Sword Among Us

People need to adapt to different situations.

As sects were built, people were exploited and resources were monopolized. This was something very common in World of Martial Arts. It was also the one thing that most easily triggered competitions and fights. Happy had seen such things plenty of times in his previous life, and he had even taken part in them.

There was no way around it.

Once a person or group gained a certain degree of success, their fame would also go up. Enemies would then pop up who would rack their brains to destroy whatever good was going on for that organization or person.

When anyone took part in an important quest or mission, it was a must for them to make sure the area was empty of enemies, or it would be too easy for them to suffer total annihilation. In fact, they might never be able to recover from that blow.

Dragon Tiger Sect was an organization in the beginning stages of its growth.

It was formed by a normal player who reached Gate Realm, and with the money he gathered, he applied to form a sect. He found a place to set up his foothold and gathered people to him. Then, he gathered resources and advantages which allowed his sect to grow swiftly.

Happy had seen it happen many times.

He could understand why Dragon Tiger Sect could appear so soon and do such a thing, hence he did not react to its birth and growth in Gusu City. When he saw the territories claimed by Dragon Tiger Sect’s disciples, he would just leave quietly and choose to train in places like Black Wind Mountain, which was far away from the city.

That was why when he saw how dispirited and depressed Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li were, he immediately understood what happened.

However, Happy did not intend to fight alone against a group of players who could think.

The Blue-robed Noble Sword User had quite the reputation in Gusu City, but he still did not have the confidence to fight against a sect when he had not even reached Gate Realm.

After a few days of development, Dragon Tiger Sect now had five hundred members with them!

When he thought of this, Happy went to stand in front of the duo.

“Are you free now?”

Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li said nothing. They just looked at each other and nodded.

“Pack up. Come with me to Black Wind Mountain.”

“Alright!”

They were both smart people. Even though they had been humiliated by the people from Dragon Tiger Sect and it was extremely embarrassing that they were chased out of the tavern, they could not do something such as depending on Happy to regain their dignity.

It did not matter whether Happy could do that, for Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li were both smart people with their own dignity. They would not mention this sort of stuff to Happy. Besides, his appearance might bring even more trouble.

If they were determined to take revenge, they had to do so slowly. There was no need for them to be in a hurry!

The two of them pulled themselves together and quickly packed up their stuff before coming to wait at Murong Mansion’s entrance.

Happy went to the shop across Murong Mansion and sold all the spoils of war he did not need so that he could get money. Then, he carefully stored it in the bank and went back to lead Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li out of the city under the cover of the night.

…

A week ago, the wilderness at night had been very empty.

But as the players’ abilities increased, more people no longer held on to the principle of going out in the morning and returning by sunset. They would either go out in groups or move at night alone so that they could seize every moment they could to practice their martial arts.

While on the way, Happy’s group saw people brandish their weapons against wild beasts. Their movements were pretty standard, which made them give off the presence of martial artists from the modern age.

“Eldest senior brother!” Whirlwind Young Li walked quietly for some time before he suddenly asked, “How many more points do you need before you reach Gate Realm?”

In truth, he had been puzzled by this the past few days. The Blue-robed Noble Sword User had been famous for a long time, and his abilities were much greater than those of people who were already in Gate Realm, so why was it that the progression of his qi was not that good?

Happy smiled and did not hide it from him.

“I’ll reach it after tonight.”

His set of Black Wind Mountain martial arts had already reached the ninth realm, and his qi was currently at 39.78 points. He was about to reach a bottleneck, which was why he called the two to his side.

He was prepared to wreck the nest of the Black Wind Mountain Bandits once he reached Gate Realm!

He remembered that the mountain bandits usually had one or two pretty good treasures in their strongholds, based on his playthrough in his previous life. Even though the drop rate was pretty low, when the stronghold was destroyed the first time, those items would definitely drop!

That was why he wanted to get those treasures from Black Wind Mountain before anyone from Gusu City set their eyes on the place. It would not be good if they ended up benefiting someone else.

Even though Black Wind Mountain might have chosen a new second bandit chief and third bandit chief, it should not be hard for Happy to handle them despite them being at the peak of Gate Realm. As for the Chief Bandit who was in Blessed Realm, if he shaved off his health points (HP), Happy should still have a good chance of killing him.

Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li did not know what Happy thought. When they heard that he was about to enter the first qi realm that night, they instantly became happy. Their spirits were lifted!

Right then, getting to Gate Realm was the synonym of being a great player…

The mighty reputation of the Blue-robed Noble Sword User had started to show slow signs of dying down. If he delayed entering Gate Realm any longer, perhaps all the players in Gusu City might only know about Dragon Tiger Sect and no longer remember the Blue-robed Noble Sword User, which was not what Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li wanted to see.

They took the boat and arrived at the foot of Black Wind Mountain, but what entered their eyes shocked the three of them!

The old boatman and Young Huan held each other tightly and cried.

“Looks like someone triggered Black Wind Mountain’s mission and failed…” Eastern Green Gate frowned and looked at Black Wind Mountain, which was shrouded in darkness in the distance. He could see a few sparks swaying in it.

“Someone’s in there!”

Happy and Whirlwind Young Li did not say anything, but they saw it as well.

Happy counted the sparks in the distance in his heart, and his gaze gradually became even more solemn. He nodded slowly.

“And their numbers are quite large.”

Based on memories from his previous life, players in a party would usually only have one person in charge of holding the torch. Multiple torches would only appear when they moved in a large group.

And to reduce wastage, one party was formed from five to ten people.

For the time being, group operations were still in their beginning stages, and the concept was still developing. There were at least thirty players in the mountain, or even more!

Whirlwind Young Li and Eastern Green Gate sucked in a deep breath.

Only Dragon Tiger Sect was capable of organizing such an operation in Gusu City, and their target was clearly… the stronghold of Black Wind Mountain!

“What should we do now?”

Dragon Tiger Sect had decided to carry out an operation in Black Wind Mountain. If Happy and his group ran into them, things would definitely not end nicely.

Not only would those people harbor malicious intent when they saw that the trio were by themselves, their plan to train in Black Wind Mountain would also be held up.

The two hesitated.

Happy did not say anything. He frowned and thought for a while before saying decisively to the people behind him, “Come with me.”

His confidence affected Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li. They looked at each other and nodded. The three of them crept into the dark forest from a small trail.

*****

Happy had a very deep understanding toward Black Wind Mountain, since he came there often. He held his lancet knife in hand. Even if Black Wind Mountain Bandits leapt out, he could handle them easily.

As they charged forward, they soon approached the battleground with the firelight and heard the endless clash of weapons. That noise was accompanied by occasional shouts from players…

“It’s really Dragon Tiger Sect!”

The trio lay in wait behind the bushes. With the help of the light from the torches, they saw dozens of Black Wind Mountain Bandits fighting against several players. Those players had a simple head of a tiger and a dragon sewn over their chests. Eight experienced players held torches and guarded the area while they watched the players who were not familiar with their skills. They gave out reminders to those players, making the whole event very organized.

The trio’s hearts froze.

The sect actually used Black Wind Mountain Bandits to organize training sessions for disciples who just joined them, and they did so en masse!

Dragon Tiger Sect…

“They’re not any simple sect!” Happy’s pupils shrank.