I Can Merge Techniques

SWISH—!

A silent, yet incomparably sharp, blade of light seemed to emerge from the void, sweeping past the exact spot where the two of them had just been standing!

Wherever the blade of light passed, it sliced an invisible fissure through the air, barely discernible to the naked eye. On the hard ground, it left a gash half a foot deep and as smooth as a mirror—a shocking sight!

Chu Fan’s heart went cold. Without a moment’s hesitation, he whipped his head around to look.

Not far to his right, atop the ruins of a collapsed tower, a woman in a bronze mask was standing silently. It was impossible to know when she had appeared.

Her figure was tall and elegant, her long black dress perfectly still amidst the swirling smoke and dust, like a cold, unmoving statue.

She held a longsword as thin as a cicada’s wing and as clear as autumn waters. Its blade glinted with a sinister coldness in the dim light.

The eyes visible through the slits in her mask were devoid of any emotion, coldly watching him as if he were already a dead thing.

’She just got here!’ Chu Fan was deeply shaken, his mind reeling in alarm.

During the chaotic battle earlier, the Spirit Array Map of the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture within him had been fully activated.

The aura of every single person within Cold Crow Valley was laid bare before his senses, with nowhere to hide.

Among them, there had been absolutely no one with such a restrained and unfathomable aura!

Her appearance was completely beyond anyone’s expectations.

’Is she a reinforcement sent by the Zhang Family, or a hidden Bottom Card of the Moon Worship Sect?’

What made Chu Fan’s heart pound even more was that, under his superhuman perception—magnified tenfold—the woman’s aura, though as contained as a deep pool, felt several times more dangerous than even the berserk Blood Shadow Sect Leader!

This wasn’t a quantitative difference, but a qualitative chasm!

"Chu Fan, be careful! This woman... her aura is unfathomable. I fear she’s several times more powerful than that monster!"

Nangong Yue, who had been pushed aside, stumbled a few steps before steadying herself. After getting a clear look at the newcomer, her face turned deathly pale. She cried out in alarm, raised her longsword, and was about to rush over to face the enemy with Chu Fan.

But Chu Fan gave her a light wave of his hand, his voice as steady as a mountain and without a trace of panic. "Go help Lord Li and the others. You must hold back that monster. Leave this one to me."

"What!" Nangong Yue was stunned, her face a mask of disbelief. She almost thought she had misheard him.

She knew Chu Fan’s strength was unfathomable. That day, outside the Demon Suppression Bureau’s assembly hall, he had easily defeated Wang Meng of the First Heaven of the Acupoint Realm with a single punch. His power far exceeded that of his peers.

In the battle just now, the number of Blood Shadow Sect experts he had slain far exceeded the total killed by her and all the others combined.

But this mysterious woman before them... her Realm had likely already reached the fourth level, the Bright Heart Realm!

Against such a being, even if Li Mubai himself were here, he might not last ten moves fighting at full strength. How could Chu Fan possibly be her match?

Nangong Yue swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva, her voice trembling as she asked nervously, "Can... can you really handle her? This isn’t a game!"

"I can’t." Chu Fan’s reply was blunt and unhesitating, his tone terrifyingly calm.

"..." The corner of Nangong Yue’s mouth twitched. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

Then she heard Chu Fan continue, his composure unshaken. "But I can keep her occupied. Nangong Captain, I’m sure you’ve heard of the strategy of racing horses?"

"The art of war says to pit your inferior horse against the enemy’s superior horse, your superior horse against their middling horse, and your middling horse against their inferior horse. It is a grand strategy for the weak to defeat the strong, and one we can use today."

Hearing this strange analogy in the heat of battle made the corner of Nangong Yue’s mouth twitch even more violently.

’Who compares themselves to an "inferior horse" at a life-or-death moment like this?’

’And besides, even if you call yourself the "inferior horse," can you really keep that unfathomable "superior horse" opposite you occupied?’

’That’s a genuine Bright Heart Realm expert over there! This is no joke!’

’And you’re saying it all so clearly, right in front of her...’

But as she looked into Chu Fan’s eyes—calm, composed, and as deep as a starry sky—the panic in her heart somehow, miraculously, began to subside.

Meanwhile, the situation on Li Mubai’s side was growing more desperate. The other Demon Suppression Captains had all surrounded the monster, forming a battle formation balanced for both offense and defense. By ganging up on it, they were just barely holding on against its frenzied assault, but the situation was perilous and their formation could collapse at any moment!

"You... be extremely careful!"

Nangong Yue hesitated no longer. Leaving him with that heavy warning, she spun around and, with unwavering resolve, shot toward the heart of the battle between Li Mubai and the Blood Shadow Sect Leader.

At almost the same instant, Nangong Yue, Li Mubai, and the four other Captains all took out a blood-red, gem-like Elixir from within their robes and, without the slightest hesitation, swallowed them.

"Fleeting Beauty"!

This was a secret, life-risking Elixir developed by the Demon Suppression Bureau. For two hours, it could forcibly stimulate a Martial Artist’s latent potential, allowing their Cultivation to temporarily leap up by a massive degree!

However, the side effects were extremely severe. Afterward, one would need to enter seclusion to recuperate for months, or even years. The slightest mistake could result in a permanent injury to their martial foundation.

But in a life-or-death situation like this, they had no time to worry about such consequences!

HWOOM!

In the instant the Elixirs went down, the auras of all six of them surged explosively!

Already at the Acupoint Realm, their auras now grew even more potent and vast, as if they were faintly touching the threshold of the Bright Heart Realm!

Back on the other side, with Nangong Yue’s departure, the atmosphere between Chu Fan and the mysterious woman instantly dropped to a freezing point, thick with killing intent.

Chu Fan followed suit, pulling out a "Fleeting Beauty" he had prepared long ago and unhesitatingly popping it into his mouth!