While out of everyone's eyes, Lu Mingyue had recuperated and built up his strength. Now, he was probably planning to use the martial arts tournament to start afresh and fight against China again.
However, while it was not hard to build one's reputation, wanting to gain a footing while four top-class sects occupied a steady place in the game as well as wanting to take a portion of the pie from their hands was basically the same as a dreamer having a grand but impossible dream.
Lu Mingyue's individual strength was very good, but his vision of the overall situation was not very good.
Cold Moon Palace had already missed their best period of development. If he wanted to seize resource points from the four top-class sects right then, it would be close to an impossible task for him.
In fact, some of the resource points occupied by the smaller sects were also linked to the four top-class sects. They had alliances with them, and if he entrenched on their benefits, it would be the same as entrenching on the personal benefits of the four top-class sects. It might be possible for Cold Moon Palace to become slightly stronger, but they could no longer go through a qualitative change, even if they wanted to.
There was no need for Happy to fear Lu Mingyue.
There was also another person who exceeded Happy's expectation.
Wu Tian, who was Duan Yu's successor and who came with Dali's royal family. His Six Pulses Divine Sword shocked everyone the moment he went on the stage!
Compared to Duan Yu's half-baked Six Pulses Divine Sword when he was young, Vast Heaven could deliver three types of sword qi from his fingertips. They were purple, yellow, and blue.
His sword qi was fierce, and its momentum great, which made the three Inaction Realm elites not his opponents. They could do nothing against him, and they all lost before him.
When Vast Heaven turned to leave the stage, he cast Happy a meaningful glance before he stepped down.
Happy felt warning bells ring in his mind, for he understood the meaning behind that glance.
It seemed like the man wanted to compete against him in Dragon Tiger Arena!
Happy smiled faintly but said nothing
Six Pulses Divine Sword had the effect of tearing through defenses. It was the top of the crop among the sword techniques in the world, and only Nine Solitary Swords as well as Joined Finger could compare to it.
But if Vast Heaven wanted to dominate over the world with just Six Pulses Divine Sword, he underestimated the world of martial artists a little too much!
Duan Yu had Northern Obscure Divine Skill, Six Pulses Divine Sword, and a poison-resistant body, but he was still only able to manage the land of Dali while keeping a low-profile. And here was a person who only inherited six slashes from Six Pulses Divine Sword, but believed himself to be invincible in the martial arts tournament where various talented people gathered?
Happy shook his head.
He was completely unbothered by such a provocation.
Six Pulses Divine Sword might be very fast when it came to sword draws, but to elites who knew how to locate positions by listening to the wind and were fast in their movements, it was not completely impossible to avoid.
However, while Happy could endure the provocation, someone else seemed to be very interested in Six Pulses Divine Sword. One Emperor stood quietly in a remote corner without looking at the players on the stage, but at that moment, he became attentive toward Vast Heaven as he walked down from the stage.
Chapter 545 - Dream Clouds’ Three Attacks
Even though the number of competitors in the martial arts tournament organized by Hero's Mountain Villa reduced in number as time passed, many people watched the exclusive livestream of the martial arts tournament streamed on the official website.
Hence, although there were few people who managed to enter the martial arts tournament, as time passed and the identities of the people who joined the martial arts tournament were gradually revealed, more people began to have high expectations toward the champion of the martial arts tournament.
All those who entered Dragon Tiger Arena were people who were incredibly famous. Some of them might only be slightly famous in the game, but there were also plenty of people who did not even manage to clear the Street of Arenas!
The martial arts tournament turned into a true gathering spot for elite martial artists.
Many people even began to secretly guess the people who would rank top ten.
It could not be denied that the one whom most people believed would take first place was still One Emperor. Even though he never entered Dragon Tiger Arena, he had already fought against numerous top-class martial artists during the Street of Arenas and displayed his strength to everyone. No one doubted that One Emperor could win three rounds consecutively.
The second was Happy, who was top ranked on Famous People Rank and second on Dragon Rank.
His name was linked to the term undefeatable, and it was also a symbol of the game.
There were people who said that not only did Happy have the best equipment in World of Martial Arts, he also had the highest number of ultimate techniques as well as the highest number of elites by his side. He was also the person who did his best to create Mu Clan and might even one day replace Wandering Know-it-all as the ric.h.e.s.t player in the game.
He was a powerful person who had plenty of support behind him. He stood mighty and tall, and even if he fell, he would not fall as hard as One Emperor if he ever failed, because the exorbitant Illusion Life and Death Pill was not a problem to Happy.
There was also another powerful contender for first place.
Vast Heaven!
Six Pulses Divine Sword was the most amazing and stunning ultimate technique in Demi-gods and Semi-devils. Its sword qi could move about at ease, and it could mow down all resistances. In the novel, Murong Fu, genius of the Murong Clan, had lost miserably in Duan Yu's hands.
There were people who said that there was a possibility that the scene in the television would repeat itself in the martial arts tournament and the successor of Duan Yu would defeat the disciple of the Murong Clan…
There were three more people who might take first place, but their supporters were much fewer.
