Career Fusion

Shen Qingzhou's consciousness settled onto the panel.

Four profession icons floated there: [Scripture Master], [Qi Collector], [Talisman Master], and [Sword Disciple]. Several dotted golden lines connected them.

The line connecting [Scripture Master] and [Qi Collector] had already solidified, with the insignia of [Source Tracing] at its other end.

Now, the other two dotted lines began flashing as well.

One connected [Scripture Master] and [Talisman Master].

Shen Qingzhou pondered it. If those two fused, perhaps he could dismantle someone else's spell and turn it into a talisman in reverse.

That was a good path. It could make money, too.

The other line connected [Qi Collector] and [Sword Disciple].

There was no telling what that path would produce, but it felt like the returns might be even greater.

Talismans were external objects in the end. He directly tapped the second dotted line.

"Choose to fuse [Qi Collector] and [Sword Disciple]."

[Profession fusion in progress... Please select fusion inclination.]

Two directions surfaced in his mind.

One was Dao arts, leaning toward research. It might help him complete the cultivation method of the Ginseng Water Dao Lineage, perhaps even create an entirely new set himself.

The other was slaughter, more direct—simply making his sword faster.

Only children made choices. He wanted them all!

But the panel seemed to give him only one chance. After thinking it over, Shen Qingzhou chose the most practical option.

The minor tournament was right around the corner. Winning resources was the real priority.

As for researching cultivation methods, there would be plenty of time later.

[Fusion inclination confirmed: Slaughter.]

[Randomly generating composite ability...]

Random?

Shen Qingzhou frowned.

He had thought this thing was fixed. He had not expected it to be a blind box.

On the panel, the [Qi Collector] and [Sword Disciple] icons crashed into each other and transformed into a ball of light.

[Fusion successful. Composite abilities obtained: Dao Strife, Karmic Severance.]

[Composite ability slots: 1/2. Please select one to equip.]

He already had [Source Tracing] equipped, so he could only use one at a time?

Fine. Having something to use was good enough. He would not be picky.

He looked at the descriptions of the two new abilities.

[Dao Strife (Passive)]: On the road of the Great Dao, contend with others, contend with Heaven.

Your fame, the attention others pay you, their killing intent, and their scrutiny will all become your nourishment, accelerating the speed at which you absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth.

[Karmic Severance (Active)]: The myriad threads of karma—sever them with a single sword.

Activating this ability consumes a great amount of mana and divine sense, severing a segment of karma between yourself and the target. The specific effect depends on the difference in cultivation between both sides and the depth of the karma involved.

Shen Qingzhou stared at the two abilities and said nothing for a long while.

"What do I do? I want them both!"

This was not opening a blind box at all. It was practically tailor-made for him!

These two abilities were far too domineering.

"No, I should play it safe."

After hesitating for a moment, he still chose to equip [Dao Strife].

The reasoning was simple.

Without strength, what use was severing karma?

He could escape for a while, but not forever. He could not keep hiding forever; sooner or later, he would stumble and fall.

[Dao Strife equipped.]

The instant [Dao Strife] was equipped, Shen Qingzhou sensed that something was wrong.

He could feel the spiritual energy throughout the entire small courtyard, and even the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth beyond it, seeming to come alive and burrow into his body without pause.

His absorption speed for spiritual energy had increased by more than thirty percent!

And that was while he was quietly sitting in his own courtyard!

Joy rose in Shen Qingzhou's heart.

"Who needs Kan Water spiritual treasures now? At this cultivation speed... it's like I'm constantly swallowing great medicines!"

But just as he rejoiced, he suddenly realized something, and a chill crept down his back.

"No, this is far too fast..."

Something was wrong—nine parts out of ten were wrong.

The description of [Dao Strife] said it needed "fame," "attention," and "killing intent" as fuel. Yet he had been secluded in his own courtyard for days. Where would fame come from? Where would attention come from?

"Where did this extra thirty percent cultivation speed come from?"

He had already treated [Dao Strife] as an early-warning device. Someone had their eyes on him.

Shen Qingzhou paced back and forth through his study, using elimination one possibility at a time.

"Who... who exactly wants to harm me?"

Lu Chen?

Lu Chen regarded him as an opponent, so he counted.

Zhao Heng?

The Zhao Family was arrogant and looked down on him. That was possible too.

Fang Wuji and Liu Yinghan? Probably not.

People from the Earth Spirit Sect? Even less likely. Huang Shi had been killed by Su Yu; it had nothing to do with him.

Elder Li?

From the very beginning, Elder Li had seemed to have some indescribable arrangement for him, stuffing him into the Kan Water Lineage... What exactly did he want? But he was a Foundation Establishment True Person, after all. Would he really forsake all dignity and personally come after him?

Cloudveil True Person and Su Yu?

Hiss... hard to say.

Shen Qingzhou suddenly stopped. Liu Chengyuan's face surfaced in his mind, and his expression shifted between light and shadow.

And... the Liu Family.

"My Liu Family is willing to place a wager on the minor tournament for Fellow Daoist Shen..."

"The Kan Water Lineage's road ahead has already been severed... Over the past three hundred years in the Profound Heaven Sect, almost no one has been able to achieve Foundation Establishment through this path..."

"Homologous Dual Cultivation... to give niece Yinghan a helping hand..."

Though Liu Chengyuan's words at the time had been an attempt at recruitment, he had not concealed his purpose in the slightest.

"Could it be the Liu Family?"

What did they want?

His aptitude? What use was even the finest aptitude in a crippled Dao lineage?

Unless...

