He completed all of that in one breath.
"Young Swordsman Happy?" Abbot Kong Xiang of Shaolin Temple was shocked. "I see, so Great Swordsman Song came together with you, young patron. How is he now?"
"It's a long story. We can't waste any time right now. Please use the antidote to cure yourselves first." Once Happy handed over the antidote, he spoke of the plan to form a pincer attack from inside and outside the temple while he opened the lock. "Master Yuan Hui has a group of people waiting outside the temple for a signal to charge into the temple.
"As for now, Great Swordsman Song has been captured. We can only hope for you to recover your strength soon so that we can break out together."
"Alright. Shaolin Temple now owes you a favor, young patron." Kong Xiang's expression became stern, and he gave his orders. "Everyone, hurry up and circulate your qi, but be quick."
The monks nodded, which created an incredibly magnificent scene.
"Assassin!"
Happy quickly shot to the window and took a look. A large group of Yuan Dynasty soldiers surrounded the stone tower where he had tied the grappling hook, and many of them gestured at the third floor of the tall tower. At the same time, a few powerful waves of aura quickly shot up from Mahavira Temple before they flew there.
When Happy saw that, his heart instantly sank because he knew that his operation had been revealed. He did not dare to be negligent then and quickly brought out the signal flare from his bosom and shot it out.
Bang!
A brilliant red light tore through the night sky above Eternal Peace Temple and reached the heavens. Its brightness could be clearly seen in a circular area of three miles from where it was ignited.
Once the signal flare was released, furious roars with the force of an avalanche quickly rose from beyond Eternal Peace Temple. Under the lead of the elites from the six great system-allocated sects, nearly one thousand great fighters broke through the defense set by the Yuan Dynasty soldiers and charged into Eternal Peace Temple.
A'er and A'san had been rushing toward the tall tower when they suddenly heard the grand wave of sound from outside, and their expressions changed. "This is bad! The princess is in danger!"
They gave up on the tall tower and quickly turned around to go back from where they had come.
But against their expectations, Zhao Min, who held Heavenly Sword, led A'da as well as Divine Arrow Eight Heroes to rush toward the tall tower. When she saw the duo coming back to her, she shouted at them loudly. "Guard the tall tower! The hostages are in our hands, so those people from the six sects won't dare to use force!"
With that one sentence, she revealed what was crucial in the situation.
Chapter 453 - Death of a Grandmaster
The elites from the six great system-allocated sects charged in as easily as if they were snapping twigs. They quickly broke through the lines of defense set up by the Yuan Dynasty soldiers and rushed into Eternal Peace Temple!
When Zhao Min and her group rushed to the foot of the tall tower, Happy received a notification from the system telling him to hold back Zhao Min and her group to the best of his abilities to buy time for the elites from the six great system-allocated sects.
The antidote had already been sent by the Shaolin Temple disciples to the place where the Wudang Sect disciples were kept while Emei Sect and Shaolin Temple themselves were using every second in their hands to recover their qi.
Since their operation had been revealed, Happy did not hide his abilities anymore. He quickly killed the Yuan Dynasty soldiers on the first floor before moving to the eaves of the first floor and looking down.
"How dare you invade an important land of the imperial court at night!"
Zhao Min was still dressed as a handsome man. She snorted coldly and stopped beyond the tall tower before she opened a paper fan with a snap. "A'da, take him down!"
"Understood!"
A'da had extraordinary sword skills. Once he respectfully received the order, he shouted out and jumped up. An astonishing sword force shot through the air like a bolt of lightning.
Happy turned to the side.
Boom!
Almost half of the eaves were destroyed by A'da. The tiles flew all over the place.
Happy threw two Soaring Eagle Swords and sent them straight at Zhao Min, who was under the tower.
Thud!
The Soaring Eagle Swords split into three!
The six Soaring Eagle Swords broke through A'er and A'san's defenses, and two of them nearly arrived right in front of Zhao Min. She just took a step backward and made a light tap with her paper fan, which sent the Soaring Eagle Swords to the ground.
