Secret Skill Fusion

On the official road, dust billowed.

Lu Shaoyou galloped his horse.

He examined himself internally. Within his dantian, the Xiantian true qi flowed slowly, like a coiled golden dragon.

With every breath, he could feel a certain power in the world responding to it, continuously replenishing what was consumed.

"The Xiantian realm is indeed extraordinary," Lu Shaoyou thought to himself.

The power of the eleventh level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill was more than ten times stronger than the tenth level.

The feeling of being able to summon the power of heaven and earth with every movement gave him more confidence in his future path.

Suddenly, a system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Ding, Congratulations to the host for reaching the Xiantian realm. Well done, please continue to work hard.]

[Please note, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill has been sublimated, and the Dragon-Elephant Strength has been integrated. You currently possess the strength of two Dragon-Elephants. (Each Dragon-Elephant Strength grants ten thousand jin of immense power.)]

[To advance the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill to the next level requires one hundred thousand Slaughter Value. For every ten thousand Slaughter Value invested, one Dragon-Elephant Strength is gained. (Minimum investment of ten thousand at a time.)]

Lu Shaoyou was not surprised by this. He had already sensed the changes in his body after advancing to the Xiantian realm.

"System, display attribute panel."

[Name]: Lu Shaoyou.

[Cultivation]: Early Xiantian. (Strength of Two Dragon-Elephants.)

[Technique]: Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Eleventh Level). Current Progress: 0%.

[Secret Skills]: Dragon-Elephant Mountain Collapse Strike (Beginner), Shaolin Cudgel Technique (Proficient), Lingbo Weibu (Wave-like Steps) (Mastered), Dog Beating Staff Technique (Beginner), Shaolin Dragon Claw Hand (Beginner), Mountain Splitting Fist (Beginner).

[Slaughter Value]: 5980.

[Inventory]: Ten cubic meters.

Lu Shaoyou was quite satisfied with the information on his attribute panel.

"With 5980 Slaughter Value, which secret skill should I upgrade?"

"System, upgrade the Dragon-Elephant Mountain Collapse Strike."

Lu Shaoyou had high hopes for this accompanying secret skill, as its power was outrageously strong.

With just two units of Dragon-Elephant Strength, he had pulverized nearly half of Black Tiger Hall with a single punch.

This was clearly not achievable through mere physical strength alone, so upgrading this secret skill was definitely the right choice.

[Slaughter Value insufficient…]

Lu Shaoyou: "……"

"Seriously? Are my five thousand Slaughter Value fake?"

The system obviously ignored him.

"System, use Slaughter Value to max out the Shaolin Cudgel Technique and the Dog Beating Staff Technique," Lu Shaoyou silently commanded again.

[Ding, 3600 Slaughter Value consumed successfully. Shaolin Cudgel Technique and Dog Beating Staff Technique have been upgraded to Mastered.]

Before Lu Shaoyou could even savor the newly acquired insights into the cudgel techniques, the system spoke again.

[Detected that Shaolin Cudgel Technique and Dog Beating Staff Technique have reached Mastered state. They can be integrated for advancement. Do you wish to integrate?]

"What?"

"There's a function like this?"

Lu Shaoyou was surprised.

"Integrate," he responded instinctively.

[Ding, Integration successful. New Secret Skill (Beginner). Please name the new secret skill.]

"Hmm!" Lu Shaoyou stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "Let's call it the Dragon-Elephant Demon Suppressing Staff."

[Naming successful.]

Lu Shaoyou hadn't expected that reaching the Mastered state in secret skills would lead to such a change.

"So…" Lu Shaoyou's gaze shifted to the Mountain Splitting Fist. This was a boxing technique his father had taught him.

Although the name sounded grand, it was actually just a low-level boxing technique.

"System, upgrade Mountain Splitting Fist to Mastered." [Ding, 210 Slaughter Value consumed successfully. Mountain Splitting Fist has been upgraded to Mastered.]

"As expected of a low-level boxing technique; it only consumed this much Slaughter Value."

Glancing at his remaining Slaughter Value, Lu Shaoyou casually added it to the Shaolin Dragon Claw Hand.

