Chapter 429 - Reaching New Heights
At the moment Happy fled Eternal Peace Temple while injured, a clear and pleasant sound rang by his ears. It was the notification from the system.
"Ding!
"Successfully completed escape quest.
"Quest requirement: Exchange at least five moves with A'san to obtain Ku Toutuo's secret help to hide.
"You exchanged eight moves with A'san, injured him, and with Ku Toutuo's help, you escaped safely. You successfully completed Reaching New Heights quest by completing the original quest by surpassing the requirements. You obtained four attributes!
"You completed the quest, and you obtained Ku Toutuo's favor."
In truth, from the moment A'san appeared, Happy obtained a quest that he had never received before. It was named Challenging Life and Death, and it had the content the system had just said.
As long as he could exchange five moves with A'san without dying, he would obtain Ku Toutuo's help to leave Eternal Peace Temple. He would also break through his own limits under great pressure and obtain three additional attribute points. However, Happy had executed three killing moves at the end: Petite Dragon, Dragon Capture, and Emperor Shocks World to force A'san back. He had broken through the life and death scenario on his own and left Eternal Peace Temple.
Even though Ku Toutuo had helped him by preventing A'san from catching up to him, his act of completing the quest by surpassing the requirements allowed him to obtain four additional attribute points that he could distribute as he liked.
"Whew!"
'I completed two quests in one go. It's pretty good.'
Happy did not dare to stay. He did not care about Zhou Yu, Heaven Does Not Forget, and Lonesome Wind's safety and just left Eternal Peace Temple. Three days' time limit was almost over, so he had to hurry up and find the people from the six great system-allocated sects so that they could spread the whereabouts of the elites from their sects.
Happy did not expect that the quest he had unintentionally completed would gain him a chance to catch his breath.
*****
Once Zhou Yu freed himself due to Ku Toutuo deliberately setting him free, he found himself outside Eternal Peace Temple. In his mind was still the scene of Happy and Asan's fight. A'san's attacks had made him feel as if there was a guillotine about to fall on his neck at any moment, but Happy managed to fight against him for a while despite only being at Life and Death Realm. He had even…
Whenever Zhou Yu remembered that dazzling and peerless sword force, he felt a chill crawl down his spine.
It was impossible to dodge that sword force at close proximity!
Even A'san, who was in Inaction Realm, was injured by that hit. If he did not rely on his exquisite Buddhist external martial arts to withstand the disaster, he might have become the first ever Inaction Realm fighter to die in the game.
Zhou Yu stayed for a long time in one spot. Then, he picked up a pen and paper and sent a messenger pigeon into the air.
The messenger pigeon flew to the inner hall of Class One Hall's headquarters, which was hundreds of miles away.
*****
"Added all four additional attribute points to Comprehension."
When Happy returned to Eternal Peace City, he went into an inn and added all the attribute points he gained from the quest to his Comprehension. Then, he sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his Constellation Breathing Technique.
He suffered some internal injuries from A'san's palm strikes, and some of those injuries could not be cured by medicinal pills.
"It's about time."
Once the qi made a few full circulations, Happy finally managed to get rid of the extravasated blood in his body. He released a long breath, and a puzzled look appeared on his face.
If things progressed according to his original plan, Zhou Zhiruo would be with him, and he would not need to be worried about searching for the six great system-allocated sects.
But Zhou Zhiruo had slipped from his grasp, so how was he supposed to find the people from the six great system-allocated sects and Ming Cult?
Just when he felt troubled, someone suddenly knocked on his door.
"Who is it?!"
Happy was alarmed. He quickly wrapped his hand around his Nation Protecting Divine Sword, which was right beside him.
"We are disciples from Emei Sect," the person from outside said. "We saw the signal left behind by our senior sister, and we came searching for it. Is the person who answered inside Young Swordsman Happy?"
The person's voice was like bell chimes. It was clear and pleasant.
Happy's puzzlement instantly ebbed away. He quickly opened the door and welcomed the Emei Sect disciples outside.
"Greetings, Young Swordsman Happy." The women seemed to have noticed the questioning look on his face, so when they walked inside, they closed the door. "I heard that you descended down the mountain with our mistress and other sect sisters, but we've been waiting at the meeting point for a long time, but no one came.
"We then ran into some people from Ming Cult on the way, and we learned that something has happened to our mistress, which is why we rushed to Eternal Peace County through the tracks left behind. Where is our senior sister?"
It was only then that the Emei Sect disciples noticed that Happy was the only one in the room.
"It's good that you're here."
Happy released a breath of relief. He did not conceal anything and told the Emei Sect disciples everything that happened along the way. Then, he brought out the jade ring that Mistress Annihilation had asked him to keep!
Against his expectations, however, when the Emei Sect disciples saw the jade ring Happy brought out, their expressions changed drastically, and they knelt down in extreme reverence.
"We, the disciples, greet the leader of the sect!"
"Urk…"
Happy was speechless.
