I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 133 - 104: Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand’s Limit Break, Zhou Ye Kills with a Borrowed Knife, Chu Fan’s Killing Intent Flares
"When you get back, I’ll have another task for you."
"With a two-pronged attack, we’ll make sure he dies without a burial ground!"
"Don’t worry, Boss. You can count on me!" Sun Zixuan took the silver, a fawning yet cruel smile on his face, and quickly departed.
After holding back for so long, he finally had a chance to get revenge on Chu Fan.
He walked faster and faster, unable to hide the grin spreading across his face.
In the empty hall, Zhou Ye stood alone.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting his face in shifting light and shadow.
A cold smirk slowly formed on his lips.
’Chu Fan, so what if you’re talented?’
’The Seven Stars Gang is no place for you to act so arrogantly!’
’Since you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for being merciless!’
...
Chu Fan returned to his residence and sat at his table for a moment, his face devoid of any emotion.
He had never forgotten the time Zhou Ye stabbed him.
It was just that he had been busy with his arduous training and pondering the matters of the Blood Saber Sect and the Moon Worship Sect, so he hadn’t found the time to deal with Zhou Ye.
’Since Zhou Ye is so eager to die...’
’...then I’ll be happy to grant his wish.’
Chu Fan snorted softly, walked out into the courtyard, and began to practice the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand.
[Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand Experience Points +1]
[Skill: Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand (Perfection) Progress: (1465/1500) (Trait: None)]
’Today, I’ll be able to break the limit of this Martial Art.’
He suppressed the killing intent in his heart and focused on his training.
Cold Qi radiated from his hands.
The strange birds on the crabapple tree were startled and flew away with a great FLUTTER.
An hour later...
["Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand" has reached the limit of Perfection. You can spend 10 Spiritual Essence to break the limit. Do you wish to spend it?]
Without hesitation, Chu Fan willed it.
[Skill: Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand (First Limit Break 1/2500) (Trait: Bone-Penetrating Cold Attack)]
[Bone-Penetrating Cold Attack: The Cold Qi is condensed, penetrating bones and invading marrow. When circulating your power, the wind from your palms carries a Cold Yin Force that condenses into treacherous and bizarre needle-like points of Xuanbing. Even if an opponent is protected by Gang Qi or iron armor, this Cold Yin Internal Power can seep through any opening, finding its way through gaps to directly strike the muscles, bones, and internal organs. Those struck will feel as if ice needles are piercing their meridians and mystical frost is freezing their marrow. Not only will the wound cause bone-deep pain, but the Cold Qi will also stagnate their Qi and Blood, lingering indefinitely. This prevents the enemy from exerting more than fifty or sixty percent of their full power.]
Chu Fan closed his eyes, silently comprehending the changes to his Martial Art after Breaking its Limit.
This Martial Art, which integrated fists, palms, grappling, and finger techniques, could already transform Qi Blood Power into an icy Cold Qi, and it had demonstrated a bizarre lethality at the Perfection level.
Now that it had broken its limit, it had undergone a complete Rebirth!
Every single move was now fluid and transparently clear, the transitions between them astonishingly smooth.
Even the flaws that the creator of this Martial Art had failed to resolve were now all corrected, making it ever more perfect.
In truth, after any Martial Art broke its limit, it was no longer the same and could be considered an entirely new Martial Art.
Chu Fan took a deep breath and looked at the "Bone-Penetrating Cold Attack" Trait.
This Trait seemed to merely intensify the Cold Qi, but its usefulness was immense.
Previously, how could it have been so easy to penetrate Protective Gang Qi and armor?
Back when he fought Tang Xiao in the valley, he had been worried that his Cold Qi wouldn’t be able to break through his opponent’s surging Qi and Blood. He had intentionally let his Long Saber be knocked away, then engaged in close combat just to land the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand on Tang Xiao’s wound.
If he’d had this Trait back then, why would he have needed to go to all that trouble?
With this Trait, even an expert at the Entering the Realm of Strength would be unable to exert more than fifty or sixty percent of their full power if struck by his palm!
This was far more insidious than clashing head-on with the Twelve Forms Fist.
When attacking an enemy with the Twelve Forms Fist, if the opponent’s Qi Blood Power was far greater than his own, he could actually be injured by the rebound.
But the Yin Cold Qi of the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand was all-pervasive. With this Trait’s bonus, it could penetrate armor and Protective Gang Qi to strike the internal organs directly!
And with his Vajra Iron Fist on top of that...
His hands had become an unexpectedly terrifying Divine Weapon!
Chu Fan was in high spirits. As he walked toward the dining hall, he mulled over how to get rid of Zhou Ye.
Before long, he entered the dining hall.
Just as he was heading inside, he saw Li Xingxuan walking out.
Seeing him, Chu Fan’s face broke into a wide smile. "Young Master Xuan, we meet again so soon? Let’s play a game..."
"..." Li Xingxuan’s eye twitched. He quickened his pace, darted past Chu Fan, and fled as if escaping for his life.
"I say hello and you just ignore me. How rude can you be?" Chu Fan pursed his lips, speechless.
"Old Chu, over here!"
In a corner of the dining hall, Zhao Tianxing was waving at him repeatedly.
Chu Fan saw a table laden with food and walked straight over.
Sitting around the table, besides Zhao Tianxing, were Jiang Yuanfan and Fatty.
In front of Zhao Tianxing were two bottles of "Blood Refining Pills."
Zhao Tianxing asked, "You know Li Xingxuan? He’s Senior Sister Qingxue’s younger brother, a notorious Demon Lord of Mayhem. How come he looks like a mouse that’s seen a cat whenever he sees you?"