Even though they did not deal any substantial damage to Zhao Min, they still caused her servants to cry out in surprise. Even A'da was surprised, and he became slightly distracted.
That was Happy's goal. It was impossible for him to directly defeat A'da and make him retreat, but he could do so if he created a gap through Zhao Min, who was a weak link.
Even though Zhao Min was a Moksha Realm fighter, Happy's Shadowless Knife had created a sliver of a chance!
He seized the moment A'da was distracted and drew his Nation Protecting Divine Sword.
Clang!
The air shuddered violently. The fierce sword force let out a mighty dragon's roar, and a small, silver dragon flew out from the sword force to crash into A'da violently.
Birth of the Flying Dragon!
A'da found it difficult to change his breath in the air. He gritted his teeth and endured the strike. Blood appeared on his shoulder, and he flew backwards violently to crash into the crowd like a cannonball, which made him look incredibly pathetic.
Happy congratulated himself for being lucky enough to hit A'da in one strike, but he did not dare to give A'da a chance to fight.
"Zhao Min!"
With a furious shout, he stopped A'er and A'san, who were eager to move.
Zhao Min's expression turned unpleasant because of that. She moved her gaze away from A'da and looked at Happy.
"Princess Zhao Min, the six great sects have already surrounded this place. You are the princess of Ruyuan Mansion and a person of noble birth. Do you truly want to engage in a fight to the death against the martial artists from the six sects?"
"Hmph!" Zhao Min remained calm, and her expression did not change. She even took an arrogant step forward. "Your people are in my hands, and that includes Wudang Sect's Great Swordsman Song, who decided to sneak in. If you dare to attack us, I will have all of your teachers and elites executed in Eternal Peace Temple!"
"Hmph… Is that so?"
Happy did not know for how long he had to stall. When he saw that there was no sign of movement from the tower, he grew incredibly anxious, but he did not show it on his face.
"Princess Zhao Min, haven't you noticed that two of your mansion's elites, Lu Zhangke and He Biweng are somewhere else right now?"
Zhao Min said nothing, but her expression finally changed. She snapped her paper fan shut and looked around. She then noticed that the situation was off. The battle had started quite some time ago, but her Xuanming Elders, who were her best fighters and also her masters, never showed up.
A thought appeared in her head, and her expression changed drastically.
"Xuanming Elders are in your hands! You have the antidote for Ten Fragrant Tendon Weakening Powder!" Zhao Min, who claimed to have matchless intellect, quickly figured out a lot of information from Happy's words. "A'da, A'er, A'san, he's stalling for time! Stop trying to fight against him and enter the tower immediately! Don't let the six sects have the chance to restore their qi!"
Once she finished speaking, she warily took a few steps back, and Divine Arrow Eight Heroes quickly flanked her to protect her.
Boom!
The third floor of the tall tower was suddenly struck by a vast amount of power, and a terrifying hole was created. Countless tiles fell down, and it shocked the Yuan Dynasty soldiers underneath so much that they dashed away
in all directions.
Zhao Min's expression turned incredibly sour; someone had already recovered their qi.
"Ku Toutuo, how dare you ruin my name! Today, I, Annihilation, will tear you apart!" Mistress Annihilation's loud voice spread out from above Eternal Peace Temple!
"It's Mistress Annihilation! Great Swordsman Song and Young Swordsman Happy succeeded!"
"Let's go!"
"We'll charge over and meet up with Mistress Annihilation and the others!"
Master Yuan Hui, who had charged into Eternal Peace Temple, led a group of elites from the six great sects over. They swept through the Yuan Dynasty soldiers in their way as if they were snapping twigs.
Zhao Min might be in danger, but she remained calm. "A'da, A'er, kill her! Mistress Annihilation is ruthless, so we can't let her live!"
'Miss, is there even a woman who is more ruthless than you in the world? You kill without even blinking even though you're so young, and you're as selfish and ruthless as a snake!'
