I Can Merge Techniques

"Th-th-this... Boss Chu, I can’t, I really can’t accept this!"

Liang Qiu held the heavy jade bottle, so worked up he was babbling, his hands trembling slightly. "Boss Chu, no reward without merit! The favors you’ve already given me have made the brothers in the gang green with envy. Such a precious elixir... H-how could I dare to accept it? This is too valuable!"

"Take it." Chu Fan’s tone left no room for argument as he forcibly pushed the elixir bottle into Liang Qiu’s hands. He said calmly, "Don’t refuse. Consider it compensation for the ’Eternal Night Arm Armor’ you offered me back then. It’s rightfully yours."

"The Eternal Night Arm Armor?" Liang Qiu was stunned.

He certainly remembered the item, but it was just a piece of arm armor...

Back then, the condition for Chu Fan taking the armor was his rescue from prison.

Why bring it up again all of a sudden...

Liang Qiu’s face was a mask of confusion, and for a moment, he couldn’t process what was happening.

Chu Fan didn’t explain further, having said all that was necessary.

The "Silent Extinction Quicksand Technique" that he had just successfully used to achieve Breaking Limit... its core Cultivation Technique and the insights for its cultivation had come directly from that seemingly unremarkable "Eternal Night Arm Armor."

The cycle of karma, of cause and effect—nothing in the world was more certain.

An unintentional act by Liang Qiu in the past had led to Chu Fan’s great leap in strength today.

These two elixirs were merely a small token of repayment from Chu Fan.

Although elixirs of this grade were rare, after looting the Sumeru Rings of Ye Chang’an from Medicine King Valley and another of its core members, Chu Fan’s personal fortune had grown to a level unimaginable to ordinary people. He naturally wouldn’t be stingy with a mere two elixirs.

Before Liang Qiu could refuse again, Chu Fan patted his shoulder, then turned to Qin Fang. "Qin, let’s go."

"Holy shit! Liang Qiu, you bastard, what kind of good karma did you rack up in your past life to get this damn lucky?!"

Jiang Yuanfan watched from the side, grinding his teeth and stamping his feet, his face a mask of envy, jealousy, and resentment. "Why him?! How come I didn’t offer up some treasure like arm armor or a breastplate and miss out on an opportunity like this?!"

Liang Qiu clutched the jade bottle tightly, feeling its smooth, warm texture. As he watched the receding figures of Chu Fan and Qin Fang, the rims of his eyes reddened, and a hundred emotions washed over him.

’A person’s fortunes in life are truly mysterious and unpredictable.’

’A single casual thought, a seemingly ordinary choice, can be enough to alter the entire trajectory of one’s life, leading to a completely different future.’

He recalled how he had once been defiant and doubtful, full of resistance toward this youth who had taken the position of boss at such a young age.

But after being utterly crushed by Chu Fan’s absolute power, he had ultimately chosen to submit and follow. Though he had been unwilling, he understood the importance of assessing the situation.

He had originally thought it was simply a pragmatic decision, a reluctant choice made for the sake of survival.

He never expected that what had seemed like a passive decision at the time would bring about such a world-altering change in his life and yield such a rich reward.

...

The Demon Suppression Bureau, the most fearsome and respected institution in all of Qing Province City.

Its dark, imposing buildings resembled a crouching ancient beast, exuding an invisible, murderous aura that seeped into one’s very bones and made the heart clench.

Chu Fan followed Qin Fang, passing through layer after layer of Iron Armor Guards. The security at every point was severe and on high alert. Finally, they stepped into the solemn assembly hall.

The moment he stepped through the door, Chu Fan froze.

Inside the hall, seated on both sides of a long table, was a group composed entirely of Demon Suppression Captains dressed in black Qilin Suits. Each one had an aura as profound and steady as a mountain lake, their presence was majestic and intimidating, and their spiritual pressure was restrained but palpable.

Every single one of them had a cultivation level far surpassing that of a mere Demon Suppression Guard like Chu Fan; the weakest among them was at the mid-stage of the Acupoint Realm.

In the entire hall, he was the only one of the lowest rank, and his ordinary clothes made him look completely out of place.

Gaze after gaze fell upon him—some probing, some scrutinizing, and others filled with curiosity and assessment.

"Chu Fan, come sit here."

A voice that was gentle yet carried an undeniable authority broke the brief silence.

Chu Fan followed the sound of the voice. To the side of the head seat, the refined and handsome Demon Suppression Captain, Li Mubai, was nodding with a smile. His gaze was serene as he pointed to an empty seat beside him.

Chu Fan composed himself and strode forward, taking a seat beside Li Mubai. He sat with his back ramrod straight, his expression calm and composed, showing not the slightest hint of unease.

Li Mubai dispensed with pleasantries. His gaze swept slowly over the Captains present before returning to Chu Fan. His tone was placid but held an unquestionable decisiveness. "I’ve summoned you all today for one reason—Lord Leng has made his decision. We are to move against the Zhang Family immediately."

Chu Fan’s heart tightened.

The Zhang Family, one of the three great families of Qing Province City, had been entrenched for a century. Their power was immense, their roots deep and tangled.

’It was only seven days ago, when he refined the soul of that black-robed woman from the Moon Worship Sect, that he had glimpsed the secret collusion between the Zhang Family and the sect from her fragmented memories.’

’And now, the Demon Suppression Bureau was finally making its official move?’

Li Mubai continued slowly, "As one of the three great families of Qing Province, the Zhang Family has deep foundations. They have hidden themselves extremely well over the years, and their operations have been watertight."

"Our Demon Suppression Bureau has conducted open and secret investigations for years, yet we have failed to find a single shred of hard evidence that they are colluding with the Moon Worship Sect."

"Even after the County Magistrate of Cyan Yang Ancient City, Zhang Yunpeng, was cut down by Chu Fan, the Bureau immediately assigned more personnel to watch the Zhang Residence and their businesses as if they were in an iron cage. Still, they left no trace and only acted with even greater caution."

"This alone shows the depths of their cunning and caution."

"But..." Li Mubai’s tone shifted abruptly, a sharp, cold glint flashing in his eyes. "When Chu Fan killed that black-robed woman from the Moon Worship Sect, he extracted a critical piece of information from the remnants of her Divine Soul—the Zhang Family Patriarch, Zhang Qishan, is none other than one of the Moon Worship Sect’s esteemed and powerful ’Divine Sacrifice Envoys’!"