Chapter 217: Fusion Complete

Chapter 216

The green lightning slowly began to disperse, little by little, as though it were deliberately biding its time before finally revealing the warrior within. The crackling green radiance gradually faded from the battlefield, the blinding light retreating until the figure standing within could finally be seen clearly once more.

Shi Tian’s gaze was already locked onto Liyu, his expression not changing in the slightest, not even when he saw Liyu standing once more at what appeared to be his peak condition.

Shi Tian’s eyes remained as calm and emotionless as ever as he carefully observed the young man before him. The treasure Liyu had used to restore and heal himself... he must have used it again. That was the first thought that crossed Shi Tian’s mind. But after a moment, he slowly shook his head. No. That wasn’t the case. Of that, he was certain.

After all, his analytical ability was something that most people wouldn’t even be able to hold a candle to. Shi Tian didn’t merely observe his opponents; he dissected them... every movement, every expression, every shift in posture, every change in breathing, and every tiny reaction that an ordinary person would overlook without even realizing it.

He observed even the smallest details. And when Liyu emerged from the lightning cocoon, Shi Tian had already begun analyzing everything about him, examining the way Liyu stood, the way his shoulders moved, the way he breathed, the subtle tension in his muscles, and the faint changes in his expression.

From all of those seemingly insignificant details, Shi Tian was able to pinpoint several things that others would have completely missed. For example... Liyu’s breathing.

Although Liyu was clearly trying to regulate it and make it appear calm, it wasn’t truly calm. It was slightly labored... very slightly, so slight that most people wouldn’t even notice it. But Shi Tian noticed.

Then there was the subtle clenching of Liyu’s jaw, the faint tension around his eyes, the barely perceptible stiffness in his movements, and the slight difference in the way he distributed his weight across his feet.

All of those little details told Shi Tian one thing: Liyu was not at his true peak. He was simply forcing himself to appear as though he was. This was completely different from the condition he had displayed after using that previous treasure.

Back then, when Liyu had restored himself to peak condition, his body had been genuinely relaxed, his breathing had been stable, his muscles had been loose, and his movements had carried no hidden strain.

But now? There was strain, there was exhaustion, and there was a burden hidden beneath that seemingly calm exterior. From all those details, Shi Tian had come to a certain conclusion: Liyu could no longer use the treasure from before, and whatever this new method of recovery was, it was limited as well.

More importantly, it seemed to require a considerable amount of endurance and mental energy to pull off. Shi Tian’s eyes remained calm. If Liyu were to understand just how much Shi Tian had managed to analyze from something as simple as his facial expressions and body gestures, he would probably be more than shocked, and he might even find it unbelievable.

From merely watching Liyu emerge from that lightning cocoon, Shi Tian had already figured out far more than most people could have discovered after fighting him for hours. Shi Tian finally shifted his gaze back toward Liyu. The young man’s eyes were filled with venom, and he looked rather angry. Well... that was understandable.

After all, he had almost died only moments ago... not once, but twice. Twice in a single day, Shi Tian had pushed him to the very brink of death. If Liyu hadn’t used whatever method he had relied on to survive that last attack, he would already be dead. So his anger was more than justified.

Shi Tian simply continued looking at him. He wasn’t in a hurry; he was waiting. Waiting to see what else Liyu intended to reveal. Liyu, however, immediately understood the meaning behind that gaze, able to tell at a single glance what that bastard was thinking.

Shi Tian was waiting for him to reveal whatever trump card he still had left, and judging from that emotionless expression, Shi Tian clearly believed that it wouldn’t matter what Liyu brought out. Whatever card he had, and whatever hidden ability he possessed, Shi Tian believed he would still be able to kill him.

Arrogant bastard. Liyu cursed under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he forced himself to calm down. He really wanted to kill that Shi Tian bastard, wanting to wipe that emotionless expression off his face. But the annoying reality remained unchanged: that bastard was the one who had almost succeeded in killing him twice in a single day, and that was something Liyu couldn’t simply ignore.

