Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  Happy was lacking a good sword at that moment, so his eyes immediately brightened. He quickly thanked the lady for her gift and began brandishing it once it was in his hands. The Murong Clan Lady smiled faintly and left.

  Translator's Note:

  [1] Universe Bag: Otherwise known as Qiankun Bag. Same function as bag of holding and storage bag, but the characters are different.

  Chapter 17 - Ran Into a Robbery

  Happy appeared to be a handsome young lad, and he was very eye-catching. When he held the Noble Sword, he became even more elegant and gained a little of the demeanor of chivalrous martial artists.

  He quickly left the Murong Mansion through the gate, and the male players who had yet to be officially taken into the Murong Clan were enveloped in envy and jealousy while sighing and groaning behind him. The female players' eyes sparkled with adoration. They stared at Happy's figure from the moment he appeared until the moment he disappeared. It caused their companions, who were ignored, to feel even more depressed.

  Once he left the Murong Mansion, Happy stored the Hundred-Battle Blade, which he got from the tomb robber, in the bank. Even though it was not a masterpiece, it was rather sharp and durable. It was just one step away from being a masterpiece. If he ever had the chance to practice sabers in the future, he could use it instead of having to buy another weapon.

  As for the jade pendants he received from the unlucky Third, Happy brought them to shops and sold them. He received one thousand one hundred taels of silver crumbs, and with the one hundred and twenty taels of gold crumbs and the five hundred silver notes he had since some time ago, he could now be considered a rich person.

  When he passed by the clothing shop, Happy stopped. He lowered his head and looked at the gray clothes on his person. At that moment, the memory of what the Murong Clan Lady had said came to him.

  The Murong Clan was a reputable clan. He could not destroy the elegant and graceful reputation they had.

  Yes, he had to spend his money.

  He turned around and walked into the clothing store. When he walked out, his gray clothes had been switched for simple, light-blue warrior clothes. He had a blue hero's headband tied around his forehead, and a little bit of the graceful bearing of the pretty boy image he previously had went away. Instead, he gained the heroic bearing of a warrior and the demeanor of a man.

  He had not spent much on his clothes and was dressed in the same attire as when he had still not gained a name for himself in the World of Martial Arts in his past life. At that time, he managed to gain the affection of quite a number of girls, and he even set a trend. Of course, his weapon at that time had not been up to standard…

  When he walked out of the shop this time, his attire immediately caused a commotion among the players on the street.

  The Noble Sword, his blue warrior clothes, and the hero's headband caused his appearance of a pretty boy to change greatly. He looked even more passionate than before, and half of Gusu City's people fixed their eyes on him. In fact, some of the more daring female players even sent flirtatious glances at him and tried to make eye contact with him.

  When they sensed the abnormal atmosphere from the street below them, two pairs of eyes peered out from the window of the first floor of a restaurant named A Restaurant. Those gazes quickly fixed on the back of the blue figure walking at the center of the street and causing a commotion.

  "He's very young."

  "Hmph, he's also very flashy."

  This was also a feature of the World of Martial Arts. Once players played the game for more than a month, their physical bodies and appearances would slowly grow into their real life appearances, no matter how old the players were.

  The duo stared at the light-blue figure on the street, and their gazes were incredibly disdainful and hostile!

  "He's just a newbie who hasn't even gone through the newbie stage, and he's already so arrogant. By the looks of it, he should be a disciple of some rich person."

  "Are you saying that we should give him a lesson?"

  The speaker quirked an eyebrow at his companion sitting across from him. While keeping his composure, he pressed down his weapon on the table and met gazes with his partner. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

  "You know me."

  The two of them laughed boisterously. They quickly stood up together and went downstairs.

  *****

  Happy's goal when he went out of town was naturally Villain Li Shan, who was surely going around collecting protection money. Happy's Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword had just entered the third realm, and while it was still a little lacking when dealing with Li Shan at half strength, his experience should make it a good fight. With that, he believed that the level of his skill would increase very quickly.

  The two people before him were taller than him by a head. They were also dressed in warrior clothes and were players equipped with a saber and a sword. Happy immediately stood still and put on a solemn expression.

  "I do not seem to know you."

  Happy had long since learned the evils of human hearts during his three years in World of Martial Arts. Many people might not be able to win against the NPCs in terms of techniques, but their hearts were much more dangerous compared to Villain Li Shan, Villain Third, and all the other evil NPCs.

  "This brat's sword… is quite good."

  "He seems to have quite some good stuff on him. How about this? If he drops his sword, it'll belong to you, and if he drops something else, it'll all belong to me!" The two men thought nothing of Happy and kept whispering in each other's ears.

  Happy was speechless.

  When he heard what they said, he lowered his head and cast a glance at the Noble Sword in his hands. He then started laughing coldly in his heart.

  He had not even gotten used to the sword yet, and he already ran into a robbery!

  Hmph.