"Please, get up! Your mistress handed this to me as an authentication token to notify the six great sects and reveal the plot of the imperial court—"
"Young Swordsman Happy, please do not blame us for behaving this way." An Emei Sect disciple got up and wrapped her fist in her palm before answering in an incredibly respectful manner. "The leader of Emei Sect has given an order that we are to treat the wearer of the jade ring as our leader. The person with the jade ring is akin to the leader of Emei Sect. This is enough to tell us just how much our mistress trusts you. Hence, if you have any orders, we will follow them!"
The system provided a notification.
"Ding!
"Obtained authentication token from Emei Sect. You can give orders to all Emei Sect disciples using the jade ring and make them to do your bidding. However, all of your orders must circulate around saving the six great sects."
Once Happy received the specific details from the system, he understood that jade ring was extremely important!
"How many people do you have with you?"
"As of now, there are only four of us who entered the city. The other sisters are waiting outside. There is one hundred and seventy of us…"
'Why are there so few of you?' Happy criticized in his heart.
One hundred and seventy-four people could not be considered to be a lot, but it was not little either. However, they did not seem to be able to accomplish anything great.
When Happy thought of that, he frowned and thought more about his situation.
'Oh well. Right now, my most important task is to find Zhang Wuji and the others while I contact the disciples of the six sects to notify the whole world of martial artists.
'If I can't complete the quest in time, Zhang Wuji will definitely lead his people to Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect first, just like in the original plot.
'This quest is seriously wasting too much of my time.'
A thought bloomed in Happy's head, and he quickly gave an order to the four Emei Sect disciples.
"Hurry up and send orders to the disciples outside the city to search for the
people from Ming Cult, and send them news. Tell them that the elites of the six sects are imprisoned at Eternal Peace Temple, which is outside the city. Also, tell the world of martial artists that the imperial court has taken the elites of the six sects as hostage. They intend to be enemies with the entire world of martial artists."
Two Emei Sect disciples left with his orders.
But Happy received a really terrible news on the second day.
When Happy thought about how much time would be required for their trip back and forth, his heart turned cold.
He remembered that because of the slaughter at Shaolin Temple and the matter at Wudang Sect, Zhang Wuji and his group were delayed for about half a month or more When they returned, the elites from the six great system-allocated sects had already starved so much that they were emaciated.
Of course, what caused Happy to be even more dispirited was that since he was bound by the quest, it meant that he had to lead a group of Emei Sect disciples every single day while they snuck around under the imperial court's eyes.
Chapter 430 - Waiting for Her to Cheat on Me
Happy was in a very awkward situation!
Even though he had completed the quest to find the six great system-allocated sects and the quest for notifying Ming Cult about it, two new quests had appeared. One of them was for him to lead the Emei Sect disciples and watch from the sidelines while he waited for a chance to save the elites of the six great system-allocated sects. During that period of time, he was free to command the Emei Sect disciples as he pleased.
The other came from the six great system-allocated sects. They asked for Happy to not allow their elites to be transported anywhere else during that period of time.
The first quest already made Happy feel like the entire storyline was a burden, but the other quest just pinned him to that territory and made him unable to leave the region between Eternal Peace County and Eternal Peace Temple.
For the first time ever, Happy regretted taking up the quest.
Even though based on the characteristics of quests from his previous life, Happy could tell that it should be a rare, high-grade series of quests because the time required for the rescue quest was quite long and it involved the leaders of the six great system-allocated sects as well as the authenticating token from the Emei Sect leader, there was something crucial behind all of that—Happy did not want to waste his time on such a long quest.
Even if the final reward was an ultimate technique, Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber, he did not want to be involved in it anymore. Mu Clan and Class One Hall might be engaged in a clash at any moment. There was a high possibility that Class One Hall would take advantage of the period of time Happy was not around to attack.
When he thought about it in-depth, Happy was incredibly conflicted.
He paced about in his room in the inn for more than one hour, and he still could not brace himself to give up on the quest.
On one hand was Mu Clan, and on the other hand were thousands of elites from the six great system-allocated sects, as well as Zhou Zhiruo, who was a pitiful and stubborn soul under the stern Mistress Annihilation. Happy could not turn a blind eye on them.
He sent a messenger pigeon to contact Thunderous Battle and told him about his situation. Thunderous Battle, too, put on a solemn expression.
[Happy, don't give up just yet! I remember now. When you combine Emei Sect's Nine Yang Skill, Shaolin Temple's Nine Yang Skill, and Wudang Sect's Nine Yang Skill, you'll get the complete Nine Yang Divine Skill. There's a very high possibility that it's really the ultimate technique that's the reward.
[If you give up on such a good chance, I'm going to be depressed my whole life, and I won't be able to eat and sleep well. And if Class One Hall knows that they stopped you from getting Nine Yang Divine Skill, they'll definitely roll around in laughter!]
'Nine Yang Divine Skill…'
Happy was acting like someone who could not see the situation clearly because he had been overthinking things. When he heard Thunderous Battle's analysis, he felt his spirit lift.
