Chapter 419: Heading to Lingzhou

Inside the game cultivation room.

Fang Qi was undergoing his final stretches of training.

Word had it that the power hierarchy of the cultivators and warriors over there far exceeded that of the Desolate Sea Realm, so Boss Fang naturally had to make some preparations.

Beneath a full moon, atop the demonic tower.

A flash of a blue afterimage swept past, and Fang Qi parried almost instinctively at the exact same instant.

In the next breath, a splash of blood suddenly erupted, and Fang Qi's face turned stark white as a distinct notch appeared on his heavy blade, accompanied by a deep wound on his own arm that bared the bone beneath!

Yet the onslaught was far from over; from Fang Qi's visual blind spot, a figure clad in a blue trench coat with a frigid gaze sheathed his blade.

Then came a blur before his eyes—a sensation akin to missing a few frames between movements while watching an animation, accompanied by a deeply muffled and bizarre, anomalous sound.

Simultaneously, a strange, phantom arc of sword-light abruptly materialized across Fang Qi's body!

Along with an agonizing wave of intense pain, he opened his eyes once more only to find himself back at the respawn point.

Across an untold distance, that cold, indifferent figure stood in place, the hand grasping his hilt twitching with another subtle tremor.

Fang Qi, who had just stepped out of the respawn point, barely lifted his foot when a sudden flash of sword-light manifested.

"What the actual hell!"

Dead again.

Respawning once more, Boss Fang hastily fled the spot.

The moment he moved, several bursts of sword-light inexplicably erupted behind his back!

"..." Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, yet another stroke of sword-light materialized out of thin air!

"Son of a—"

Over half a year later.

Vergil slowly gripped his hilt with one hand, his aura running as deep and unfathomable as an abyss, before his blade and arm seemed to vanish inexplicably for a fraction of a second.

At the same moment, Fang Qi took a subtle step back, and the blade in his own hand vanished simultaneously!

The flashes of their blades intersected a mere inch before his eyes, instantly bursting into a fierce cascade of sparks!

"Phew..." Fang Qi, who had now reached the Martial King Realm, looked thoroughly disheveled; he wiped the sweat from his brow as the Vergil before him suddenly froze in motion, and the surrounding space reverted to darkness. "This Judgement Cut is a real pain in the ass to practice..."

Current Cultivation: Vergil, Judgement Cut

Synchronization Rate (Judgement Cut): 30%

Total Synchronization Rate: 13.732%

Total Skill Experience & Character Cultivation Gained: 96,533,628

Evaluation: You are now able to employ this technique proficiently.

By now, Fang Qi had mastered the Judgement Cut, trained his Royal Guard to level two, and along with a smattering of firearms and sword skills, his strength could be said to have advanced considerably.

As his cultivation level steadily rose alongside the continuous synchronization, he had finally ascended to a realm equivalent to a level two Martial King.

...

The weather in the Half-City had always been gloomy; even during the long period Boss Fang had stayed here, the sky had never cleared, so it was a rare surprise when the sun finally broke through after the continuous heavy snows.

A few regular customers of Half-City, such as Mo Tianxing and his peers, had arrived bright and early with unwavering dedication to order their instant noodles.

"Guild Leader, leaving on a trip?" The old men who played the online game alongside him still habitually addressed him as Guild Leader.

By now, the game progression of "The Legend" had transitioned from the old trio of divine weapons—the Judgment Staff, Bone Jade Staff, and Dragon Pattern Sword—to the new trio: the Furious Slash, Dragon Fang, and Carefree Fan.

Over the past year, the players' footprints had begun to reach the Red Moon Gorge, paving a path through it with countless corpses, and some top-tier players had already begun equipping themselves with the Sacred War, Dharma God, and Heaven Venerable gear.

The overseas Cangyue Island and the Bull Demon Temple had also been discovered by players; with the Dragon Slaying Saber finally surfacing, a path leading back to the Divine Dragon Empire was slowly unfolding.

Boss Fang naturally played every day as well; of course, the Defying Heaven Online Gaming Guild maintained a relatively neutral stance in the game, and while minor frictions persisted, things were generally peaceful.