  Once he understood that their greed had been stirred, Happy did not intend to waste his time talking to them. He drew the Noble Sword and pointed its cold tip downwards, diagonally at the ground.

  "Come at me."

  Since the two had already decided to rob Happy, he did not mind fighting against them.

  The duo looked at each other. They finally saw that there was something different about the young swordsman based on the burning fighting spirit and the calmness in his eyes. The disdain they had held for him swiftly faded away. This swordsman was completely different compared to the people they had met before. He was too calm and too composed…

  But the boy was still too naive. They were experienced players who had played in the game for a month, so they did not regard him too highly. The young man with the sabar contemplated something for a while before he looked at the sword user.

  "You go up first! I'll hold the line."

  "Alright." The person lifted his sword and took a few steps forward. He stared at Happy for a while before saying coldly, "Remember my name. I am Wu Hou!"

  "Enough with the nonsense already."

  "Hmph! I'd like to see how long you can remain stubborn."

  The sword user was immediately provoked by Happy's uncaring tone. He roared and executed a well-practiced Immortal Guidance. The glare of his sword became brighter, and he moved forward.

  Happy's eyebrows flew up. Genuine surprise showed up on his face!

  No wonder the saber user was at ease with letting the sword user handle him on his own. Just as he expected, the sword user did have some tricks up his sleeve.

  He used the Complete Reality Sword Technique from Complete Reality School. Based on his speed and strength, he was at the eight realm!

  He might have been surprised, but Happy executed a Penglai Welcoming Guest without any delay to parry the enemy's attack. Their swords clashed, and the difference in their sword technique levels instantly became clear.

  As the realms of the martial arts increased, the speed and lethality of the skills also increased. Wu Hou clearly had the upper hand in terms of speed and lethalit
y. He sensed the slowness of Happy's Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword and attacked again and again without any hesitation. His attacks were abnormally powerful, and he delivered an assault that completely oppressed Happy.

  "Haha! How dare you be so arrogant when you only have some children's tricks?!"

  Every time their swords clashed, Wu Hou could clearly feel that Happy's power and strength were not of the same league as his. He seemed to have just learned the basics of the skill, and his movements were jerky and had yet to become m.a.t.u.r.e.

  But there was something very strange.

  Even though his realm was very low and his sword techniques were inferior, his footwork was very methodical. It was as if he could predict Wu Hou's next attack beforehand, which allowed him to block it by paying the smallest possible price. Even though it was very difficult for Happy, he did manage to parry all the attacks.

  They fought for a while, and the expression of the saber user who watched the fight from the sidelines slowly turned stern and serious. He could tell that the young boy seemed to have a very good understanding of Complete Reality Sword Technique. His footwork was stable, and his sword technique became better each time he clashed swords with Wu Hou. Gradually, his movements smoothed out as well.

  In other words, he seemed to be using Wu Hou to practice his Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword.

  Chapter 18 - Secret Technique, Blood Cycle Slash

  Three years of lying dormant and practicing hard had resulted in Happy learning many beginner level skills from various sects very well. He could even exchange a few blows with the sword servant in Purple Bamboo Forest, let alone with a normal player whose skills had yet to reach the ninth realm.

  He had the ticket to victory firmly in his grasp from the beginning, but since he was too far away from Villain Li Shan and the two people came up to him on their own, he decided to treat Wu Hou as a free sparring partner who came up to his doorstep. Thus, he started practicing his Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword, which he had just learned.

  Sword techniques were different from fist techniques.

  Weapons could increase the lethality of one's skills. Even Li Shan would find a hard time to last under the sword. Since there was someone who was willing to keep him company, Happy was rather happy to practice his skills, even though the two players had malicious thoughts.

  Happy had sensed a degree of pressure from them at the start. The Complete Reality Sword Technique at eighth realm still threatened his life, but even so, the techniques of martial arts could be used to restrict each other.

  As long as he could tell the minute details and Wu Hou's actions when he attacked, Happy could predict his next action and his target in a split second. Then, he could make his decision beforehand.

  As they exchanged blows, his sword technique naturally improved.

  There were only so many styles in a sword technique, and once he waited until his opponent used up all his strategies, the fight after instantly became much easier. Happy was able to handle it with ease, and slowly, he broke free from the absolute disadvantage he was originally in.

  In less than five minutes, there was no longer any sign of underestimation on Wu Hou's face. There was only sweat from him handling the situation gravely as well as paleness that came from indignation!

  It was incredibly humiliating for him to not be able to defeat Happy after a long fight, and Happy was even younger than him. As time passed, he could tell that Happy's sword technique, of which he only knew the basics at the start, swiftly reached a breakthrough.

  With the help Wu Hou provided by serving as a sparring partner, Happy's skill improved by leaps and bounds. Soon, he reached the middle realms, and Wu Hou's sword technique began to be at a slight disadvantage.

  The ingenuity of Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword gradually showed itself!

  Nine Palaces Sword and Eight Trigrams Steps fused into one.

  'I see, so that's how it is.'

