Once Ma Liang sensed how amiable Happy was, he no longer kept Happy at a distance. He stopped being as respectful as before and stopped wiping off cold sweat from his brow. An honest smile appeared on his face, and he gave off the feeling of someone who was s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e despite being quite boisterous.
"Heh heh, then I'll be a little arrogant and say that I hope your blessings will come true."
Happy nodded. "The quest is drawing near. I won't be saying much now. If we have the chance, we'll meet again in the future. Let's talk later!"
"Alright, see you soon!"
"Don't need to see me out. I'll be leaving now!"
Happy turned around resolutely.
*****
When he returned to Murong Mansion, the butler was already waiting for him with a group of the mansion's best fighters. There were also a few armed guards standing beside a carriage parked on the street at the entrance of the mansion.
"Uncle Rong!" Happy went over to greet the butler calmly.
Uncle Rong came down the stairs with a smile.
"You came back at the right time. We're heading to Beijing, and the journey will be long. It might not be peaceful. I don't feel at ease with the brats escorting the goods for such a long journey."
He paused for a moment before his expression became stern, and he ordered seriously, "However, this trip concerns the court's wariness toward the Murong Clan, and it is incredibly important for the Murong Clan! You must send the tribute to Beijing on time and hand it to the government official who is in charge of receiving the gifts. Nothing must happen to the tribute before it is handed to the government official, do you understand?"
His final sentence was given to all the people.
"We understand!"
Happy swept his gaze over the area and found that besides the fixed number of Gate Realm guards the system arranged for them, there were also a few familiar looking players standing beside Uncle Rong. They were all people who had joined the clan before or after him, but who had become disciples after Happy, so they had to be quite good.
When Happy looked at them, the three men and two women smiled and met his gaze.
"Eldest senior brother!"
"Senior Brother Happy."
Happy did not say anything, but nodded in response to their greeting. Once he looked around, his gaze returned to Uncle Rong.
The man seemed to be very satisfied with the harmonious relationship between the disciples. He smiled faintly, stroked his beard, and said, "As long as you can send the tribute safely to Beijing, the clan will naturally treat you generously when you come back. However, the journey is long. This tribute will have to go through the boundary in Forest Union. If you run into any accidents on the way, go to the cities nearby and search for Murong Clan's estates, then seek help from the person-in-charge there. Do you remember everything?"
"We do."
"Then you may leave now." Uncle Rong nodded at Happy.
With one word of command, the guard who was in charge of driving the carriage cracked the horse whip. It let out a loud crack in the air.
"Walk!" The guard sounded like a wild man when he shouted. The horse tied to the carriage started walking, slowly pulling the carriage toward the city gate.
The six people swiftly went to guard the sides of the carriage and moved with it.
There were plenty of teams like Happy's on the streets of Gusu City, but when they saw the Murong Clan flag stuck on one side of the carriage along with the blue-robed figure in the group, they cleared the road conscientiously.
There was a young man with some acne on his face who looked very lively within the group of Murong disciples. He took the initiative to break the silence and introduce his fellow junior brothers and sisters."Senior brother, this quest might take some time, and you still don't know our names, right? Let me introduce myself. My name is Xu Lang.
"The one with the black saber is Junior Brother Ghost's Worry. His name is scary, right?"
Happy's heart trembled. He looked over and met the young man's slightly innocent and alarmed smile and gaze.
'Ghost's Worry…'
He seemed to recall an incredibly powerful solo player from his previous life. But strangely, he could swear that the person had joined Barren Ghost Valley and mastered a terrifying martial art specializing in poison. Wherever he went, everything would die. So… he was actually from Murong Clan?
Before he could figure out the situation, Xu Lang pointed at a person with the appearance of a middle-aged man. He had a bow on his back and walked at the back of the group. "His name is Eleventh Crane! He's a bow maniac, and he spent a whole week to completely master the Three Bow Fusion. He can threaten three people when he draws his bow. When we go out and train, we like to bring him along."
Perhaps it was because of his age and experience, but the man only nodded faintly at Happy.
"Uncle Crane doesn't like to speak, but he's pretty good to us. Senior brother, you'll understand it in the future." Xu Lang's explanation made Happy feel slightly at ease. Once he nodded back in greeting, the two junior sisters from the clan started protesting in disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.
"Hey hey hey, Xu Lang! Ladies first, haven't you ever heard of this rule before? You didn't begin introducing from us, and you even placed us at the back!"
"That's right! You did it intentionally, right?"
The two girls were a little feisty. One of them glared at Xu Lang, and the other pinched his ears, terrifying Xu Lang so much that he laughed wryly and begged for mercy.
"Ow! ow! My two ladies, we have to give priority to those older than us! No matter what, I'm still your senior brother—Alright, I was wrong. I made a mistake, okay?"
"Hmph!"
"We don't need you to introduce us, we can speak to Senior Brother Happy ourselves." The feisty girl to the left was beautiful and a delight. With a huff, she let go of Xu Lang's ear, and like an A-list actress, she swiftly put on a sweet smile and appeared in front of Happy.