Liyu took in a deep, calming breath, his chest rising slowly before he exhaled. His mind became calmer, and his gaze gradually sharpened. Alright, then. If one clone wasn’t enough to take down this bastard... then he would use two.

With that thought, Liyu gave another mental command to the system.

Ding! Skill Merge has been used.

Ding! Merge: Dead Eye Rayden. Fusing... Fusion Complete.

BOOM! A wave of terrifying energy suddenly exploded from Liyu’s body. The air around him violently trembled, invisible ripples spreading outward in every direction and causing the surrounding atmosphere to distort as an overwhelming pressure descended upon the battlefield.

The very air seemed to change, becoming heavier, deeper, more domineering, and more oppressive, as though something ancient and dangerous had awakened inside Liyu’s body. The celestial battle skin covering his body suddenly vanished, and in its place, a dark overcoat appeared.

Several dark buttons ran down its front, giving the garment a cold and imposing appearance, while the royal-green robe-like cape remained draped around his body, fluttering slightly beneath the turbulent energy radiating from him. But that wasn’t the end of the transformation... not even close, for that was merely the beginning.

Liyu’s body shortened slightly, and at the same time, his green-and-dark hair seemed to become even bolder in appearance. The strands appeared sharper, richer, and more pronounced, as though they had been dyed with their respective colors all over again.

They looked completely renewed, and somehow, they appeared far more imposing than before, every strand seeming to carry an indescribable sense of power. A pair of long, dark boots replaced the ones Liyu had been wearing. And then... right before everyone’s eyes... Liyu’s aura began to rise.

His cultivation, which had originally been at the mid-stage of the Second Stage of Qi Gathering, began surging upward at an astonishing pace... higher, higher, and higher. The pressure around him continued to climb, his aura rising rapidly and breaking through one threshold after another until it reached the peak of its current limit.

And then... BOOM! It broke through into an entirely new height. Liyu, in his fusion state, had broken through to the Third Stage of Qi Gathering. And what made it even more astonishing... almost unbelievable... was the fact that his aura was still climbing.

It continued to rise as if it wanted to force its way directly into the Fourth Stage of Qi Gathering... higher, denser, heavier. The aura surrounding Liyu became increasingly concentrated, rolling outward in waves that caused the surrounding space to tremble faintly.

It rose higher and higher, becoming denser and denser, as though the barrier separating the Third and Fourth Stages was nothing more than a thin membrane waiting to be shattered. But it didn’t. In the end, Liyu’s cultivation stopped at the peak of the Third Stage, not crossing over.

It didn’t matter now, however. After all, the aura Liyu was radiating at this very moment was already enough to make even someone at the peak of Qi Refining cower in fear, the pressure simply being too immense.

Liyu remained standing calmly amidst that overwhelming aura. His eyes were closed for a brief moment, and then... they opened once more, slightly different from before.

Liyu’s eyes were no longer simply green; one eye remained green, but crackling lightning danced violently within its depths, tiny arcs of green lightning flickering around his pupil like miniature serpents of thunder.

The other eye was completely different... dark, deep, cold, radiating an indescribable chillness and carrying with it a suffocating pressure that made it feel as though a veteran hunter had suddenly locked his gaze onto his prey.

One eye represented violent lightning, while the other represented something darker, colder, and something that made the instincts scream that danger was approaching.

Shi Tian looked at this transformation without any change in his expression, his emotionless gaze traveling over Liyu from head to toe and carefully observing every alteration. He watched in silence for several moments, and then, finally, he spoke, his tone remaining exactly the same... emotionless, calm, and as indifferent as ever.

"Is this everything you have on hand now, or do you still have more hidden cards to unleash?" His gaze remained fixed on Liyu. "If you do, be free to unleash them." A slight pause. "I am starting to feel something from your meaningless struggle."

His voice remained completely blank, almost as if he were discussing something that had nothing to do with him. "So don’t disappoint me." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "And don’t fall in one move again."

