Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  *****

  When the elites of Mu Clan fought against the evil cult elder, Happy found a rather clean spot on the debris-filled street. He sat down on the ground with his legs crossed and began to circulate his qi.

  Lin Xiao and Red Dust were by his side as they watched the people from Mu Clan kill-steal Class One Hall. They felt incredibly pleased by the sight.

  "Happy, say, do you think that we will get along with Class One Hall some day in the future?" Lin Xiao asked.

  He met Happy's surprised gaze, and he could not help but smile and add, "Heh heh, what I mean is that do you really think that Dream Clouds will truly be satisfied with Class One Hall just guarding their own territory and not crossing the borders?"

  When he said the latter half of his sentence, his tone became incredibly serious.

  Happy's expression also became stern. He thought about it for a while before he said, "Big Brother Lin, I know what you mean. I have to say, I understand Class One Hall's ambitions better than you. You don't know this, but a long time ago, Medicinal Stone tracked a few of Class One Hall's core members for a long period of time, and he heard many of Class One Hall's plans to fight against Chivalry Sect.

  "Dream Clouds is very ambitious. Aside from Class One Hall, she also has some hidden sects that no one knows belong to her. Class One Hall will not be satisfied with only a few counties to the north… Dream Clouds has other plans, so no matter what, I will continue to be wary of this woman."

  Happy's answer allowed Lin Xiao and Red Dust to release a breath of relief.

  They looked at each other and smiled. They could sense the level of understanding that some heroes shared between each other!

  Chapter 566 - Break Up?!

  While the players did their best to kill the five evil cult elders, Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yuyan, Wang Chongyan, and Zhang Sanfeng fought furiously in Hero's Mountain Villa. Violent qi forces clashed against each other, and the houses near Dragon Tiger Arena were all destroyed. The area in the center was swathed in darkness, and there was no light nearby.

  At the same time, the elites from the sects were ambushed by the elites from the evil cult, like the successor of Flowers Sect, Hou Xibai, Yin Weed Sect's Wan Wan, Bian Bufu, Eunuch Cao, and the others. The number of casualties the sects suffered was rather high, and all the hard work put into the martial art tournament was lost.

  Happy and the others did not dare to stay for long. Once they killed the five evil cult elders at the gate, they successfully broke out of Hero's Mountain Villa!

  Boom!

  The drawbridge was lowered.

  Under Zhang Wuji's lead, the group of top-class players in Life and Death Realm broke through the lockdown formed by hundreds of evil cult elites outside the villa with a force that could mow down all resistances.

  When they were outside the city, the ground trembled! The sounds of hooves rumbled, and smoke tumbled about in the air. It was as if there were countless riders rushing over in a hurry.

  Zhang Wuji's expression changed. He turned his head around and said in an incredibly solemn manner, "Now that things have progressed this way, we might not be able to protect Hero's Mountain Villa anymore! My fellow martial artists, please leave first. I will go back and coordinate with the elites from the sects and tell them to leave."

  Quite a number of people spoke up.

  "Cult Master Zhang, I'll go with you."

  "We'll fight our way back!"

  There were many top-class martial artists in Hero's Mountain Villa, so it would be good for them to get a quest or two. It might be a once in a lifetime chance, so no one was willing to miss it.

  "No. My Great Grandmaster has already given me the orders to send you out of Hero's Mountain Villa," Zhang Wuji said firmly. "I cannot let you get yourself into danger. Besides, the situation right now in Hero's Mountain Villa is no longer something you can handle. You will immediately leave with the rest of the disciples."

  The Murong Clan Lady nodded and said to Happy, "The villa master and the sect leaders will worry about the martial arts tournament. This time, I believe that the sects will not fight tit-for-tat against the evil cult. We will temporarily retreat. I believe that before long, we will receive Reverend Wang's hero invitation."

  "That's right." The eight aristocratic families and the disciples from various sects agreed to it. "Even though the evil cult came with an aggressive momentum, it will be very difficult for them to kill all the heroes of the world. We'll retreat for now and not become Reverend Wang and Reverend Zhang's burden."

