally settling on Sun Chenyu. His gaze immediately softened.

"Chenyu, you refined Blood Qi in only two days. Your talent is nearly comparable to Commander Zuo's."

"Minor Banner Officer Sun, you flatter me. I'm far inferior to Commander Zuo. I'd be satisfied if I could catch up to Baihu Xiao."

Sun Chenyu beamed with a ruddy face. His words were very modest, yet the arrogance in his tone showed that he already agreed with Sun Zhigao's assessment.

Afterward,

Sun Zhigao's gaze swept around the room once more before he continued.

"Your talent is poor, so you must work hard. In particular, you should learn from Sun Chenyu. Do you understand?"

"Don't be like certain people, who become blind to everyone else just because they have a little talent."

"Enough. Begin cultivating now. Sun Chenyu, come with me. I'll guide you privately."

Under the envious gazes of the other youths, Sun Chenyu followed Sun Zhigao out of the training room with his nostrils still pointed at the sky.

The two arrived at the instructors' lounge one after the other.

Sun Zhigao immediately changed his demeanor, revealing a fawning smile. "Young Master Sun."

"Mm. You performed well. Keep following me properly in the future, and you won't be treated poorly."

"Yes, yes. I only became a Banner Officer thanks to Hundred-Household Officer Sun."

Sun Zhigao nodded repeatedly, his waist nearly bent to ninety degrees. He also "accidentally" dropped the word "Minor," making Sun Chenyu's heart bloom with joy.

With his Body Refining Third Level cultivation, Sun Zhigao should never have been able to become a Minor Banner Officer. Unfortunately for everyone else, he had clung to the Sun Family's thigh.

Not only had he been exceptionally promoted to Minor Banner Officer with improved treatment, he had also become the Reserve Demon Suppressors' instructor. From then on, he no longer had to go out on missions and live with his head tied to his belt.

Demons and monsters ran rampant outside. He truly did not want to go out again.

Elsewhere,

Ye Xiaofan had not even gotten out of bed when he heard knocking at the door. Only then did he reluctantly defeat the terrifying blanket demon and, bleary-eyed, walk to the front yard to open the gate.

A Demon Suppression Division logistics worker stood outside.

Ye Xiaofan paused, then asked, "Brother, may I ask what you need from me?"

"Brother Ye, the Reserve Team has a new instructor today, Minor Banner Officer Sun Zhigao. Minor Banner Officer Sun asked me to notify you to head to the Reserve Team's training room."

Li Feng spoke politely.

Ye Xiaofan frowned slightly. Once the Reserve Demon Suppressors had received their cultivation techniques, they were not required to report in every day and could cultivate at home on their own.

He could not quite understand why the other party had summoned him.

Could it be that he wanted to meet this genius?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Ye Xiaofan's mind, but he replied aloud, "I understand."