Shi Tian said it blankly, his gaze not changing even slightly. Yet the very fact that he was looking at Liyu differently already showed just how much he valued the young man’s talent. Until now, Shi Tian had viewed everyone around him as nothing but trash, pathetic weaklings, people barely worth killing, and people who weren’t even qualified to make him draw his sword seriously.

But Liyu... Liyu was different. With every passing moment of their battle, Liyu was proving something to Shi Tian: he was proving that he was worthy... worthy of being killed by him.

And because of that, Shi Tian wouldn’t deprive him of the opportunity to struggle. In the end, all of Liyu’s struggles would amount to nothing, and it would all be in vain, but the fact that he was managing to put up a fight at all against Shi Tian was already something deeply commendable.

At the very least, Liyu had earned the privilege of showing everything he had.

Shi Tian raised a hand and gestured toward him. "Are you done?"

Liyu shook his head. "Nah." He remained perfectly calm. "Wait a little more." His lips curled slightly. "A little more for your death."

Shi Tian didn’t reply. He simply waited, like an obedient partner waiting for the other party to finish preparing. There was no impatience, no irritation, and no desire to interrupt; he simply stood there and watched.

Meanwhile, Liyu’s transformation continued. The first stage of the transformation was the change to his physical body, his physicality having surged through the roof after merging with another one of his clones, and his mental capabilities also having surged tremendously due to the fusion.

The increase wasn’t limited to his physical strength, for his perception, his reaction speed, his control, and his thoughts had all been elevated. Soon, the transformation of his body was complete.

But that was only the first part of Liyu’s preparation. The second phase began immediately after the fusion was completed. Crackling lightning suddenly surged upward. BOOM! The green lightning echoed through the surroundings, waves of power spreading from Liyu’s body as countless arcs of electricity danced wildly through the air.

Then... weapons began to form, one after another, mostly blades... swords, daggers, axes, scythes, spears, and countless other weapons. Each one was constructed from the terrifying Heavenly Verdant Lightning, and they soon blanketed the sky, the sight alone being enough to make the battlefield seem as though it had been transformed into an enormous arsenal of destruction.

But even that was far from the end of Liyu’s preparation... far from it. The buttons on his overcoat suddenly loosened themselves one after another, and then they floated upward, slowly at first, before rising higher into the air as though they were being held there by an invisible force.

The strange objects hovered above Liyu, and then they began to transform again, and again, and again. Their shapes continuously changed, shifting from one form into another. Some of the weapons were completely unfamiliar... so strange that many people watching wouldn’t even have any idea what they were.

But they were weapons nonetheless: rifles, machine guns of all kinds, short pistols, snipers, and countless other strange weapons that belonged to an entirely different concept of combat. Each one floated silently in the air, ready to unleash destruction at Liyu’s command.

Even the Void Piercer wasn’t left untouched. The sword remained in Liyu’s possession, but green lightning wrapped tightly around it, controlling and guiding the weapon while allowing Liyu’s hand to remain free.

But his hand wouldn’t remain free for long. A second later... blue light suddenly wrapped firmly around his hand. The brilliant radiance covered his fist and forearm before suddenly disappearing, and when it vanished... a pair of red gauntlets appeared around his hands.

They were beautifully designed, their intricate patterns spreading across the surface of the gauntlets while an intimidating aura radiated from them.

The moment the final piece of his preparation was completed... Liyu’s aura soared higher, higher, and higher still, reaching an unprecedented height. The pressure around him became so intense that the atmosphere itself seemed to tremble beneath it.

Liyu slowly raised his head, revealing one green, lightning-filled eye and one dark, suffocating eye. His lips curled upward into a slight grin... a grin that wasn’t friendly, that wasn’t warm, but was the grin of someone who had finally finished preparing every weapon he needed.

The grin of someone who had decided to stop running, stop defending, and stop merely surviving. Now... he was ready to fight.

Liyu looked directly at Shi Tian. "Now..." His grin widened slightly. "...I am ready."