Chapter 135.2: Fusing Two Domains! (II)

Chapter 135.2: Fusing Two Domains! (II)

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath and guided the Storm Domain and Wave Domain toward each other.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Boom!

The moment they touched, they fought. They collided, tangled, sent shockwaves rolling back through his mind in relentless pulses. Domains lived and moved through mental strength, so when they clashed, the strain on his mind was the price.

A martial artist could comprehend many types of Intent and evolve multiple Domains. Even if someone possessed seven or eight Domains, they would not interfere with each other so long as they were simply used side by side.

However, the moment a martial artist tried to fuse them together, they would clash violently. In some cases, they could even collapse, causing a backlash that would injure the martial artist's mind.

Surprisingly, Lu Changsheng's Storm Domain and Wave Domain did not collide as fiercely as he thought they would. Under his careful guidance, the two Domains stopped fighting and slowly started to fuse.

Within the Storm Domain, violent winds raged without end. When it fused with the Wave Domain, the winds swept through the surging sea and transformed the towering waves into a massive waterspout that climbed until they seemed to tear at the heavens themselves.

The violent vortex blotted out the sky as it surged forward, and anything caught within this fused Domain would be torn apart instantly. Its destructive power was no longer merely doubled. It had grown two times, three times, perhaps even ten times stronger.

Whoosh!

Lu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, excitement stirring in his chest. This had only been a small experiment, yet the result had far exceeded his expectations.

The fusion of the two Domains works far better than I imagined. Once the Storm Domain and Wave Domain combine to form the Waterspout Domain, it sweeps away everything in its path and crushes all resistance. Its power has also increased by ten times. Even extremely powerful Domains will probably shatter the moment they collide with my Waterspout Domain.

A sharp glint flashed through Lu Changsheng's eyes. The result was better than anything he had imagined, and it mattered more than he let himself show. In the future, many of his opponents would likely possess Domains of their own, and those battles would be decided by whose Domain was stronger.

Typically, Domains formed from highly offensive Intents, such as the Sword Intent or Saber Intent, possessed great destructive force. However, the Waterspout Domain, a fusion of the Storm Domain and Wave Domain, could overwhelm nearly any Domain it encountered.

Perhaps only those with two mutually reinforcing domains and who were capable of fusing them could defend against the Waterspout Domain. However, the odds of that happening were small. Evolving even a single Domain was already extremely difficult; evolving two that were compatible enough to fuse bordered on impossible.

Even Lu Changsheng's Waterspout Domain happened partly by coincidence. If he had not comprehended both Wave Intent and Heaven and Earth Wind Intent, he would have never been able to evolve two complementary Domains and merge them together.

However, the Waterspout Domain could only be manifested under his deliberate guidance. Under normal circumstances, the Wave Domain and Wind Domain could still be used independently.

Whenever necessary, he could combine them again to create the Waterspout Domain, making the method both flexible and convenient.

After that short experiment, Lu Changsheng withdrew his Domains.

I didn't expect any of this. One trip out to sea, and I've evolved the Wave Domain as well as fused it with the Wind Domain to create the Waterspout Domain. This is more than what I bargained for. The next one to improve ought to be the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain.

The Starry Sky Waterfall Intent, however, was a different kind of problem. It combined two concepts, the starry sky and a waterfall. The fusion made it extremely powerful, but it also meant that condensing divine fortification would become far more difficult.

To condense divine fortification, a martial artist needed a corresponding Divine Fortification Realm martial art that matched the Domain. Both the Starry Sky Domain and Waterfall Domain had such martial arts.

The Starry Sky Waterfall Intent, however, had been comprehended from a line in a poem and conjured from Lu Changsheng's imagination, so no suitable Divine Fortification Realm martial art existed for it.

Intent could be comprehended freely, but evolving a Domain required learning from nature and aligning it with divine fortification. Only then can a martial artist step smoothly into the next realm of Martial Dao.