This was a grappling technique, but in the hands of someone in the Xiantian realm, its power would undoubtedly be extraordinary.

[Ding, Detected that Shaolin Dragon Claw Hand and Mountain Splitting Fist can be integrated. Do you wish to integrate?]

Grappling techniques and boxing techniques could also fuse?

Lu Shaoyou pondered. It was all hand-to-hand combat, so that made sense.

"Merge!"

As for a new name, Lu Shaoyou couldn't be bothered to think of one and decided to stick with Dragon Claw Hand.

After some tinkering, his Slaughter Value was less than a hundred, but Lu Shaoyou didn't feel it was a pity. Now that he had reached the Xiantian realm, obtaining Slaughter Value was much easier.

With so many branches in the Blood Saber Sect, Lu Shaoyou was quite looking forward to it.

Closing the interface, Lu Shaoyou headed towards the city where Thunderclap Hall was located.

Unbeknownst to him, as he made his way to Thunderclap Hall, the news that Black Tiger Hall had been razed to the ground spread like wildfire, sweeping across Qingzhou with incredible speed.

"Did you hear? Black Tiger Hall is gone!"

"Which Black Tiger Hall? The one in Tiger Roar City?"

"Who else could it be! They were wiped out completely! Hall Master Xiong Tai, Deputy Hall Master Qian Tong, and that Miss Xiong who usually lorded over everyone—not a single one of them escaped!"

"My heavens! Who did it? Such a massive undertaking!"

"They say it was the formidable figure who, according to recent rumors, annihilated Black Wind Village!"

"Hiss... Who exactly is this person? Could it be an uncatchable dragon crossing the river?"

In teahouses and taverns, on streets and in alleyways, everyone was discussing the matter.

When the common folk spoke of it, a hint of satisfaction, which they dared not show usually, appeared on their faces.

Black Tiger Hall had been notoriously tyrannical in Qingzhou, and the people's resentment had been boiling. Now that it was destroyed in one fell swoop, how could they not clap and cheer?

Lingshui City, headquarters of the Giant Whale Gang.

The atmosphere in the council hall was heavy.

The leader of the Giant Whale Gang, Li Changge, a middle-aged man with a refined appearance but an imposing presence, sat at the head of the hall, idly playing with two jade walnuts in his hand.

Below him, Wei Tuo stood with his head bowed, sweat beading on his forehead. He was reporting the events at Dragon Snake Crossing in detail, especially the specifics of how Lu Shaoyou killed Xiong Tai.

"Crack!" The jade walnuts in Li Changge's hand were crushed by his sheer strength, turning into powder that slipped through his fingers.

He suddenly stood up. "Xiong Tai died on my Giant Whale Gang's territory? And killed by someone you introduced?"

A powerful aura emanated from Li Changge, almost suffocating Wei Tuo.

Wei Tuo hurriedly said, "My Lord, please calm your anger! This matter... this matter was truly an accident. That Lu Shaoyou's strength is unfathomable, and Xiong Tai initiated the provocation. I... I couldn't stop him!"

Li Changge paced a few steps, his imposing aura gradually receding. "So, it wasn't my Giant Whale Gang that did it?"

Wei Tuo nodded repeatedly. "It was definitely not us! This Lu Shaoyou is a man of mysterious origins, with formidable strength, and his actions are... are completely unrestrained." He paused and then added, "He seems to have irreconcilable grievances with the Blood Saber Sect."

Li Changge sat back down, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. "Blood Saber Sect... they are not to be trifled with. Wei Tuo, do you think this person is friend or foe? And how should our Giant Whale Gang position itself?"

Wei Tuo hesitated. "Although this person acts ruthlessly, from what we've seen so far, he doesn't seem to be someone who kills indiscriminately. He doesn't seem to bear any ill will towards our Giant Whale Gang. On the contrary... he seems like a sharp knife that can be utilized."

"A sharp knife?" Li Changge mused. "I fear this knife might be too sharp and cut ourselves."

Just as Li Changge was weighing the pros and cons, hesitating, "Report—!" A scout, looking panicked, scrambled into the council hall. "Gang Leader! Hall Master! Something big has happened!"