Chapter 403: Female Version of Magic Swordsman

"The food here is delicious, truly, but the portions are just too small!" Catching the sight of Jiang Xuan and his companions looking as though they were about to cough up blood, Jiang Xiaoyue offered a sheepish explanation. "He won't even let us eat a single extra bite each day!"

"Is 'delicious' all it is?!" Gripping his chopsticks, Jiang Xuan offered his critique. "One sip of this Cola, and my mind is cleared, my spirit refreshed. One bite of these instant noodles, and pure spiritual essence surges within me. And this ham sausage... a single bite makes me feel as though my entire body is overflowing with power! Then there are these spicy strips..."

"And that is hardly all!" Zhen Yan gazed in sheer awe at the milk tea cradled in his hands. "With just one sip, I can feel the Crimson Flame power within my body grow significantly more refined in an instant!"

Beside him, the guard Xue Ming, holding the tiny milk tea cup in a palm as broad as a cattail leaf fan, spoke with equal wonderment. "Indeed! The Frost Underworld Art I cultivate has always taken quite a toll on my physique, requiring spiritual herbs to condition and supplement my body. Even then, it could never be thoroughly cured. Who could have thought that after just one sip of this so-called milk tea, the frost energy within me would actually blend seamlessly with this warm current? Now, even if I do not actively suppress it, it causes me no harm at all!"

"What?!" Zhen Yan nearly slammed the table as he started to rise.

Though the Frost Underworld Art was incredibly potent, its side effects were a notorious conundrum that even His Majesty could not resolve!

To think that drinking a single cup of this milk tea in a place like this could do such a thing...?!

Could this desolate, barren sea region truly harbor such miraculous treasures?!

Then, suddenly recalling the proprietor's staggering strength, he sank right back down before his rear could even fully leave the sofa.

Jiang Xuan stared solemnly at Boss Fang. "Could sir not make a slight exception? What if I pay a higher price? Just give me... one more portion of instant noodles!"

Boss Fang remained entirely unmoved, while everyone else nearby wore an expression that said they had long expected exactly this.

"What terms do you want to set?!" Jiang Xuan frowned, his voice tight.

"Just what will it take?!" Jiang Xuan finally could not help but burst out.

Seeing Boss Fang’s utterly indifferent expression, Jiang Xuan had no choice but to sidle up to Jiang Xiaoyue, asking in a low whisper, "Little Sister... just how does this proprietor run his business? How can he refuse to make money when it's right in front of him?! Aren't you familiar with him? Couldn't you... ask for just one more bowl?!"

"What are you saying?!" Jiang Xiaoyue replied dejectedly. "Even I am only allowed to eat one bowl myself!"

"What?!" It was a direct stab to the heart!

And yet...

Jiang Xuan asked in a deep voice, "Just what is this proprietor’s background? And who was that... that senior you mentioned earlier?"

"He isn't just boasting, is he?" Zhen Yan chimed in. "Could it be that there really is some senior residing in this shop?!"

"Of course there is." At the mention of this, Jiang Xiaoyue grew animated. "For instance, the Heaven Sword intent the boss used just now was learned from Senior Wuming. The Sword Controlling Technique was learned from Senior Jiu Jianxian. And the Sword Twenty-Three that Old Grandpa Nalan knows was learned from the Old Sword Saint—a single strike freezes space itself, and no one can flee from it!"

"Uh..." The group felt their hairs stand on end, and Jiang Xuan, completely skeptical, said, "Can it truly... freeze space?"

"Naturally!" Jiang Xiaoyue huffed with an air of immense pride. "Wherever the sword intent of Sword Twenty-Three reaches, nothing but one's thoughts can move even a fraction of an inch! One can only watch helplessly as they are slaughtered at will!"

As she spoke, she even gestured through two stances of the Holy Spirit Sword Technique.

The others exchanged a telling glance.

Could such a thing truly exist in this world?

One had to understand that space laws were a terrifyingly profound concept; currently, most cultivators could only utilize them through minor spatial arrays for daily convenience or auxiliary functions. The more accomplished among them could only apply it to teleportation arrays. Anything that could be employed in actual combat was invariably an item of supreme, overwhelming power.

To think that in a place like this, there was someone who could harness the laws of space for battle, and that person was a warrior to boot?!

"Hmph! It is not entirely surprising for a peerless master to be capable of suppressing a pocket of space," Jiang Xuan remarked with a cold snort. "I simply never expected that such a master would actually be found in a place like this?!"

