Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 337 - 74: The Extreme Shen Qingming

February 14, 2018

While the speed competition at the Outer Courtyard was in full swing, Shen Jinghai nervously monitored the situation from his office, wishing he could send an avatar directly into the Battle Array Map.

As Shen Ruoshi’s right hand, Shen Jinghai’s workload was piled high as the City Lord’s birthday banquet approached, with new documents constantly being presented about banquet arrangements, guest reception, program rehearsals, and gift purchases, requiring Shen Jinghai’s personal attention to every detail.

The draft for the City Lord’s birthday speech had been revised up to the 48th version, and Secretary A responsible for drafting the speech had been working overtime day and night, his hair visibly thinning, with his face becoming oily. Moreover, due to his constant snacking, the former Outer Courtyard elite had developed a layer of beer belly, and his cheeks had sagged.

Up to this point, the City Lord’s birthday speech had not yet been reviewed personally by the City Lord. Unless unexpected, in the coming days, the speech draft would frequently shuttle between the Vice City Lord’s Mansion and the City Lord’s Mansion, increasing Secretary A’s workload even further.

As a considerate old leader, Shen Jinghai had already prepared an Elemental Magnetic Divine Chair for Secretary A, using high-grade Spirit Stones as energy sources to convert special frequency Elemental Magnetic Power to stimulate Divine Sense, allowing the user to enter a super-speed working state, and achieve 24 hours of work in a 12-hour day — a Divine Artifact essential for office workers. Unfortunately, the equipment’s high manufacturing cost made mass production difficult, coupled with poor public reception in Shen City, so the limited devices were internally allocated for key tasks.

Given such intense work pressures, Shen Jinghai was naturally unable to attend the nearly all-day-long speed competition at the Outer Courtyard. He instead dispatched Secretary B, who had performed well recently, to accompany the event and authorized him to adaptively handle tricky situations on site.

Theoretically speaking, the speed competition shouldn’t have any issues; the questions were designed to be quite tricky, and Shen Bailin hadn’t appeared in the Shen Family Battle Array Map simulations for a long time. Not just those Outer Courtyard youngsters, even Shen Jinghai himself only had a general understanding of Shen Bailin. If they suddenly engaged in battle, it was unavoidable to feel powerless in front of the Ice Meteor Battle Armor. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

In contrast, the Li Family received the test questions two days early. As long as they were not completely foolish, they should have devised a strategy against Shen Bailin’s Ice Meteor Battle Armor, whether by employing a near-suicidal strategy to boil their True Essence for explosive power, or by temporarily preparing Miraculous Elixirs to resist the armor’s cold — they would hold a significant advantage over the unprepared Shen Family Outer Courtyard people.

Ideally, the projection that once stumped many might be overturned in less than thirty seconds. At least, based on the strength Shen Qingming and Li Wanqing demonstrated during the Cyan Cloud competition, thirty seconds should be more than sufficient.

However, once Secretary B sent the first battle report from the scene, Shen Jinghai’s heart immediately leaped.

The first to appear, Shen Qing, wielding the Divine Weapon Silver Frost, astonishingly defeated ancestor Shen Bailin within thirteen seconds — the sturdy, unbreakable Ice Meteor Battle Armor persisted under continuous blows from the Warhammer for only thirteen seconds!

At that moment, Shen Jinghai felt that things were already veering off the normal path; the speed competition’s questions might have been leaked. Whether it’s the armor-piercing capabilities of the Divine Weapon Silver Frost or the open, fiery True Essence boiling tactics — all seemed exceptionally targeted. If not premeditated, it’s unimaginable how Shen Qing could have achieved such a result.

After Shen Qing, Shen Lu swiftly ended the battle in 11 seconds, further confirming Shen Jinghai’s suspicion. If the questions were leaked in advance, it’d ironically be disadvantageous for the Li Family.

After all, the Shen Family knows themselves best. With the confirmed speed target of Shen Bailin, the Shen Family had numerous ways to gather detailed information about him and devise highly targeted strategies. In contrast, the Li Family, being outsiders, couldn’t obtain comprehensive intelligence and relied largely on guessing, much less efficient than the Outer Courtyard people.

With this realization, Shen Jinghai decided to halt the speed competition, but just as he was about to authorize Secretary B at the front, an urgent order from the City Lord’s Mansion forced him to temporarily put down his work and report in person immediately.

This report lasted until the afternoon, and as Shen Jinghai hurriedly left the City Lord’s Mansion, he received a solemn-faced message from Secretary B from the front.

"Shen Feihong just appeared last, finishing the competition in just 5 seconds — almost a meet-and-greet kill, incredibly magnificent and spectacular. Currently, the top five Outer Courtyard times are 5, 9, 11, 12, and 13 seconds. Everyone’s performance is somewhat... beyond expectations."

Shen Jinghai’s heart sank at once; the situation had become challenging. If the competition had been halted for various reasons early on, it would have been easy, but now that all Outer Courtyard juniors had completed their tests, suddenly stopping before the Li Family appeared would blatantly imply shady dealings, likely causing backlash from the Outer Courtyard people.

Before the City Lord’s centennial birthday banquet, maintaining stability was paramount; a public incident giving others a derogatory view was unnecessary, so...

While contemplating, Secretary B urgently inquired, "Sir, the Li Family is now preparing to appear, led by Miss Qingming. Although she seems confident, I worry about the situation spiraling out of control. Should we find a way to halt the competition?"