Creating a martial art was not something a cultivator could simply will into existence. Those who could forge Divine Fortification Realm martial arts from scratch were masters with extraordinary Perception who had long advanced far beyond that realm, and it required a lifetime's worth of effort as well.

Lu Changsheng's Perception was nowhere near that level. Even ten times what he currently possessed would not be enough. He was still a martial artist of the Divine Strength Realm, and creating a Divine Fortification Realm martial art at this level was nothing more than a foolish dream.

Nevertheless, Lu Changsheng was reluctant to abandon the Starry Sky Waterfall Intent. His powerful Perception alone did not guarantee comprehension; circumstances mattered just as much. He had only managed to comprehend this Intent because the right circumstances happened to come together, but to give it up so easily was something he could not accept.

Lu Changsheng was still turning the problem over when the answer arrived.

Starry sky and waterfall... Since both Starry Sky Intent and Waterfall Intent have corresponding Divine Fortification Realm martial arts, why not split the Starry Sky Waterfall Intent into two?

Then I can evolve the Starry Sky Intent and the Waterfall Intent into a Domain separately. Since these two are originally connected as Intents, fusing them when they are Domains again should not be a problem.

After that, I can fuse them together again, which should not be a problem since they are fundamentally connected as Intents anyway. If the fusion holds, the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain could end up stronger than the Waterspout Domain.

Lu Changsheng's eyes brightened. Splitting Intent was an unconventional idea, but it was possible. He had already comprehended the Starry Sky Waterfall Intent in its merged form, and with his Perception, could he really fail to comprehend Starry Sky Intent and Waterfall Intent individually?

Both Starry Sky Intent and Waterfall Intent can be learned through contemplating nature. While there are no waterfalls in Zhanhai City, the Celestial Foothills Mountain Range has plenty. As for the starry sky, I can observe it at night.

With his mind settled, Lu Changsheng turned to counting the days. He had been away from the mountain for over a month, with a full month before that spent at the Northern Region Heavenly Sect. This meant that his newcomer protection period had perhaps twenty days remaining, so it was time to return to the sect.

The work on Starry Sky Intent and Waterfall Intent could continue just as well back there. Not long later, the ship of the Far Ocean Merchant Association slowly returned to the harbor and docked.

***

The three leaders of the Three Flood Dragon Gang gathered inside the gang's main hall. An elderly man wearing a black robe stood before them, and his expression was dark and filled with rage.

"My Dark Abyss Sect has cooperated with your Three Flood Dragon Gang for a full year," the elderly man said coldly. "During that time, your gang has grown tremendously. Your influence now rivals the Four Seas Gang, and you are close to becoming the number one gang in Zhanhai City.

"But now, you're telling me that you do not even dare investigate the man who killed the four disciples from the Dark Abyss Sect?"

The black-robed elderly man was known as Grand Elder Dark Abyss, sect master of the Dark Abyss Sect and a Divine Fortification martial artist. In Zhanhai City, someone at that level stood among the very top figures, on par with a gang leader or a supreme elder.

The Three Flood Dragon Gang was one of the three major gangs in Zhanhai City. In order to surpass the Four Seas Gang, they had joined hands with the Dark Abyss Sect, and in just one year, their strength had expanded rapidly.

Now that Grand Elder Dark Abyss had personally come to question them, the three leaders of the Three Flood Dragon Gang had no choice but to give him an answer. The problem was that the deeper they looked into the matter, the more troublesome it became.

"Grand Elder Dark Abyss, this is no ordinary matter," one of the leaders said carefully. "Based on the clues you provided, that ship belongs to the Far Ocean Merchant Association. Among everyone connected to that association, there is likely only one man capable of killing four disciples in the Divine Strength Realm with a single strike."

"Who?" Grand Elder Dark Abyss demanded.

"Dao Shi'er," the leader replied. "According to our information, Dao Shi'er recently returned to Zhanhai City and paid a visit to the Heavenly Maiden. I'm most certain it was him."

