"Hey, Changsheng, I met an interesting kid who's a lot like you were back then. Want to go take a look?"
After returning to the capital and getting Little Dingdong settled, He Yao immediately called Chen Changsheng.
The Federation was in the Southern Hemisphere, where it was nighttime. Chen Changsheng was currently in the Northern Hemisphere, where the sunlight was dazzling. He wore sunglasses, headphones, beach shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt.
"A kid who's a lot like I was back then? Tell me more!" Chen Changsheng said with a grin.
Suddenly, He Yao heard a tremendous crash from the other end of the call.
"Boom!"
An angry roar followed. "Chen Changsheng, don't you fucking push it too far!?"
"Changsheng, what... did you do?" He Yao couldn't help asking.
Chen Changsheng replied in a relaxed tone, "Nothing, nothing. Just asking Sea-Swallowing for something to eat!"
"The Sea-Swallowing Demon God?" He Yao's jaw dropped. "You're in the Northern Hemisphere now? What are you asking for? Don't tell me you want caviar from the Sea-Swallowing Demon God?"
"Ah, He Yao, you're so smart," Chen Changsheng said with an awkward chuckle.
He Yao's mouth twitched. Caviar was made from fish eggs, and the Sea-Swallowing Demon God was an eighth-tier exotic beast, thousands of meters long and terrifyingly powerful.
Yet Chen Changsheng was currently in the Sea-Swallowing Demon God's waters, stealing his babies...
"All right, all right, tell me more about that kid!" There was a hint of anticipation in Chen Changsheng's voice.
"What? One-star talent? He wants to become a Star God? Green Leaf City? He beat a divine-grade talent in an instant?"
"Oh? Sounds good. I'll go see for myself when the time comes!"
In Green Leaf City.
Xiao Fan dragged his exhausted body back home.
As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Xianhuo and Shao Yan waiting for him. The two beauties hurried over to support him.
"Are you all right?"
"Do you need some medicine?"
Xiao Fan shook his head. "It's nothing serious. I'm just tired. Let's go to the balcony and have a little drink."
Lin Xianhuo's eyes immediately lit up. "Drinks?"
"I'll get some from the fridge!"
Beside her, Shao Yan looked suspicious. "You can drink too?"
"Of course!" Lin Xianhuo raised her chin proudly.
Xiao Fan waved a hand. "She can hold about as much liquor as you can!"
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Both women flew into a rage. After glaring at Xiao Fan, they glared at each other!
Xiao Fan really didn't have the energy to deal with them. He went to the balcony and sat down in the wooden rocking chair.
"Hmph, Xiao Fan's very tired. I can't be bothered arguing with you!" Lin Xianhuo snorted softly, tossed her fiery red hair, and headed for the fridge.
Shao Yan looked at her with disdain and said sarcastically, "Xiao Fan this, Xiao Fan that. Tch, you make it sound like you're so close to him!"
She turned and went to the balcony to bathe in the starlight with Xiao Fan. Unfortunately, there weren't many stars out tonight; dark clouds had covered them.
Xiao Fan was looking at his phone. A high-level alert had sounded throughout Green Leaf City, and everyone was on the lookout for the Dog King!
Anyone who spotted the Dog King and reported him would immediately be rewarded with a hundred thousand Federation coins.
The higher-ups had also been informed and asked to send people here at once to hunt down the Dog King!
Xiao Fan sighed. "The Dog King identity will have to disappear after tonight."
"Then you're not going to Beast Mountain anymore either?" Shao Yan asked with a frown.
"No." Xiao Fan shook his head. "I've robbed the entire Black Tiger Sect of its money. It's definitely enough to last me the rest of the year."
"The question now is, how do I apply to the Super God Class?"
"Wow, you've really made up your mind!?" Lin Xianhuo walked over carrying two cases of beer, her face wreathed in smiles.
Xiao Fan glanced at her. "Two cases? We can't finish that much."
"We can!" Lin Xianhuo and Shao Yan said in unison, both looking excited.
Xiao Fan gave up. "Suit yourselves. So how can I apply to the Super God Class?"
"With a one-star talent, I can't apply, can I?"
"You don't have to worry about that!" Lin Xianhuo waved a hand. "I'll call my dad and get him to send a recommendation letter!"
"I can do that too!" Shao Yan puffed out her chest, looking proud.
