Sword Among Us

Once Happy quickly ate his dinner, he rushed back to his dorm so that he could meet up with Little North, Thunderous Battle, and All-powerful Medicinal Stone outside White Tiger Forest!

“Little North, Thunderous Battle, I asked you about joining Beautiful Robes Faction last time. Have you thought things through?”

“I have no problems with it. Wherever you go, I will follow, boss,” Little North answered firmly.

Thunderous Battle was silent for a little while before he nodded. “I can join you. It’s not very good for me to play the game alone all the time. But Happy, you know as well that I like my freedom. I don’t quite like people commanding me. If that happens…”

“I know what you mean. You will just be a member and can move around freely at your usual hours. But when it comes to matters regarding the glory of the faction, I hope that you can provide some help as well. If you can’t, there’s no meaning for you to join the faction. It’d be better if you didn’t,” Happy said while looking at Thunderous Battle.

Happy did not compromise completely because they knew each other well and allowed Thunderous Battle to stand completely above Beautiful Robes Faction. If that were the case, it would be better if they were just normal friends.

Thunderous Battle nodded under Happy’s steadfast gaze. He seemed to have come to some sort of realization.

“Alright, I understand.”

He managed to get these two to join his faction without any surprise. Then, Happy turned his attention to All-powerful Medicinal Stone.

The man instantly panicked and quickly waved his hands while crying out, “Aaaahhhh, kid, don’t even think about it. You’re asking me, an old man in his thirties, to play around with a group of children? Even though being young is good, it’s still too… you know, that. Yup. That’s how it is. We’ll still be friends in the future and maintain contact with each other, and I think that it will be enough. If you need any help, you can come to me, and when I need your help, I will come to you.”

“Alright!” Happy smiled and did not bother to waste his breath. “Just now, I received a quest from my clan, so I have to immediately leave for a period of time. Little North, Big Brother Thunder, you can make your own decision. This time, it is a faction quest. I want to bring you to meet up with the people in the faction.”

Little North and Thunderous Battle instantly understood what had transpired.

No wonder then that Happy had chosen to ask them about their intentions right then. He actually intended to leave White Tiger Forest for a while.

“Since I have to take a two-day journey, I won’t force you two to come with me.”

“I’m going! Why shouldn’t I be going?! I heard that Beautiful Robes Faction’s master is a beauty… Heh heh, I wonder if she’ll take a fancy to me if I give her a Phantasm Body Movement Skill later.”

“What about the Momo that you’ve been dreaming of day in and day out?”

Thunderous Battle rolled his eyes at Little North. He remembered that Little North had been constantly talking about how he had not met the girl with the long purple gown again, and that he would definitely confess the next time he ran into her, among other such related stuff.

Little North froze up, feeling embarrassed.

He lowered his head and patted it a little. Then, with the abilities of an Academy award winning actor, he displayed the classic action of Steven Chow and said, “Sigh… Men who are too popular really have it tough.” His tone and his expressions were very similar to those of the actor, which showed just how great his acting skills were.

All-powerful Medicinal Stone ignored Little North’s acting and said to Happy, “Wuhu will not be peaceful for the time being. Since Fox Cave is gone, I don’t have any intentions to stay in this place. It’d be best if I leave this dangerous area soon. You peeps go on ahead, I’ll go and try to cause more trouble for Class One Hall.”

Happy nodded. “Alright, good luck!”

“Yup, luck be with you too.”

Once he finished speaking, All-powerful Medicinal Stone placed his fist against his palm and saluted them. Then, he jumped up, and as if he was led by an invisible force, he landed on a tree. With a few more shifts, he quickly disappeared without a trace.

“What about you, Big Brother Thunder?”

“We’re going together!” Thunderous Battle answered in a very simple and direct manner. He brought out his Horse Plate and summoned Hoof Shadow.

The three of them jumped on their horses at the same time.

“Giddy up!”

A loud sound rose a moment after. Thunderous hoofbeats could be heard, and they swiftly crushed the tranquility outside White Tiger Forest.

*****

A day later, at the moment the morning sun rose above the summit of Mount Hua, the first rays of light shone on Mount Hua’s Sword Dance Summit, and a grand banquet appeared before countless players…

Whoosh!

There were thousands of Mount Hua disciples gathered on the mountain that could accommodate more than ten thousand people at the summit. They stood tall with their swords held aloft, and their white robes fluttered madly in the wind!

All the people had brightly burning eyes while staring in front of them with stern expressions. The will of their swords rose into the air, even though it could not be seen.