Grand Elder Dark Abyss's eyes narrowed when he heard that name. He finally understood why the three leaders looked so uneasy. Grand Elder Dark Abyss had never crossed paths with Dao Shi'er, but Dao Shi'er needed no introduction. In Zhanhai City, there were few who had not heard of Dao Shi'er.

"The Dao Shi'er who ranked first on the Divine Strength Rankings at the Northern Region Battlefield?" he asked.

"Who else could it be?" one of the leaders replied.

Grand Elder Dark Abyss fell silent. Dao Shi'er was not someone who could be taken lightly. After all, he had claimed first on the Divine Strength Rankings and carved his reputation into the Northern Region Battlefield by single-handedly defeating wave after wave of Divine Strength martial artists from the Northern Barbarian Kingdom.

After a long moment, Grand Elder Dark Abyss spoke again. "

Hmph!

Dao Shi'er may be famous, but that does not mean my four disciples deserved to die. His reputation means nothing to me. The so-called number one of the Divine Strength Realm is still only in the Divine Strength Realm. I will kill him!"

Grand Elder Dark Abyss's eyes burned red with fury. The four disciples who had died were especially dear to him, particularly his eldest disciple, who had been destined to inherit his legacy. Their deaths filled him with such overwhelming rage that even knowing that the culprit was Dao Shi'er, he remained unafraid.

However, neither he nor the Three Flood Dragon Gang knew that Dao Shi'er had already become a disciple of the Northern Region Heavenly Sect. From all appearances, Dao Shi'er's cultivation remained at the Divine Strength Realm, and the realization made Grand Elder Dark Abyss harden his resolve.

Fame counted for nothing in the jianghu. Strength was the only currency that mattered. Whatever Dao Shi'er's reputation, what could a Divine Strength martial artist truly do to him, a Divine Fortification martial artist?

The three leaders of the Three Flood Dragon Gang exchanged uneasy glances. They had vaguely heard that Dao Shi'er had some connection with the imperial family of the Da Yu Dynasty. If he died, it could bring about more trouble for them.

However, Grand Elder Dark Abyss could not be reasoned with. He had always been infamous for his violent temper, and he had long ruled the seas with arrogance. Four of his disciples were killed, so there was no version of this where he would walk away.

Before the conversation could go any further, a scout from the Dark Abyss Sect burst into the hall.

"Report! Grand Elder Dark Abyss, you ordered us to watch the Far Ocean Merchant Association's ships at the harbor. One of their large vessels has just returned."

"Oh? So Dao Shi'er has returned." Grand Elder Dark Abyss's eyes burned red with fury. "Then I will go kill him now."

At this point, the three leaders of the Three Flood Dragon Gang realized they could not stop him. Instead, they offered their support.

"Very well. Since Grand Elder insists on killing Dao Shi'er, the Three Flood Dragon Gang will not stand aside and watch."

"We will not directly intervene in the fight. However, if that madwoman from the Heavenly Maiden Sect tries to interfere, we can help hold her back."

They knew that the Heavenly Maiden Sect had close ties with Dao Shi'er. He served as Dao Guardian to the Heavenly Maiden, and the moment word reached them that he was under attack, they would move to intervene.

In that case, Grand Elder Dark Abyss could end up failing.

However, if the Three Flood Dragon Gang held off the Divine Fortification expert of the Heavenly Maiden Sect, leaving Grand Elder Dark Abyss free to face Dao Shi'er alone, Dao Shi'er would almost certainly die. Their support would also strengthen the alliance between the Three Flood Dragon Gang and the Dark Abyss Sect.

"Good!" Grand Elder Dark Abyss said coldly. "Once Dao Shi'er is dead, the cooperation between the Dark Abyss Sect and the Three Flood Dragon Gang will deepen."

Without wasting another moment, he turned and strode out of the Three Flood Dragon Gang's headquarters, heading straight for the Far Ocean Merchant Association.

The three leaders quickly followed after him.

"Let's go," one of the gang leaders said. "We'll follow and see how things develop. And keep an eye out for that madwoman from the Heavenly Maiden Sect."