One of the three was the successor of Sunflower Manual, Lu Mingyue.
He was an elite who had faded away from the people's gazes for a long time. Now, he had returned to the stage of World of Martial Arts, and just as expected, he did not make the people disappointed. Not only had he won three rounds in one go, which placed him at the same rank as Happy and Vast Heaven, he also made everyone have even higher hopes for Sunflower Manual.
There were a few people who said that Lu Mingyue might be thinking about sweeping away the humiliation he previously suffered. With the use of the martial arts tournament, he could seize back the glory and honor he once lost.
The other two were Dream Clouds and Phantasmal Shadow.
Two women.
One of them was the strongest and most powerful woman in the game, and the other was the most mysterious woman in the game.
Things might not have gone Dream Clouds' way lately and Class One Hall had been suppressed so much that its territory had become unprecedentedly small, but those who were skilled were still stronger than those who were not. They had several counties in the north that had banded together, and now they were controlled so well by Class One Hall that they were as united as steel boards.
Dream Clouds was also one of the rare martial artists in the game who never suffered defeat. No one knew just how great was her Divine Flames Art, and she kept such a low profile that no one could ignore her.
Phantasmal Shadow had challenged Dream Clouds in Beijing after the battle at Light Summit, but that battle had not been fruitful for her. She then stayed in Green Island while quietly developing her Wind Assault Tower between Class One Hall and Towering Palace. Throughout the process, she had also gained quite a lot of achievements.
"Lil' sis, look, you have quite the fame. Even Chivalr
y Sect's Wind Void isn't as famous as you are." Wu Kuo smiled while looking at his younger sister.
The girl had a faint veil over her face. She looked very mysterious because of how indistinct the veil made her face look. It was completely different from the noble, gorgeous, and awe-inspiring presence Dream Clouds gave others.
"I'm just basking in Dream Clouds' light." Phantasmal Shadow's tone was calm and had no surge of emotion. "Dream Clouds is very powerful! When it comes to scheming and decision-making, I cannot compare to her!"
"I don't think that she's really that good."
"No, I made an analysis. She did three things in the game before! The first one was seizing most of the brocade boxes, which allowed her to stand above others in the game.
"The second one was spreading her influence over China and having Class One Hall's branches extend all over the land. She was very ambitious, and she nearly succeeded.
"Her third act was trying to destroy Chivalry Sect, and she nearly destroyed it. She almost fulfilled her grand ambition of seizing control over the entire game.
"At that time, even if she could not destroy Chivalry Sect completely because of Happy's influence, but if she could have gotten to deal a heavy blow to Chivalry Sect and forced it to fall out of the ranks, then she could have seized the chance to oppress Mu Clan. After that, it would have been very easy for her to control almost all of Chinese territory."
She stopped talking for a moment before saying in a very sentimental tone, "It's a pity that Happy seems destined to be a wall in front of her. Every time she takes action, Happy will appear!"
Wu Kuo said nothing.
"The last time I challenged Dream Clouds, I had the idea of using her to rise through the ranks. As long as I could win against her, I could prove to the others that my individual strength was greater than that of Dream Clouds, and it would increase the speed of Wind Assault Tower's development. We could also stand as equals with Class One Hall in the north."
After saying that, Phantasmal Shadow sighed in an incredibly regretful manner. "But a pity that Dream Clouds is too smart and rational. She remained calm even in the face of my attacks...
Wu Kuo disagreed with her words. "Lil' sis, you need to be content with what you have. Wind Assault Tower is already one of the three great sects in Beijing, which I think is pretty good. Right now, how many people can seize a portion of the pie in the north from Class One Hall's hands?"
"And this is why Dream Clouds is amazing." Phantasmal Shadow smiled wanly and shook her head. "Her fighting to a standstill with me might have given Wind Assault Tower the chance to develop, but compared to the fame of defeating her, this fame that I currently have is too small. Right now, individual strength can still determine certain things.
"If we can't develop swiftly, it'll be too late in the future. There are far too many people who share your current thoughts. If we aren't prepared for danger, when Class One Hall eventually attacks, we will be completely devoured by them."
"There's no way it's that bad, right?" Wu Kuo hunched his shoulders a little. He felt that his younger sister was just exaggerating to stir up his attention.
Phantasmal Shadow shook her head in resignation and said with a contemplative expression, "To Dream Clouds, World of Martial Arts is not just a game. It is a battlefield where she conquers land, and she is the calmest strategist. She plans her advances and retreats at all times, and she does things that will get her the greatest amount of benefits with the smallest losses.
"That's why Chivalry Sect was almost destroyed, and that's why she managed to hold herself back under the pressure from Happy and Mu Clan, or else, Dream Clouds and Class One Hall would have long since vanished from the game."
Wu Kuo was rendered speechless.
"You don't have to think too deeply into it, you're not up to that level yet. If you think too deeply, you'll just end up frustrated."
"Hey, lil' sis, you shouldn't be dealing such a low blow on your big brother."
