Fusing Martial Arts

After leaving Wei Wushuang's office, Mei Ye did not head straight to the library, but instead went to the mission center.

The corridor was bustling with people, all walking with hurried steps; no one dared to speak loudly.

Wen Li, a clerk at the mission center, was typing away with dark circles under her eyes. The stack of forms on her desk was nearly taller than her head, and her keyboard clattered incessantly.

When she saw Mei Ye, she offered a bitter smile.

"How many cultists did you kill?"

The mission center was the place to accept missions, report merits, and collect mission bounties.

She had been registering the merits of the Demon-Suppressing Guards for days, and she was so exhausted her bones felt like they were falling apart.

"About 23."

Mei Ye thought for a moment.

"23?"

Wen Li was startled. Her pen paused in mid-air as she looked up and stared straight at him. "Are you going on a rampage?"

"I just pick the soft persimmons to squeeze," Mei Ye smiled at Wen Li. "As for witnesses, my comrades at the time were..."

He listed the Demon-Suppressing Guards who had fought alongside him.

"Alright, I will verify this later."

Wen Li's fingertips danced rapidly across the keys, and the numbers on the screen refreshed line by line. "You also caught two cultists earlier, right?"

"Yes, two cultists who were trying to dig up someone's grave."

"Hmm... let me calculate... about 11,682 yuan... does that work for you?"

"That's fine."

Mei Ye didn't dwell on the meager bounty. With chaos erupting across the country and the situation dire, public servants—especially the low-ranking ones—often had their pay docked for trivial reasons.

"Once verified, the bounty will be deposited into your account within three days. Thank you for your contribution to Jiangbei City."

Wen Li recited the standard line.

However, beyond the formulaic smile, Mei Ye noticed a hint of surprise on her face.

Was it because his predecessor was too incompetent?

Mei Ye thought, then offered a faint word of thanks.

He left the mission center immediately and headed to the library.

The iron door of the west wing was cold, heavy, and painted in a deep gray.

Inside the library, he pressed his designated access card against the reader. With a soft beep, the door hinges groaned with a dull, friction-filled sound.

The doors swung open to reveal rows upon rows of bookshelves, the air thick with the musty scent of old paper.

Amidst the vast collection of classics, Mei Ye browsed through the books with focus.

[Recorded Eight Trigrams Palm!]

[Recorded Cloud-Ladder Step!]

[Recorded Taiji Sword!]

The library didn't actually house many martial arts.

Many were merely derivatives of well-known styles.

For instance, health-cultivation techniques based on the Eight Trigrams, or exercise routines based on Taiji.

These were studies from the old era and held little meaning for warriors of the new century.

Mei Ye couldn't understand why they would fill the library with books meant for ordinary people.

Could filling the library shelves really make the Demon-Suppressing Guards feel proud of their heritage?

Shaking his head, Mei Ye finally spotted a decent book.

He took it down, his fingertips brushing the surface as the pages rustled.

[Recorded Evil-Breaking Blade!]

"Trash..."

Mei Ye curled his lip. Such a plain name, combined with a dust-caked cover, was clearly a common commodity.

[Recorded Demon-Slaying Blade!]

He flipped through another antique thread-bound book. The illustrations inside were vivid, and it even thoughtfully included a link to a related video.

"This one... seems quite compatible with the Vast Blade Art."

Mei Ye recalled that when he first descended into this world, the system panel had mentioned it could also fuse martial arts.

But until today, he had too few techniques to meet the requirements for fusion.

[Current Martial Arts:

Neat Blade Art (Mastered)

Wind-Treading Step (Mastered)

Qi Gathering Realm · Vast Blade Art (Mastered)]

He pulled up the panel and looked at the newly added Demon-Slaying Blade, his mind stirring.

The next moment, the Demon-Slaying Blade technique moved according to his will, making contact with the Vast Blade Art.

[Compatibility: 65%]

"65%..."

Mei Ye pondered. This number was neither high nor low, indicating the difficulty of the fusion.

"It's probably proportional to the merit points."

[Current Merit Points: 4624]

Glancing at his merit points, Mei Ye felt a bit more at ease.

Although he had consumed some merit points on the Wind-Treading Step and the Evil-Suppressing and Demon-Subduing Art while fighting Epstein, he still had plenty left.

[Fuse? Fusion requires 5700 merit points.]

Mei Ye's eyelids twitched; he felt he had been happy too soon.

Why did fusing martial arts require so many merit points? If the compatibility were lower, would it cost an astronomical amount?

"Better to be cautious."

He returned the Demon-Slaying Blade to the shelf and slowly moved to another section to select suitable techniques.

Although the library didn't have many martial arts, checking them all and testing their compatibility one by one took a lot of time. Sunlight slanted in from the high windows, casting long shadows across the floor.

After some searching, he finally found a few books with the highest compatibility.