  "Let's go!"

  Even though the players were still not satisfied with leaving just yet and were feeling regretful about it, the system notification had already rang, telling them that the martial arts tournament had come to an end, and the points had already been tallied. They could only respond to the call then and take the journey back to the plains of China.

  As for the title of first runner-up and second runner-up, which had been a great target of discussion…

  Vast Heaven had thought that once the last evil cult elder died in his hands, he could get the title of first runner-up with five points, but he did not expect that One Emperor had received an extra quest compared to him, and he also had five points.

  What made him want to cry was that One Emperor might have the same points as he did, but since he won against Vast Heaven before, the system naturally placed Vast Heaven in the third place, destroying his hopes of becoming at the very least the first runner-up and obtaining the Illusion Life and Death Pill.

  However, getting the third place in the martial arts tournament was already a very good feat. It was enough for his name to spread through the game and obtain the favor of multiple sects, even if Vast Heaven seemed to have already made his decision on which sect to join.

  One Emperor felt rather horrible because of the results, but…

  He had managed to turn the tables in the end and seized the title of first runner-up as well as obtain an epiphany of the sixth sword on the stage. His rewards were pretty great.

  Happy was behind the group. He bade farewell to Zhang Wuji before he redirected his gaze to Sect Leader Zhou Zhiruo of Emei Sect. She had appeared on the walls while they broke out of the encirclement. There was a cold air about her, and she stared at Zhang Wuji as he left without hesitation. There was a brutal look in her eyes, and she did not move for a long time.

  "Zhiruo."

  When Happy called out to her, he managed to attract Zhou Zhiruo's attention. She swiftly returned to normal and looked toward him with a cold gaze. "What is it, Young Swordsman Happy?"

  Based on how indifferent and unapproachable she was, she should know about how he had set up the scheme to send Song Qingshu away. It made him unable to appear on Dragon Tiger Arena and, thereby, destroyed Zhou Zhiruo's plan to kill Zhang Wuji.

  This was the first time Zhou Zhiruo did not face Happy while she talked to him, and he felt slightly dejected. His tone changed.

  "Sect Leader Zhou, I heard from Chen Youliang that you are going to get married with Young Swordsman Song, and I thought that it's just a rumor. But by the looks of it now, you are angry because of what happened to Young Swordsman Song. It seems like… I was reckless and offended you."

  Zhou Zhiruo said nothing for a moment. She frowned, and when she spoke, she did not deny what Happy said. "If that's the case, I have to thank you for helping me protect my reputation."

  There was a faint hint of mockery in her voice, and her tone became cold. "But Wudang Sect's Song Qingshu is the successor of Great Swordsman Song Yuanqiao. Great Swordsman Song also came forward to my mistress to ask for my hand in marriage.

  "If we got married, even if it would not be a match made in heaven, at the very least, the relationship between Emei Sect and Wudang Sect would become deeper, and it would be especially important when the world of martial artists is so chaotic right now. Emei Sect needs the ability to have a place in this world."

  Happy answered her without changing his express
ion. "Then Song Qingshu might end up disappointing you. Even though they're both disciples of Wudang Sect, but when it comes to talent and broad-mindedness, Song Qingshu cannot hope to compare to Zhang Wuji. In fact, he cannot even compare to me. Sect Leader Zhou, if you want to search for a partner, you should search for a good man. Don't sacrifice all of Emei Sect for blind jealousy."

  "This is Emei Sect's matter. Young Swordsman Happy, you don't need to worry about it." Zhou Zhiruo's expression turned even colder.

  Happy sighed softly. "True. In the past, when your mistress asked me to help you, it was because you were alone, and you were not strong enough, but now, it's different. Right now, you are stronger than your mistress', not weaker. You no longer need my help…"

  Zhou Zhiruo's cold expression finally melted a little. She could not help the hint of gentleness that appeared on her face when she remembered how Happy had brought her to chase after the Yuan Dynasty soldiers for days when the six great sects had been captured.

