Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  "Even if you don't show your face in reality, it doesn't matter," Wan She mumbled to himself while deep in thought. "One of these days, I will find you, and at that time. Hmph… Don't blame me for being ruthless. You'll have to blame yourself for offending someone you should not have."

  *****

  While Wan She searched vigorously for information on Happy on South China Martial Arts Ranking Board, he did not know that Happy had logged off the moment the system announced that he had officially become the champion in the University of South China and had received the recommendation for the national tournament.

  He took off his helmet, and his quiet actions immediately caught the Three Lonely Wolves'"fierce" glares. With a loud whoosh, the three of them rushed to the window. Their gazes made them look like rascals who had just seen a n.a.k.e.d woman and they were drooling over it. Their strange cackles made Happy feel goosebumps all over his skin.

  "Brat, you'd best tell us honestly. Did you run into some kind of miraculous meeting with someone or something in the game?"

  "You became so strong in just a little over a month; you must have some kind of secret! Tell us!"

  "We'll be lenient if you confess, but if you don't, we're going to torture you!"

  Happy was immediately rendered speechless. "Does entering the Murong Clan count as a fortuitous event?"

  "Nope."

  "Then does working hard to push my hidden weapon technique and lightness skill to Grandmaster Realm count as a secret?"

  "There's room for debate for that one." Qi Ci sensed that there was something in Happy's words with his extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e instincts.

  "There's nothing to debate about this." Happy rolled his eyes and said, "Go buy a hidden weapons manual, get yourself a bag of hidden weapons, search for an NPC in Gate Realm, and practice for three days and three nights, and you're guaranteed to enter Grandmaster Realm.

  "It's even easier for lightness skill. With a high-tier qi cultivation technique, you just have to run for three days and three nights as well as…" The trio listened until they had dumbfounded looks on their faces. When Happy saw this, he pushed them away with a rather resigned look.

  "I don't know whether there are any shortcuts in the game, but I haven't run into them, if that's what you're asking."

  While he spoke, he told them honestly how he had, by a stroke of luck, killed Third Tomb Robber during the tomb robber quest. He also told them that he had obtained a manual, a Universe Bag, and a rather large amount of money. He then finished with how he used the money to train his hidden weapons.

  The three then instantly came to a realization.

  If they had hidden weapons, their lethality would increase by leaps and bounds, and they would have practically no pressure in handling NPCs in Gate Realm. With some tricks, they could even handle Black Wind Mountain.

  The more Happy spoke, the more he drew the trio's attention away from his nigh perfect sword technique and fist technique. Instead, their attention moved toward the seemingly even more astonishing lancet knives and lightness skill. Then, once he provided some explanations, they felt that whatever Happy said was plausible. Even though they felt that it was unbelievable, they were no longer as shocked as before.

  "By the way, the champion this time will get 3,000 RMB as prize money, right?"

  Happy shifted the trio's attention again.

  "Yup." Bai Lang nudged his glasses up and looked at him. "How do you intend to use it?"

  "How else am I supposed to use it?" There was no way Happy would not know the three evil wolves' thoughts. He sighed and said once he accepted his fate, "To protect my secret, I'll first have to seal your mouths."

  But even though he said this, Happy knew very well that those who were paying attention to this issue some day or another would notice or guess who he was. He could delay the inevitable, but it was impossible for him to keep his secret for long.

  "Smart boy."

  The Three Lonely Wolves simultaneously gave him a thumbs up.

  "Tonight, we'll go to a high class hotel and eat. We'll also invite Xu Xin. If you want the money for a room, come to me," Chen Fan said with a cheeky grin while quirking an eyebrow at Happy.

  "Go away!"

  Happy rolled his eyes at Chen Fan in annoyance.

  Xu Xin was now their comrade in their "revolution", and he only shared a pure relationship with her as his comrade. Chen Fan was the only one who had dirty thoughts in his mind.

  Besides, what bothered Happy even more was whether "she" would link Chen Kaixin with Happy and come to him again.

  If she came to him, what should he do?

  Should he act like in his previous life?

  Or should he?

  When he thought about this in depth, his thoughts became chaotic.

  He immediately cast the Three Lonely Wolves aside and walked out of his dorm. He went to the balcony that was near the university's main corridor, but the moment he showed his face, he regretted his decision. The sun at noon burned brightly, but the fire in his heart burned even hotter. In his irritation, he was about to turn away, but to his surprise, a voice from below called out to him.

  "Chen Kaixin!"

  Xu Xin stood under the scorching sun and under his dorm in all her beautiful glory. Her face was red, though no one knew whether it was because of the sun or because she was too excited. She stared at Happy who stood on the balcony, causing a few boys on the path to continuously cast the two of them complicated looks that had envy mixed in them.

  Chapter 72 - Happy’s Worry

  Xu Xin dragged all of them to their base outside the university with a mysterious air about her.

