Forbidden Great Emperor | Xianxia, System, Fusion

Chapter 7 — Refining the Foundation

The eighteenth meridian opened beneath a surge of Primordial Chaos Qi.

Lu Chen's body trembled.

A faint sound, like a distant bell echoing beneath an ancient mountain, passed through his consciousness. The spiritual energy flowing through him no longer resembled a turbulent river. It had become something deeper, quieter, and immeasurably heavier.

Then the final obstruction gave way.

The meridian opened.

Qi surged through the newly connected path, joining the seventeen others already awakened within his body. For a brief moment, the entire cavern seemed to breathe with him.

The Spirit Crystals scattered around the stone platform dimmed.

One after another, their radiance faded until only pale fragments remained.

Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes.

Fourteen days had passed since he entered the cavern.

Outside, the gorge remained hidden beneath its veil of vegetation and weathered stone. Few people knew that a cultivator had made this secluded place his temporary residence. Fewer still would have guessed that the quiet cavern concealed a growing foundation of Primordial Chaos Qi.

Lu Chen lowered his gaze toward his hands.

Eighteen meridians.

The first six had opened when the Primordial Chaos Scripture's memory fragment awakened within him. The twelve that followed had been opened through these fourteen days of secluded cultivation.

He had not crossed into a new major realm.

Yet the difference was unmistakable.

The Qi circulating through his body had grown more substantial. It moved with a natural harmony that his previous cultivation had lacked. Even the faintest movement of his fingers carried a sense of strength that seemed to come from somewhere deeper than muscle and bone.

He breathed out.

A thin stream of pale mist drifted from his lips before disappearing.

The thirty-five Spirit Crystals that had surrounded him were now exhausted. Their remaining fragments lay scattered across the stone platform, dull and lifeless.

Lu Chen rose.

His legs were stiff from prolonged meditation, but the moment he took a step, the new Qi flowed through his body and gradually eased the discomfort.

He looked toward the entrance.

The cavern was quiet.

No footsteps approached. No voices disturbed the silence.

For the moment, he had what he needed: a secluded place, a newly strengthened foundation, and several martial arts manuals waiting to be examined.

He turned toward the belongings he had brought from Gao's former hideout.

Two scrolls lay beside his saber.

The first was the Iron Skin Scroll.

The second was the Tendon Tempering Method.

Both were ordinary martial inheritances, at least by the standards of the wider cultivation world. Neither contained a profound legacy that would attract the attention of a great sect.

But Lu Chen had learned not to judge a martial art solely by its reputation.

He unrolled the Iron Skin Scroll.

Its pages were worn, and several lines had faded with age. The method instructed practitioners to temper the body's exterior through repeated impact and the circulation of Qi beneath the skin. Its foundation was simple: endure, strengthen, and gradually make the body resistant to injury.

Lu Chen studied the illustrations.

The figures stood with their bodies rigid, their muscles tightened, and their breathing controlled.

A method built around endurance.

He set it aside and opened the second scroll.

The Tendon Tempering Method was different.

Its illustrations showed a sequence of movements in which the body alternated between tension and release. Rather than resisting every impact, the practitioner learned to gather strength through the tendons and release it through coordinated movement.

The method emphasized flexibility, resilience, and the ability to recover after force had passed through the body.

Lu Chen read both manuals again.

One sought strength through endurance.

The other sought strength through yielding and returning.

They were not identical methods, but their purposes were related.

He closed his eyes.

The System's familiar presence stirred in his consciousness.

[Martial Arts Deduction: Available.]

[Martial Arts Fusion: Available.]

[Martial Arts Enhancement: Available.]

Lu Chen had already considered the two manuals during his journey to the cavern.

He could cultivate them separately. He could also use Deduction to understand their foundations more deeply.

But there was another possibility.

Fusion.

He had used the function before, yet he still did not fully understand what the System was capable of deriving from two martial inheritances.

The System did not possess a personality. It offered no advice, no encouragement, and no explanation beyond the information required for its functions.

It simply waited.

Lu Chen placed the two scrolls before him.

"Fusion."

The System responded.

A faint radiance appeared over the manuals.

For an instant, nothing happened.

Then the characters written across both scrolls began to rise from the pages.

They did not remain as ink.

Each character became a thread of light, and those threads drifted into the air like fragments of an ancient scripture. The two manuals slowly unfolded above the stone platform.

