Chapter 361: Body Swap Play!
The classic boss is right there in the newbie village.
Fight all the way until you return to your own home, only to discover that your own parents are the final boss or something...
And the groundwork is even laid—Dad and Mom are both Incubators; it would make perfect sense for them to become the ultimate boss.
A grand world war, a cycle of reincarnation, eventually turns into a family melodrama.
Of course, for the most part, web novels don't stoop to such pettiness, but based on Jiang Si's experience reading other works,
most of those barbaric foreigners seem to love writing like this.
No matter how magnificent the beginning, it always ends up as a family melodrama. It's as if they can't write anything without turning it into a family soap opera.
The affairs of the world, confined to a single tiny room—childish and narrow-minded.
Unlike our web novels, which embrace the world, ending with either dominating the ages alone or defying heaven itself—killing the Heavenly Dao to save the world!
So, when Jiang Si first saw the Beast of Eternity, he was absolutely thrilled.
How was this Beast of Eternity any different from the legendary Heavenly Dao?
Behold, at the climax of *Tomb of the Gods*, regardless of righteous or evil paths, all set aside past grudges and selfish desires. Knowing full well they would be utterly annihilated, they still faced death calmly, sought life in the face of death, and fought the Heavenly Dao together for the sake of all living beings. They sublimated their petty love and hate into a stirring, tragic heroism!
Jiang Si had also tried reading the so-called epic masterpieces praised by fans of those barbaric foreigners.
Something about singing with ice and fire—after finishing it, Jiang Si only felt that he and those people had reproductive isolation.
That's it? Where's the epic?
Isn't it just about the petty affairs between men and women, or the squabbles at home? Couldn't they control their lower halves first?
You'd think a pack of horny savages were putting on a show, thinking day and night about how to strip down and streak right in front of everyone.
I can only say, no wonder they're barbarians.
In their works, the words "the common people of the world" never weigh as much as two pounds of crotch.
Although Jiang Si hadn't finished reading, nor had he read carefully, he felt he could already pass judgment. After all, the fact that it couldn't make him read it seriously and carefully was the work's problem. It had a fundamental flaw—it dared to screen readers like him.
Not as good as Harry Potter.
Anyway, if his parents turned out to be the boss, he planned to leave it to Keke. Let Keke deal with this family melodrama.
Most likely, he wouldn't be able to kill them in the end—that's the problem with family melodramas. They're drawn out, sticky, and messy. When fighting an opponent you can't deliver a killing blow to, the fight is unsatisfying, and you have to pass a moral check.
Kill them, and it's "fatherly love and filial piety." Don't kill them, and it's "soft-hearted sentimentality."
Let Keke agonize over that. At most, he'd step in at the end to seal his parents away.
Jiang Si had already decided that once he dominated the ages alone, his final opponent would definitely be the Beast of Eternity.
It would be best if he could even bring along the remnants of those Full Bloom Magical Girls who had died. Whether they were Witches, Disaster Beasts, or Magical Girls, they could set aside past grievances and fight the Heavenly Dao together, righting wrongs and saving the common people of the world!
The Beast of Eternity was also pure. After interacting with it, Jiang Si could confirm that the Beast of Eternity was his favorite type of villain.
Although it did annoy Iris, and it seemed to yearn for the miracle that Magical Boys might still give up on even in despair.
But at its core, it was still a beast that only knew how to devour everything.
Appreciation was appreciation, but that didn't stop the Beast of Eternity from eventually devouring and destroying all Magical Girls and all worlds.
Because that was its instinct, the very meaning of its existence.
It didn't need any redemption or pity.
All he had to do was defeat the Beast of Eternity head-on, letting it disappear contentedly and completely.
There was no opponent in this world more worthy of appreciation and joy than this.
Sometimes, seeing those originally relentless and cold villains suddenly claim to have had a tough past at the very end...
Jiang Si would feel both regret and hatred.
Those bad deeds were all painstakingly committed by them, and with just one sentence about their traumatic original family and past pain, all their "merits" were erased and they were redeemed. All that effort and hardship seemed to have been fed to the dogs.
You insist on saying they had a tough past, that they suffered while doing bad things.
Could it be that they were actually happiest when doing bad things, and that the sense of achievement was also very strong?
That's why Jiang Si loved existences like the Beast of Eternity the most.
