Chapter 1: Multiple Fusions, A New Path!

Spiral, ascend—

Zhou Yan’s eyes cleared, and his consciousness returned. Two notifications flashed before his eyes.

【Fifth "Calamity Realm Walk" completed.】
【Next Calamity Realm Walk: In 20 days.】

"I'm back. The next walk is in twenty days."

With a soft sigh, Zhou Yan stood up from his bed. Feeling slightly uncomfortable in his current state, he chose to equip his Life Armor, adjusting it to "underwear mode." A sense of overflowing power surged through him, and a satisfied smile spread across his face. Without the armor, his "40% attribute bonus" state was only half as effective as the "100%" state provided by wearing it. Now that the armor had a mimetic function, there was essentially no need to worry about exposure, so he naturally opted for maximum strength.

Next was the routine inventory of spoils. Since he hadn't chosen to return immediately after completing his mission, most of his gains had already been accounted for within the Calamity Realm. Thus, Zhou Yan went straight to his clearance rewards.

The most important item—the one he wanted most—was the Talent Blood Crystal.

The Talent Blood Crystal was a vital prop that could strengthen his "Super Fusion" talent. After so many walks through the Calamity Realm, he deeply understood that this talent was the foundation of his survival. Without the powerful forms granted by Super Fusion, he would never have been able to complete those extra missions so easily. Failing those extra missions would have meant missing out on a perfect rating, which would likely have diminished the value of the clearance rewards bestowed upon him by "Order."

'I wonder... do the other twelve Order Walkers also have their own talents? If they do, are their talents as powerful as my Super Fusion?'

Zhou Yan subconsciously pondered this, but then dismissed the thought. There was no point in dwelling on things he couldn't confirm.

He opened his right hand, and a thumb-sized, blood-red, octagonal crystal appeared. Without hesitation, Zhou Yan chose to use it. The blood crystal dissolved into red light and sank into the center of his forehead.

His mind drifted away from reality and descended into the sea of his soul. This time, his stay in the sea of souls seemed exceptionally long. When Zhou Yan finally regained consciousness, a strange, miraculous radiance seemed to shimmer within the pupil of his left eye. The feeling of absolute fullness in his soul brought him a level of satisfaction and joy he had never experienced before.

A stream of information flowed before his eyes, and Zhou Yan scanned it quickly. A wide grin involuntarily curled his lips.

【Using the Talent Blood Crystal, your talent has been further developed.】
【You have gained the ability "Multiple Fusion." Depending on the Life Armor's star rating, you can now fuse an additional number of Chaos items to obtain more powerful forms (Current fusion material capacity: 2).】
【The number of "Materials" that can be recorded by the "Super Fusion" talent has increased to five.】
【Recorded Materials: Calamity Lotus Blade, Endless Desire for Execution, Horn of the Shuten-doji Ghost God (3/5).】

Whoa, take off! I'm invincible!

Zhou Yan stared intently at the upgrade to his talent, feeling that the world was absolutely wonderful! This was a step closer to the "Super Fusion" he had envisioned. As a true-blue card game enthusiast from Earth, he had always held fantasies about the name of this talent. But because he had previously been limited to fusing with only one material—and had to defeat an opponent and "record" their remains as a material first—he had been somewhat disappointed. This "Super Fusion" wasn't pure! It was too far removed from the "Ultimate Power" of the original game; he couldn't fuse multiple monsters, nor could he forcibly fuse enemy monsters directly.

At best, it was just an "Instant Fusion," lacking any real "Super" qualities.

But now it was different. Even though he still couldn't directly fuse living enemies—meaning he couldn't perform a true "Super Fusion"—he had at least unlocked the effect of multiple fusions. Just imagine: if he combined the "Tyrant Ghost God" and the "Ultimate Desire Gun-Carcass"—his two strongest current forms—into one new form, what kind of exaggerated attribute bonuses would he get? What kind of special techniques would he gain?

Just thinking about it made him want to experiment immediately. However, he suppressed the urge. The spectacle of activating a fusion was too dramatic; not only would his appearance change entirely, but it would also release a powerful corresponding energy fluctuation. Never mind the other experts in Wing City he hadn't met yet; if he dared to fuse in this room, Luo Xuan, who was only a wall away, would definitely be the first to rush in. By then, he wouldn't be able to explain himself even if he had a thousand mouths.

Zhou Yan reined in his wandering thoughts. The most anticipated effect of the Talent Blood Crystal had been realized, leaving him very satisfied.

Next was the other clearance reward, which, while not as precious as the Talent Blood Crystal, was still extremely valuable: the Path Secret Record.

Still without hesitation, he used it immediately. Amidst the strange light shining from the jade scrolls, Zhou Yan arrived for the third time in the familiar void. The seven supreme entities representing different paths appeared before him once again: Peerless, Refined, Profound, Calamity, Benevolent, Tyrannical, and Abundant.