Meanwhile, the cultivators, warriors, and major guilds of the two shops fought to the death and viewed one another as enemies inside the game, yet it was not uncommon for them to maintain private friendships outside of it.

In their leisure time, players weary of grinding in The Legend would also drive cars or race in "Grand Theft Auto V," enjoying a completely different way of life.

"Yeah," Boss Fang stretched deeply. "I've been sitting in the shop for too long; it's about time I go out for a walk."

"Is it far?" Ruan Ning frowned; this girl, who usually took any opportunity to contrarily banter with Boss Fang, had turned rare and serious. "With your strength, it shouldn't be an issue, right?"

"Boss, when are you coming back?" The habitually timid Zou Mo also looked over.

Leaning back against the sofa and gazing at the speckles of sunlight filtering through the window, Boss Fang laughed despite himself. "It should be for quite a long while."

"Going on a long journey just as spring begins?" Ning Bi walked into the shop, casually placing a handful of spirit crystals on the counter as she expertly brewed herself a cup of milk tea.

"Take care on your journey." Liu Ningyun, who usually looked upon Boss Fang with disfavor, also offered a rare word of caution.

The City Master of Black Dragon City, Huangfu Tao, Taoist Red Wing, and several others also rose from their seats and cupped their hands in salute.

Boss Fang gave a casual, serene wave of his hand.

...

At the Jiuhua City shop, having experienced this once before, this group of old slackers was naturally incredibly composed.

"Heading out to open another branch shop again?" Nalan Hongwu remarked, taking a bite of his instant noodles.

"Once you get there, remember to start a livestream for us." Su Tianji sat with her two disciples, sipping milk tea. "We haven't seen what Ling State looks like yet, or what Xiaoyue's hometown is like."

"Xiaoyue!" Outside the shop entrance, Lanyuan waved to Xiaoyue, who was standing beside Jiang Xuan. "Remember to log onto QQ on your communication jade so we can chat later."

"Mhm!"

As the sword-light flashed, they flew up into the sky outside the city.

Jiang Xuan cupped his hands. "Brother Fang, have you ever considered opening the new shop within our imperial city?"

He continued, "Our clan possesses countless masters, and the twelve tribes pay homage at the imperial capital, gathering all resources there. The advantages can be described as uniquely blessed, which would also save Brother Fang from dealing with petty troublemakers before your shop."

"Yes, yes! Boss, open it at my house! I'll have Father deploy a few more guards to ensure nobody dares stir up trouble. You can't possibly call upon that senior to step in every single time, can you?"

Boss Fang shook his head. "That won't be necessary."

"How is it not necessary?!" Jiang Xiaoyue instantly grew displeased. "You just don't want to bring me along to play!"

An imperial city was a hotbed of complications, let alone that of an ancient imperial clan.

Furthermore, it was fine if the shop was opened in a border city; like Jiuhua City, many outsiders could enter.

If it were in the imperial capital, should a horde of cultivators from the Yunnan Realm or the Three Factions suddenly flock in one day and decide on a whim to sack the imperial city, Ji Wu might not even react in time. Although such an occurrence was virtually impossible, it was clearly intolerable for any nation.

Boss Fang explained, "Think about it: if you had to travel all the way back to the imperial capital just to visit the shop after school every day, wouldn't that be a massive hassle? I think it's better if this boss surveys the terrain first to find a good spot, so Xiaoyue can just fly over every day after school. How perfect would that be?"

"Oh, that's true..." Jiang Xiaoyue came to a sudden realization. "Even with the Sword Control Technique, I'm afraid a round trip would take a long time... Then let's not have it in the imperial city. You should get going quickly then!"

Boss Fang gave a nod.

Jiang Xuan's face twitched. "..."

What the actual—?! He had originally intended to invite Boss Fang to visit the Jiang family to brainstorm other possibilities...

"Brother Fang, do you possess a method to bypass the Heavenly Ban?"

Boss Fang nodded. "You could say I do."

"In that case," Jiang Xuan said, "I shall take Xiaoyue back first. This girl snuck out for so long and hasn't returned even once."

Boss Fang waved his hand in dismissal, and a flash of white light instantly filled the vision.

Jiang Xuan froze in blank amazement.

The man was already gone.

.