Martial Arts Fusion

Three books, three martial arts techniques. Lu Chengchuan eagerly picked them up to read.

No one was there to teach him this time, so he could only study them himself. The people beside him did not dare disturb him. Lu Chengchuan flipped through the books and committed every detail within to memory.

Detected Yellow Grade martial art, Qi Cultivation Skill. Learn it? Learning requires 10 days of lifespan.

The system's voice appeared, confirming that the martial art was genuine. Ten days of lifespan was nothing Lu Chengchuan lacked for now, so he instantly spent the time and learned the Qi Cultivation Skill.

The Qi Cultivation Skill appeared in his martial arts list, and Lu Chengchuan calmly set the book down.

The others did not understand what that meant. While they waited anxiously, Lu Chengchuan picked up the second martial arts manual.

This one was also an internal martial art, called Triple Wave. Once unleashed, its force came like ocean waves, each surge stronger than the last. It was like striking someone with one palm, only for the target to endure three separate attacks.

Once cultivated to the third level, its force could even pass through iron armor and strike the person beneath it, much like hitting a cow from across a mountain.

After spending another ten days of lifespan, Lu Chengchuan learned the second martial art.

In less than half an hour, Lu Chengchuan had learned all three martial arts. Gu Mingwei truly had connections. All three techniques were genuine: two internal martial arts and one external martial art.

They were three Yellow Grade martial arts. Though their grades were not high, he had no room to be picky, so he learned them all.

After he set down the third book, Gu Mingwei's heart did not settle with it. Lu Chengchuan had said nothing for nearly half an hour, and Gu Mingwei feared that he looked down on the three techniques.

"Mr. Lu, are these martial arts real?" he hurriedly asked.

Lu Chengchuan put away the manuals and slowly said, "They're real. Boss Gu, is there something you need my help with?"

He had already learned the martial arts by spending his lifespan. He could have lied and said he did not like them, or claimed that they were fake, but that would have been dishonorable. He did not want to do that.

"You're too kind. You saved the three of us. I merely wanted to thank you," Gu Mingwei said with an embarrassed smile.

Though that was what he said, Lu Chengchuan knew what he was thinking. He said plainly, "As you wish. If anything comes up in the future, you can find me. If I can help, I will."

"Thank you, Mr. Lu. We're truly troubling you."

Gu Chengjian, standing nearby, could hardly bear to watch. His father looked far too obsequious. This man had come to take their things, yet they were the ones saying that they were troubling him.

His father was, after all, one of Anyang City's leading real estate developers. Just who was this man? What ability did he have to act so arrogantly?

Gu Chengjian was full of complaints, but there was nothing he could do. The man was still here, and his upbringing kept him from voicing them.

"Mr. Lu, would you like to stay for a meal before you leave?"

Having received Lu Chengchuan's assurance, Gu Mingwei was delighted and wanted to keep him for dinner.

Lu Chengchuan considered it for a moment, then nodded.

"Please arrange a room for me. I want to practice these martial arts." There was still some time before dinner, and he wanted to raise their levels.

"Of course. Wangshu, take Mr. Lu to one of the upstairs guest rooms."

When she heard her father tell her to lead him upstairs, Gu Wangshu immediately stood up. "Mr. Lu, please follow me."

Lu Chengchuan rose and followed her upstairs, leaving Gu Mingwei and his son behind in the living room.

Once his sister had led Lu Chengchuan upstairs, Gu Chengjian could no longer hold back. He immediately asked his father, "Dad, who is he? Why are you being so polite to him? Is he some family's young master?"

"He isn't some family's young master. Earlier, when I was taking your mother and sister home, we encountered monsters on the road. He saved us. He's very powerful. I've met several Espers before, but his strength is the most unusual."

"Unusual? What's so unusual about it?"

Gu Chengjian knew that Espers possessed supernatural powers, but surely his father did not need to be so respectful toward one, even if Lu Chengchuan had saved his life.

"You haven't seen it, so naturally you don't understand. Let me tell you, your father has never misjudged people. Building a good relationship with him will bring us no harm. The world is changing, and he may be able to lend us a hand at a critical moment."

Gu Mingwei naturally thought further ahead. More and more monsters were appearing now, and for the sake of their future safety, they needed to get to know more Espers.

It was only some money. As long as nothing unexpected happened, he would not be able to spend it all even by the next lifetime.

If his money was gone, he could earn more. But if a monster killed him, there would be no way for him to come back to life.

As father and son spoke downstairs, Gu Wangshu led Lu Chengchuan upstairs. She secretly glanced at him as they walked. She had not had a chance to speak to him last time, and this time, she still did not dare say anything. She only dared sneak looks at him.

However, her furtive glances were far too obvious. Lu Chengchuan noticed every little movement, yet said nothing.

When they reached a second-floor guest room, Lu Chengchuan was eager to improve his martial arts. He entered, locked the door directly behind him, and focused completely on the system's martial arts list.

...

Life-Sacrificing System

Host: Lu Chengchuan

Realm: Houtian

Martial Arts: Giant Elephant Skill, Profound Grade / Level 4, can be upgraded; Everspring Skill, Yellow Grade / Level 3; Eagle Claw Iron Body Skill, Yellow Grade / Level 3; Qi Cultivation Skill, Yellow Grade; Triple Force, Yellow Grade; Tiger Crane Fist, Yellow Grade.

Current Lifespan: 55 years, 46 days.

The host's bodily functions have recovered. The unknown illness has not been cured.

...

The three martial arts lay quietly in the martial arts list, waiting for him to use his lifespan to improve them.

Raising a Yellow Grade martial art to mastery required 485 days of lifespan, or a little over a year. The cost of three Yellow Grade martial arts was not much to him now, so Lu Chengchuan immediately raised all three techniques to the third level of mastery.

His lifespan instantly decreased by nearly four years, while the three martial arts also instantly reached mastery.

Warmth surged through his body. Compared with the feeling of breaking through to Houtian, the warmth generated by the three Yellow Grade martial arts was not especially intense. In barely a minute, it completely faded away.

The three martial arts reaching mastery still improved his strength somewhat, though the improvement was not significant.

However, that was not the important part. The important part was that after he raised the three Yellow Grade internal martial arts to mastery, the words "can be fused" appeared after the internal martial arts.

Lu Chengchuan froze for a moment before realizing that the system could actually fuse martial arts.

By spending ten years of lifespan, he could fuse the Everspring Skill, Qi Cultivation Skill, and Triple Force into one martial art, whose grade would also rise to Profound Grade.

This was a good thing. Without the fusion function, he would not even know where to find higher-grade martial arts.

He spent ten years of lifespan, and the three martial arts began to fuse. Lu Chengchuan instinctively circulated his Inner Energy. Within just a few minutes, the fusion was complete, and countless pieces of information flooded into his mind.

When he came back to himself, the three martial arts had vanished, replaced by an unnamed Profound Grade internal martial art.

Lu Chengchuan stared at the system panel and wanted to name the martial art Surging Wave Skill.

The moment the thought arose, the system panel changed. The words Surging Wave Skill replaced "unnamed."

The Surging Wave Skill had five levels. He was currently at the first level, and advancing to the second required ten years of lifespan. Lu Chengchuan still had over forty years left and had no intention of saving it, so he immediately raised the Surging Wave Skill to the second level.