"Then thank you both." Xiao Fan nodded gently.
With that, he deftly flicked a beer bottle cap off with his thumb and took a swig. Then he sighed. "Little Dingdong left just like that. Your eldest aunt is a good person, right?"
Shao Yan rolled her eyes. "You can rest easy about that. My mother's branch of the family cultivates the most orthodox wood element. Over there, Little Dingdong's All Things Grow will be developed to its fullest potential!"
"Oh, right. Lots of people saw the Black Tiger Gang go after you. When the people from above arrive, they'll definitely investigate you!"
Xiao Fan suddenly chuckled. "Who would believe it if you told them the Dog King was an eighteen-year-old high school boy?"
"Don't worry. Those people are all useless fools. I can fool them with a few made-up lies."
"Mm..." Shao Yan picked up her phone again and said mildly, "Fanfan, since you're going to the Super God Class anyway, you can stop attending school here, right?"
"I suppose that's true," Xiao Fan replied.
Shao Yan continued, "Oh, right, there's a major academic exam in a week. If you take first place, you can choose a martial art from the Scripture Pavilion."
"I think there'll also be a major martial arts exam afterward, with the same reward!"
"Are you going?"
Xiao Fan raised his eyebrows. "Of course I am!"
He could get two martial arts from this. If they were both augmentation-type, wouldn't he shoot straight up to the heavens!?
Then!
Xiao Fan began counting his spoils from today. He couldn't be bothered looking at the gold, silver, and valuables, so he searched through the storage rings one after another. The Black Tiger Sect had so many core disciples and quite a few Martial Artists. Maybe they had some augmentation-type martial arts?
It felt just like opening blind boxes. Xiao Fan was thrilled and incredibly nervous.
Nothing in the first, nothing in the second, nothing in the third...
Just as Xiao Fan had given up on that unrealistic hope,
Suddenly, in the seventy-eighth storage ring, Xiao Fan found a second-tier augmentation-type martial art, Great Strength Arm, which increased strength!
There was such a stroke of luck?
He'd tried everything before and still couldn't get an augmentation-type art, and now he'd just stumbled across one?
He'd really hit the jackpot today!
"Host has successfully recorded Great Strength Arm. Current cultivation progress: 1%."
Then Xiao Fan continued searching, full of anticipation.
The sixth-to-last ring, the fifth-to-last...
And then!
In the third-to-last ring, he found another second-tier augmentation-type art, Spinning Leg, which increased speed.
Xiao Fan couldn't help grinning foolishly.
Once he finished cultivating Spinning Leg and Great Strength Arm, wouldn't he be just one art short of the twenty required by the system's mission?
It was unbelievable. He'd worked hard for ten years and obtained only fifteen, but in the few days since he'd met Lin Xianhuo, he'd gotten so many more!
Xiao Fan suddenly started getting superstitious. Even the way he looked at Lin Xianhuo changed.
Lin Xianhuo was startled and grew a little shy. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're my lucky star. I just found more good stuff in those storage rings!" Xiao Fan said with a smile.
"That's... wonderful." Lin Xianhuo spoke softly. The alcohol had gone to her head, and she'd become gentler.
Today had brought a bumper harvest! How delightful!
Xiao Fan beamed.
Suddenly, the system's voice rang out again.
"Congratulations, host. The number of martial arts has reached the required threshold. Martial art fusion mechanism activated!"
Xiao Fan's eyes widened in surprise. So this inflexible system had something new after all!
He hurried to take a look.
"Martial arts of the same tier can be fused. Three can be combined into one martial art a tier higher. If all three martial arts are of the same type, the resulting martial art will retain that type."
Xiao Fan grew nervous. As he looked at his system panel, his expression kept changing.
He had plenty of discarded first- and second-tier combat-type martial arts that he could definitely throw into the fusion.
But what worried him now was whether he could throw augmentation-type martial arts into the fusion.
If he fused them, could he still complete the system's mission? Would the effect be better?
If it turned out worse, wouldn't he suffer a huge loss!?
He'd try it with those trash martial arts first!
For the first attempt, he fused three first-tier arts and got a second-tier art. Xiao Fan took one look and raised his eyebrows. This second-tier art was actually somewhat useful.
After just one try, Xiao Fan was hooked!
Time to fuse!
Three second-tier arts fused into a third-tier art. Its main characteristics had all been preserved, and there was even a slight improvement!
