Jiangnan Base City. A lavish hotel was hosting a welcome banquet for the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's new Inspector. Important figures from every major faction had come to offer their congratulations and meet the young Inspector.
The banquet was in full swing. After congratulating Luo Feng, Xue Xi pulled Xu Xin over to a corner to sit, leaving Luo Feng to handle the socializing on his own.
Xu Xin had dressed up carefully for the evening. Her elegant gown showed off her stunning figure, making Xue Xi feel a little self-conscious. But she quickly consoled herself: It's fine. Being small is easy and comfortable. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Noticing Xue Xi sneak a glance at her chest, Xu Xin covered her mouth and giggled. Xue Xi, sensitive to the slightest hint of teasing, immediately looked up and glared at Xu Xin, whose expression was full of amusement. "What's so funny? I'm still growing, you know. I'll definitely be just as well-endowed as you someday. Don't believe me? Let's compare again in a few years!"
Xu Xin watched the indignant Xue Xi with an amused smile. "No, I never said I didn't believe you. Besides, small is cute too!" As she spoke, she reached out with a mischievous hand, making Xue Xi quickly change the subject.
"Forget about me. Let's talk about you and Luo Feng instead. How's it going? Tell me!" Xue Xi leaned close to Xu Xin's ear, looking utterly gossipy.
"You're going to kill me." Xu Xin was indeed a little flustered, her attention successfully diverted. She pushed Xue Xi away from her ear, where she'd been breathing warm air, and replied, "Pretty well. Ever since A-Feng graduated from the Elite Training Camp—and became the only person to get a Gene Multiplier boost from your Braised Pork Knuckle—my family's been wishing we'd get married tomorrow."
Xue Xi raised her little fists. "Then congratulations! Make sure you invite me to the wedding. I can work in the kitchen or be a bridesmaid—I'm good for either."
Xu Xin pinched Xue Xi's cheek. "Of course. And you can laugh at me if you want, but as the Xu Family's eldest daughter, I've never had a real friend to play with, not once in my life. Most people have only ever pretended to care about me for the sake of the family. Who else would I invite if not you? If you don't show up, heh, I'll hold the wedding right in your restaurant!"
The two were whispering in their corner when, suddenly—
Military commander Li Dawei got a phone call and shouted, "What? A Level 1 Beast Tide has suddenly broken out in the coastal waters? All right, understood. I'll be right there!"
He then invited the War Gods present to join him. Xue Xi was secretly delighted. The Beast Tide wasn't supposed to break out for several more months, but it seemed the military commander had taken advantage of all the War Gods gathered at the banquet to launch an early counterattack against the coastal Monsters.
Xu Xin watched Luo Feng leave, her brows knitting together. She was clearly worried about him.
Xue Xi reassured Xu Xin. "Don't worry too much. I'll go help keep an eye on your young boyfriend. I'll also pick up some high-grade seafood ingredients while I'm there. They might come in handy for new dishes later."
Hearing that her friend would be going to the battlefield too, Xu Xin felt much more at ease. She'd heard Luo Feng talk about how easily Xue Xi had killed two villainous War Gods, one of them a High-Level War God. "All right, then I'll leave him in your hands. Be careful, too. You can never let your guard down on the battlefield."
Xue Xi nodded, drew the Coiled Dragon Blade from the Universe Pot in her pocket, and flew toward the Huangpu River estuary on her flying blade.
She sped through the air, the Coiled Dragon Blade cutting through the clouds. In less than half an hour, the distant coastline came into clear view—but there was no water to be seen.
The sea's surface was covered in countless Monster corpses. All kinds of aquatic Monsters surged up from beneath them, filling the sky.
There were vicious arthropod Monsters, reptiles accustomed to life on land, strange coelenterates and echinoderms, and, most numerous of all, vast black swarms of fish Monsters!
Yet even this overwhelming tide of Monsters had been stopped by a huge war fortress in the middle of the river, a military base built entirely of reinforced concrete.
Countless menacing gun barrels jutted out from the base, unleashing a steel torrent that tore through Monsters with weak defenses. Rows of laser cannons above were trained on the paths of the high-level Monsters. If any dared cross the line, the lasers' "death beams" would reduce them to ash!
Every so often, a Monster broke through the defenses and reached the base's walls. Then a Martial Artist from the army would step out with a flask of liquor and fight it in a fair duel. For the moment, the balance of victory in the Beast Tide had tipped toward humanity.
At the very front line, the War God-level Martial Artists summoned by Li Dawei were killing high-level Monster lords and crippling the Beast Tide's command.
The heat of battle swept Xue Xi up, too. She raised her blade, picked out several high-level seafood Monsters, and charged into the fray. Of course, she first made sure to have her essential Combat Meal.
She downed Lamb Paomo to boost her strength, ate a Gaoqiao Scallion Pancake as emergency fuel, then had Pan-Fried Buns to increase her speed. Finally, she ate a handful of Five-Spice Beans and Pear Syrup Candy for a boost to both defenses. Xue Xi felt as if she'd eaten Popeye's spinach, and her confidence soared!
Her telepathic perception reached dozens of kilometers. Beneath the sea, she sensed three Monsters with the strongest life forces. If she wasn't mistaken, they were the two Intermediate Lord Mountain-Shaking Whales and the High-Level Lord Sky-Hissing Beast mentioned in the original story.
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