In his previous life, the ultimate techniques were unique, which was why there were no walkthroughs for them. There were quite a few people who mentioned that they got some to boast, but not where or how.
Hence, no one knew the details of the way to get Nine Yang Divine Skill!
There were many martial arts that the players would treat as a treasure and would not easily bring it to the table for others to see.
If the reward was truly going to be Nine Yang Divine Skill, Happy had to be careful of his choice once again.
Thunderous Battle was right. If he gave up on such a great chance because of Class One Hall, then it would mean that he had already lost to them.
Happy changed the topic.
Thunderous Battle quickly answered, but there was a strange tone to his words. [They're here. By the way, how did you get to know Momo? Little North had happily brought some people for an adventure in Shennongjia yesterday, but when he came back, he immediately stayed at a respectful distance from Momo. When I asked him, I only got to know that there's something inconceivable about Mono's strength. She seems to not be beneath Dream Clouds.]
Happy instantly smiled.
Naturally, he knew about the news regarding Little North bringing back Life and Death Realm zombies puppets. He was also working hard in cultivating a third Life and Death Realm zombie. Even though he could not fight against a Ninja King or Stone King alone, he was no longer far from being able to do so, especially since Happy gave him Thousand Year Corpse King's right arm. The colorful arm had incredible strength, and everyone stayed far away from it. Even Moksha Realm NPCs would be troubled by it.
But unfortunately for Little North, Momo's movement speed was above his. Her Throw Spirit Sphere was a skill that coincidentally suppressed him, so she could kill him silently without form. Wind God Technique was also a rare ultimate technique. When two such ultimate techniques were used together, their owner would have extraordinary strength, and it was enough for Momo to maintain a distance away from Corpse Controllers like Little North.
[Is Little North alright?]
[Heh, it's just that he has one less person to fawn over. If Momo could stay in Mu Clan, we could be rid of the awkward situation where we lack top-tier players. Even though we have me, Little North, Phoenix Dances, Tea Words, the thirteen staff-using monks, One Circle, Bum, Rampaging Dragon, and other great players, we're just first class players and not the top of the crop. Right now, we're lacking people like you, who can truly fight alone and still be outstanding.
[Silver Wolf might have a chance to enter the ranks of top-class fighters, but he still needs to master his Freezing Force and Red Flame Palm. I'd be much more at ease with Momo serving as our garrison.]
Thunderous Battle was a very accurate judge of character.
Happy remained in contemplative silence for a while before he sent a messenger pigeon over.
[It won't be difficult to have Momo stay. What do you think of Ancient Wind?]
[He has extraordinary sword skills, and they have the effect of freezing others and reducing their speed. He won't have a problem fighting against first-class warriors, but there's still a difference between him and Momo. He's at the same rank as Little North…]
[Can you make Ancient Wind stay?]
[No problem.]
Thunderous Battle smiled on his side.
[Ancient Wind is also very interested in Mu Clan. I had him join our clan for a while yesterday, and he's very interested in that batch of third-echelon grade one masterpieces in our clan storage.]
Happy did not hesitate.
[Tell him that as long as he has enough contribution points, he can get those third-echelon Nation Protecting Divine Swords and third-echelon Golden Armor parts. He can even pick fourth-echelon equipment.]
While they could obtain grade one masterpieces and use their own strength to get valuable grade one weapons and equipment, or perhaps even better demon vess
els and divine vessels, refinement was not something that they could control!
The cost of the materials went up to the hundred millions, and the terrifyingly high failure rate was not something a person could change alone. Take Happy as an example, if he only had grade one masterpieces, there was no way he could obtain third-echelon grade one masterpieces.
Snowflake Divine Sword that Ancient Wind used had good abilities, but Mu Clan had tremendous power based on the batch of third-echelon grade one masterpieces. Ancient Wind had also witnessed Happy's abilities and was pleasantly surprised when Thunderous Battle extended an invitation to him. He was incredibly tempted to join, but his friends were still hesitant.
According to Thunderous Battle's words, Ancient Wind's friends were also rather strong. They were all solo players who had a bit of fame. Among them was a flashy monk who was dressed strangely. His strength was not any lower than that of Ancient Wind.
Happy was stunned. He then asked with an uncertain tone. [Flashy monk? Is his name Waiting for Her to Cheat on Me?]
[How did you know?]
Happy did not answer, but he sighed in his heart while a well of emotions churned in him. How could he not know? The flashy monk had been killed three times for a friend in Happy's previous life during the later stage of the game.
He'd had an incredibly powerful qi realm, but he was sent to a normal newbie player's qi realm. Three times. Yet each time, he practiced until he recovered his strength and fought against the person to take revenge once more. Then died again. His persistent personality had shocked the entire world of martial arts.
[If it's possible, recruit them.]
Chapter 431 - Life and Death Realm Sword Technique
Once Happy spoke with Thunderous Battle, he sent a letter to Momo to contact Thunderous Battle. They soon settled the matter. Momo and Ancient Wind would stay in Shennongjia, which had an ample amount of resources, and just as everyone expected, they joined Mu Clan.
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 218