Even though Master Jin Yong eventually placed Zhao Min among the ranks of the good people, Happy had never regarded this selfish woman in a good light. When compared to Zhou Zhiruo, who had been kind since the start but had to change because of the situation, one of them was a lotus, and the other was a poppy flower.
When Mistress Annihilation landed on the ground, she was immediately stopped by A'da and A'er. She had suffered grievances for more than twenty days, and her anger instantly erupted like a volcano that had been acc.u.mulating for a long time! When she faced the combined attacks of two Inaction Realm men, she did not retreat.
Mistress Annihilation clearly did not understand the power of the two.
When Happy noticed the trio fighting together, his expression changed drastically.
"Mistress, please retreat! These two people are very powerful! You can't fight against them with brute strength!"
Happy's roars were not unreasonable.
Mistress Annihilation was strong, but she did not have her Heavenly Sword, so it was impossible for her to be the two's opponent. If she fought against them head-on, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.
But when Mistress Annihilation noticed that their sword techniques and defensive skills had already reached transcendence, she could no longer break free. A few bloody marks swiftly appeared on her body.
"Boy, if you don't go now, you won't be able to leave later."
His voice traveled into Happy's ears like threads.
Whoosh!
As he spoke, Ku Toutuo struck with a palm!
Even though he had already spoken his warning, Ku Toutuo did not hold back when he struck. Happy felt his heart tense, and he had to activate Petite Dragon to avoid the palm wind that might damage Golden Bell Cocoon greatly. He twisted his body and flew to the second floor of the tall tower.
Boom!
Ku Toutuo chased after him, and the eaves of the tower instantly looked as if they had received some sort of destructive damage. They crumbled floor by floor.
One man fled, while the other chased after him, and it looked like they were fighting incredibly intensely.
When Mistress Annihilation was faced with the combined attacks of two elites, she suffered, but could not speak of her torment. Soon, she coughed up blood after being heavily injured.
She then glared at Zhao Min with a fierce gaze and suddenly threw her head back and roared. "Emei Sect disciples, hear me! From today onwards, Zhou Zhiruo will take my place as the sect master!
"Young Swordsman Happy, I am unable to repay you for all that you've done for Emei Sect. All of Emei Sect will never forget your kindness!"
Her voice was filled with firm determination when it rose in the air above Eternal Peace Temple.
Right after she finished speaking, dozens of sharp arrows quietly pierced her body!
"Mistress!"
Zhou Zhiruo and the other Emei Sects had gone to pick up the Shaolin Temple monks before they broke out of the tower, and they were just in time to witness the death of a grandmaster who held hatred in her heart.
All of them let out cries of pain.
"Amitabha!"
Master Kong Xiang and the other Shaolin Temple monks empathized with them. They then cast angry glances at Zhao Min's group, who were retreating from the area.
Zhao Min did not hesitate.
"We're leaving!"
Zhao Min left in a relaxed manner under the protection of a group of heavy-armored Yuan Dynasty soldiers.
But before she was gone, Zhao Min cast a deep glance at the flash of gold at the tall tower.
"Hmph!"
Chapter 454 - Direction of Quest, Lost
Mistress Annihilation did not manage to escape the tragic fate of dying in Eternal Peace Temple!
Happy jumped down from the tall tower, and when he reached Mistress Annihilation with the crowd, the stubborn grandmaster had already shut her eyes for eternity. The arrows had pierced into her vitals, and it showed just how wary and ruthless Zhao Min was toward Mistress Annihilation.
Happy said nothing.
Even though he did not have a good impression of Mistress Annihilation, when he saw her dying in a foreign land because of a ruthless junior and even forgetting about her own safety before her death to appoint the successor of Emei Sect, he could not help but feel a slight hint of sadness.
Zhou Zhiruo was a daughter of a fisherman, and she treated Mistress Annihilation as her mother. When she saw that her mistress had died and even passed her legacy to her, she could not help but be overcome by sorrow. She fell on Mistress Annihilation's corpse with tears streaming down her face.
"Amitabha."