  Happy continued investigating the Nine Palaces Sword Style of Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword, which contained lots of changes. As he did so, he continued to figure out and fuse this skill with the essence of the Eight Trigrams Steps which he had learned in his previous life and had not used for a long time. Once he did so, there was no way he would not improve at light speed.

  When his sword technique reached the fifth realm, his speed could somewhat keep up with Wu Hou's Complete Reality Sword Technique. As long as he wanted to, he could even seize opportunities to attack.

  But at the end of the day, low-tier martial arts were still low-tier martial arts. They had many intrinsic defects and insufficiencies in various aspects. Before their user reached Grandmaster Realm, which was the pinnacle of perfection, all of their skills could be shut down and counterattacked.

  But Happy did not intend to defeat his sparring partner's confidence. He still wanted to enjoy the fight. This was a free service, so he continued defending and practicing his sword technique.

  "Damn it!"

  Happy's strikes became steadier with each hit, and it showed the essence and profundity of Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword, but as Wu Hou continued fighting, it became very difficult for him to maintain his composure. His sword technique had very obviously had the upper hand in the beginning, but now, for some strange reason, he sensed that Happy was becoming better. This pushed him into an increasingly more awkward situation, which seemed ludicrous for him.

  He became rash and impatient, and there were a few times when his sword technique missed its target.

  "Luo Xiaotian!"

  Wu Hou could no longer take it anymore and called for help.

  The man watching the fight had already figured out that Happy was very unusual. He had an internal struggle for a little while before he finally gritted his teeth and tapped the ground. Then, with his saber lifted, he joined the fray.

  "You came at the right time!" Happy said coldly.

  However, Luo Xiaotian's skills seemed to be better than Wu Hou's. His saber had a red glare, and there was a faint murderous aura surrounding it. When he brandished the saber, it would dazzle other people.

  Blood Wheel Saber!

  Happy quickly recognized that his technique belonged to Blood Saber Sect.

  Based on the strange sight of the person's motions being guided by the saber, he could tell that his Blood Wheel Saber had reached the ninth realm. Otherwise, the blood-red light would not appear in streams around it.

  Happy instantly felt the pressure increase!

  If it were not because he had experienced the strange effect of high-tier martial arts being better than low-tier martial arts multiple times, he would have fallen into the enemy hands a long time ago. This would certainly happen to any other normal newbie when they had to go up against multiple people, even if they also had a ninth realm martial art at their disposal.

  Blood Wheel Saber was a technique that gave up on defense and focused only on attacking at full strength. It was a skill that aimed to kill enemies, but would also damage its user in the process. It was incredibly lethal, and the rhythm of its attacks was above many low-tier martial arts!

  With a Complete Reality Sword Technique at the eighth realm attacking him as well, Happy instantly faced a dangerous situation. He struggled to cope with it; he was like a small boat rocked about in a violent storm and could sink at any time…

  Of course, the greatest amount of pressure came from Luo Xiaotian.

  If Happy was not experienced and didn't focus on only moving about using Eight Trigrams Steps while he tried to understand the word dismantle in the incantation of Nine Palaces Sword Technique, he might have lost and died at the tenth blow.

  The Noble Sword also provided a certain amount of help to Happy.

  If this weapon were not on par with masterpieces and had incredible durability, it would have chipped and cracked a long time ago, which is what happened with normal swords when they were used to face opponents whose levels were much higher than that of their owners.r />
  Lift! Push! Pull! Guide!

  All the potential of the key features of the word dismantle contained within the incantation of Nine Palaces Sword was brought out to its limit by Happy. He spun around swiftly on his feet like a top to avoid the attacks of the duo, but he did not remove himself completely from the fight. His Noble Sword moved about with agility, and wherever it went, it showed an unyielding will.

  Luo Xiaotian and Wu Hou's expressions changed completely once they saw that he was able to do this…

  They felt as if they had run into a formidable enemy while admiring him from the bottom of their hearts. They also lamented their decision to engage him in a fight.

  Happy had actually managed to use a normal weapon and a skill he had just learned to fight against two opponents who were much more skilled than he was for a long time without the slightest hint of being on the verge of losing. This alone was a very unbelievable matter.

  If the fight was uploaded online, it would definitely be on trending, but if that happened, the duo's reputation would be completely ruined…

  Why did they have to set their sights on a monster like this?

  'He can be as flashy as he wants since he has the ability to do so. Ah, damn it, being narrow-minded truly ruins things.'

  The duo cursed in their hearts, but they did not dare to show the slightest bit of disrespect in their attacks. If others knew that they could not take down a newbie who had just joined World of Martial Arts even after they started working together, how were they supposed to live in this world and make a name for themselves?

  After all, Luo Xiaotian was a person who had crafted some reputation for himself in the game. When he saw that he could not defeat Happy even after a long time had passed, he suddenly withdrew his saber, and the blood-red light entered his body. Before Happy could show any surprise, an even more astonishing presence exploded from Luo Xiaotian's body!