Sword Among Us

“I, Dongfang Xiong of the Dongfang Clan, ask the heroes of the world to generously give me their instruction!”

 Dongfang Xiong’s snow-white brocade robe, heroic posture, neither humble nor arrogant temperament, and his elegance quickly gained the praises of the heroes of the world, including the sect leaders from the various sects. They nodded.

 “The son of Dongfang Clan’s leader is pretty good. I heard that he is young, but he is already an outstanding martial artist among the young’uns. Looks like the Dongfang Clan has an extraordinary heir.”

 “Indeed.”

 All sorts of remarks traveled to the stage, but Dongfang Xiong remained as cold as ever. He stood at the center of the stage in a prideful manner while he stared at Happy walking over calmly.

 “That’s his opponent?” The elites from the six sects were surprised and intrigued.

 “It’s Happy.”

 “That’s interesting.”

 “One of them is one of the most outstanding disciples from the eight aristocratic families, while the other is a disciple from the Murong Clan and someone favored highly by the sect leaders of the six great sects. This fight is rather interesting.”

 The person who spoke was Huang Yaoshi, who had said some very harsh words earlier. At that moment, his expression grew attentive, as if he was rather interested in the battle.

 “Rong’er, who do you think will win this fight?” Huang Yaoshi asked his daughter.

 “I do not know. Dongfang Xiong is from the Dongfang Clan. They have pretty good sword techniques, and this man has quite the powerful qi realm even though he is so young. He should be a genius.”

 After saying that, Huang Rong hesitated for a moment and looked at Happy, who stood on the stage. “But Happy of Murong Clan has shown to be rather unfathomable all along the way. His sword technique is nothing special, but he has come to understand sword will.

 “He also seems to have a great understanding toward the martial arts from the other sects, and he can always estimate his enemy’s preemptive strikes, which allows him to win within a short period of time… Also, his palm technique is very ingenious and powerful. There is no doubt that he will win if he goes up against those who are in Inaction Realm.”

 Huang Yaoshi and Guo Jing looked at each other.

 Guo Jing’s expression became somber. “Rong’er, did you not notice that your appraisal for Happy is very high?”

 Huang Rong said nothing.

 “If he has truly learned Beggar’s Sect’s Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm, Dongfang Xiong will not be his opponent,” Guo Jing said with a sigh full of emotion. “Based on what Master Kong Xiang said, Happy has practiced Emei Sect’s Nine Yang Skill, and a few months ago, he obtained Shaolin Temple’s Nine Yang Skill as well. Later on, he stayed for some time at Wudang Sect; he should have been there for Wudang Sect’s Nine Yang Skill. If he has practiced the complete version of Nine Yang Divine Skill, we’ll be trying to attack him without a just cause if we try to recover our Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm from him.”

 “Indeed.” Huang Yaoshi had a grave expression that was rarely seen on him.

 “Nine Yang Divine Skill is a rarely seen ultimate technique in the world. Those who have it are all genii in the world of martial artists. Just now, Zhang Wuji was able to understand the essence of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm during that brief fight and fight on equal grounds with Jing’er, which shows just how extraordinary Nine Yang Divine Skill is.”

 “True. With the debt of gratitude Wudang Sect owes Happy, they should have already given him their copy of Nine Yang Skill. Instead of having an extra enemy, it would be best if we turned a blind eye to this situation.

 “Besides, Happy has done a favor to the people from the six great sects, so he can be considered to be someone in the righteous path. As long as he doesn’t pass the technique to others, we can ignore it,” Guo Jing said.

 Huang Rong said nothing, but she was already a little convinced by his reasoning.

 “Later on, let’s go to Happy and talk in private with him so we can form a good relationship with him.”

 When Guo Jing saw that Huang Rong could not come to a decision, he took the initiative to make the decision for her.

 *****

 When Happy stood in front of Dongfang Xiong, he appeared to be very calm.

 Each of the disciples from the eight aristocratic families had already reached Inaction Realm, and all of them were very blessed and powerful. They were not that much inferior to the sect leaders of normal sects, but Happy had met some of them in his previous life, so he had some degree of understanding toward them, which was why the pressure on him was not very great.

 “Please grant me your instruction.”

 If Happy was calm, Dongfang Xiong was even calmer.

 He was already in Inaction Realm, and he had long since gained fame for himself in the land of wanderers. He was also said to be the next master of his clan.

 The Dongfang Clan placed great hopes on him for the martial arts tournament. He was to display the might of the Dongfang Clan in it!

 The lady of Murong Clan had extraordinary talent, but she was only considered as a rival to him. What caused him to be surprised was that the Life and Death Realm Murong Clan disciple who followed the Murong Clan Lady had stepped forth without knowing what was good for him.

 Dongfang Xiong drew his sword slowly while he said, “Ten moves. If I do not manage to defeat you within ten moves, I will admit defeat.”

 As he spoke, he did not even look at Happy. His act of underestimating Happy was very clear!

 Once he said those words, quite a number of people in the spectator seat frowned slightly. There were a lot of men and women who watched Happy worriedly, but there were also some who were delighted at his upcoming misfortune.

 An Inaction Realm martial artist was about to go up against a Life and Death Realm martial artist.

 The two were not even in the same category in a martial arts tournament.

 But Happy’s answer was even more callous and filled with even more disdain.

 “Then, when the ten moves are over, go down by yourself. I will not send you off.”

 Once he said that, the elite martial artists caused a large ruckus.

 Finally, Dongfang Xiong was unable to continue maintaining his callous expression. He smiled coldly, tapped against the ground, and drifted over slowly like a willow with the wind blowing against it. His longsword was positioned behind him, and while he drifted to Happy, who was dozens of feet away from him, he looked incredibly bizarre.

 Happy did not move, just watched from his spot.

 When Dongfang Xiong saw that his movements did not throw Happy off, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

 Sun Rises!

 He did a simple one-handed sword lift.

 Whoosh!

 The sword arc was full, and it looked like a sun rising swiftly from the sea. Dazzling red light instantly bloomed from the longsword and shone so brilliantly that all Happy saw was red light. He seemed to have been touched by the light from the rising sun that spread far and wide.

 Happy could clearly feel a sharp and cold attack locking down on him.

 He did not dodge.

 When the sword glare was about to touch his face, he simply moved a little.

 Petite Dragon!

 Dragon Capture!

 He twisted his body in a strange manner and moved into the light that had spread far and wide.

 The next moment, the light vanished.

 With a grunt, Dongfang Xiong and Happy flew backwards.

 Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Dongfang Xiong took five consecutive steps backwards. At the moment he stood still, he wiped his face, and he came away with a red smear on his palm. There were three terrifying blood trails on his face, and they burned.

 Everyone at the foot of the stage looked at him with solemn and disbelieving expressions.

 The indifference on Nangong Ruosui and Bei Lie’s faces disappeared without a trace. It was replaced by stupefaction and incredulity.

 For the first time ever, those two and the other disciples from the eight aristocratic families sucked in deep breaths. Incredibly solemn expressions appeared on their faces, and they finally put the disciple the Murong Clan Lady had brought with her in their eye.

 They suddenly realized that Happy might not have relied on some tricks to save the six great sects. He could have also displayed great strength and ability.

 Thud, thud!

 Happy was kicked in the chest when he fought against Dongfang Xiong with brute strength, but his Golden Bell Cocoon negated most of the damage, and he managed to regain his footing after taking two small steps backward.

 Then, right before Dongfang Xiong and the heroes of the world, he flicked off the dust on his chest and said in an incredibly calm manner, “There’s still seven moves left.”