"It was rather discourteous of us not to have paid our respects first," Jiang Xuan continued. "I wonder if you might introduce us so that we may pay a formal visit?"

The time it took for a stick of incense to burn passed.

"You mean to say there is someone even more powerful?!" Jiang Xuan gasped in shock. "That supreme figure named Dante can actually control time?!"

One after another, they stood up from their seats, the shock in their hearts swelling past all measure.

"Yes, indeed," Jiang Xiaoyue said, radiating triumph. "I am playing *Devil May Cry 3* right now, and Uncle Dante is incredibly handsome!"

"Uh..." The group exchanged bewildered glances, and Jiang Xuan asked, "Could we perhaps meet this Senior Dante?"

...

Another three hours slipped away.

Having finally secured their spots, the three men mused, "To think that we actually have to line up just to see Senior Dante?!"

Following that, under Jiang Xiaoyue's guidance, they embarked on their joyous journey through *Devil May Cry 3*.

"Hah! Take that! Yah!"

On their screens, their characters swung greatswords in a frenzy of wild hacking and slashing.

"No, no, no! It's no fun at all if you play it like that." With those words, Jiang Xiaoyue began to show off a dazzling, magnificent flurry of combos.

Before long.

"Heheh! This princess has also beaten the demon horse Geryon!" Jiang Xiaoyue, controlling Dante, wore a face full of glee as she bragged with immense pride. "Once I finish this part, I will be able to comprehend the laws of time as well!"

"To think it could actually be done this way...?!" Jiang Xuan and his companions stared at one another in stunned silence. "..."

"Oh, right, right! There is also *Shushan*, which is exceptionally powerful too! I'll let you watch it in a bit!" Jiang Xiaoyue rattled off her recommendations like counting her family treasures.

The three of them: "..."

Just what had happened to this Barren Sea Realm?!

Was it that they had fallen hopelessly behind the times, or had the world itself gone mad?!

...

On the other side, within the Nanhua Faction.

The current Nanhua Faction no longer possessed its forbidden rear mountain grounds. Following the reconstruction of the sect, a relatively simple, quiet little courtyard had been erected in its place.

In front of the courtyard stood Shui Xianyun, looking as though she were holding her breath to her absolute limit, her fair, somewhat pale countenance flushed completely crimson.

"Devil Trigger!" she cried out softly. A massive torrent of black energy erupted from within her body, and immediately following it, fine, dense scales began to sprout along her slender, jade-like arms and neck, while her pupils shifted to a stark, blood-red hue.

Her originally smooth forehead bulged slightly as two black horns actually grew forth, a bizarre, sinister smile curling at the edge of her lips.

Then, her expression abruptly shifted. The countless strands of black aura surged backward like a great whale drawing in water, retreating entirely into her body. Her face turned slightly pale as she let out a long breath. "This power is still far too difficult to control... Even after playing *Devil May Cry* for so long, I still cannot command it fully... It seems I must play it for a while longer."

Meanwhile, at this very moment in the Half-City.

To the east of the Hidden Heaven Pavilion lay the most magnificent estate in the area. It was the permanent residence of a certain demonic woman, a place where normally no one dared to set foot, lest they disturb her peace.

Yet lately, terrifying bursts of laughter seemed to consistently drift out from its depths.

"Ahahahaha...! Who could have thought that this shop would actually possess a method to control the alien powers within one's body?" A voice, incomparably charming and seductive, echoed from the innermost chambers of the estate.

It was a grand structure, as white as a palace, situated within a magnificently decorated hall.

"Oh dear... turning into this doesn't seem beautiful at all. I had better change back..."

A massive, azure serpent tail slowly retracted, and within the grand hall, it gradually reshaped into a shapely, curvaceous human silhouette. A trailing green dress swept the floor, perfectly revealing a pair of pristine, snow-white feet. The sharp fangs in her mouth slowly receded as a pair of jade-green eyes darted about, her hand lightly covering her lips in a gesture of faint surprise.

She now appeared almost completely identical to an ordinary human being.

"Hmph!" Very quickly, two fangs bared themselves once more, and her visage reverted to its icy demeanor. "Tomorrow, I shall learn the Devil Trigger combos from the boss. In the future, this young lady will be the number one Magic Swordsman in this world!"

She let out a lazy yawn, remembering that she still needed to learn the Power of the Sun. "It feels as though there is never enough time..."

.