Chapter 423: Taunting First (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

As Nangong Jiuwen ducked sideways, the sword marrow veered out of control, grazing past Fang Qi's ear and severing a neat lock of hair.

A faint warmth bloomed on the shop owner's cheek; he brushed it, revealing a thin line of blood.

At this moment, the surrounding cultivators stood frozen in utter bewilderment.

Beside them was Nangong Jiuwen, clutching his shoulder as fresh blood poured, his face twisted in a sickly ash-green.

The proud sword marrow and the sublime techniques of the Wentian Sword Palace had failed him; in a mere few exchanges, he had lost an arm!

"A brute! A complete and utter brute!" Nangong Jiuwen rumbled in silent, frantic rage. "Does this boy not know how exquisite my swordplay is?!"

His sword-controlling technique, the Nine Flying Hong Postures, held seventy-two variations within its nine distinct momentum shifts, yet he had not even displayed a fraction of them before being cut down.

Boss Fang shrugged, continuing his casual explanation: "There's no point in reasoning with him. I can end this in one strike, so why bother fighting? Are you going to dodge or what?"

"Lesson learned! Definitely learned!"

"Boss is awesome!"

The bullet comments in the chat immediately showered Boss Fang with praise.

Meanwhile, Nangong Jiuwen's expression grew darker by the second: "Do you truly not fear my Wentian Sword Palace wiping out you and whatever faction stands behind you to the very last soul?! Do you even comprehend what kind of entity you have provoked?!"

"What kind of entity?" Boss Fang cast a strange glance toward the nearby Li family cultivators. "Could you folks explain it to me?"

"..." Li Lanruo was utterly at a loss for words; the young man before her was a complete enigma.

What baffled her even more was the sword technique from moments ago—the speed of that flying sword had rivaled the sword marrow itself, defying conventional understanding, and it hadn't yielded an inch to the Wentian Sword Palace!

Most shocking of all was his sheer audacity to actually sever Nangong Jiuwen's arm!

"Which sect or school do you hail from?" Nangong Jiuwen sneered. "Are you afraid to state your name? At least let me know who dares oppose the Wentian Sword Palace!"

Boss Fang replied smoothly, "Didn't I mention it already? The Defying-Heaven Online Gaming Guild."

Mainly focusing on online games; reality is just a side gig.

Yes, exactly like that.

"If you refuse to speak, so be it." A ruthless glint flared in his eyes. "Kill him! You are but one man, and I have brought a hundred elites from the Wentian Sword Palace to lay down the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array. Let us see if you possess the heaven-defying power to escape this!"

"...The Immortal-Slaying Sword Array?!"

"Sounds incredibly formidable..."

"Has anyone ever heard of it..."

The onlookers within the shop exchanged bewildered glances.

Su Tianji swallowed her final gulp of instant noodle soup: "Never heard of it, probably nothing special."

At that moment, the concealed cultivators finally revealed themselves.

Shadows clad in black cloud-patterned robes rapidly sealed off the space around Fang Qi, drifting past like fragments of dark storm clouds as countless beams of sword light surged upward, weaving like a torrential river; from above, the formation resembled a coiled dragon, shifting into the likeness of an ancient, furious beast!

Nangong Jiuwen grimaced through the agony in his shoulder, his eyes burning with absolute malice: "For severing my arm, a thousand of your wretched lives would not suffice to repay this debt!"

With a flick of his right hand, the sword marrow spun furiously, emitting a crisp, resonant dragon roar into the sky!

"Did you think Nangong Jiuwen relied solely on a single sword marrow?!" With a furious roar, the array activated, churning the clouds as countless beams of sword light gathered before him, dancing alongside the marrow until everyone seemed to behold a silver dragon soaring through the misty waves!

The dragon's cry echoed through the highest heavens, and like a celestial river cascading from above, the draconic sword momentum struck straight toward Fang Qi!

"This very array once brought down celestial immortals in ancient times. Let's see you block this!" Amidst the roaring shouts, the sea of clouds surged like violent tides, a massive dragon wrapped in mist crashing down as if the sky itself were collapsing!

"Incredible!"

"Such momentum is beyond human capability; to think a mere Divine Sea Realm cultivator could unleash such terrifying power!" Even the masters of the two sacred sects, Xuanzhong Mansion and Yuxu Mountain, stared at the large screen in astonishment. "Can... can the boss block this?!"

"Will he use the Screen-Clearing Sunlight strike?"

Xiao Yulv sat at the counter, a few slices of spiritual melon arranged before him, watching the screen as he ate: "Isn't there a Thirty-Six Celestial Fiend Array in the Legend of Sword and Fairy? Throw one of those out."

"But they are pooling the strength of a hundred men!" someone countered. "Even for a sword array, the power of a single person versus a hundred is night and day, isn't it?"

Indeed, though Fang Qi knew the Thirty-Six Celestial Fiend Sword Array, deploying it alone could never match the power of a hundred men; even if Li Xiaoyao himself were here, the limitation remained.

"Then what do we do?" the two old men muttered, staring wide-eyed at the screen.

On the other side, the Li family elders, the younger disciples, and the white-robed lady in the silk dress fell into utter despair.

This was the true heritage and might of the Wentian Sword Palace; any fraction of it could crush them entirely, far beyond what an ordinary family could withstand.

This was precisely why so many factions traveled thousands of miles to seek entry into the Haotian Academy, for only there could a glimmer of hope be found.

It was over.

Completely over.

"No... even if I must die, I will not perish so helplessly," she thought, despair clouding her face. "If... if I utilize that power..."

She could feel a terrifying force latent within the mysterious disk inside her body, neither entirely metal nor jade, which would surely shatter the earth if unleashed.

"Ah—!" she cried out, charging forward with desperate resolve to meet the terrifying, furious dragon head-on!

Before she could make a move, a hand firmly grabbed her collar: "Damn it, get out of the way!"

And tossed her right back.

"..."

Boss Fang glanced at his system interface.

Complete Synchronization:

Requirements: Possess a crucial item of a specific character, and reach a total synchronization rate of 20%. Duration depends on item quality, synchronization level, and personal strength (same applies to cooldown).

Available Character: Dante

Weapons Owned: Beowulf, Kalina Ann

Total Synchronization Rate: 20.36%

Personal Strength: True Martial Realm, Second Layer

Available Duration: 5 seconds

Usable Weapons: Beowulf, Kalina Ann

Cooldown: 1 week

A strange, complex stream of data flashed through Fang Qi's eyes.

In the next instant, the man standing before them seemed to transform completely.

With icy blue eyes and stark white hair, Fang Qi's blue-and-white robe inexplicably shifted into a deep crimson.

His hands and feet were now clad in dark silver, armor-like gauntlets and greaves.

The Li family cultivators stared in absolute bewilderment: "...!!??"

"Crazy? Huh!" Just as the torrential sword light of the ancient dragon arrived, the figure raised his hands, curling his fingers in a mocking gesture of provocation.

Li Lanruo, who had just been prepared to throw her life away in despair, was utterly stupefied.

Meanwhile, the cultivators and warriors watching inside the shop fell dead silent: "..."

"Is that... Dante?!"

.