"I am Orchid Research. Greetings, Senior Brother Happy. I hope that you can gain great achievements in terms of your martial arts and wisdom, and that you can conquer the world of martial artists!"
'What the heck are you even saying?'
Happy did not know whether to laugh or cry.
The other female player arrived next to Orchid Researcher and stared at Happy with charming eyes. "This junior sister is Dawn Lotus. Greetings, Senior Brother Happy."
"Hehe, you flatter me. I'm not worthy of such compliments. Please, just call me Happy. I'm really not worthy of being called senior brother." Happy quickly put his fist in his palm, and his humble and modest attitude instantly won over the group.
It was especially so for Eleventh Crane. He was already in his thirties. He was an honest and thickheaded person, and it was truly a little hard for him to call a person who appeared to only be twenty years old his senior brother. When he heard the youth's words, a smile appeared on his face, and he took the initiative to speak.
"I have long since heard that the Blue-robed Noble Sword User is not just powerful, but that you also have extraordinary bearing. You do indeed live up to your name. Xu Lang, you have to learn from Happy. Don't always be such a goof."
Chapter 86 - Three Bow Fusion
After a short introduction, Happy gained a basic understanding of the five people. Xu Lang and the others also got a very good impression of Happy, who was their senior brother and who had already gathered some fame.
It was especially so for the two feisty girls. While they walked outside the city, they kept pestering Happy with questions. They seemed to have countless questions and great interest toward their eldest senior brother, whom they had met many times but never understood. Happy was not stingy with his words in the face of the two overly friendly admirers. He would occasionally tell them some of his understanding and knowledge of the game.
Xu Lang and Ghost's Worry followed behind them while listening attentively. Every time Happy spoke about some of the thi
ngs he had gone through, experiences, and tricks in the game, they would nod frequently.
Soon, the topic changed to the quest.
"How boring."
"We've been walking for half a day, but we have yet to run into any robbers. It's a long way from Gusu City to Beijing, if we continue like this, how long will it take?" While sitting on the seat for the coachman, Orchid Researcher pouted with her pink lips and grumbled.
The others showed their agreement.
They did not expect that their journey would be peaceful and boring.
Happy looked up to observe the sky.
"We haven't left the boundaries of Gusu City yet. Who would dare to rob Murong Clan's carriage in public and while the sky is bright?"
"You're right."
"Everyone, look at the quest log. There is already a sub quest on it." After Happy reminded them of this, they quickly called up their quest log. When they looked at it, delight instantly appeared on their faces.
There was a new statement before them: There was a courier station ahead of them, and they could get the horses reserved by the Murong Clan over there. At that time, everyone would have a horse, and they could speed up.
"This is great. We can ride horses!"
The faces of the two feisty girls instantly turned red with enthusiasm.
Ghost's Worry and Xu Lang were extraordinarily excited. Riding on a horse to wander about the land was the dream of every hot-blooded boy. When they thought about how their dream of riding on a horse was about to be fulfilled, how could they resist being excited?
Only Eleventh Crane cast a few glances at Happy, who was incredibly calm…
There were plenty of rumors about the Blue-robed Noble Sword User, but until the day before, Eleventh Crane hadn't known that the first disciple of the Murong Clan might truly have astonishing abilities. Otherwise, he would not have been able to make the two huge sects retreat.
With Happy holding the line for the quest, they were most likely going to get through it with relative ease.
Eleventh Crane touched the wooden bow at his waist and released a small breath of relief.
Happy did not notice Eleventh Crane's change.
He could understand everyone's excitement, but he paid more attention to the unstable variable of the bandits. The difference in the strength of bandits varied greatly. There were normal bandits who were just in Gate Realm, and there were also some powerful fighters in the Forest Union who had already reached Mystical Realm. He frowned and thought hard about this matter, but then decided on not reminding the group to be on guard.
If anyone came, Happy and his group would just deal with them.
If they paid too much attention to this matter, they might cause unexpected situations to occur. If that were the case, it would be better if they just went along with the flow!
Once he thought things through, Happy decided to go to the carriage and sit down cross-legged.
He circulated his true qi, and a hazy mist swiftly appeared around him. As Happy breathed indistinctly, his breath would sometimes turn into steam, and at other times, it would turn into dew that would evaporate in a moment. White fog surrounded him, and the rhythm of his breathing was slow and orderly, making him look like an immortal.
"This is…"
"Will such a great reaction occur when we execute our qi cultivation technique too?"
Ghost's Worry clicked his tongue and lowered his voice to talk about what he had heard and seen. "About this, I seem to have read this online. There is a martial arts geek whose qi cultivation technique seems to have reached Level 80 or so. When he circulates his qi, it will recover really quickly, and his vitality as well as stamina will also recover, but I don't think it should have such a great reaction."
Naturally, he did not know that Happy knew just how important qi cultivation techniques were. Every day, he would spend some time to practice Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique, and the day before, he had used the near dead Great Wolves to practice his secret technique—Black Dragon Murder.
