Panel Pop-Up, Martial Arts Fusion

The night was cool as water, the wind whimpering.

A fine, drizzling rain pierced through the mist and fell upon the crumbling tiled house.

Crackle—

Inside the tiled house, the fire blazed fiercely, firewood popping and snapping.

Before the fire sat a handsome young man with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. Silent, he turned the pages in his hand by the wavering firelight.

At that moment, time seemed to have slowed severalfold.

The patter of fine rain, the crackle of the fire, the rustle of paper—countless wondrous sounds intertwined, lending the moment an inexplicable air of peaceful, quiet years.

Tap tap tap...

Abruptly, hurried footsteps sounded outside. The tightly shut door was shoved open, and a cold wind swept in backward, making the flames sway.

Chu He closed the book and looked up.

A young woman, braving the endless rain, burst into the room.

Rain soaked her glossy black hair, while her thin gauze clothes clung tightly to her graceful figure, carrying a subtle, alluring temptation.

Her fair, delicate face was filled with panic. Upon seeing the man beside the fire, she immediately said nervously, "Young master, this humble woman..."

"Sit."

Chu He smiled and patted the dry straw mat beside him.

"Young master, this humble woman was accidentally separated from her family..."

"Sit down and speak."

Chu He's smile remained gentle as he interrupted her again.

"Young master..."

"If you can't understand human speech, then shut up!"

Chu He's smile vanished, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

His figure flickered. Air surged, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared before the young woman. His long fingers gripped her head and savagely forced it downward.

Crack!

The explosive sound of shattering flesh and bone rang out. The woman's head was violently snapped, her entire pretty face crushed into her meager chest.

With a bang, unable to withstand the crushing force, the pretty woman let out a scream and exploded into a mass of black mist, vanishing into nothing.

Chu He looked at his empty palm, puzzled.

He had not heard a notification in his mind.

Just then, the red jade around his neck turned hot. Chu He's back suddenly sank, as though an extra "person" had appeared on it.

It felt as though a chunk of ice had been placed on his back. Chilling cold seeped through the fibers of his clothing, winding like a venomous snake as it tried to burrow into Chu He's body.

"Hee hee hee..."

A woman's dry, coquettish laugh suddenly rang beside his ear.

It was as though someone were sprawled across his back, speaking close to his ear.

He turned his head.

On his shoulder was still that pretty, gentle face. Only this time, it was bloodless, its cheeks bright red and its eyes hollow black pits.

Chu He froze.

The next moment—

"You dog bastard, your chest is pressing against me!"

Bzz—

The Golden Bell appeared abruptly. Scorching blood qi burst forth in a wave of searing heat!

White smoke billowed up.

"Ahhh!"

A muffled groan of pain rang out, then turned into a shrill scream.

"Your chest is so flat—what kind of female ghost are you supposed to be?!"

Chu He exhaled hot breath, turned toward that twisted, venomous face, and brought his palm, red-hot like branding iron, straight down upon the crown of its head!

"Ding dong! Ghost qi absorbed. Energy +3!"

The notification sounded in his mind, and Chu He withdrew his hand.

The strange head behind him exploded with a bang, turning into a stream of icy black smoke. The headless corpse collapsed against the earthen wall, twitching unconsciously.

Chu He gave the female corpse a glance, then sat down beside the fire again. As he watched the flames burn ever brighter, the experiences of the past few days reflected through his mind.

After Hong Shou passed away, the villagers held his funeral the next day. At the original site of the Land God Temple, they erected a statue of Hong Shou, where he received incense and worship every day, commemorating his great deeds.

At the same time, the village chief had turned into a ghost, and Hong Shou had passed away.

The village desperately needed someone to take charge.

Originally, everyone wanted Chu He to step forward. But Chu He was being threatened by the great skin ghost, so naturally he was unwilling. In the end, the position of village chief fell to Wu Feng.

Wu Feng understood Chu He's predicament and did not decline. Once he became village chief, he immediately gathered the villagers to repair the ruined houses and maintain the walls around the village.

Seeing Wu Feng keep everything in perfect order, Chu He no longer had any worries. Thus, in the early hours of today, he quietly left the village and headed for Black River Town.

He had been traveling for a full day. After another half day on the road tomorrow, he would reach the northern edge of the Misty Forest, where Black River Town lay.

Throughout the journey, Chu He kept Hong Shou's final warnings firmly in mind and acted with utmost caution. Even in the Misty Forest, he did not dare slaughter ghosts wantonly, fearing he might draw the notice of other great ghosts within the forest.

Except for ghosts that came looking to provoke Chu He themselves.

Looking back at the shriveled female corpse and recalling its repeated, programmed-sounding lines, Chu He said strangely, "Why do all these ghosts seem so stupid? Could it be that they have no brains?"

He rubbed his chin. The ghosts he had encountered all seemed foolish. Some could not even speak a single sentence, and even those that could only mechanically repeated a few lines, just like the female corpse before him.

"Looking at it this way, that little ghost Miaomiao was rather special."

Chu He secretly found it regrettable. Back then, he had not paid attention and let her escape.

Pushing aside his jumbled thoughts, Chu He took a deep breath.

With a thought, he summoned the panel.

[Chu He]

[Martial Arts:

Golden Bell Shield (Third Layer)

Red Line Fist (Second Layer) ↑]

[Energy: 21]

After much hard work, Chu He had once again accumulated 21 points of energy.

At last, he could raise Red Line Fist to the third layer. At the same time, he could use that special warm current to heal all the lingering injuries from the past few days.

Without hesitation, Chu He willed it with a thought.

The familiar warm current surged forth. The muscles in both arms crackled, while his flesh rolled like waves. Waves of unbearable numbness spread from every part of his arms, and the wounded, scabbed-over injuries healed at astonishing speed.

The black scabs fell off on their own, revealing crimson flesh beneath.

The process lasted more than three minutes.

Chu He exhaled a turbid breath and slowly rose to his feet. A string of popping sounds like stir-fried beans came from every joint in his body. Like a rusted machine freshly lubricated with oil, he roared back into motion.

Chu He clenched his fist, and his palm made the grating sound of steel scraping against steel. When he rubbed his fingers together with force, he could even smell a sharp, scorched odor.

"The third layer of Red Line Fist increased my strength by a thousand jin. By my reckoning, my strength has now reached four thousand jin, already surpassing the limit of the Blood Condensation Realm." Chu He stared at his fingers, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

The next moment, the back of his hand glowed a fierce red. The major tendons of all ten fingers seemed to join into one. At a glance, Red Line Fist appeared to have become Red Back Fist.

Moreover, even Red Line Fist's killing move... Crimson Blood Flame, had undergone a different change.

When he activated the killing move, blood flames ignited on the back of his hand. Perhaps because he cultivated the Golden Bell Shield, Chu He's Crimson Blood Flame seemed to carry an additional faint golden hue compared to others', taking on a crimson-gold appearance.

He had not tested its power yet, so he could not be sure.

However, the martial arts altered by the modifier were all somewhat stronger than their originals. Presumably, the killing move of Red Line Fist would be no exception.

Chu He withdrew the Red Line Fist and was just about to summon the panel again.

At that moment, however, the blue panel popped up on its own.

[Compatibility detected between martial arts. Fuse?]