"I currently have two path abilities. The first is 'Abundant: Continuity,' which greatly enhances my endurance. The second is 'Profound: Candlelight,' which strengthens special energy effects and reduces consumption."

Zhou Yan pondered silently. Both path abilities were crucial. "Continuity" needed no explanation, and the effect of "Candlelight" was incredibly practical. Not only did it allow him to save his limited supply of "Demon Power" from the胧 Seals while enhancing its effects, but it had also played a powerful role in his later form, "Ultimate Desire Gun-Carcass."

That's right. Although Zhou Yan didn't understand the underlying principles, through practical application, he had discovered that his combat systems differed between his various fusion forms. For example, the "Tyrant Ghost God" form primarily converted Life Armor durability into enhancements for his "Physique" and "Agility," helping him deliver stronger "kinetic damage." It was a "Warrior Type."

The newly acquired "Ultimate Desire Gun-Carcass" form, however, converted the consumed durability into "Desire Energy," helping him deal special "energy damage." It was a "Marksman Type" or perhaps even a "Mage Type." Consequently, "Candlelight" offered little help to the Tyrant Ghost God state, only providing a boost when he used extra Demon Power, but it provided a massive amplification to the Ultimate Desire Gun-Carcass state, directly enhancing his three exclusive techniques while reducing the consumption of Life Armor durability by 30%.

"Now that my survival, endurance, melee, and ranged dimensions are all quite good, in this situation, I should..."

Zhou Yan silently watched the supreme entities, feeling the concepts they represented. Finally, he confirmed his choice.

"I choose—Benevolent!"

Blessings and good fortune, the pinnacle of auspiciousness!

As he confirmed his intent, the supreme entity representing "Benevolent" seemed to play a joyful and harmonious melody. This wonderful movement crossed the boundless void, reached Zhou Yan, and transformed into strange ripples that were absorbed by his Life Armor. The armor vibrated at a peculiar frequency, and mysterious light paths emerged on its surface. A profound and special power was locked within.

...

Zhou Yan’s eyes cleared as he returned from the void. A series of information prompts flashed before him.

【You chose to petition "Benevolent" and received His blessing.】
【Life Armor has activated the path "Resonance."】
【Path: Resonance—Depending on the star rating of the Life Armor, the effects of "Extra Enhancement" received by the Walker are increased, and the costs are reduced.】
【Current Life Armor Star: 1, Grade: 1. "Extra Enhancement" effect increased by 35%, cost reduced by 35%.】

Hmm! This effect...

Under normal circumstances, if one were to apply game-like settings, this so-called "Extra Enhancement" should refer to situations like receiving "buffs" from others. However, Zhou Yan keenly sensed something different! The most direct sign was that his physical functions and mental power had increased by nearly 30% out of thin air after these notifications appeared!

Zhou Yan's thinking speed was extremely fast, and he immediately guessed the possibility. The "Life Armor's" enhancement to his three major attributes had increased!

'No way!'

The moment he thought of this possibility, Zhou Yan found it hard to believe. He hadn't expected this "Extra Enhancement" to include the armor's own attribute amplification!

Zhou Yan couldn't help but let his thoughts run wild—if even the armor's amplification was counted, then the enhancements gained from fusing external objects should also count as "Extra Enhancement," right? In other words, it was very likely that the enhancement his Super Fusion provided to him would also be amplified by this path ability!

Zhou Yan paced back and forth in his room, excited. The infinite endurance of "Abundant" was already exaggerated, and the special energy amplification of "Profound" had been a thrill. Now, this wide-ranging amplification from "Benevolent" left him dumbfounded. He truly hadn't expected that none of these path abilities would be weak. Not only were they powerful, but they were more unreasonable than the last. This path ability was just too insane!

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as Zhou Yan was silently celebrating his rich harvest from this Calamity Realm walk, his door was knocked.

"Coming." Zhou Yan immediately composed himself and walked quickly to open the door.

Upon opening it, he saw his younger sister, Luo Ke, whom he hadn't seen for a while. She looked as if she had just finished a shower; her hair was damp and wrapped in a towel, and she was wearing yellow pajamas. Her petite figure didn't look like that of a girl about to enter university, but rather like a young, innocent girl who had just transitioned from middle school to high school.

Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile. "Xiao Ke, what's wrong?"

"Hehe, Brother Zhou Yan." The girl rubbed her head with the towel, smiling as she said, "Big sister told me to come get you so we can talk about starting work tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Zhou Yan immediately remembered. He was supposed to start working at the Demon Extermination Department tomorrow. He wondered what kind of work awaited him.

***

There will be at least one more chapter today!