  In the end, he even turned against Zhang Wuji and Xie Xun for her to seize Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber!

  It could be said that Happy was the greatest benefactor and her best friend that had helped her take full control of Emei Sect.

  "Happy." Zhou Zhiruo's tone started to show clear signs of returning to gentleness.

  But Happy did not give her the chance to talk. "In the future, I will no longer interfere or do anything that will affect you, Sect Leader Zhou. I hope that you will continue to carry out Mistress Annihilation's will and bring Emei Sect to glory!

  "As for your wedding with Song Qingshu, I'm afraid I will not be able to go over and congratulate you. But I sincerely hope that you… will be happy forever with Mister Song."

  He said his last sentence slowly and resolutely, and once he finished speaking, he did not give Zhou Zhiruo the chance to answer him. He just turned around and left.

  When Zhou Zhiruo saw that, her expression changed, but she was not alone like that. The expressions of the elites from the other sects also changed. They stopped moving and looked over, because they did not expect that Happy, who had always had a great relationship with Zhou Zhiruo, would say such resolute words to break up with her.

  The players could also not understand why Happy would cast away Zhou Zhiruo's affection for him out of the blue.

  Chapter 567 - Second Stage for the Nine Yang Skill Quest, Complete!

  There were many ways for players to affect an NPC's actions in World of Martial Arts!

  The most direct one was to hurt them. The players could control and hurt the NPCs, but they could usually only do this to some nameless bandits. It was very hard for them to do this to some of the more reputable martial artists, much less the famous ones.

  The slightly higher-class way to affect them was to gather affection.

  By continuously doing quests, players could move on from the status of indifference, wariness, or hostility into acceptance, and when their affection reached the max, the NPCs would come to trust them.

  The greater the affection was, the more the player could affect the NPC and even get some hidden quests. At that moment, it was the path that countless players chose.

  It was because of how hard it was to gather the affection of a powerful martial artist that everyone in the area knew that it was a huge loss for Happy to cast away Zhou Zhiruo so resolutely. After all, she was not a normal NPC in World of Martial Arts. She was the sect leader of Emei Sect, a famous martial artist, and even a major character in the main plot.

  Even the people from Mu Clan and Class One Hall could not understand the reason behind Happy's actions!

  But from the way Zhou Zhiruo stayed where she was, they could clearly tell that the relationship between them had been completely severed by Happy's words.

  "What's going on?"

  When Monk with Thick Eyebrows saw Happy and his group leave into the distance with no hesitation, he frowned with a puzzled expression.

  Blood Robes smiled coldly.

  "No matter what, this is good news to us."

  Happy had been having an easy time in the game, and he definitely had his own reasons to fly into a rage like that, but Blood Robes was very happy to see Happy cutting off his ties with Zhou Zhiruo.

  Dream Clouds agreed with Blood Robes' thoughts, which was something rarely seen. Soon though, she spoke in a tone that was solemn.

  "But we can't cast aside the possibility that Happy wants to stick up to Zhang Wuji and Zhang Sanfeng by casting away Zhou Zhiruo. Don't pay this too much attention. Once we go back, limit our branch members' actions and tell them not to readily step into Changjiang River Basin."

  Blood Robes and Monk with Thick Eyebrows nodded quietly.

  Happy had obtained the title of champion among the players in the martial arts tournament. His domineering and powerful strength had been displayed at full force, and if he gained another divine weapon, it would be the same as giving a pair of wings to a tiger!

  The momentum of Mu Clan's growth would definitely increase again, and their morale would go up by leaps and bounds, so it would not be wise for them to engage in any sort of conflict with Mu Clan.

  "Zhou Yu, what about you?"

  Dream Clouds looked at Zhou Yu. He had not said a single word since the time he appeared at Dragon Tiger Arena until then. He had been very quiet.

