Sword Among Us

“Amitabha!” The old monk who had broken his Buddhist vows stood at the cliff of Punishment Mount. He called out the name of Buddha like an eminent monk and offered up some space on the cliff for Happy. “Since you have come, then stay and enjoy yourself. Patron, come and rest.”

‘Rest, my foot…’

Even though he cursed in his heart, Happy did not dare to show any of his thoughts on his face.

He could tell that the old monk who had broken his Buddhist vows wanted to lower his guard by using sweet words. The moment Happy flew to the mountain, the old monk would attack with lethal force and easily push him off the cliff.

When he thought of this, Happy actually felt like he saw a thread of hope!

If the old monk who had broken his Buddhist vows showed his true colors before he reached the mountain, he would probably have no chance to survive and would die in Punishment Mount, but since the monk thought to trick him first, Happy might have a chance.

Hence, he immediately looked behind the monk to ensure that there was no one else nearby.

‘I’ll have to give it my all!’

Happy gritted his teeth. The moment he was sixteen feet away from the cliff, he exerted force with his feet and jumped high into the air with his saber. He was so quick that he almost shot past the monk’s head.

When Happy rushed to the cliff at full speed and was airborne, unable to change his direction or propel himself forward, the monk who had been watching quietly suddenly laughed long and hard.

“Haha! Patron, stay where you are!”

He waved the long staff in his hand, and staff shadows filled the air. They were both fierce and violent! And they rushed at Happy, who was airborne, with the force of an avalanche.

“Even though there is no need for you to take this perilous path, you just had to come, huh?! Did you think that Punishment Mount is a place where an ordinary person like you can come as they please? Give me your life!”

“You—”

Happy pretended to be alarmed and cried out in anger, but his body froze miraculously while airborne, and his Hundred-battle Saber left his grip! With a terrifying blue light, it shot into the staff shadows that the monk had created.

Happy’s reaction time to the unexpected situation had been so quick that he had acted at almost the same time as the monk.

It looked like both of them had chosen to strike at the same time!

The monk groaned. Most of the boundless staff shadows vanished, and he staggered, unable to gain a steady footing. Happy did not have a good time as well. In his haste, he had fought head on against a Mystical Realm NPC, and the disparity between their qi realms made things very difficult for him. Besides, Happy had even suffered a blow.

When the great force surged into his body, he was nearly sent out of Punishment Mount.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the first style of the Ten True Dragon Styles he had understood from the exquisite Go game suddenly jumped into his mind. An idea popped into his head, and without even thinking, he flipped his right hand in an agile manner. What little remained of his qi surged into his arm in an astonishing manner.

Whoosh!

An astonishing suction force exploded from his arm. Then, like a dragon, he seized the tip of the long staff that the monk had yet had to retract.

The moment he seized the long staff, he turned it around with a fierce and strong force. Shock appeared on the monk’s face, and he felt a tremor rip through his palm. His grip on the weapon loosened, and Happy snatched it from him.

When he saw that the young man who should have been sent down the cliff with one attack seized his staff and landed on the cliff of Punishment Mount, the monk who had broken his Buddhist vows stared at his empty hands with incredulity in his eyes. Just a few seconds ago, he had clearly sensed that the young man’s qi was not as great as his. It was a complete realm below his, but while the young man was injured, he had shown great adaptability, along with an astonishing suction force.

The old monk’s momentary pause had given Happy the chance to survive.

Even though he did not know why Dragon Capture was so domineering that even a monk in Mystical Realm would be taken advantage of, he knew that it was not the time to think about the matter. If he could not restore his qi, then even if he seized the monk’s weapon, the monk could still easily send him off the cliff.

Hence, the moment he landed on the ground, he put away the weapon he had snatched from the monk into his Universe Bag, and at an extremely fast speed, he brought out a medicinal tablet.

Crunch!

He crushed the medicinal tablet and swallowed it.

An acrid taste swiftly spread from the tip of his tongue to his stomach.

His Dantian region had nearly dried up after executing Dragon Capture, but then, hints of qi swiftly shot up in it, and they gradually grew stronger. Soon, they surged into Happy’s body.

