Chapter 21: The Technique Fusion Function

Lin Yang followed Zhong Lingdao toward the council hall.

“Uncle Zhong,” the disciples standing in the hall greeted Zhong Lingdao hurriedly when they saw him approach.

“And greetings to this uncle as well.”

“Hello, hello,” Zhong Lingdao replied, then instructed the disciple, “Good, you stay here. I’ll take the newly arrived uncle to see Sect Master Liu.”

“Of course, of course,” the gatekeeping disciple replied, returning to his post.

Zhong Lingdao led Lin Yang into the council hall, where they found Sect Master Liu.

“Sect Master, I’ve brought Lin Yang for registration,” Zhong Lingdao announced. “He needs to collect his items and receive his cultivation technique.”

“Very well. Fellow Daoist Lin is truly accomplished at such a young age. I’ll hand over the items now,” Sect Master Liu said, instructing a disciple to fetch a token and retrieve the necessary things.

After a short while, the disciple returned carrying a long robe, a longsword, and three medium-grade spirit stones.

Sect Master Liu handed the items to Lin Yang. “Every newly advanced Foundation Establishment brother is entitled to go out and establish their own residence. Have you thought about doing so, Fellow Daoist Lin?”

Lin Yang pondered for a moment, but decided against it. He had no idea where the spiritual spring that Han Li found in the original story was located, and his current residence was excellent—comparable to those of the Golden Core elders. There was no need to make unnecessary changes.

“Fellow Daoist Liu, I would prefer to remain in the Alchemy Pavilion. It’s quite a good place, and it’s also very convenient for me,” Lin Yang said.

“Very well. Here are the sect’s standard robe and longsword, and as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you receive one medium-grade spirit stone per year. This is your salary for three years,” Sect Master Liu said, holding up the blue robe and shaking it out for Lin Yang to see.

Lin Yang looked at the pattern on the robe; it was rather plain, suitable for the general populace. He accepted the robe and the other items.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu. But how do I claim my cultivation technique?” Lin Yang asked eagerly.

“I see that despite your youth, you’re still a bit impatient,” Sect Master Liu remarked, noticing Lin Yang’s slight restlessness. “Very well, follow me.”

He turned and led Lin Yang toward a three-story building behind the council hall. Arriving before an array, he took a token from his storage pouch and placed it on a stone at the edge of the formation, then brought Lin Yang inside the Technique Pavilion. Zhong Lingdao sensibly took his leave.

“Every new cultivator in Yellow Maple Valley may claim two cultivation techniques for free,” Sect Master Liu explained as they walked. “After that, you’ll need contribution points to access more.”

“You may go in and make your selection. The Foundation Establishment techniques are on the second floor.”

“Thank you, Sect Master Liu. I’ll head up now,” Lin Yang replied, eager to find a technique that suited him.

Entering the pavilion, Lin Yang registered his name at the counter. He noticed many Qi Refining disciples on the first floor. One spotted him and greeted him as uncle.

The other disciples, seeing Lin Yang’s Foundation Establishment cultivation, greeted him as well.

“Greetings to you all,” Lin Yang replied, feeling somewhat out of place in the situation. He hurried up to the second floor.

On the second floor, he found a dozen or so wooden shelves. Lin Yang inspected them and discovered that the first five rows were all cultivation techniques, while the others contained spell techniques and weapon forms.

After some deliberation, he selected the Ten Thousand Spring Art and the Thick Earth Formula, holding the two scrolls in his hands.

He wanted both; the Ten Thousand Spring Art was derived from the Evergreen Art, extended by a Golden Core elder for Foundation Establishment, while the Thick Earth Formula allowed one to connect with the earth—standing on solid ground would greatly accelerate recovery, and it was rumored that at its peak, one could not die as long as they stood on the earth. However, very few ever mastered the last layer, and for Golden Core cultivators, the recovery became trivial.

As Lin Yang was agonizing over his choice, suddenly he heard the system’s voice: “Ding! The system has a fusion function. By spending attribute points, you can fuse techniques.”

Lin Yang felt as if he’d wasted his life. “System, you can talk?”

“That’s because you’ve never asked me a direct question before. I only respond when you pose a query,” the system replied.

“Then why did you speak up this time?”

“Because you kept wondering internally which technique to choose, so I responded.”

Lin Yang felt like a fool for never having discovered the system’s true function after all these years.

“What use is this fusion function?” he asked.

“It allows you to combine the effects of two or more techniques,” the system explained.

“How many? What’s the maximum?”

“In theory, there’s no limit—as long as you have enough attribute points.”

“Could I use five? I have five spiritual roots—maybe I could create a Five Elements Technique,” Lin Yang ventured.

“Yes, but it would cost 2000 attribute points,” the system replied.

Lin Yang glanced at his balance—it showed 100. The sting of poverty hit him hard. He gathered all his snacks and offered them up to recharge.

Available attribute points: 1356

Still not enough—he was short by over 600. The frustration was palpable.

Oh well, he thought, I’ll just take the techniques for now and figure something out. At worst, I’ll wait a few more months.

Lin Yang selected the best techniques for the other three attributes from the shelves, making up a total of five techniques, and brought them to the counter.

“You must be kidding—taking so many?” the senior at the counter exclaimed.

“And do you have enough contribution points?”

“I should have enough,” Lin Yang replied, handing over his token.

“Fine. Each book costs one thousand contribution points, but you get two for free, so that’s three thousand total,” the senior said, tapping Lin Yang’s token to register the transaction.

“Wow, you really do have that many contribution points. With so much, why not get something else? Why spend it all on five techniques? How many can you even use?” the senior couldn’t help but point out.

“I just want to try them out, one by one,” Lin Yang replied with a casual excuse.

“Let me tell you, don’t be too greedy or scattered in your pursuits,” the senior advised.

“I just want to test them out for a bit. It won’t take long. Finding what suits me best is most important.”

“Well, fair enough, but make sure you return them within a month, and you must not leave Yellow Maple Valley while you have the borrowed techniques,” the senior instructed.

“Understood, senior brother. I’ll remember that,” Lin Yang replied, collecting his techniques and leaving.

Lin Yang went to find Sect Master Liu to report in. As he exited, he saw Sect Master Liu sitting outside.

“Sect Master Liu, I’ve made my selections.”

“Very well, then, Junior Brother Lin, let’s be off,” Sect Master Liu said, collecting his token as they left together.

Back in the council hall, Sect Master Liu turned to Lin Yang.

“Normally, every Foundation Establishment cultivator must complete at least one mission within ten years, but since your alchemy work counts as a mission, we won’t assign you any extra tasks.”

“Now that you’ve chosen your techniques, you’d best return and begin cultivating,” Sect Master Liu said, clearly intending to send him off.

“I’ll head back now,” Lin Yang replied, bidding farewell and returning to his small courtyard.

He saw he was still over 600 attribute points short of the 2000 needed for the fusion. That meant it would take six months to accumulate enough at his current rate.

But he didn’t want to wait—it was like the impatience before an urgent task. His heart was restless.

“How can I get the rest?” Lin Yang mused. Ordinary alchemy wouldn’t earn the points quickly enough.

“Wait, I can refine a few Golden Essence Pills—those that help Foundation Establishment cultivators break through to Golden Core, like in ‘A Thought of Freedom.’”

“And if I add some auxiliary pills to aid Foundation Establishment cultivation, that should do it.”

No sooner thought than done, Lin Yang instructed the disciples to bring him the necessary herbs so he could begin refining immediately.