Xiao Xuan froze on the spot.
A system?!
For six whole years since transmigrating, he had almost resigned himself to a "hell-difficulty start as a commoner," and now his cheat had quietly arrived?!
His heart pounded. His fingers clenched in excitement, gripping the Lone Bamboo in his hand. "System, explain your functions!"
A moment later, a stream of information flowed into his mind, and the excitement in Xiao Xuan's eyes grew even stronger.
The function of this so-called "Three-in-One Fusion of All Things System" was brutally simple, just as its name suggested-as long as the rules were met, anything in the world could undergo a three-in-one upgrade!
Even his own Martial Soul was no exception!
According to the system's classification mechanism, the quality of things in the world was divided into star levels.
And because Xiao Xuan's awakened Lone Bamboo Martial Soul had such a weak innate foundation, it belonged to the most basic category: [One-Star Lone Bamboo].
If he wanted to raise his Martial Soul's star level, the method was perfectly straightforward.
As long as Xiao Xuan gathered two more stalks of [One-Star Lone Bamboo], he could fuse them with his Martial Soul to create [Two-Star Lone Bamboo]!
"One-Star Lone Bamboo..."
Xiao Xuan quickly checked with the system.
After considering it from several angles, he finally understood the system's standard.
All wild Lone Bamboo that had not reached a hundred years of cultivation counted as one-star!
As far as the eye could see, bamboo covered the entire back mountain. Even if he couldn't find any over a hundred years old, there was as much ordinary Lone Bamboo of a few decades or a few years as he could want!
In the grove before him, he could spot dozens of stalks with a casual glance!
Yet Xiao Xuan did not rush to fuse his Martial Soul on the spot.
That was because the system also came with a crucial hidden mechanism.
During a three-in-one fusion, the host could add an extra "auxiliary material"!
Once the fusion succeeded, the auxiliary material's core properties would be applied to and strengthened in the entirely new finished product, with absolute certainty!
However, there was a restriction on this as well.
The auxiliary material's grade could not be too much higher than that of the main fusion material itself.
For example, Xiao Xuan currently intended to fuse his [One-Star Lone Bamboo] Martial Soul into [Two-Star Lone Bamboo].
In that case, the highest-grade auxiliary material he could add would be [Two-Star].
According to the system's explanation, two-star materials were roughly equivalent to hard iron essence ore, refined alloys, and so on...
Although the material's grade was restricted, an idea instantly sprang to Xiao Xuan's mind!
What's the Lone Bamboo Martial Soul's biggest fatal flaw? It's brittle! Soft! Its attack power is low, and it can't take a beating!
Even if ordinary Lone Bamboo followed the Power Attack System or the Control System, the strength of the plant's fibers imposed an extremely low ceiling.
But with this system...
If every time I raise its star level, I forcibly fuse the properties of the hardest, toughest special metals and ores into it...
Then this Lone Bamboo of mine might just have the potential to grow into something like the Atlas Spear Martial Soul!
Looking at the lush green bamboo grove before him, Xiao Xuan smiled.
This time, he really was going to defy the heavens and change his fate!
Early the next morning.
The family had only just returned from their old home in Lone Bamboo Village to their small courtyard on the outskirts of Nuoding City when Xiao Xuan could no longer sit still.
The night before, his head had been full of "Three-in-One Fusion of All Things" and "defying the heavens to change his fate." He had been so excited he had barely slept.
Now that he had his cheat firmly in hand, how could he still have the mind to stay home and be a good little boy?
"Mom, I'm going out for a stroll to stretch my legs!"
"Come back early for your meal, and don't go wandering into crowded, disorderly back alleys!" Li Ya's gentle reminder came from inside the house.
"Okay!"
Xiao Xuan called back, greased the soles of his feet, and slipped out of the courtyard in a flash.
His destination was clear-the Nuoding City blacksmith shop.
The system had made it perfectly clear: Three-in-One Fusion could not only raise the star level, but also add an auxiliary material that met the requirements and perfectly inherit its core properties.
The Lone Bamboo Martial Soul's greatest weakness was its brittle texture. It had some toughness, but its ceiling was low, and it lacked destructive power. It was a textbook "trash-tier plant."
If he wanted to transform it inside and out, the best way was to infuse it with the incredible hardness of ore and the properties of metal!
Before long, Xiao Xuan followed the city's main road to a sizable blacksmith shop in the south of the city.
Before he even got close, the continuous, crisp clang of hammering iron washed over him, accompanied by a scorching wave of heat.
Sparks flew inside the shop as several burly, broad-shouldered, bare-chested men swung their hammers, pounding away at rough blanks in a frenzy of activity.
"Boss, do you sell ore here?"
Standing at the counter, Xiao Xuan poked out his little head and called out in a clear voice.
Behind the counter, a middle-aged blacksmith with a scruffy beard and dark skin stopped what he was doing and gave Xiao Xuan several suspicious looks.
Seeing that Xiao Xuan was only a little boy of about six, with a slender, well-proportioned build, the blacksmith had not wanted to pay him any attention. But when he saw Xiao Xuan's calm, serious eyes, he couldn't help grinning.
"What's this, kid? You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you're already thinking of coming to a blacksmith shop to learn the trade?"
"The heavy work in our line isn't easy. Look at those spindly arms and legs of yours-you probably can't even lift a hammer. Better go home and drink your milk!"
Several young workers resting and drinking water in the shop burst into laughter too, and the air filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Xiao Xuan wasn't angry, nor did he have time to bicker with them. He went straight to the point and said seriously:
"Boss, I'm not here to learn blacksmithing. I want to buy a piece of iron ore from you. Or rather... do you have any alloy ore a little higher-grade than ordinary iron ore?"
"What?"
The teasing expression on the blacksmith's face faded somewhat.
When children came running to a blacksmith shop, they usually came to watch the sparks or pick up scraps of iron to play with. Who opened their mouth and named "iron ore" and "alloy ore" so precisely?
The blacksmith's expression turned serious, and he took another look at Xiao Xuan.
"Kid, of course I have high-grade ore here, but what do you want it for? It'd be too heavy even for cracking walnuts at home."
"An elder in my family asked me to bring a piece back on my way, to make a few little things." Xiao Xuan casually offered a catch-all excuse. "Boss, how much are these ores?"
Seeing that the little brat was tight-lipped, the blacksmith didn't pry. What businessman would turn money away?
He clapped his large, soot-covered hands and casually explained:
"Ordinary raw iron ore is dirt cheap. One Silver Soul Coin is enough to buy ten or so pieces by weight."
"But if you want alloy ore that's a little better than iron ore, the price goes up. One piece costs a Silver Soul Coin."
As he spoke, the blacksmith bent down and rummaged through a reinforced wooden chest beneath the counter. He casually pulled out a palm-sized piece of ore with a pale yellow metallic sheen all over and waved it in front of Xiao Xuan.