At that moment, the three sect elders stood sternly on the platform across Sword Dance Summit. They inspected the whole area, then one of them suddenly gave an order.

“Prostrate!”

His voice spread far and wide, and it lingered in the air for a long time.

Boom!

Thousands of Mount Hua disciples obeyed and acted.

The forest of swords started moving uniformly.

Thousands of longswords formed thousands of harmonious sword shadows under the morning sun. The scene was very dazzling and neat! The thousands of people finished in one breath and quickly put away their swords. They then hugged their sheaths, held them high, and drew their swords again. Their movements were like water and contained astonishing strength.

In the end, they pointed their swords at the sky in the south.

Whoosh!

The sound of four sword auras rose, and they were incredibly harmonious. When they thrust out, they looked as if they were making tens of thousands of swords worship the red sun!

Sunlight shone on the tips of the swords, dazzling and bewitching those who saw it!

It was the sword dance session Mount Hua Sect organized once every month.

It was attended by NPC disciples. However, the disciples in Blessed Realm could also enter to replace one of the NPC disciples. They could move according to their heart and sense the profundity of swinging their swords with ten thousand people in the morning to receive the purest energy from the world, which baptized their souls and bodies.

It was Mount Hua!

“This is the day the world shall speak of the sword, and this is Mount Hua’s summit.”

The Sword Dance Summit was a holy land where countless brilliant heroes would pour out their minds and souls to learn how to wield the sword. This was also the place where the heroes of the world would meet for a decisive battle.

Mount Hua Sect was the organizer. They were one of the seven great sects and clans and the organizers of the triannual Sword Among Us tournament. Once they combined generations of sword techniques from elites and their spirits, they continued to create new and innovative sword techniques. At the same time, the grand occasion of the disciples of Mount Hua performing the sword dance was formed.

It was also precisely because the game had preserved the spirit of Mount Hua Sect that the unprecedentedly grand occasion made Mount Hua Sect one of the most popular sects among the seven great sects. They could actually contend with Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect.

*****

At the moment the sword dance session was over, a pretty and charming player moved away from her spot. Her cheeks were slightly red, and she was covered in sweat.

“Junior sister.”

A few people chased after her from behind her while holding out their leather skins.

“Come, drink some mountain water to quench your thirst.”

“Why don’t you drink mine. I just filled up my leather skin today. The water is still cold right now.”

Little Jade[1] did not seem to be at a loss in front of her senior brothers’ enthusiasm, which was clearly showed on their faces. But she did not show any signs of annoyance either.

“Don’t need to, senior brothers, I have mine.”

Once she was done speaking, she brought out a bamboo tube from her Universe Bag and took a sip from it.

“Hehe, Little Jade, let’s go and grind in White Tiger Forest today. I managed to farm three White Tiger Pelts on my own yesterday.”

“That’s nothing. Junior Sister Little Jade, fighting against tigers every day isn’t something worth boasting about. Sometime ago, I found an herb mountain protected by Bloodsucking Wood. I used up all my energy to pick around ten tuber fleeceflowers from it. There were also quite a lot of other valuable herbs there. Why don’t we go there today?”

“Enough with it!”A loud voice rose from behind and instantly drowned out the voices of the men who were eager to invite Little Jade to form a party with them to do some level-grinding. “Little Jade has something to do today. You lot can go away now!”

Once the men recognized the speaker, they knew that were that there was no hope for them to form a party with Little Jade anymore. They left, and a young man with a loose brocade robe walked forward in a majestic gait. He arrived in front of Little Jade and spoke in a very casual tone.

“Little Jade, you should have time to accompany me today, right?”

The young man was the eldest senior brother of Mount Hua Sect, and he was the person with the greatest Comprehension and accomplishments in the sword dance session—Lonesome Ice.

But the expression of Little Jade, who had always been very tolerant toward other people, suddenly changed. Her face turned cold, and she uttered only two words.

“Get lost!”

Once she finished speaking, she turned to her other sect members.

“Thank you for your kind will, senior brothers. I have to travel far today, so I will not be able to play with all of you. Sorry. Goodbye!”

Under Lonesome Ice’s awkward gaze—he wanted to bury himself in a hole and die—and her other senior brothers’ stunned expressions while they tried hard to suppress their laughter, she turned around and descended down the mountain.

Translator’s Note:

[1] Little Jade: Xu Yao’s in-game name. Her full in-game character name is Jade Lake’s Immortal.