The more Xiao Fan fused, the more carried away he got. He thought that he hardly needed combat-type martial arts in his fights anyway; he could fight with physical techniques alone!
So he kept fusing!
Fuse!
Fuse!
In the end, he fused more than sixty miscellaneous martial arts into a single seventh-tier martial art!
What was more, the accumulation had finally produced a qualitative change!
This seventh-tier martial art was called the Demon Man Scripture!
After reading its description, Xiao Fan jumped straight out of his chair!
"Holy shit!!"
Xiao Fan's scream startled the two women beside him, leaving them both terrified.
"Wh-what's wrong, Xiao Fan?"
"Xiao Fan, if something's wrong, just tell us. We should be able to take care of it for you."
Both women looked tense, their faces full of worry.
But Xiao Fan murmured in a daze, "My darlings!"
"I have incredible news to tell you!"
Lin Xianhuo said haughtily, "Who's your darling?"
Shao Yan chuckled. "Go on, tell us."
The two women looked at Xiao Fan expectantly. They heard him say in a trembling voice, "What if I told you I don't actually have a one-star talent?"
"I have a sovereign-grade talent. It was latent, and it just started showing a reaction. I felt it!"
"What!?" Both women were stunned. They stood up on the spot, their Dao hearts already shaken.
Lin Xianhuo in particular felt her scalp tingle, her eyes filled with shock.
Was he joking?
Xiao Fan was already this strong with a one-star talent. If he activated a sovereign-grade talent, all his attributes would increase severalfold!
Then... wouldn't he be invincible?
"Really?"
"That's wonderful!"
The three of them embraced excitedly. Xiao Fan was so happy he couldn't stop his tears!
Eleven years!
A full eleven years, and he had finally completed the mission!
Demon Man Scripture: augmentation-type martial art!
Effect: demon man transformation. Increases bodily toughness, strength, speed, and reaction time across the board, and grants attacks penetrating power!
Most importantly... the system actually counted it!
Because he could clearly see that the number in the system's mission list had changed from 17 to 18!
Now, all that remained was to finish cultivating the two arts he'd found in the storage rings earlier.
Then he could truly complete the mission and gain a sovereign-grade talent!
With All-Round Walker and the Demon Man Scripture, being invincible within his own realm was the least he could expect!
Without a doubt, even someone with a mythical-grade talent wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch from him!
Tonight, they would drink until they were drunk!!!
Overjoyed, Xiao Fan immediately fused the martial arts he used for escaping as well.
The Earth Escape Technique, the Soaring Art, and so on...
In the end, the system itself seemed exasperated by how miscellaneous Xiao Fan's martial arts were. It simply named the resulting art the Heaven-Ascending Earth-Entering Art!
Once used, it allowed him to burrow underground, fly through the sky, move quickly underwater, and make his body lighter. It had numerous effects and was a fifth-tier martial art!
Xiao Fan was delighted with the final product. It was simply perfect. In future battles, he finally wouldn't need to spend time activating martial arts; just one would be enough!
Then he came to the crucial augmentation-type martial arts!
This time, Xiao Fan's hand halted, and his excited heart immediately calmed down.
Should he fuse them?
Should he or shouldn't he?
If he did, would they stop counting toward the mission total?
If they suddenly stopped counting, Xiao Fan would be so enraged that blood would rush to his heart, and he'd cough up blood and die on the spot!
"System, does it count?"
"After fusion, do they still count toward the mission total?"
"Host, they do."
Hearing those six words, Xiao Fan immediately tensed up.
Should I fuse them or not? What if the system is tricking me?
It said before that only enhancement-type martial arts below tier three would work, but the Demon Man Scripture worked too. Wasn't that a huge bug?
Xiao Fan pressed the system for an answer.
The system answered, "Because the Demon Man Scripture was fused from tier-three martial arts, it counts."
Xiao Fan nodded slightly. That answer was reasonable enough.
So?
Fuse them!
Xiao Fan couldn't resist. His fingers were itching. Fuse!
The three manuals became one. He hurriedly checked the task. The number was still 18, unchanged!
That was close.
He let out a long breath and continued fusing!
In the end, the result was good. The fifteen enhancement-type martial arts manuals ultimately fused into a single tier-five enhancement-type martial art: All-Round Enhancement Five!