Chapter 273: All Tricks

The sea outside Half City had been completely clear just moments prior, yet the sky rapidly began to darken.

A single silhouette trod across the heavens with the Seven Star Steps, the blade in his grip gleaming with resplendent sword light!

Clouds surged and tumbled across the firmament as streaks of thunder soared like dragons and serpents taking flight!

Had Fang Qi not smoked a Boss brand cigarette, he would have been utterly incapable of executing the Divine Sword Lightning Control True Formula; after all, his cultivation was low, and his mastery over both the heavenly might and the sword formula itself was lacking. This technique possessed such immense power that a single misstep could easily cause a stray bolt of celestial thunder to strike him dead!

Fang Qi rarely dared to use it recklessly beneath ordinary circumstances, and it was only after gaining a few insights from beholding the Heavenly Book that he developed a new understanding of the Divine Sword Lightning Control, finally granting him the confidence to unleash it in his regular state.

"Looking at this weather... is it about to rain?" Across the distant sky sailed a massive spiritual boat. The dragon-head ram at its prow and the sheer magnificence of its hull remained perfectly steady even amidst the howling gales of these dense, overcast clouds, every detail declaring the extraordinary status of its master.

"Rain?" Standing at the edge of the vessel was a young nobleman clad in white who appeared, by his looks, to be under thirty years of age. A pair of sword-like brows lifted slightly over a sharply contoured face that seemed sculpted by a blade; upon that countenance, which carried a trace of innate cold arrogance or perhaps born composure, a deep and profound look suddenly flickered as he gazed out toward the distant sky.

Standing behind him were several female cultivators in their early twenties, wearing attire of a style remarkably similar to that of the young nobleman in white, suggesting they hailed from the very same sect.

The group whispered among themselves nearby: "Thank goodness we have Senior Brother Duan's Dragon-Ride Boat! A spiritual vessel like this shouldn't fear any thunderous rain, right?"

"I heard this Dragon-Ride Boat was specially bestowed upon Senior Brother Duan by Elder Duan. It's a superb spiritual boat that Elder Duan retrieved from a certain ruin in the past, and many of the formation arrays upon it simply cannot be replicated by anyone today!"

"That incredible?! Joining Senior Brother Duan on this excursion outside the sect truly was the best decision!"

"Brother Duan is truly a hero among men, a paragon for our generation!" A stout cultivator stepped forward. "These junior brothers and sisters all look up to you immensely! Just yesterday, I heard a few senior sisters mention it—even Senior Sister Lin Xin... praised this Dragon-Ride Boat as an absolute masterpiece among spiritual vessels!"

"Of course!" The young nobleman in white finally smiled with satisfaction, his face flush with pride. "This is a treasure my uncle brought out from the Thunder Waste Ruins! How could ordinary, mundane things compare to it! Let me tell you, this Dragon-Ride Boat possesses three great advantages, and the first is a speed that none can match!"

Just as the two were discussing the Dragon-Ride Boat, a series of rhythmic thumping sounds suddenly echoed from the outside.

This sudden rapping instantly drew everyone's attention.

Looking up, they beheld a young man who appeared to be under twenty years old standing right outside: "Excuse me, everyone, could you tell me the way to Black Dragon City?"

The stout cultivator instinctively pointed in a direction.

"Wait, how did you get up here?" The young nobleman in white suddenly snapped back to his senses. This damn well wasn't a public street—this was a spiritual boat traveling at high speeds!

"I flew up." Fang Qi glanced down at the flying sword beneath his feet.

"Thanks a lot!" With those words, he soared forward on his sword and vanished.

The girls who had been gossiping behind them stood completely dumbfounded:

"What was that just now?!"

"That person is so powerful..."

"And he looks even younger than Senior Brother Duan!"

From within the cabin, a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a seed-shaped face stepped out dressed in an aqua-green dress, casting a peculiar look at the group: "Junior sisters, what are you all discussing?"

The group hurriedly pointed toward the sky ahead: "Senior Sister Lin, just now, someone flew past right on top of a sword!"

A lone figure could still be seen in the sky ahead, treading upon a flying sword as he gradually dissolved into the distant horizon. The woman lightly covered her sandalwood lips to hide her astonishment, sighing: "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be simply unbelievable...!"

The stout cultivator beside them asked: "Senior Brother Duan, where were we just now?"

He suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly shut his mouth.

Duan Lan ground his teeth in fury: "...Where the hell did that brat spring out from?!"

...

Black Dragon City was the cultivator city closest to the Half City sea region.

Unlike Jiuhua, the Morning Star Sea had no nations; it was merely a tangled web of various cultivator factions intertwined with one another.

To be capable of establishing a city in such a place naturally meant one was a figure of great renown.

The reason Black Dragon City bore its name was because the City Master, Huangfu Tao, had once hunted and slain a ferocious black dragon with thousands of years of cultivation here, a feat that shook the entire Morning Star Sea!

Similarly, Black Dragon City maintained strict security. Outsiders wishing to enter the city had to do so before seven o'clock in the evening. If they exceeded this time limit, only those with special status or holding invitations could enter through the side gate, while everyone else had to wait until the city gates opened the following day!

By this time, it was already seven o'clock in the evening, and two guards were slowly closing the heavy city gates.

Right at that moment, a figure came hurtling from the distance.

The gap in the city gate had narrowed to the width of a single person.

Swoosh!

A figure zipped right inside.

The gates slammed shut.

The two guards who had closed the doors turned around in utter bewilderment: "How is there an extra person?"

"Kid, what do you think you're doing? Don't you know the city gates are already closed?"

"I know."

"You knew and you still came in?" The faces of the two guards darkened.

"Is it not allowed?" Fang Qi spoke politely. "How about I trouble you gentlemen to open the gate again so I can head back out?"

The guards: "..."

The system interface indicated that the Ethereal Stone was located right inside Black Dragon City.

Meanwhile, Huang Shan, Black Demon, and the others had just finished playing Legend and were preparing to log off when a thought suddenly struck them: "We haven't harvested our crops yet, right?"

They hurriedly opened "My Space."

Huang Shan walked into his small courtyard, where he had originally planted six Platinum Spiritual Radishes. Just as he prepared to harvest them, he looked down: "Why are there three extra holes?"

"Where are my radishes?! How is there only half left?!"

(Anyone who has played should know there is a guaranteed minimum system in place.)

At the exact same time, Black Demon and the others had also just entered "My Space."

Suddenly seeing three holes in the ground, half of their planted radishes were missing!

Black Demon roared: "What's going on?! Where are the radishes?!"

Wang Jin cried out: "Three of my radishes are gone too!"

"Who did this?!" The two glared around with bloodshot eyes.

Aside from themselves, who else could possibly enter "My Space"?

Very quickly, they discovered that it seemed friends were capable of entering one's space.

Next, they saw the entire row of friends they had added when they were planting crops earlier.

"..."

"Holy*!"

"Those bastards from Jiuhua City! They actually stole my crops!" Black Demon's face grew incredibly grim as he suddenly recalled that "Young Master Song" who kept sending the dog head emoji.

Looking at the emoji once more at this moment, he found that the more he looked at it, the more wretchedly smug it appeared!

"Damn it!" He instantly sent a kitchen knife emoji over.

"You have been blacklisted by this user."

He immediately sent another one.

"You have been blacklisted by this user."

Staring blankly, stunned into utter disbelief, another post was sent.

"..."

"What the fuck!" rage finally erupted as the penguin messenger client was flung open, "Brothers of the Dark Magic Guard, assemble! I am going to hack someone to pieces!"

"Your screen time has reached its maximum limit, please return tomorrow!"

"..."

.