  Just as Happy had expected, Xu Xin had also discovered his identity in the game, and once she watched the final battle between Happy and Orochimaru, she ran over for this matter.

  "I have a suggestion in regards to keeping Happy's identity a secret. None of us should reveal him for the time being, and we should match our statements so that we can protect our members' privacy no matter who we talk to."

  When they arrived at their base, Xu Xin revealed her plan excitedly.

  "Right now, Happy's reputation is very high in our university. It even surpassed Tea Words and Phoenix Dances' reputation. I believe that as long as Happy keeps his identity a secret, outsiders won't know that he is a member of South China Martial Arts Ranking Board. It will help strengthen the relationship between us and them in the future…"

  Bai Lang was stunned. "What do you mean?"

  The other two wolves also sat down with attentive expressions.

  "Think about it, Puffy God, Rascal, and the others were against the fee collection system South China Martial Arts Ranking Board had launched, and they even boycotteded it. If we grow larger in scale in the future, our influence and the benefits we gain will also become greater. Will the other students think that we're standing above them by then?"

  After pondering for a moment, the trio looked at each other and nodded.

  If it were not for Happy and Xu Xin's suggestion to bring out 10,000 RMB as prize money to indirectly weaken the people's rejection toward the system and also increase the temptation of the martial arts tournament, perhaps Puffy God and Rascal's attempts to boycott the tournament would have worked, and they would have definitely not seen the grand scene of around four thousand people participating in the tournament.

  They had solved the crisis at hand, but in the future, when South China Martial Arts Ranking Board received the recognition from the official website and could organize other events, similar situations might appear again…

  But if Happy acted on their behalf and called out to the people to join the event, many of the students in the University of South China would be willing to support the event because he had defeated Orochimaru and saved the university's reputation.

  With that being the case, Xu Xin's considerations were very reasonable!

  It was no wonder then that she had run over in such a hurry. She had come over f
or this reason.

  Xu Xin seemed to have planned many things. The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Her eyes sparkled, and she looked incredibly charming.

  "We can also use Happy's popularity and everyone's curiosity toward his identity to interview him… As long as Happy reveals a bit of his growth and experiences in the game when he shows up, it will definitely reduce the people's aversion toward us."

  Once he pondered over this for a while, Happy knew that this method was plausible. He would definitely receive funds for those interviews. As for how much he would receive, it would depend on South China Martial Arts Ranking Board's publicity efforts. At that time, they could say that they used the profit they gained from the trading platform on these things, and it would mean that they had indirectly returned the money to the people.

  On one hand, Happy was grateful for Xu Xin's professionalism, but on the other hand, he could not help but feel a little disappointed.

  However, he quickly cast it aside and focused his attention on Xu Xin's novel ideas. What he did not notice, though, was that Xu Xin would occasionally reveal a nervous look in her eyes when she spoke about the second half of her plan.

  This was because her ideas were all tailored specifically for Happy.

  Aside from the interview, she also intended to use Happy's name to organize a major competition every month to renew the Power Ranking Board on South China Martial Arts Board. She believed that even Puffy God, NotasRascal, and all the other people who had great charisma would not be able to resist the temptation. They would continuously work hard to repeatedly challenge Happy and attempt to surpass him nonstop.

  She had even further plans…

  If Happy gained the title of champion for South China Martial Arts Ranking Board during the national tournament between regions, he would build up an even greater influence and reputation on the official website. He might get the powerful players from other websites to challenge him and join their website, which would attract them to the multiple platform trading system they planned to establish in South China Martial Arts Ranking Board in the future.

  It could be said that not only had Xu Xin thought about what they should do for the website, she had even laid out a pretty decent long-term plan for them.

  "Then we'll do it like that."

  Happy nodded, having made his decision.

  "Alright, this publicity stunt will be enough. The effect will last for a long time," Xu Xin agreed.

  Her current self was a little different from the Computer Engineering Department princess that Happy once knew. She was no longer a bashful girl who would not speak up and had no opinions of her own. She now looked like a leader who could control and affect others.

  This feeling made Happy find the situation a little inconceivable.

  Not only had his return to the past brought about some qualitative change to certain matters, he had also influenced the people around him. Xu Xin, the Three Lonely Wolves, and also… Orochimaru, kind of?

  If this continued, perhaps the world he was once incredibly familiar with would change completely! At that time, would the one emperor, two empresses, three kings, seven dukes, and thirteen aces still appear? Would the events he once experienced happen just like they did in his previous life?

  Happy could say nothing about that.

  He s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath, and a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.

  "Happy?" Xu Xin had been keeping an eye on Happy's expression all this while, and she swiftly noticed the changes in his emotions. She quickly stopped speaking and called out to him in slight nervousness. "Happy… if you think that my suggestions are a little too much, we can change."

  When she saw the befuddled expression on Happy's face, she thought that he had become angry, and she tensed up.