Naturally in conflict with humans, with no melodramatic family trauma or tragic childhood—simply incompatible with humans, its instinct was to eat, eat, eat.
Fighting it came without baggage. Lose, and you're convinced. Win, and you're utterly satisfied.
Only the Beast of Eternity was worthy of being his opponent after he dominated the ages alone—the final boss!
Although Jiang Si hadn't said a word,
Bingtang watched him start fiddling with his exercise equipment, his expression alternating between excitement, disgust, and anticipation. She knew in her heart,
She guessed the Sect Master had thought of some web novel plot or ancestral anecdote again and was now completely immersed in it, unable to pull himself out.
Usually, in the Illusory Moon Cavern Dwelling, the Sect Master would occasionally get lost in his own world like this.
But in reality, Jiang Si couldn't fall into this state anytime, anywhere.
Falling into such a state meant the Sect Master had no worries in his heart—he wasn't urgently seeking a way to get stronger, Keke didn't have any problems, and he wasn't somewhere he didn't consider safe and relaxing, like outside the Illusory Moon Cavern Dwelling.
Only then would Jiang Si not sink into his own world.
Bingtang's mood immediately lifted as well. She hadn't seen the Sect Master suddenly zone out and start exercising and pondering like this in a long time. It meant Jiang Si was in a very good mood.
It seemed this matter with Black Keke had brought the Sect Master a great harvest.
Only when Jiang Si's expression seemed to snap out of his deep thoughts did Bingtang continue, "For Keke's plan to go to the Magic Kingdom through official channels, it's not safe enough to just have Disaster Control Bureau Magical Girls accompany her. Tiyana is also ready and will enter the Magic Kingdom with Keke when the time comes."
Jiang Si did pull-ups on the horizontal bar with one finger, going up and down repeatedly. Although this exercise had little effect on him, after getting used to working out, it was purely for relaxation and enjoyment.
It was pretty much the same as others playing games or sleeping—it put him in a good mood.
"If I remember correctly, only Disaster Control Bureau Magical Girls can use the official channels, right? And the quota slots are decided by the Magic Kingdom side, with very strict selection rules."
"Don't worry about that." Bingtang gave a slight smile. "Although Tiyana isn't great in other aspects as a true-transmission, she's always one step ahead of everyone in the Azure Cloud Sect when it comes to preparing for the future. She built a good relationship with her Incubator early on. She also registered with the Disaster Control Bureau long ago and has been active under the name of the Magical Girl 'Starry Sky' for over two years."
Unexpected, yet reasonable.
If it was Tiyana, she was indeed capable of doing this.
"So, with her abilities, experience, and her relationship with the Incubator, when the Disaster Control Bureau started opening quota applications for the Magic Kingdom, she successfully got one. She can definitely accompany Keke."
Indeed, having a true-transmission would be much safer.
And Jiang Si could also guess that she was determined to atone for her mistakes and was sure to succeed in this mission.
He finally nodded. "Well done. Then I'll leave Keke to her."
Qinghua immediately started recording audio and video on the side. "Hehe, Tiyana will definitely pay a hefty sum for this. And I can put it in our Azure Cloud Sect 'gal game.' This can be the final decisive line as a hint..."
Given the difficulty of pursuing their Sect Master, Qinghua had recently started planning to make a game herself.
She even had the tagline ready.
A Souls-like male-targeted gal game, a brand new love challenge experience!
There was only one target to pursue—the Sect Master. But there were many playable characters.
Her current plan was to make Bingtang the main route, the seven true-transmissions the side routes, and after completing the main route and side routes multiple times, unlock the hidden character outside the sect—the "Useless Person" class starting route. Keke would be another pursue target. Once Keke was successfully pursued, the difficulty of pursuing the Sect Master would decrease—it would be an official cheat.
As for other characters, she'd decide based on the situation. Qinghua felt this genius idea of hers would definitely explode in popularity. Once she achieved financial freedom, she could secretly hide it from Bingtang and splurge on the Magical Girl Idol Project...
Currently, she was secretly collecting every suitable line from the Sect Master for her game scripts, carrying a tape recorder with her everywhere.
Hearing Jiang Si's words now, she naturally felt thrilled. This could be used as the line from Jiang Si after the player successfully pursued Keke, serving as a hint to reduce difficulty in her Souls-like gal game.