Lu Chen watched.

The Iron Skin Scroll appeared as a towering figure standing beneath an endless storm. Blows descended upon its body, yet it remained unmoved. Every impact seemed to sink into its form, leaving no visible mark.

The Tendon Tempering Method appeared beside it.

Its figure moved like a willow beneath a violent wind. It bent, twisted, and yielded, yet the moment the force passed, its branches returned to their former position.

Two images.

Two different inheritances.

The System's radiance spread between them.

Then the visions changed.

The towering figure beneath the storm began to move.

Its rigid stance softened. The strength that had once seemed immovable flowed through its body like the deep currents beneath a mountain. The willow figure, meanwhile, no longer bent merely to endure the wind. Its branches seemed to draw the force into themselves, turning the passing storm into a source of strength.

The two figures approached.

Their forms overlapped.

For a brief instant, the cavern vanished.

Lu Chen found himself standing before an ancient mountain beneath a dark and boundless sky.

The mountain did not resist the heavens.

It simply stood.

Storms passed over its summit. Rivers carved their way through its slopes. Countless years of wind and rain left their marks upon its surface, yet the mountain remained.

Then the vision shifted.

The mountain moved.

Not like a living beast, nor like a human figure.

Its vast body seemed to yield to an unseen force. Its ridges bent, its depths stirred, and the entire mountain absorbed the passing storm. The force did not destroy it.

It became part of the mountain.

Lu Chen stared at the scene.

A strange understanding touched his heart.

Strength did not always lie in refusing to yield.

Nor did yielding necessarily mean weakness.

A mountain could endure because its roots reached deeper than the storm. It could accept the passing force without losing its own foundation.

The vision faded.

The two original figures had disappeared.

In their place stood a single silhouette, its body resembling an ancient mountain carved from dark bronze. Its surface carried the faint patterns of flowing rivers and shifting clouds.

The System's radiance gathered around it.

A new inheritance took shape.

[Martial Arts Fusion Complete.]

[Result: Chaos Iron Body Blueprint.]

[Source Martial Arts: Iron Skin Scroll + Tendon Tempering Method.]

[Classification: Mortal Tier.]

Lu Chen looked at the final name.

The System did not provide a lengthy explanation.

Yet the vision remained vivid in his mind.

He understood that the resulting inheritance was not simply a stronger version of the Iron Skin Scroll or a more refined Tendon Tempering Method.

Their original forms had disappeared.

What remained was a new path.

The Chaos Iron Body Blueprint.

He opened the inheritance.

A series of ancient patterns appeared in his consciousness.

They were not ordinary diagrams of muscles, joints, or breathing sequences. Each pattern carried a faint spiritual image: a mountain standing beneath a storm, a river flowing through stone, and an ancient bronze body that seemed to contain both stillness and movement.

The first principle emerged.

The body must become a foundation that does not break beneath passing force.

Lu Chen remained silent.

The inheritance continued to unfold.

It did not promise invulnerability. It did not grant him an immortal body simply because the Fusion had succeeded.

Instead, it offered a path of cultivation.

A path in which the body would gradually learn to endure, receive, and redirect force without losing its foundation.

The stronger the practitioner's understanding became, the deeper the inheritance could develop.

At its present stage, however, Lu Chen could only grasp its most basic layer.

He withdrew from the System's vision.

A faint trace of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

This was what made Fusion valuable.

Two techniques had entered the System.

A new martial inheritance had emerged.

And the result was something neither original manual had ever described.

Lu Chen glanced at the remaining Spirit Crystals.

Five physical Spirit Crystals remained from the resources he had set aside.

He picked them up.

The crystals were cool against his palm, their internal light flowing like tiny stars trapped within stone.

He had already decided how to use them.

The System's conversion function was activated.

The five crystals crumbled.

Their spiritual essence rose in five streams of light before vanishing into the System.

[SCU: 10]

Lu Chen examined the balance.

Ten SCU.

The cost of the Fusion had been paid.

[SCU: 0]

The cavern returned to silence.

Lu Chen set the empty pouch aside and looked once more at the Chaos Iron Body Blueprint.

He had no intention of leaving the inheritance untouched.

A martial art could not be understood through reading alone.

He moved to the center of the cavern and assumed the first stance.

His feet settled against the stone floor.

His spine straightened.