  "It's nothing, I just thought of something else just now."

  Happy smiled in anguish before he waved his hand and showed that he was okay with the idea.

  However, he did not expect that his expression would make Xu Xin even more nervous. She was certain that Happy did not like her suggestion just now, but did not want to voice it out, and she became so anxious that she did not know how to handle the situation anymore.

  Once Happy recovered, he explained himself. "It's really fine. I was thinking that when I fight against the top players from the other websites, I might not be able to rank very high.

  "The other websites will have players in Blessed Realm as well. I can only guarantee that I won't be ranked at the bottom, but it'll be difficult for South China Martial Arts Ranking Board to rank among the top."

  In truth, he had thought of this.

  It was actually not his intention to reveal too much of his power in the University of South China. If he continued to act in such a flashy manner, it would not be in line with his personality and attitude.

  Besides, the most important thing was that South China Martial Arts Ranking Board's development was far too quick. It would soon escape from the Three Lonely Wolves' control, and if they lost control of it, the website might die.

  And once he was pushed to the eye of the storm and the martial arts geeks from the game came looking for him, he would be incredibly annoyed. Hence, he decided that he would only use lightness skills and hidden weapons to hurt others in the tournament and avoid close-quarters combat so that he could avoid drawing even more attention to himself. [1]

  Chapter 73 - Poaching People on Stage

  There were not many regions who joined the first martial arts tournament hosted by the official website. Only around fifty websites in China participated, and less than thirty of them managed to organize a martial arts tournament. Hence, among the remaining websites, only three people could truly threaten Happy.

  Only the three had reached Blessed Realm!

  However, at that moment, the official website put up an announcement…

  Since the limitations were rather small for this offline martial arts test, the rewards would not be too great. Aside from obtaining a rank on the official website, only the top three would receive prize money of 50,000 RMB, along with a normal high-tier martial arts that could only be learned by those in Blessed Realm!

  The champion could also receive a high-tier martial art that corresponded with a low-tier martial art in which they had reached Grandmaster Realm. For example, Shaolin's Long Fist corresponded with Arhat Fist. If a player wanted to learn Arhat Fist, they had to first reach Grandmaster Realm with Shaolin's Long Fist.

  When he received this news, Happy knew that his original plan of not fighting seriously had just been destroyed.

  The ranks on the official website were not important, but the temptation of 50,000 RMB and one high-tier martial arts manual was great. Even though he had experience from his previous life, it did not mean that Happy was a person with no d.e.s.i.r.es. On the contrary, what he pursued now were even higher achievements, and that meant he intended to go even further and was even more ambitious than before.

  He would go into private schools in the future to learn and increase his Comprehension, and there would be many places where he would require money. It was also not easy to get a high-tier martial arts manual. Their drop rate was incredibly low, and the chances for missions or quests to provide them was also very low. Each book cost more than fifty thousand taels of silver crumbs, and the good ones would even cost 1,000,000 RMB, not to mention how difficult it would be to even find one on sale.

  It was only natural that he would not let go of such a good opportunity.

  That afternoon, Happy used his status as the champion of South China Martial Arts Ranking Board to slaughter his way up the martial arts tournament. He did not change his attire. He was still dressed in blue robes, and he still had his face covered. The only change was that the cloth had turned into a proper face mask. It made him more handsome and mysterious.

  During the first three elimination matches, Happy did not run into anyone in Blessed Realm.

  He struck fast and eas
ily sent his Gate Realm opponents flying off the stage. Within a short period of time, he ended his battle and entered the next segment of the tournament.

  "Not bad."

  His first opponent in the second segment was one of the powerful players in Blessed Realm. He came from a website development company called New World and wore a white robe and a silver belt. He had an extraordinary appearance, and there was a smile that never changed on his normal face, which had not reached thirty years old. He appeared to be very amiable and experienced. From the moment Happy arrived on the stage, he started to close the distance between them with a pleasant smile.

  "Young man, you're still a student, right? I'm the website director of New World. Would you be interested in joining World Guild, which our company created?"

  Happy was rendered speechless. He was simply stunned.

  The website director of New World thought that the idea of joining the guild had formed in Happy's mind. His smile did not change when he placed his hands in front of his body and provided an explanation just like how a leader would.

  Happy had no idea what to say at this point. He was speechless.

  'Headhunters now come to recruit people even in a tournament?'

  A salary of 5,000 RMB might sound pretty good, but he was still going to end up working for them, and he would at most be a high-ranked worker. He would just be providing money and items for New World. There was no prospect for any future development in this.

  His eyes, which were revealed outside the mask, became calm again. "Not interested." he answered with an indifferent tone.

  "You can think about this more."

  When the director for New World said this, the system announced the in-game IDs of the two competitors and proclaimed the start of the battle.

  "No need."

  A simple answer tumbled out of Happy's lips.