But it was still too difficult to collect lines from the Sect Master that expressed liking or favor, so she had to resort to AI...
While Qinghua was still brainstorming her game plan, Bingtang suddenly said, "As for the matter of the Magic Kingdom, the Sect Master doesn't need to worry too much. There's something else I need to discuss with you."
On the other side, Little Yumo peeked her head out from the prayer hall.
But this time, she wasn't wearing that light green raincoat. Instead, she had a white transparent veil hat on her head, her hair tied up, making her cute little round face look slightly more mature.
Half her face was hidden behind the door, revealing only her eyes. Her bright, sparkling eyes looked at their Sect Master. Her right hand was shyly and carefully pressed against her head, as if to protect the little hairpin the Sect Master had given her.
"It's just that everyone is very interested in the engagement ceremony. My uncle suddenly hopes to have a few more little bridesmaids—says it'll be more festive. So, Yumo and the others plan to attend the engagement ceremony as bridesmaids."
Before Jiang Si could speak, Qinghua jumped up and pulled Little Yumo out from behind the door.
Although she had been holding onto the door frame with both hands, Qinghua said, "Let the Sect Master see. Otherwise, if he doesn't like it when the time comes, wouldn't it be a waste?"
Only then did Yumo let go, and habitually tugged at her hat. Although it was only white gauze, she covered her eyes like the proverbial thief covering his ears when stealing a bell.
Clearly, this wedding dress was also custom-made, very suitable for Little Yumo. It gave off a little model vibe often seen in photo studios.
Qinghua showed off Yumo's wedding dress to the Sect Master as if it were a trophy. "How is it, Sect Master!"
Only after Yumo hid behind Qinghua did Jiang Si nod. "Not bad."
Yumo's originally tense and shy face instantly relaxed. She smiled faintly, grabbing Qinghua's shoulders and shaking her vigorously.
"Stop shaking, stop shaking. Look at you, so excited. Calm down. There's plenty more you'll need to show the Sect Master later..."
Then, from behind Yumo, Jiegeng, who had been unconscious in the prayer hall due to a personality call, poked her head out with a faintly curious smile. Clearly, the Disaster Beast personality had regained dominance.
"What about me?"
"Your main personality isn't interested in this."
"."
After Jiegeng pulled her head back, Bingtang looked at Qinghua again. "What about the wedding dress you wanted, Qinghua? You were the one who made the most demands back then."
Qinghua scratched her head with a silly smile. "Hehe, I'm a hidden pursuit character. How could I expose myself at a time like this? I'll only show my decisive wedding dress at the very end..."
"Could it be... that Qinghua is just too lazy to bother, so she's not wearing it?"
"Yumo! I clearly helped you! And you still want to expose my weakness! I'll fight you!"
Bingtang closed her laptop and asked again, "So why aren't you wearing it?"
"I just don't feel like putting it on, that's all. I'll wear it at the actual wedding. No rush. Besides, it'll feel fresh then." Qinghua pouted. "Putting on a wedding dress is such a hassle..."
Inside the Illusory Moon Cavern Dwelling, the disciples were messing around. Jiang Si was also thinking about whether he could hold a few more divorce ceremonies.
After all, besides the Flame Emperor, there were plenty of divorce/annulment plots. He wouldn't mind going through them all again.
And most of the Azure Cloud Sect disciples understood his thoughts, so there shouldn't be any confusion or missed cues...
As he was thinking this, Jiang Si suddenly looked up sharply.
He immediately walked out of the Illusory Moon Cavern Dwelling, and the disciples followed him out.
Looking up, they saw a giant iron gate far away in West China.
The gate was incredibly ornate, decorated with various white ornaments and symbols that looked like star charts. It exuded an aura of mystery and sanctity, resembling the gates of heaven.
Countless Incubators flew around it, like circling white flies...
"The Magic Kingdom?"
Bingtang asked curiously.
Then, the exquisite gate slowly opened a crack.
Countless Incubators were instantly sucked inside. Then, something else arrived in front of the gate and silently entered.
Jiang Si reached out behind him. Bingtang immediately handed him a bow with perfect tacit understanding.
Then Jiegeng handed him a Certain-Hit arrow.
Yumo attached wind magic to the arrow.
Along the long path from East China to West China, countless Qinghua puppets rose into the air, waiting like a relay for the arrow.
