Xu Xin, who sat on her other side, also said, "Besides our faction, which other sect do you see in the game that can fight against Class One Hall?"
Happy looked at Phoenix Dances, whose eyes were red, and sighed.
"In truth, I didn't expect that Old Swordsman in the royal mausoleum would suddenly go through a change. I didn't even have a chance to fight against him. I was killed directly. If this hadn't happened, Class One Hall wouldn't have dared to attack Beautiful Robes Faction so easily.
"Besides, Beautiful Robes Faction and Mu Clan's development was pretty good. If given another month or two, we would have had no problem with moving up to become part of the top-tier sects. Class One Hall didn't want to see us becoming stronger, but honestly, all of this happened because I was too hasty."
Happy sighed in his heart. If he had not been so anxious to get Shennongjia's resources and build Mu Clan as well as swiftly stabilize the alliance of the five sects, thereby causing Class One Hall to feel uneasy, Class One Hall would not have risked the danger of offending him to attack Beautiful Robes Faction.
It was precisely because of Mu Clan's appearance that Class One Hall became wary and grew more determined.
Dream Clouds was a woman who killed resolutely.
She was a really tough character.
"This isn't your fault."
"If we were stronger, something like this wouldn't have happened."
"That's right. A faction can't be strong by relying on a single person."
Most of the people in the house spoke up to say that Beautiful Robes Faction's destruction had nothing to do with Happy.
Even they comforted him like that, Happy still felt gloomy and miserable.
However, he did not show it. He had asked everyone to gather because he wanted to placate his friends in Beautiful Robes Faction so that they would not fall apart in the real world as well.
"Phoenix Dances, have you transferred the resources in the faction out?"
When Phoenix Dances heard Happy's question, she wiped away her tears and nodded before answering. "Yes. Fortunately, we noticed what was coming early on, so we transferred all the resources and money in the faction to the bank. We didn't let Class One Hall benefit from this."
"Very good. As long as we have the resources, we still have a chance," Happy said.
After saying that, he turned to Chen Fan, Qi Ci, and Bai Lang. "You recorded the faction's contribution points, right? Even though Beautiful Robes Faction is gone, we can't erase our friends' contribution."
"Don't worry." Qi Ci answered in front of everyone. "We've made a record of everyone's contribution. The contribution ranking board on South China Martial Arts Ranking Board was originally used to motivate our friends to be active in carrying out quests and missions. But now, it can actually be used for another purpose as well."
He paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He suddenly looked at Happy and asked, "Are you saying that we can immediately rebuild Beautiful Robes Faction and restore everyone's data?"
The spirits of everyone in the house lifted.
Even though the shock brought by their faction's destruction was great, a fire burned in all their hearts, and their readiness to take revenge was incredibly high. If they could rebuild Beautiful Robes Faction, it would naturally be for the best.
They wanted to take revenge on Class One Hall in the name of Beautiful Robes Faction.
However, Phoenix Dances and some of the others remained frowning in worry.
If Class One Hall could destroy Beautiful Robes Faction once, they could destroy it a second time too!
Beautiful Robes Faction had been unable to withstand the attack from only three branches while they were at the peak of their strength. If they recklessly rebuilt Beautiful Robes Faction while nearly half of their members' abilities were largely compromised, there was a high possibility that Class One Hall would come for them again.
Their friends in the University of South China could not withstand such a blow again!
"It's not practical for us to rebuild the faction now," Tea Words said with a solemn tone. "If we want to rebuild Beautiful Robes Faction, we have to wait until everyone recovers their strength…
"But even if we manage to get through it, there is a possibility that Class One Hall will have developed to a terrifying degree. We…" Tea Words did not finish his sentence.
The underlying meaning behind what he did not say was something that everyone could understand once they thought about it.
He meant that he did not have high hopes in regards to rebuilding Beautiful Robes Faction!
Happy nodded slowly. "That's why I have an idea. We can have Beautiful Robes Faction enter Mu Clan, and we'll all shift to Shennongjia. There are more regions over there that are waiting to be excavated. The resources near the cities around Baokang are also pretty good.
"I want to quickly strengthen Mu Clan's abilities and make them strong. First, it could provide a great support for Beautiful Robes Faction's stable development, and second, we could use Beautiful Robes Faction's strength to further protect Mu Clan so that they will not be attacked by Class One Hall. We'd be killing two birds with one stone!"
The moment he finished speaking, the people in the room instantly burst into commotion. They discussed the suggestion among themselves.
"Enter Mu Clan?"
"I think it's plausible. I've come into contact with Thunderous Battle and Little North before, and they're pretty good people. Besides, Mu Clan currently lacks fighting power."
"It's a plan."
The eyes of Phoenix Dances, Tea Words, and the others lit up.
Chapter 388 - New Era
Even though Happy was the connection that allowed Beautiful Robes Faction to completely fuse with Mu Clan and no problems arose, there were nearly ten thousand members in Beautiful Robes Faction, while Mu Clan had fewer than three thousand. On top of that, Thunderous Battle was not a member of the University of South China. There was a high possibility thus that some students would be resistant to the idea of having him as their leader. That was something that was rather troublesome.