Kong Xiang called out the name of Buddha softly, and a group of Shaolin Temple disciples surrounded them. They sat down cross-legged and began reciting the rebirth mantra.
"Where is Great Swordsman Song?"
"Great Swordsman Song has been taken away by that witch Zhao Min!"
"My father?"
When Song Qingshu staggered out of the tall tower, he heard news that his father had been taken away by Zhao Min, and he instantly panicked. He quickly prepared a group of Wudang Sect disciples to chase after her, but they had just been cured of their poison, and their qi had not recovered. After they took a few steps, they stopped and gasped for breath.
"Ding!"
The sound from the system rose next to Happy's ears. He was overwhelmed by grief, and because of it, he only then noticed that it was a quest to save Song Yuanqiao. His destination was the forest outside the city.
Happy then spoke up at the perfect moment, "Heroes from Wudang Sect, do not worry. Zhao Min will not dare to do anything to Great Swordsman Song. Since she captured him and left, she should be thinking about using him to exchange for Xuanming Elders, who are in our hands."
Kong Xiang nodded.
"Young Swordsman Happy is right. But that witch Zhao Min is a crafty woman, and she has a group of elites to help her in her evil deeds. Why don't we wait for our elites to recover their qi before we send a message to them and set a time and location to exchange the hostages? We will be more likely to save Great Swordsman Song that way."
The elites in the area nodded, while more elites from the other sects walked out from the tall tower at that moment.
The quest at Eternal Peace Temple finally came to an end.
However, what caused Happy to be slightly disappointed was that Shaolin Temple's Master Kong Xiang did not hand him Shaolin Temple's Nine Yang Skill with gratitude. This caused him, who had risked his life to get Nine Yang Divine Skill, to feel rather gloomy.
While his mind was in turmoil, Happy arrived next to Zhou Zhiruo and handed over the jade ring of the sect leader, which had previously belonged to Mistress Annihilation. He then offered a few words of comfort to the woman. When Zhou Zhiruo saw the jade ring, she snapped out of her grief and repeatedly voiced her gratitude.
The system gave a notification.
"Ding!
"Zhou Zhiruo's affectio
n and trust toward you increased!"
A thought then appeared in Happy's head.
He did not expect that he would not get any news about receiving Nine Yang Skill, but would instead get affection from an NPC. Getting affection and trust from an NPC was incredibly rare. Could it be that the quest from Emei Sect's Mistress Annihilation did not actually lead to Nine Yang Divine Skill?
He braced his courage and helped Zhou Zhiruo to stand.
"Miss Zhou, I mean, Sect Teacher Zhou, please don't be overwhelmed by grief. Emei Sect has just gone through a disastrous turn of events. I believe that your mistress wouldn't wish for you to be so dejected and dispirited. Please arrange your mistress' funeral soon, and we can plan revenge in great detail after that."
"That's right." Zhou Zhiruo nodded quietly. "Thank you for your concern, Young Swordsman Happy. I will bring my mistress' body back to Emei Sect.
"I do not dare to think much about revenge, since I am weak, but I will definitely retrieve Emei Sect's Heavenly Sword, because it is the treasure that has protected our sect for a long time. If I don't, my mistress will not be able to rest in peace."
The fisherman's daughter who had a weak personality finally made plans for the first time in her life.
Ding Minjun and Bei Jinyi stared at Zhou Zhiruo's side profile with complicated gazes. They had a hard time concealing the indignation and rage, but Mistress Annihilation had personally handed over the position of the sect teacher to their junior sister in front of the teachers of the other sects, so they could do nothing about it.
*****
Once the elites from the six great system-allocated sects recovered their qi, the Emei Sect disciples used the chance provided to them during the time the other five sects exchanged hostages with Zhao Min to bring Mistress Annihilation's body away from Eternal Peace County in a mighty wave.
*****
"Young Swordsman Happy, the six sects owe you a favor. Next time, if you have any need for us to help you, please go to Shaolin Temple. I will definitely serve you with the best vegetarian food."
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