Then, Jiang Si drew the longbow to its fullest. The bowstring bit into his fingertips, yet froze instantly.
At its limit, the bowstring trembled slightly. As Jiang Si aimed, his fingertips released. The longbow, drawn like a full moon, let out a buzzing twang. Like a meteor tearing through the sky, the arrow shot straight toward the gate!
A gale swept away all obstacles in its path, the terrifying power of the arrow screaming as it flew!
It traversed heaven and earth with world-destroying force, leaving a terrifying chasm on the ground. The space in the sky was torn apart, leaving clattering debris like shattered glass. Mountains crumbled, the sea roared—it was as if the apocalypse had come!
However, on the arrow's inevitable path, countless Qinghua puppets protected all personnel and buildings. The terrifying tremor passed without even shattering a single pane of glass in the city. It merely tore through space, split mountains and seas, and shot straight for the gate!
Countless spells and space-distorting magic tried to divert the arrow.
But under the Certain-Hit effect of causality, no matter how much they interfered, the arrow remained steadfast until it violently struck the gate!
This arrow, however, was not meant to destroy the gate. Instead, it firmly nailed the open gate in place, preventing it from closing!
Then, something silently flew out from inside the gate and vanished into the air.
The longbow in Jiang Si's hand slowly melted into a pool of ice water, flowing and dripping down his palm.
That something that had floated out of the gate gave Jiang Si a strange feeling. After wedging the gate open, he planned to go in himself and check the situation.
"Bingtang."
"I'm here, Sect Master."
Just as Jiang Si was about to say something else, he suddenly froze and turned around.
Qinghua, who had been talking, also paused for a moment, gently touching her lips.
"Huh?"
With Qinghua's confusion, Jiang Si looked at Bingtang. "What's wrong, Bingtang?"
On the other side, Bingtang instinctively shrank her neck and cautiously reached out a hand. "I... I'm Yumo..."
Yumo, still in her wedding dress, burst into laughter, jumped up, and hugged Jiang Si. "Haha, Sect Master! I'm the real Yumo! Say something nice, quick! Let it be a pursuit line for my gal game!"
Bingtang's face instantly flushed red. She grabbed Yumo and frantically tried to pull her off Jiang Si. "You, get off! I'm the real Yumo!"
"No way! I'm Yumo! I'm Yumo! Sect Master, look at my wedding dress! Isn't it pretty? Let this be the final CG—one wedding photo for each person..."
"Qinghua." But the person in Qinghua's body coldly addressed Yumo like that.
Yumo, who had been so excited, immediately drooped her head and behaved. "How did you figure that out? I thought I disguised myself perfectly, Lady Bingtang?"
On the other side, Bingtang was crying and pulling at Yumo. "I... my wedding dress..."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry! I didn't ruin it! I was wrong, I was wrong! Don't cry in Bingtang's face like that! I'm begging you! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm really sorry!"
Watching the scene descend into complete chaos, Jiang Si remained silent for a long time.
Qinghua, who had finished scolding Yumo, now looked at Jiang Si with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Sect Master. With this current situation, it seems..."
"A body swap?"
"It seems so." Bingtang, occupying Qinghua's body, simply looked up at the gate. "Probably related to the Magic Kingdom?"
After a moment of silence, Jiang Si glanced at Jiegeng again.
Jiegeng, who had been looking around dazedly, suddenly started jumping up and down excitedly. "Sister, sister, this body is so tall!"
Then another voice came from Jiegeng. "Don't jump around in Jiegeng's body! It hurts my chest!"
"Sister, the spare flesh on this chest is so big."
"Stop touching!"
So that's Four Leaf and Six Leaf.
They ended up as two people sharing one body. So, the bodies of Four Leaf and Six Leaf over there held the two Jiegengs...
But Jiang Si glanced at Qinghua and Yumo again.
It wasn't always a direct swap. Yumo had taken Bingtang's body, and Qinghua had taken Yumo's body. There was no pattern to the swaps.
"More than just the Azure Cloud Sect," Bingtang, still using Qinghua's body, said while trying to calm Bingtang down. "What's important is how things are elsewhere. What exactly is the Magic Kingdom trying to do?"
"If Magical Girls in other places have also swapped bodies, it will cause unprecedented chaos in the new world..."
"The greatest chaos in history!"
Jiang Si finished speaking, and his heart trembled slightly.
Keke...