Also, Xuancheng was quite far away from Baokang. They needed to travel for a day or two, so the difficulty and danger of it was something that needed to be pondered over.
"Right now, we don't have any faction emblem, and the people from Class One Hall will not dare to chase after us without careful consideration. We will move as free people. We should not advance in a large group and give Class One Hall a chance."
Happy had long since expected the dangers, so he suggested the plan to move to Baokang as people who were not affiliated to anyone.
"Once we merge with Mu Clan, to make things easy for management, Mu Clan will establish a hall called Beautiful Robes Hall. All of our friends will join it. Phoenix Dances will be its hall chief and manage it.
"Thunderous Battle will not perform any direct management of Beautiful Robes Hall for the time being, but we will still share our resources with each other. The halls cannot be at odds with each other!"
The people in the house filled with hope for the future after discussing all that and relaxed.
Happy's plan took care of the Beautiful Robes Faction members' emotions. With the protection by the alliance of the five sects along with the elites from Chivalry Sect and Mu Clan, even if Class One Hall used up all their manpower, they might not be able to gain any benefits.
With that safeguard, Beautiful Robes Faction could not only develop without worrying about anything else, they could also help Mu Clan strengthen their presence. They would be able to obtain resource points in nearby cities as well.
Before leaving the base in high spirits, they even began to plan various matters in excitement
Phoenix Dances, Glutinous Rice, the Three Lonely Wolves, Tea Words, and some other higher ups stayed back.
The high-spirited atmosphere gradually returned to calmness born from rationality. Phoenix Dances had already wiped off the tears on her face and wh
ile sitting across from Happy with a straight back, she looked into his eyes.
"Is there really no problem? If we merge with Mu Clan, won't Class One Hall use this chance to attack Mu Clan? If that is likely to happen, we should not cause trouble to Thunderous Battle."
The ease on the Three Lonely Wolves and the others' faces vanished as well, replaced with graveness.
Even though it seemed like the merging of two large sects could make them stronger and able to fight against Class One Hall, in truth, Beautiful Robes Faction did not have a lot of fighting power right then. If Class One Hall was determined to destroy them, there was a possibility that Mu Clan would become their next target!
Happy analyzed the situation with a calm voice. "Don't worry. Even though Mu Clan doesn't have a lot of fighting power, we have a lot of powerful fighters. There is Thunderous Battle, Little North, the thirteen staff-using monks, as well as other powerful players from Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect. We also have people from Murong Clan and powerful players from the three local sects. If Class One Hall wanted to succeed, they would have to mobilize all their forces…"
He paused for a moment before he continued. "Besides, Vast Martial City is not far away from Baokang. If Class One Hall wanted to mobilize a large force, they would not be able to do it in secret.
"And if they really did something like that, I would immediately rush over. If Class One Hall does not want its vitality largely damaged, they should not take any action recklessly within a month's time."
"Then what about a month later?"
Tea Words keenly captured the meaning in Happy's words.
Happy scowled.
"I can't really say after one month. It will be the world of Life and Death Realm. If Class One Hall has an absolute lead in the game with players who reach it and Mu Clan hasn't become strong enough by then, Class One Hall will definitely that moment when they are at their strongest to attack Mu Clan. But this is something that has nothing to do with whether you join Mu Clan or not."
"This means that Beautiful Robes Faction only has one month." Phoenix Dances frowned.
Even though Dream Clouds had sent Happy a messenger pigeon as a symbol of peace earlier, he knew her methods very well. Attacking while they had the advantage was something professional gamers would definitely choose to do, so she would not hesitate when the time came!
It was not only Mu Clan and Beautiful Robes Faction who had to develop, but Happy as well. If after the month he was overtaken, Class One Hall might still attack Baokang.
Mu Clan was in a very dangerous situation.
*****
The destruction of Beautiful Robes Faction, the annihilation of Class One Hall's branch in Vast Martial City, the murder of Class One Hall's giant, Barren Murderer, along with hundreds of elites having their corpses strewn over the land were all news that shook the game!
Happy's killing stirred up a great wave of pride and heroic spirit that encouraged the people to live the way they wanted.
But when countless martial artists craned their necks to pay attention to the development of this matter, Class One Hall and Happy's intense clash did not happen as they expected.
Over the next few days, Happy did not continue to attack Class One Hall!
Instead, he stayed in Vast Martial City like before and continued to challenge the royal mausoleum. His actions were incredibly calm.
Class One Hall also reacted very strangely after they lost the elites from an entire branch and a heavyweight fighter who was a vice hall master. The death of Barren Murderer, who was the fifth on the Dragon Rank, made it seem as if someone had jumped out to slap Class One Hall in the face, and that was all.
Class One Hall had mobilized three branches for revenge after Beautiful Robes Faction had destroyed one of their normal branches. Yet when a large group of elites and a vice hall master were killed off, they actually acted in a calm manner. They did not rebuild their branch in Vast Martial City, and none of their people even got close to the royal mausoleum.
