Meanwhile—
At the docks, Stelle, who had been dealing with logistics, suddenly froze.
A strange sensation welled up in her heart for no reason.
Instinctively, she lifted her head and gazed off in a certain direction.
"…The wife radar is going off!"
Stelle muttered something incomprehensible, leaving the little secretary beside her utterly dumbfounded.
Then, Stelle nodded at the secretary with a dead-serious expression, as if the two had reached some unspoken consensus through an invisible bond.
Stelle put down her phone and dashed off.
"Hey… at least tell me where you're going before you run off…"
The little secretary's face was full of resignation.
This outworlder kid was great in every way, except for her habit of suddenly doing the most inexplicable things, like saying weird stuff, or pulling completely random stunts.
Always like a kid with an endless curiosity about everything.
"Honestly, how am I supposed to know what you're thinking from just a look!"
The little secretary sighed helplessly and decided to temporarily take over Stelle's work.
--+--
Meanwhile—
Sylvia's swordsmanship wasn't particularly advanced.
Although she had learned swordsmanship from Acheron and Firefly—both of whom were masters of the blade.
But her training period was still short; there was no way Sylvia could instantly achieve martial perfection.
If you had to put a number on it, Sylvia's raw strength might score a ten, but her pure swordsmanship alone might only be a five.
Right at the stage of barely getting by.
It was only because of her formidable physical constitution, sharp eyes, fast reflexes, and acute perception.
That gave it a bit of that "brute force compensates for technique" flavor.
Sylvia was worried about Sushang's body, so she didn't rely on overpowering strength.
Against Sushang's attacks, she mostly defended, but her excellent reaction time made her defense utterly impenetrable.
And the Heliobi currently possessing Sushang, after several rounds of exchange, had keenly picked up on this issue.
Then, Sushang's body suddenly paused.
Her entire aura shifted dramatically, and the sword techniques she wielded transformed into something entirely unknown.
The attacks grew increasingly fierce, filled with murderous intent.
Various bizarre sword moves came to her as if by instinct.
While it broadened Sylvia's horizons, it also made defending increasingly difficult.
"Not bad! Not bad! Sharp eyesight compensating for flawed sword forms, you, young one, are quite impressive! I like you a lot."
The Heliobi, wearing Sushang's face, spoke in a tone that belied its true age.
Which only amused Sylvia.
"Stop talking weird while wearing Sushang's face!"
"Heh—I've figured it out, your body is stronger, faster! Compared to this little girl, you'd be absolutely perfect to showcase my breathtaking sword techniques!"
"Then come out and try."
"Pfft, you think I can't smell it? The scent of my kin inside you!"
As it said this, Sushang's expression even turned somewhat ferocious.
Although beings like Heliobi generally didn't have concepts like camaraderie, since Sylvia carried the aura of a Heliobi within her.
Barging into someone like that recklessly was obviously not a good choice.
"Hey—I heard from this girl's memories that you have a particularly powerful blade technique. Let me see it!"
Sushang's attacks grew increasingly frantic, many movements pushed to extremes, almost inhuman, but this Heliobi executed them with incredible fluidity.
"Tch, what a battle junkie."
Sylvia finally understood; this Heliobi was the type that loved fighting.
And it seemed to have a particular fondness for bladed weapons.
But its movements were far too reckless with the body it was using.
After this bout, Sushang would probably need to rest in the Alchemy Commission for days.
The problem was, in this possessed state, Sylvia couldn't just forcefully expel the Heliobi, because there was no guarantee the host would remain unharmed.
"Huohuo, is there any way to get rid of the Heliobi?"
"Um… I did bring a tool that can let us enter the Heliobi's illusion, but…"
Huohuo looked at the increasingly intense sword fight.
She really didn't dare to use it carelessly, sending Sylvia's consciousness into the Heliobi's illusion.
Hiss…
If she unleashed Bella, their combat power would definitely be enough.
But Bella was too huge; this Aurum Alley couldn't even hold two of its claws.
And Mount #1 was currently working in the space station's Security Department.
Rumor has it that it's recently become the department's top combat force, pushing Arlan down a notch.
Just then.
A dark figure charged out from the end of the street!
Accompanied by a strange yell:
"Stop it, please stop fighting—!"
Stelle yelled bizarrely as she raised her bat and charged right between the two of them.
The bat swung with fierce momentum, forcing the Heliobi controlling Sushang to retreat two steps, creating some distance.
"Stelle? What are you doing here?"
"Came to rescue a damsel in distress!"
"You're so nuts."
Sylvia smiled and rolled her eyes at her, but then glanced at Huohuo.
Huohuo understood what Sylvia meant, pulled out a small bell, and got ready.
Sylvia turned back and explained to Stelle:
"Sushang's possessed. You keep her busy for now; I'll explain later."
"Huh?"
Before Stelle could react, Sushang on the other side had already raised her sword and charged again.
Stelle could only quickly swing her bat to meet her, and the two clashed in a flurry.
"Huohuo!"
"Got it—please be careful, big sister."
With a clear ring of the bell, Sylvia's vision blurred, and she found herself beside a martial arts arena in the style of the Luofu, surrounded by a sea of spectators.
And at one end of the arena stood Sushang, grown-up, with a fuller figure and a mature face.
She wore a white-based dress, holding the Xuanyuan Sword behind her back with one hand, confronting a white-haired Foxian woman.
"I never imagined that in just a few decades, you'd have grown to this extent, the new Sword Champion of the Yaoqing, Sushang."
"Yes… I didn't expect to have the chance to test swords with you so soon either, General. Please, make the first move."
Huh… what?
General?
Sylvia hadn't even fully processed the sight of grown-up Sushang.
When she heard Sushang address that white-haired Foxian as "General."
General of which fleet?
The Yaoqing? So the Yaoqing's General is this white-haired Foxian lady.
This must be the Heliobi's illusion…
Man, what kind of dream is Sushang having? She's already the Yaoqing Sword Champion, going toe-to-toe with the Yaoqing General, huh?
Just as Sylvia was pondering this.
The battle on the arena stage had already begun!
The Foxian General wielded a heavy axe, yet moved like lightning, charging with overwhelming murderous intent!
But Sushang formed a sword gesture with one hand, keeping the other behind her back, revealing a smile marked by years of experience:
"After decades, having observed countless swords across the universe, I have finally comprehended the essence of the Taixu sword. Today, I present this one technique for the General's guidance!"
As she spoke, the sky above Sushang shifted dramatically.
Endless power surged within the clouds; as darkness threatened the city, a beam of golden light pierced the oppressive gloom.
The Xuanyuan Sword, massive as a star, descended from the heavens with majestic, awe-inspiring might!
"This blade is named—Taixu Sword God—!"
Sylvia's jaw dropped.
Kid, you really know how to dream big!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.