Shen Jinghai responded, "How do we halt the competition now?"

Secretary B replied, "I can quickly go to Captain Shen Zicheng and have him intervene to stop the event. The unprecedented Outer Courtyard results hinged largely on Divine Weapon Silver Frost. But this Divine Weapon is beloved by Captain Shen Zicheng, never borrowed, let alone circulated among more than a hundred Outer Courtyard people... So, I suspect the Outer Courtyard people borrowed it through improper channels. If Captain Shen Zicheng learns of Silver Frost’s plight, storms the stadium, then those previous results would naturally be invalid — by Shen Family rules, scores obtained through stolen means aren’t counted."

Hearing this, Shen Jinghai immediately felt enlightened.

Indeed, an excellent idea; if the competition halt was forced administratively by the Vice City Lord’s Mansion, it would surely provoke backlash. But if the aggrieved Shen Zicheng intervened, it painted a different picture, with the Outer Courtyard people wrong from the start. If results couldn’t count, they had nothing to argue about.

Realizing this point, Shen Jinghai immediately responded, "Now that you know, hurry! During critical front-line situations, don’t always wait for leadership decisions; you must learn to adapt!"

This comment seemed critical but actually equated to elevating Secretary B’s operational privileges. Secretary B, thrilled upon receiving higher endorsement, eagerly accepted the task, then crafted an urgent message to Shen Zicheng.

"Captain Zicheng, as the Vice City Lord’s Mansion staff, I have urgent matters to report as follows:..."

In just a few words, Secretary B relied on his skillful writing to embellish the tragic ordeal of the Divine Weapon Silver Frost being used by hundreds, leaving a permanent mark on the hammer’s handle. At the end, the literary flair of Secretary B struck again as he added: Although the weapon spirit remains unconscious, I seem to see a drop of Blood Tears of the Vermilion Face fall!

With such a letter, given Shen Zicheng’s temper, he might explode his True Essence right on the spot and rush over like a Meteor Chasing the Moon to wreak havoc.

However, a second passed, two seconds passed... Secretary B waited in place for a full two minutes, yet the urgent message seemed to have sunk into the sea!

This isn’t normal; the urgent message from the Deputy City Lord’s Mansion should reach the recipient immediately, without delay.

Helplessly, Secretary B had to activate his Divine Sense once more and used the Sound Transmission Technique to directly converse with Shen Zicheng.

"Captain Zicheng, I am from the Deputy City Lord’s Mansion..."

Before finishing, he received a reply: "Ah... I, whew, know, whew, I’ve, um, read that letter. Whew, don’t worry."

Secretary B was dumbfounded: "Don’t worry?!"

"It’s just... um, a weapon, no big deal, whew, if they like to play, um, let them borrow it. If there’s nothing else, ah, that’ll be all."

"Wait, Captain Zicheng!?"

However, no sound came from the other side. Secretary B was left speechless, feeling his brain circuits were somewhat insufficient.

What the heck is going on? Shen Zicheng actually said a weapon is no big deal? This is even more unbelievable than Shen Herong turning into a cute girl! And what exactly was he doing earlier, struggling to say a complete sentence, panting like he was doing heavy labor...

However, no time for Secretary B to ponder further, the rest time for the speed race was over, and Li Family’s leading member Shen Qingming was about to officially enter the arena!

"Oh no, now... I can only rely on fate." In an instant, Secretary B held his head and collapsed, feeling like he was one step closer to an all-night work marathon leading to hair loss, weight gain, and ending up in the electric chair lifestyle...

At the same time, as Shen Qingming paced into the arena, she also felt a bit anxious.

What trick is Wang Jiu planning to use against Shen Bailin?

That kind of strong defense is no lesser than Li Wanqing’s Yuqing Taoist Armor. Without the armor-piercing effect of the first-rate Divine Weapon Silver Frost, Shen Family would have a hard time breaking through the defense. And for the Li Family, the situation isn’t much better. Li Wanqing and Li Chaolu have both tried to simulate the battle, concluding that even with the power of Wang Jiu’s Celestial Divine Sword, it’s a thorny challenge.

Though the Celestial Divine Sword is exceptionally effective, the reconstruction of Sword World is still in its early stages, and in terms of sheer destructive power, it’s not comparable to the traditionally recognized Advanced Magical Treasures.

Moreover, Shen Qingming and the others cannot compare with Shen Feihong and the other Outer Courtyard elites.

In this case, what magic will Wang Jiu perform to win this speed race?

With a hint of doubt, Shen Qingming was guided by Wang Jiu into the arena.

Entering the arena, Shen Qingming felt as if her coat was a bit heavier than before, but she couldn’t be sure if it was just her imagination...

Then the countdown started, and Shen Bailin at the center of the field turned his gaze, his ghostly blue flame-like eyes sending chills down people’s spines.

The huge gap between Wind-Rising Realm and Cloud Flipping Realm instantly made Shen Qingming feel her limbs going weak, True Essence running inefficiently, yet... as a mount, someone naturally helped her move.

Wang Jiu fully controlled Shen Qingming’s actions through the Master-Servant Contract, and in the first second of the battle, he opened Shen Qingming’s coat.

Revealing underneath the coat, a heap of unstable spirit stones in an excited state.

The next moment, the second second the race started, a mushroom cloud gracefully rose within the arena.