[Eighteen Arhat Hands]

[Golden Bell Shield]

[Zen Mind Meditation]

[Eighteen Arhat Hands + Golden Bell Shield + Zen Mind Meditation]

[Compatibility: 95%!]

"These are all Buddhist techniques..."

Mei Ye gasped.

He had searched for a long time, thinking there were no good items in the library.

He hadn't expected to find three body-tempering martial arts hidden away.

"But how does the imperial court have Buddhist martial arts? They didn't steal them, did they?"

Mei Ye scratched his head, suddenly thinking that was quite likely.

He had already looked through the contents of these three techniques. The pages featured illustrations of monks practicing punches and meditation, the lines rough and primitive.

Punch after punch, force was the priority!

"Are they trying to turn me into a muscle-bound freak..."

Mei Ye gave a bitter smile.

[Fusion requires merit points: 4500]

"4500..."

It was neither too much nor too little; it was quite reasonable.

Mei Ye calculated in his mind.

But spending all those merit points made his heart ache.

"Fine, it's a necessary investment..."

Mei Ye told himself, then gathered the three martial arts together.

[Fuse? Fusion requires merit points: 4500]

"Fuse."

Mei Ye whispered in his heart.

[Fusing...]

[Eighteen Arhat Hands + Zen Mind Meditation + Golden Bell Shield...]

[Fusion successful!]

[Qi Gathering Realm · Rare · Glazed Treasure Body Art!]

A martial art he had never heard of, born from the fusion of Buddhist techniques refined countless times, was officially born.

Countless cultivation paths and techniques for exerting force flooded into his consciousness, as clear as if he had practiced them for over a decade.

Mei Ye was overjoyed.

"It truly didn't fail my investment! One force breaks ten thousand laws!"

The Glazed Treasure Body Art fused the essence of stance training, palm techniques, and meditation. With Zen as the root and Buddha to govern the body, using Buddhist medicinal tempering as the key, it forged a supreme treasure body. Its strength could reach ten thousand jun, its body could withstand collapsing mountains, and it combined offense and defense—a match for any in the same rank!

[Glazed Treasure Body Art (Not yet entered)]

Mei Ye's mind stirred, and he poured his merit points into it.

[Glazed Treasure Body Art, First Layer!]

The first layer of the Glazed Treasure Body Art brought a faint golden glazed light effect to his skin, making it impervious to ordinary weapons and difficult for demons to approach.

When the first layer was completed, Mei Ye felt his blood filled with vitality in an instant. His physique hadn't changed much, but he felt significantly stronger, like a giant ball of light.

"Hoo—!"

Mei Ye threw a light punch, the sound of breaking air shattering the silence. The pages in the library fluttered, as if trembling in awe.

"My strength has indeed increased quite a bit..."

Mei Ye's brows relaxed. This was the most gratifying thing since his strength began to improve.

In truth, after becoming an ordinary warrior, he had considered relying on the Demon Suppression Bureau as a platform, wondering if he should sell himself to his superiors in exchange for promotion.

But power, in the end, was the ability to force others to submit.

As long as he could suppress all enemies, he could naturally choose to obey his superiors selectively.

Mei Ye clenched his fist. He was almost certain that his strength had increased dramatically, and when combined with his Vast Blade Art, he could easily harvest lives in bulk the next time the cultists appeared.

"Evil demons and crooked ways, I have already found the meaning of your lives for you..."

A sharp glint flashed in Mei Ye's eyes. His merit points were gone, and he lacked the money to buy medicinal herbs for cultivation.

He needed to go kill monsters!

"Do you have any missions with high bounties that are particularly suitable for me?"

Arriving at the mission center, Mei Ye went straight to the point with Wen Li.

"Please wait a moment..."

Wen Li searched through the data. A moment later, she put on a mechanical expression, her fingertips sliding rapidly across the light screen, the blue glow making her face look stiff.

"I have matched a mission for you. The preliminary rating is C-level."

"How much is the bounty?"

"2000."

"That's the one!"

Mei Ye said immediately. The medicinal herbs for the Glazed Treasure Body Art were expensive, and he needed to accumulate money as much as possible.

"I suggest you form a team to investigate. It's a series of disappearances at a high school. According to analysis, there is likely a monster inside... its strength is unknown, but it should not be underestimated."

Wen Li looked at the mission description and said politely.

"No need. I am enough on my own."

Mei Ye shook his head. If he brought others to help, wouldn't someone have to split the 2000-yuan bounty with him?

Wen Li complied, "Alright, good luck. I've marked it down for you."

"This is the information on that high school." Wen Li picked up a stack of papers from the desk and handed them to Mei Ye. "However, I still recommend you only go to make a preliminary report. Every mission is not to be underestimated."

"Many thanks."

Mei Ye nodded, not knowing if he had even heard Wen Li's advice.

He took the documents, tucked them under his arm, walked out of the Demon Suppression Bureau, and headed toward the high school according to the address Wen Li had given him.