Once almost every bit of the qi in his Dantian Region was used up, he would execute his qi cultivation technique to recover. Its progression was very quick, and he swiftly reached the tenth realm. As of then, he was at Level 93.77, and he believed that before long, his Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique would reach Grandmaster Realm.
At that moment, his qi cultivation technique could make qi circulate in his body on its own. Even though the speed was slow, the recovery rate of a qi cultivation technique in Grandmaster Realm would prove to have a great effect when he had to handle large-scale battles. It would not lose to him constantly eating medicinal tablets.
The five people watched for a moment. As they did so, they began to see the blood, sweat, and tears Happy poured and the effort he put in to become the strongest player in Gusu City through his actions.
He finished circulating his qi all three rounds, and his qi and qi cultivation technique gained an insignificant increase.
When he opened his eyes, Happy saw Eleventh Crane standing in front of him.
"I went to scout the road ahead just now. Before long, we'll reach the courier station, but there is a group of powerful people ahead of us. Happy, I heard that your throwing knives have reached Grandmaster Realm. I wonder who among us can kill more people."
His tone, however, did not suggest any sort of provocation. He sounded as if he had just suggested a competition between friends.
Happy did not say anything but nodded in agreement.
Even though lancet knives lost to bows in terms of lethality and the number of lives that could be taken in one go, Happy wanted to know just how great were Eleventh Crane's bow skills. After all, there was a conceptual difference between those who truly understood bow techniques and those who only knew how to shoot.
Once someone drew close to those who only understood how to shoot, those archers would definitely die.
Those who truly understood bow techniques had technique, accuracy, were lethal with the bow, and could strategize! The truly good archers would not leave a single person alive within one hundred steps…
If Eleventh Crane was a true archer, then Happy could not imagine how great of a help he would be in protecting the carriage. Even if they ran into many powerful fighters from the Forest Union in Blessed Realm, Happy was confident that he could deal with them with Eleventh Crane.
But if he only knew how to shoot...
Happy jumped down from his seat. With one light tap, he left the carriage and charged forward with Eleventh Crane toward the courier station located in the distance. They ran as if they had the wind at their feet and left the carriage far behind them. Their lightness skill were actually on equal footing.
"You're good." Eleventh Crane was quite shocked.
It had to be known that he had only two martial arts which had reached Grandmaster Realm as of then. One of them was Three Bow Fusion, and the other was Body Body, which was a lightness skill specifically tailored for bow users. He had spent around a month practicing it, and with those two martial arts in Grandmaster Realm, he obtained a certain amount of fame in Gusu City.
He had wanted to show off some of his might to this young senior brother of his, but he did not expect that his most treasured martial art—his lightness skill—would not be able to suppress Happy. Based on their speed, Happy was even slightly faster than him. He moved freely and in a relaxed manner.
But he did not know that Happy was also shocked.
Bow techniques in Grandmaster Realm were more lethal than throwing knives, and they were much faster and accurate. The distance arrows could cover was also something that throwing knives could never reach. This meant that if two players had lightness skills at the same level, the one who used bow techniques could threaten the one who used throwing knives, while the opposite was not the case…
When he thought of this, Happy felt ashamed.
Why should he be worried if there was such a powerful player in his g
roup? Even if they ran into a powerful fighter in Blessed Realm, he could just fool around and still manage to kill him!
Chapter 87 - Protect the Courier Station
Night fell!
The crescent moon high in the sky was gradually covered by dark, drifting clouds. Lamps were lit around the courier station. The land was swiftly enveloped by darkness, and it swiftly covered all the carriages that stopped outside the courier station.
The four guards arranged by the Murong Clan sat, stood, or leaned against the four sides of the carriage. They took turns in shift duty and protected the tribute from the Murong Clan with a great sense of responsibility.
The NPCs in World of Martial Arts would have their fighting abilities greatly reduced once night fell, and they had to rest. This made Happy and his group a little gloomy. They had to stop at the courier station and stay the night.
However, Happy and his group did not idle around.
When the horses prepared by the Murong Clan were brought over, they did not care about whether they would bother the citizens at night and saddled them to run about the walls of the courier station.
Since those were normal, tamed horses, the group got to understand their animals in no time, or at the very least, they learned how to make their steeds walk forward, stop, and change direction. All of that exploration greatly entertained them.
Happy became the abnormality in his group again.
Be it holding the reins, stepping on the stirrup to get on the horse, some of the small tricks to control the horse, or the execution of simple commands, he showed abnormal familiarity and decisiveness in his actions. He looked like an experienced rider who had ridden horses for many years. He easily controlled his horse and stood by the side while watching the group try to get to know their animals in a bustle of activity in the courtyard.
"Senior brother, where did you learn your riding skills? You give off a feeling that you're very relaxed and comfortable while riding."
Dawn Lotus struck her horse with jerky movements to arrive next to Happy. While speaking, the movement of her arm was incredibly stiff. She kept her eyes fixed on the fine horse beneath her and did not dare show any sign of relaxation.
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