Wu Kuo looked unhappy, but Phantasmal Shadow ignored him. "I'm just telling you the truth."
Wu Kuo was already used to such low blows, and he habitually shifted the topic of conversation. "Then, what do you think about Happy? What sort of person is he? If someone as powerful as Dream Clouds is played around like a fool because of him, is that boy also a strategist?"
"Him? No!" Phantasmal Shadow answered without hesitation. She cast a glance at the shed belonging to the Murong Clan with puzzlement in her eyes. "I have yet to see through him, but I might gain some new knowledge about him from this tournament."
Chapter 546 - Phantasmal Battle Armor
There were less than fifty elites who managed to make it to Dragon Tiger Arena in one day, and when the second day arrived, even fewer people reached it!
Even though all the great players wanted to get to Dragon Tiger Arena, the greater their hope was, the more disappointed they became. The longer they fought, the stronger the fighters guarding the stage became. Aside from a few extraordinary famous players and dark horses, no one managed to make it into Dragon Tiger Arena after they lost.
In the end, there were a bit more than seventy players in Dragon Tiger Arena, and the arena became the symbol of the greatest elites in China server.
"Dude, you're lucky that you managed to get in at this moment."
Happy dissed Little North, who had been on a quest and had missed the timing to return to his sect, which was why he searched for an elite in his sect, then used a special channel and cleared an even more difficult challenge to be brought over.
Little North stood in front of Happy while looking a little pleased with himself after he got lucky, but he also looked a little embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head.
"Boss, you know that I've been working hard for the things over at Black Rose's side. I've walked up and down Emei Sect multiple times so much that I've practically become a wild monkey."
"You're complaining about me?" Black Rose glared at Little North in slight vexation. "You're the one who came over when you heard that there are a lot of my clan members who are single and refused to leave."
Black Rose had relied on her extraordinary Life-stealing Golden Silver Hoop and precariously fought her way into Dragon Tiger Arena.
Little North pulled a long face and quickly tried to mend the situation. "Big sis, I didn't do anything wrong! Look at what I did over this period of time! Even if I didn't contribute, at least I worked hard… You can't just expose my shortcomings."
"And even after you've worked for so long, you didn't bring anyone back?" Thunderous Battle asked jokingly with a grin.
Little North put on a teary expression, and there was a hitch in his voice when he spoke. "How could I? I've already signed a contract to sell my body, and they still want to bring me into the clan! If it weren't because my will was strong, I might have already married into the clan."
When Happy, Momo, Thunderous Battle, Silver Wolf, Wind Chimes, Young Fallen Rain, Ancient Wind, Feng Zhi (who refused to leave Mu Clan after he lost to Little North after challenging him), Lin Xiao, and Red Dust heard Little North's complaints, they all laughed.
Not far away, Blood Robes, Monk with Thick Eyebrows, Dream Clouds, and Zhou Yu watched the lively atmosphere at the Murong Clan with incredibly complicated gazes.
Seven of Mu Clan's seventy-two top-class elites had gotten into Dragon Tiger Arena! Along with Wind Chimes, they had eight, while Class One Hall only had four. There showed up to be a difference between the sects in terms of top-class elites.
Even though having four top-class elites already made them worth their top position, because Towering Palace and Chivalry Sect only had two people who made it in, when they saw the group of elites beside Happy, they could not help but feel fear.
After all, aside from the group of people in front of them, there were also a lot of famous elites in Mu Clan who never showed up, such as All-powerful Medicinal Stone, who loved to wander about the land, former Faction Master of Beautiful
Robes Faction, Phoenix Dances in Beautiful Robes, and the human tank One Circle.
By then, Mu Clan had already developed to a stage where they could stand as equals with Class One Hall, or even to the point where Class One Hall had to look up to them.
Silence reigned among them.
Dream Clouds' silver veil swayed slowly. She examined Happy's group with a grave expression before she looked toward the other groups in the area. Lu Mingyue stood in a remote area far away, and he did not form any group with anyone else, just like One Emperor.
Towering Palace's Merciless Saber had entered Dragon Tiger Arena together with his palace master, Clear Music. They stood together with Vast Heaven, who was in the spotlight right then. He was in high spirits, and the three people had a great time talking to each other.
The others also had their own positions. Some stood alone while others formed groups of three-five to talk to each other while waiting quietly for the final moment of the martial arts tournament to arrive.
At that moment, Dragon Tiger Arena sank into a strange atmosphere.
Most of the people who had lost their challenges had their fates sealed and could only be spectators.
Another group of people were uncertain as to whether they should go up on the stage. They hesitated on what sort of opponent they should choose to earn more points.
The few people who were top-class players and had won their first round of challenges like Happy were waiting quietly for the first person to go up and begin the second round of challenges.
"If this goes on, how long are we going to wait?"
The people at Happy's side talked to each other with an air of familiarity, but even they felt a little helpless toward the silence on Dragon Tiger Arena.
Little North finally could not hold it in anymore.
"If they don't dare to go up, let's do so ourselves, Silver Wolf. We haven't started our challenges yet, anyway."
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