He allowed his breathing to slow.

The first movement was simple.

He gathered Qi through his body, then let it flow toward the muscles and tendons in his arms.

The old Iron Skin method would have instructed him to tighten his body and resist the force.

The Tendon Tempering Method would have emphasized the movement of strength through the limbs.

But the new inheritance demanded something different.

Lu Chen relaxed his shoulders.

He allowed the Qi to descend.

For a moment, he felt as though his body were a mountain with roots extending beneath the earth.

He raised his forearm.

Then struck the stone pillar beside him.

The impact echoed through the cavern.

A faint pain spread across his arm.

He looked at the point of contact.

The skin had reddened, but there was no serious injury.

Lu Chen tried again.

This time, he did not force the Qi outward. He allowed it to circulate through the arm and settle beneath the point of impact.

The result was subtle.

The blow still hurt.

But the force no longer seemed to remain concentrated in one place.

It passed through his arm and dispersed through the rest of his body.

Lu Chen withdrew his hand.

A faint smile touched his lips.

The inheritance had begun to reveal its nature.

He continued practicing.

The first few attempts were awkward. Sometimes his Qi gathered too quickly, leaving his arm tense. At other times, he allowed too much force to pass through his body, and the resulting shock made his fingers numb.

He did not become frustrated.

He adjusted his stance and began again.

The ancient mountain from the vision returned to his thoughts.

It had not resisted the storm through stubbornness.

It had endured because its foundation remained unchanged.

Lu Chen repeated the first movement.

Again.

And again.

Gradually, the awkwardness began to fade.

The Qi within his body responded more naturally. His movements became smoother, and the faint spiritual image of a mountain occasionally appeared in his consciousness whenever he completed the sequence correctly.

It was not a manifestation visible to the outside world.

It was an impression left by the inheritance itself.

He continued until the light outside the cavern began to change.

Only then did he stop.

His arms were sore, and his breathing had grown heavier. The new inheritance had not transformed him into an invulnerable cultivator, but he could already feel the difference between its principles and those of the two original manuals.

The Chaos Iron Body Blueprint had taken root.

Its future would depend on his cultivation and understanding.

Lu Chen sat beside the stone platform and reviewed the remaining supplies.

His cultivation had advanced.

His foundation was stronger.

He had gained a new martial inheritance.

But his secluded cultivation could not continue indefinitely.

The Zhao Clan remained a threat, and the destruction of Gao's former organization had already attracted attention from outside Azure Stone Town.

He needed to understand the wider situation before deciding his next move.

A faint sound came from the entrance.

Lu Chen opened his eyes.

Footsteps.

Someone was approaching the concealed path.

He rose and moved toward the cavern entrance.

The sound stopped outside.

Then a familiar voice called out.

"Young Master Lu?"

Lu Chen recognized the voice.

It belonged to one of Gu Yan's attendants.

He moved the stones and vegetation aside.

The attendant stood in the narrow gorge, breathing slightly harder than usual. His clothes were dusty from the journey, and a small travel pack hung over one shoulder.

When he saw Lu Chen, he bowed.

"Young Master Lu, I have been searching for you."

"What happened?"

The attendant glanced toward the surrounding cliffs before lowering his voice.

"A messenger from the Zhao Clan arrived in town."

Lu Chen's expression did not change.

"How many?"

"Twenty armed guards accompanied him. They wore red-and-gold armor and carried crossbows."

The attendant swallowed.

"The messenger demanded that you appear at the town hall before sunset."

Lu Chen looked toward the distant sky.

The sun had not yet reached the horizon.

"Who is the messenger?"

"Zhao Feng. He claims to represent the Zhao Clan's regional authority."

Lu Chen remained silent for a moment.

The attendant continued.

"Gu Master asked me to deliver the message immediately. He believes this may be more serious than the trouble with Gao."

Lu Chen glanced back toward the cavern.

The remaining scrolls lay beside his belongings. The Chaos Iron Body Blueprint had only just begun to take shape within him.

He had intended to spend more time cultivating.

But the Zhao Clan had decided to bring its authority to his doorstep.

Lu Chen retrieved his saber.

"Let's return."

The attendant nodded.

As they left the gorge, the concealed cavern disappeared behind the vegetation and stone.

The Zhao Clan had sent twenty guards to summon him.

It had not yet understood what kind of answer awaited them.