Both sides lived together in harmony.
This peace lasted for more than half a month, and countless martial artists were incredibly disappointed.
Beautiful Robes Faction gradually faded from people's sights, and the matter about Barren Murderer's murder also became not as significant after more than half of the Dragon Rank was occupied by Life and Death Realm players.
Everyone noticed that a new era was about to arrive!
While everyone went all out to train to reach Life and Death Realm, Baokang became stronger quietly. Once Beautiful Robes Hall was established, Mu Clan, which originally had less than three thousand people swiftly established three halls and now had more than sixteen thousand men.
Among them were the people from Beautiful Robes Hall, which numbered to eleven thousand.
They were the people who were originally from Beautiful Robes Hall, along with people who did not join it in the past but had chosen to act alone. Their strength level was varied. Some of them managed to reach Blessed Realm, which was of normal standards, but the hall was not lacking in elites who were trying to reach Life and Death Realm either.
Mu Clan also managed to attract more Wudang Sect, Shaolin Temple, and Murong Clan disciples to join them during that period of time. They filled up a War Hall with more than three thousand people.
The remaining two thousand were players who focused on occupations. Most of them were herbalists, ironsmiths, and tailors, with only around a dozen merchants…
*****
On that day, Thunderous Battle rushed into the first forging room impatiently with his face filled with excitement.
"Haha, Heartless Iron, bro! Congrats! You're definitely going to get the title of the best forgemaster in Mu Clan!"
"It's all thanks to you cultivating me."
"Clan master, you mentioned before that as long as I become a Forgemaster, you will give me a surprise. I'd like to know whether that means that I can begin attempting to make third-echelon equipment."
Heartless Iron could not suppress the excitement in his heart. With sparkling eyes, he stared at Thunderous Battle, who was smiling.
Chapter 389 - Forgemaster
With time, Thunderous Battle had gained further understanding of Heartless Iron and learned why Heartless Iron had a slightly higher rate of success in refining equipment compared to normal people.
Heartless Iron's ancestors were famous ironsmiths. Even though there was no longer any creation of weapons during peaceful times and there were more creations of machinery through the use of technology, the people in Heartless Iron's generation still inherited the craft. It might not be much, but he had inherited the unique method to create weapons as something of a hobby.
He was known as the Iron Striker in town.
It was because of indulging in the art of smithing for a long time that Heartless Iron knew the feeling of refining all sorts of metals much better than other ironsmiths. He had a much better instinct compared to the others.
It was what allowed him to avoid many risks. Hence, his success rate when refining equipment was higher!
It was especially so after he noticed that he could use the feeling he had when he refined metal in reality after he had refined various equipment for a long period of time. After that, Heartless Iron felt that he finally had a chance to use his hard work over the years in the game, and his interest grew.
Thunderous Battle's full support allowed Heartless Iron to reach the level of a Forgemaster very quickly, even though it was something that normal people found very difficult to reach.
However, Heartless Iron's greatest wish right then was to take on the challenge of making a third-echelon masterpiece!
As of then , there were more than fifty third-echelon equipment in the game!
The most popular and common equipment became second-echelon masterpieces. First-echelon masterpieces were not very popular, because the success rate was more than 50% for everyone, and the consumables required for it were
rather cheap, so the price for masterpieces went from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand, though weapons were slightly more expensive.
Second-echelon equipment required the owner to take risks twice, and the chances for the equipment shattering were very high. The price for masterpieces and the ingredients would usually be three times the price of first-echelon equipment. Armor was around five to six million, while weapons were even more expensive. Swords and weapons were the highest priced of them all, so players were not able to buy them without eight million.
As for the third echelon, the ingredients for one single refinement alone cost more than six million. If they were refined three times, the success rate was lower than 20%, which meant that there was a possibility that a few masterpieces would be broken during the process. Countless unrefined masterpieces, first-echelon masterpieces, and even second-echelon masterpieces, as well as ingredients were sacrificed. Their numbers could not even be counted.
Hence, the price for third-echelon equipment had always been very high. There was no way a player could buy anything with less than fifty million.
Third-echelon grade one masterpieces were even more terrifying!
But it had to be said that once anyone succeeded in making them, they would definitely obtain tremendous benefits. Hence, most sects pooled their resources together to gather a lot of masterpieces and refine them together!
Their success rate seemed to be higher when they did that.
Heartless Iron had already created at least two hundred second-echelon high-grade masterpieces for Mu Clan. There were armor and weapons among them, and his success rate was 20% higher than that of other ironsmiths.
Once he became a Forgemaster, his senses became even stronger, and his skills better. His success rate also increased by 5%, so Heartless Iron could not wait to try and attempt to create third-echelon weapons.
Heartless Iron had been waiting to make use of them for too long.
Thunderous Battle knew just how much Heartless Iron longed to create third-echelon masterpieces. When he heard Heartless Iron hastily request for second-echelon masterpieces, their ingredients, and third-echelon ingredients, he smiled mysteriously.
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