Unless, just as the Liu Family had said, he himself was a resource.

He was that "humanoid great medicine" they had set their sights on!

Once that thought emerged, it could no longer be suppressed.

If the Liu Family wanted to treat him as a cultivation furnace, did that mean that, in others' eyes, he was good material too?

An Innate Kan-Water Fate...

The aptitude tested when he had first entered the outer sect had been called among the very best. So why had he ultimately been assigned to the unwanted Kan Water Lineage?

He had jumped into the Kan Water pit because he did not know how deep it was, but the other elders could not possibly have been ignorant!

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

A Kan-Water Fate was most suited to cultivating the Kan Water Lineage, but it was not limited to Kan Water alone. Wall Water and Zhen Water were both options as well... Yet not a single person in the entire sect had told him that.

Knowing full well it was a pit, they had still allowed a promising seedling to jump in. To say it was merely jealousy was far too absurd.

Unless... someone had been pulling strings behind the scenes!

Had the Qi Seed he received truly been due to "good luck"?

He turned his awareness inward toward his sea of qi. The black pool formed from the Wall-Water Essence was calm, and the Abyss-Hiding Sword Essence at the center of the pool showed no abnormalities either.

Everything looked fine.

Then he recalled what Su Yu had said.

"The Kan Water Lineage was defeated when great powers upstream fought one another."

"The Dao lineage's conceptual image was damaged, and the road ahead was severed."

Why would the sect preserve the inheritance of a Dao lineage whose road ahead had been severed? Why keep the corresponding Qi Seeds as well?

For remembrance? So history would not be forgotten?

In the cultivation world, where could there be so much sentiment?

The only explanation was that this crippled Dao lineage and these crippled Qi Seeds still had uses to certain people!

"Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp... Could the cultivation world really be this dark?!"

Shen Qingzhou felt his scalp tingle.

He might have figured out where that inexplicable extra thirty percent cultivation speed had come from.

From the moment he stepped through the gates of the Profound Heaven Sect, had he already been plotted against?!

Shen Qingzhou sat down, gripping the Ripple-Pattern Sword on the table. The coldness of its blade cleared his mind somewhat.

Only now did he understand what Liu Chengyuan had meant by that parting remark: "Take care of yourself."

He exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his thoughts shifted.

"No... perhaps there is still a way... It is absolutely not time to reach the end of the road!"

Deep within the Liu Family's grounds on Blackwater Peak, inside a quiet chamber.

Liu Chengyuan stood bowed, his demeanor extremely respectful. Opposite him sat a white-haired, white-bearded old man cross-legged, dressed in a Blackwater Dao robe, his aura calm and steady.

He was Liu Yinghan's grandfather, Liu Xuantu.

"You went to Sword-Coming Peak today?" Liu Xuantu asked with his eyes closed.

"Yes... Your grandson went to see that Shen Qingzhou," Liu Chengyuan replied.

"Oh? And what was the result?"

"He did not agree. He only said he needed a few days to consider."

Liu Chengyuan hesitated, then said, "Your grandson feels that this boy is rather proud and difficult for my Liu Family to use."

"Therefore, I have already sent people to contact Fang Wuji of Cinnabar Glow Peak. That child's temperament is comparatively simple; perhaps he will be more willing to accept my Liu Family's goodwill."

Liu Xuantu opened his eyes. His calm gaze fell upon Liu Chengyuan, making the latter's heart tighten involuntarily.

Had he done something wrong?

"Chengyuan, you have made this matter too simple."

"Your grandson does not understand..."

Liu Chengyuan was somewhat puzzled. Bowing, he said, "Your grandson merely believed that the Kan Water Lineage's road ahead is severed. No matter how great a genius he is, he will ultimately need my Liu Family's resources. This should have been a mutually beneficial arrangement..."

"Mutually beneficial?" Liu Xuantu shook his head, a sharpness entering his gaze.

"An Innate Kan-Water Fate may not necessarily be a blessing."

"That person from the Zhou Family originally planned to have him enter the sect, place him under careful cultivation before his eyes, and only take what he needed once the youth's foundation had become most complete and harmonious."

"You rashly went to his door today and promised great benefits. Though it was for the family's sake, in that person's eyes, it was no different from coveting his forbidden possession."

"What?! There was such a secret..."

Cold sweat instantly seeped from Liu Chengyuan's forehead.

"Then... why did he enter Cloud Hermit True Person's tutelage?" Liu Chengyuan asked, unable to understand.

"That is the variable within the game."

Liu Xuantu said, "That person had planned well, but Sword-Coming Peak is not his alone to command, much less the Profound Heaven Sect! That old fox Li Changqing thrust his oar into the matter."

"Though Cloud Hermit has long fallen silent, his lingering might remains. Placing the boy under his name means that great figure cannot act too excessively. That was quite a clever move."

Liu Chengyuan's heart trembled at the revelation.

"From today onward," Liu Xuantu's voice came, "cut off every thought connected to Shen Qingzhou. You and Yinghan are both to keep your distance from him."

"Yes, your grandson understands." Liu Chengyuan accepted the order respectfully, no longer daring to harbor the slightest reluctance.

"As for Fang Wuji..." Liu Xuantu paused.

"Since contact has already been made, continue it. An idle piece may yet serve an unexpected purpose in the future."

"Your grandson accepts the order."

Liu Chengyuan bowed and withdrew from the quiet chamber.

Inside the quiet chamber, Liu Xuantu closed his eyes again and let out a soft sigh.

"Innate Dao Ginseng... what a pity for such talent and gifts..."