  When he heard the question, he finally spoke, but his tone was very indifferent. "I won't b.u.t.t into any of the affairs in your hall. One Emperor will fight against Happy three months later. During this period of time, don't bother me. I want to be alone for a while."

  During the day, he had gained an even deeper understanding of the distance between him and Happy, and it stirred up the indignation and reluctance to admit defeat in his heart.

  Dream Clouds nodded in relief. "Alright, don't worry. Just focus on training. I hope that the day will come when you will be able to wipe away the humiliation you suffered at the foot of Mount Song."

  When Zhou Yu heard Dream Clouds mention what happened that day, a faint hint of red shone in his eyes.

  *****

  The elites from various sects got into different sh.i.p.s once they left Hero's Mountain Villa.

  Thunderous Battle, Silver Wolf, and the others naturally got into the ship shared by the eight aristocratic families, but they had complicated expressions, and they could not get rid of their gloomy looks, especially Little North. He just kept mumbling behind them.

  "How could this happen? Boss, you could have spoken to her nicely. You just need to appease a woman and things will be fine. Ah, no, I mean, you just need to act according to circ.u.mstances with the women in the game— Ack! It hurts! Who hit me?!"

  He took a hit from Momo's Throw Spirit Sphere and Wind Chimes' sound attack, both of whom had attacked him quietly. Little North shut up then and summoned his zombie puppets to protect him while trembling in fear. He did not dare to casually say anything more.

  Thunderous Battle and Silver Wolf were more relaxed. Even though they could not understand Happy's actions, but judging by how calm and at ease he appeared to be, they guessed that he had not done iot at random, and neither was it a product caused by uncontrollable emotions. He should have his reasons for doing what he did.

  Naturally, Happy had his reasons for acting like he had!

  Even though Zhou Zhiruo's affection for him had decreased, because he mentioned the past, they had returned to the peak. However, that just strengthened Happy's intention of breaking ties with her.

  One person he could not recall had done something similar in his previous life.

  It was possible for players to affect a World of Martial Arts NPC's words and actions by breaking ties with them.

  Such an action was rather similar to a government official taking a risk of offending their ruler just so that they could hear their words, but the price for it was everything that the official had worked for in the past.

  The player had to use their words to shock an NPC, which w
ould make them reflect on their actions. It would use up all of their affection in one go to change the NPC slightly, which might sound ridiculous, but it was possible.

  And it was what Happy had done!

  He believed that he had contributed in helping Zhou Zhiruo get to her position as a sect leader. On top of that, they shared a harmonious relationship which was above that of casual friends.

  When he said that he wanted to break ties with Zhou Zhiruo, he clearly conveyed his intention. He wanted Zhou Zhiruo to think back on Mistress Annihilation's wish and face herself once more, then place most of her attention on Emei Sect.

  Happy had a bit of a scheme set up in those break up words that others could not understand.

  Besides, no one knew that he had not lost anything, because the results could not be seen. Only he had received a notification from the system, which told him that Zhou Zhiruo reflected on herself and led the Emei Sect disciples back to Emei Mountain.

  This meant that Happy had completed both the first and second stages of the Wudang Sect Nine Yang Skill quest that Zhang Sanfeng had given him.

  'I finally completed the quest.'

  At the moment Happy received the system notification, he did not sense any joy. Instead, after a brief surge of emotion, his heart quickly calmed down, and he felt relieved.

  He finally obtained the most unimaginable Wudang Qi Cultivation Technique spoken of only in legends.

  Because of it, not only had his worries about Guo Jing's request disappeared, he did not need to constantly worry about the evil cult's Shadow Assassin lurking in the dark and bothering him. He also did not need to worry that he would not be able to obtain Nine Yang Divine Skill before he fought against One Emperor.

  He had finally completed… his most difficult quest!

  As long as he returned to Wudang Sect and received Wudang Sect's Nine Yang Skill from Zhang San Feng, all he needed to do next was to focus on training and make preparations for the battle three months later against One Emperor.