"I know him." Chu Fan tore off a roasted chicken leg. "What Demon Lord of Mayhem? He’s a great guy. He gives me money every day. I quite like him."
The three of them—Zhao Tianxing, Jiang Yuanfan, and Fatty—all narrowed their eyes.
’Li Xingxuan gives you money?’
’You’re lucky that Demon Lord of Mayhem doesn’t rob you!’
"This is the price. Tell me if you’re buying or not."
Zhao Tianxing turned his head to Jiang Yuanfan. "Four maces of silver per pill. If I just announce this price, people will be lining up to buy them!"
"Even within the Seven Stars Gang, you’d have to pay five maces of silver for one."
Jiang Yuanfan and Fatty stared at the two bottles of "Blood Refining Pills" and swallowed hard.
Chu Fan paused. "What? You’re selling the Blood Refining Pills?"
"Sigh!" Zhao Tianxing lamented. "I just can’t finish them all."
"Damn!" The faces of both Jiang Yuanfan and Fatty darkened.
Fatty had just broken through to the Blood Nourishing Realm and was hesitating over whether to take on missions to earn money for Blood Refining Pills, yet here was Zhao Tianxing saying he couldn’t finish his...
Then they heard Zhao Tianxing continue, "Master Cao gives me Blood Refining Pills, the Incense Master gives me Blood Refining Pills, and the Hall Master gives me Blood Refining Pills, too. I really can’t eat them all..."
Jiang Yuanfan and Fatty both rolled their eyes in unison.
An ordinary Seven Stars Gang disciple only receives two taels of silver a month, which is enough to buy five Blood Refining Pills. If they want to earn more, they have to desperately take on missions.
Zhao Tianxing was never seen doing any missions, yet he had more Blood Refining Pills than he could eat...
Comparisons are truly odious.
But who could they blame? He was so talented that the gang was heavily investing in his development.
But these two bottles of "Blood Refining Pills" contained eighty pills in total. Even at four maces each, that would be thirty-two taels of silver.
How could an ordinary disciple possibly afford that much?
"I’ll take these fifty!"
After much hesitation, Jiang Yuanfan took out twenty taels of silver from his robes, pushed them toward Zhao Tianxing, and took one bottle of Blood Refining Pills.
He had earned these twenty taels by risking his life on missions, and they had changed hands before he could even warm them.
Although he felt the sting of parting with his money, his face was full of excitement.
Inside the gang, Blood Refining Pills cost five maces each. From Zhao Tianxing, they were four maces each. He was saving one mace per pill, which meant a total savings of five taels on fifty pills!
How could he not be happy with such a good deal?
But at the thought of going from wealthy to poor in an instant, Jiang Yuanfan felt a little melancholic again.
When he had the twenty taels of silver on him, he felt confident. He walked with his back straight, with a swagger in his step.
But now...
Fatty was even more melancholic—he had only just broken through to the Blood Nourishing Realm today and hadn’t done any missions yet. He only had three maces of silver on him, not even enough to buy a single Blood Refining Pill.
...
The afternoon sun was bright, casting dappled light and shadow on the stone-paved road through the gaps in the leaves.
Chu Fan had just finished his lunch and was walking out of the dining hall when he saw Sun Zixuan waiting for him under the old locust tree outside, smiling faintly at him.
"Chu Fan, Boss Zhou has a mission for you."
Sun Zixuan came up to him, tugged lightly on his sleeve, and whispered, "Let’s talk over here."
Hearing this, Zhao Tianxing and the others paused for a moment before walking away with a tacit understanding.
Chu Fan was taken aback and glanced at Sun Zixuan’s hand.
Sun Zixuan gave an awkward smile and let go.
"What are Boss Zhou’s orders?"
His tone flat, Chu Fan followed Sun Zixuan to a secluded corner behind the dining hall.
It was piled with junk and rarely visited.
Seeing that no one was around, Sun Zixuan lowered his voice. "The Boss said that the Moon Worship Sect has been unusually active in North City lately, and something strange is going on. He wants you to go tonight, follow them, and find out what they’re up to."
Upon hearing this, Chu Fan was first stunned, then the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled up, finally turning into a nearly inaudible laugh.
He looked up at Sun Zixuan with a half-smile, a look that made Sun Zixuan’s hair stand on end.
"The Moon Worship Sect? Heh heh... Alright, I understand."
Chu Fan replied, his tone betraying no emotion.
He was the one who had secretly passed the news that the Moon Worship Sect was looking for a "key" to Zhou Ye and Xia Huanhuan.
He had intended to use the Moon Worship Sect to get rid of those two.
But Zhou Ye had gone once and was still alive—most likely because Zhou Tianci had strictly forbidden him from taking any more risks, and with Xia Huanhuan keeping an eye on him, nothing had happened.
He never would have expected Zhou Ye to kick the ball back into his court...
’This isn’t an investigation.’
’He clearly wants to use the Moon Worship Sect’s blades to kill me!’
’Interesting...’
’So impatient!’
Chu Fan’s smile vanished, his gaze growing deeper as he looked calmly at Sun Zixuan. "The Moon Worship Sect, is it? Don’t worry, I’ll ’investigate’ them thoroughly tonight."
"Good. Be careful, and don’t let any information leak!" Sun Zixuan nodded, forced a smile, and turned to leave.
Chu Fan remained where he was, his gaze growing cold.
Zhou Ye’s killing intent was no longer concealed.
But then again, neither was his own.
’Then let’s see whose blade is faster.’