“Whew…”

‘I managed to survive!’

Happy felt a sense of comfort fill his body, as if he had just been resurrected.

As long as qi swam about his body, he could use Cloud Treading Steps to avoid the monk’s pursuit while he slowly ate medicine to restore the qi he had used up on Iron Chain Bridge.

“Hey, you strange brat, give me my weapon back!”

It was only at that moment that the monk finally snapped out of his daze. The shock on his face was replaced by anger, and he no longer had the kindly look of an eminent monk who had understood the nature of the world. With his palms outstretched and the face of a demon, he pounced on Happy.

Shaolin Temple had always been famous for its staff and fist techniques.

The monk who had broken his Buddhist vows lost his staff, but his skills with his fists and legs were not weak either. He easily executed attacks that had the force of a thunderbolt.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Fists and kicks ripped through the air. At the speed of lightning, the wind that stirred up from his attacks shot through the afterimage Happy had left behind.

Happy did not dare to dally even for a single second.

With his qi, he could not execute Cloud Treading Steps and Flowering Knights’ Song at the same time. Hence, he decided not to be wasteful and just preserve his strength while stalling for time.

However, Punishment Mount was not big. To avoid attracting even more monks’ attention, he did not dare to move too far away. He remained in a small region near the cliff.

Bang!

Another rock shattered beneath the monk’s hands. He was extremely ferocious as he chased after Happy relentlessly. Where Happy went, he would follow, and every single one of his skills were fatal. He showed no hint of the kindhearted and loving nature that Buddhists had.

“You stupid brat, if you have the guts, stay where you are!”

While he chased Happy, he cursed him angrily.

Happy did not waste his energy being bothered about what an NPC called him. He just continued changing his location at will while eating medicinal tablets to restore his qi. At the same time, his Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique circulated automatically to heal his internal injuries. Aside from parrying the attacks he could not avoid and subsequently dismantling and breaking down the monk’s power, Happy did not engage the monk.

As time passed, Happy’s speed increased, and he grew more at ease and relaxed.

He had recovered most of his qi, and his injuries were no longer a problem to him.

Meanwhile, the monk was still the same. With his vast amount of qi, he chased after Happy, and even after such a long time had passed, he did not show any signs of fatigue. Instead, he was becoming even more valiant the more he fought.

‘It’s time to determine the victor of this fight.’

When this thought appeared in Happy’s head, he suddenly turned around and had his palm meet the monk’s in the air. Happy then used the momentum of the attack to land near his Hundred-battle Saber, which had sank into the ground.

He took hold of its hilt!

Shing!

The Hundred-battle Saber was pulled out of the ground with a brilliant glare. It brought with it a deep blue halo, and Happy swung it fiercely in a swift and clean manner! The slash was just in time to strike the monk who had pounced on him.

The monk’s expression changed.

Everything had happened too suddenly. He did not have time to dodge and could only watch as the saber glare came slashing at him!

Clang!

A loud sound rose.

The monk pushed his palms together, and his arms turned as hard as steel to clamp down on the Hundred-battle Saber that aimed to cut him in half. His body trembled, and he took half a step backwards before he regained his footing.

He pushed forward, and with one palm, he easily struck away the Hundred-battle Saber. With short and swift footsteps, he closed in on Happy. He furled his other hand and formed a fist. Then, he hurled that fist as quickly as a gust of wind at Happy, who was right in front of him.

The change in his technique and his ruthlessness showed the monk’s abilities, proving that he was a powerful Mystical Realm fighter.

Happy did not panic in the face of the monk’s swift attacks. With the Eight Trigrams Steps, he used Hundred-battle Saber’s momentum to turn around, and at an even faster speed, he turned to slash at the monk.

Clang!

His Hundred-battle Saber struck the monk’s palms, which created a sound that would only be heard when metal struck metal. Both of them were forced to retreat by the tremors that surged through their bodies from the clash.

The smile on Happy’s face grew wider.

“Just in time, I’ll use you to reach the tenth realm with my Flowering Knights’ Song!”

The moment he made his decision, he swung his Hundred-battle Saber and went to clash against the monk, whose body was now as hard as metal.