Chapter 124: The Sword Demon’s Secret Technique—Demon-Breaking Form

Quan Zhiling nearly stumbled and fell to the ground, her head spinning. She vaguely sensed that Xiao Ma seemed like a completely different person in an instant. Originally, she had hoped to seize this dimming moment to share a flirtatious moment with him in such a beautiful setting, but now his aura had shifted strangely, and Quan Zhiling found herself hesitant to approach him.

Beyond that, Xiao Ma had entered a certain state. Squatting down, he pulled out four phones and began synchronizing operations. No one knew exactly what he was doing, only noticing that his hands moved like phantoms, flitting between multiple devices. It was truly as if the Sword Demon had returned.

Xiao Ma himself was somewhat lost in a fog, only vaguely aware that the Dark Lord had hacked into Teresa’s email account. The Dark Lord possessed an incredibly powerful algorithm, rapidly and comprehensively tracking Teresa’s entire email cross-network. This was a supernatural skill beyond ordinary internet protocols—more akin to a mystical art.

Zhou Dongyun was right: rules are relative. Things beyond rules appear magical but ultimately align with science. It was like the ancient Song people holding black powder—if anyone told them about the power of the Great Ivan, they wouldn’t have seen it as an explosive but as a forbidden spell.

Of course, while the algorithm was godlike, the limited environment meant bandwidth and computing power were weak, so the process wouldn’t be quick.

Using the intersecting email network, Xiao Ma swiftly locked down all accounts connected to Teresa, searching through all emails for keywords and behavioral patterns. Teresa’s two public email accounts were smokescreens—public addresses that expanded the cross-network geometrically.

But there was still a trail. Even if the truly secret accounts weren’t tracked down, the Dark Lord’s algorithm would use big data from the intersections to deduce behavioral signatures. Zhang Ye.

In the end, like a blind man recognizing objects by sound, upon receiving this information, the Sword Demon’s aura vanished. Xiao Ma put away his phones and stood up.

The Dark Lord was ruthless, yet Xiao Ma was growing anxious. The Ministry of Internal Affairs oversaw the Political Intelligence Bureau and the Homeland Security Bureau, so such processes were no surprise. The British Security Agency’s cyber division would surely notice anomalies and counter-track.

What would happen next was uncertain. Xiao Ma felt that this raw “crown” was enough—he had already caused many chaotic mishaps carelessly. He truly hoped the Dark Lord’s quantum entanglement this time wouldn’t trigger a third world war or worse.

Throughout, Quan Zhiling was both baffled and impressed, staring wide-eyed. Yet after Xiao Ma turned around, he reverted to his harmless, innocent guise, his mischievousness tempered and approachable. Quan Zhiling preferred this gentle side and smiled brightly as she approached to engage him once more.

Damn it, the Dark Lord had done all the dirty work already, but because he was only lightly asleep, he started disliking Quan Zhiling again. Did the young master think he’d be happy if he became a monk? He was utterly clueless about pleasures, so his wife ignored him...

The waterside hall was brilliantly lit. After the formal reception began, small clusters gathered, each circle performing its own world.

Street literature rumors said that only low-level venues had countless scantily clad young ladies carrying trays of drinks, weaving through the crowd. But here, the professional servers were evenly split between men and women, all with strict dress and hairstyle codes—nothing flashy, especially female servers wore high collars that concealed their necks.

This was to avoid distracting from the guests. Most people moving here were glamorous beauties with a halo of fame—top figures in various circles—not requiring overtly revealing servers.

Nobles corresponded to socialites. Several socialites, dazzling the crowd tonight, moved around greeting people, flaunting the quality of their guest lists.

As is well known, guest lists needed constant updating, so they were also scouting for new targets—networking and exchanging pleasantries.

To some extent, it wasn’t only noblemen who hunted for beauty—socialites, after all, were human too, sharing common behavioral traits.

In a corner, an antique, precious piano bore a renowned master known for “shadowless fingers,” playing with deep passion.

As time went on, the crowd grew more restless, and various heavyweights took the stage one after another.

When Jiang Yaowen entered the hall, he frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected so many people tonight. He had only planned to meet Qiu Hongwen briefly to assess the next situation. Because both sides had distrust and it seemed Qiu Hongwen had secured some leverage, Jiang Yaowen’s invitation might be refused. Knowing Qiu Hongwen would attend, Jiang Yaowen came to confront him.

Judging by his understated car, Jiang Yaowen was clearly keeping a low profile. He lowered his head slightly and moved toward a corner.

“Oh... Fat Jiang is here.”

Some noticed Jiang Yaowen. Everyone present was a heavyweight in their field—just one step could cause an earthquake—so naturally, he drew attention.

A beautiful woman in a gender-neutral suit lifted her wine glass and drifted toward Jiang Yaowen.

Jiang frowned upon seeing her. She was Zeng Xiaoxian, a socialite famed as a siren, dazzling half the city. Her circle was a dream team—over a dozen top young male stars and models had ties to her. Recently, she’d been entangled with a prince worth hundreds of billions, nearly ruining him.

Jiang switched to a polite smile as she approached.

“Long time no see, Young Master Jiang. What’s this? Avoiding me?” Zeng Xiaoxian sipped her wine, her maturity and charm evident.

“No, no, Sister Xiaoxian, you’re overthinking,” Jiang shook his head firmly. “What wind blew you here? If you’re still fixated on that land, you’re mistaken. There’s no point asking me—no one can handle it.”

“No one said they wanted to handle it,” Zeng smiled and sat beside him. “It’s not for anything else. I usually come to these events. I saw you on the Poseidon recently, but you vanished when I tried to find you. What’s with the mystery? Got any juicy gossip? Spill it.”

“No, no, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m the most clueless of all—never any gossip. I know nothing about power,” Jiang said, shaking his head vigorously.

Socialites were much the same everywhere. Regardless of region, these events, charity galas, and the like were mandatory attendance to maintain exposure and social momentum.

In terms of wealth, she was roughly on par with Ye Gongmin but far more ostentatious. Rumor had it Ye Gongmin was once in her lavish circle and got trapped by her.

His distracted demeanor annoyed Zeng Xiaoxian.

“Qiu Hongwen’s here…”

A graceful middle-aged man entered, evidently drawing more attention than Fat Jiang.

Zeng Xiaoxian ignored Jiang and, raising her glass, walked toward Qiu Hongwen. She had to be quick—other socialites were already stirring.

Fat Jiang wanted to drag all these sirens to a quiet place and beat them up—they were all troublemakers.

But in this state, the handful of socialites crowded around Qiu Hongwen, so Jiang couldn’t speak with him. Jiang knew Qiu Hongwen’s temper well—like Ye Gongmin, he loved to show off. Maybe under normal circumstances they could talk business, but in front of beautiful women? His pride would cause endless trouble.

What would happen next was unknown. For now, all Jiang could do was wait.

Brother Xiao Ma was gone again, which unsettled Jiang greatly, but he dared not search.

Jiang had not anticipated such a lively night, and “he” disliked crowds. So it was possible he wouldn’t show up—like last time on the Poseidon, he had bailed at a crucial moment. Fortunately, others stepped in and managed to calm things down.

As for what would happen this time, Fat Jiang was clueless. Though the scene seemed harmonious with birds singing and swallows dancing, it was truly the prelude to a world war…