Sword Among Us

The day World of Martial Arts Secret News Log was released, two million copies of the string-bound book were sold at a price of fifty taels of silver crumbs each, and it pushed Wandering Know-it-all to the second place on the Rich Rank. There were even signs that he might take over Dream Clouds as the richest person in the game within a very short period of time!

World of Martial Arts Secret News Log was a good item. Not only did it give people a deeper level of understanding toward the situation, but they also gained an even clearer understanding of where they placed in the game, and also what their goals were.

However, while it ignited the passion within some players, it also brought many players a lot of trouble!

The two hundred or so players in the Famous People Rank, Dragon Rank, and Phoenix Rank continuously received invitations from different cities and sects. Many of the players who had focused all their attention on training and did not want to appear before the public could no longer do so after their abilities were revealed. They all got dragged into the chaotic world of martial artists.

However, the people who suffered the most were not them. The thirty or so “landlords” who had more than one million in terms of money on the Rich Rank were ambushed by large groups of unknown origin in different cities and died on the spot.

They were targeted because of the setting that stated that all those who died would drop fifty percent of their money. And the reason they didn’t protect themselves that well was because they didn’t encounter the news about their wealth being exposed straight away.

Even though many of them had saved their money in banks, their money-filled pockets still gave a lot of people substantial benefits from killing them.

The news of the people on the Rich Rank dying spread through various areas.

Once they died, they opened a thread to curse Wandering Know-it-all’s actions. They believed that he had invaded their privacy and threatened their assets.

It was a pity!

In the world of martial artists, which was filled with disputes, Wandering Know-it-all’s actions were not limited, and neither would he be judged for them. Aside from making him even more famous, those people could do nothing against him. In the end, those who could rely on sects would rely on the power of their sects to protect them, and those who could not would hire bodyguards when they went out.

For a period of time, the atmosphere in World of Martial Arts became even more tense and grave.

*****

Once Happy left Punishment Mount, he moved at the speed of lightning. He executed his lightness skill through the trails on Mount Song to its fullest. Soon, he reached another deserted trail on Mount Song and vanished from the area.

He entered the government-made road and swiftly brought out the high-grade Horse Plate he had obtained from the Mystical Realm bandit leader. He then summoned a handsome, purplish-red horse.

“Neigh!”

The purplish-red horse was full of energy. Once it was summoned, it raised its front hooves in a very lively manner, threw its head to the sky, and neighed as if it wanted to vent its frustrations for being trapped in a Horse Plate for a long time.

“What a good horse!”

Happy’s eyes sparkled, and he tugged at the reins before he flipped himself on the horse. He landed on its back in one firm movement, then patted its glossy, shiny, and smooth fur, and caressed its sturdy and beautiful body. With slight force, he patted the horse’s butt.

“Giddy up!”

The purplish-red horse let out a pained but delighted neigh! It exerted force in all its muscles and shot forth like an arrow. It gradually went from a slow trot to a fast charge. The dust behind it flew high in the air. Soon, Happy heard the wind howl beside his ears. Once again, he charged forth like the wind.

Less than a minute after he left, the chaotic and thunderous sound of horse hooves could be heard on the government-made road!

“Hurry!”

“Don’t let him run!”

“Giddy up!”

“Giddy up! GIDDY UP!”

In the distance, there was a group of players who hastily struck their horses. Soon, they came to the place where Happy had been earlier. They were all dressed in uniform and had swords and sabers by their waists. They were filled with a murderous air, and they quickly struck their horses’ posteriors. Their sights were set on a cloud of dust that had yet to disappear completely, and they chased after it at full speed.

But after around ten minutes, they found that the distance between them just kept increasing!

When they arrived at a place where they had a wide field of vision, they quickly stopped.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

The person in blue robes who rode on a quick horse had an astonishing speed, and soon, he disappeared into the horizon!

“How quick…”

“Damn it, it’s a high-grade horse.”

The group sighed in pity.

Even though they had repeatedly looked for Happy’s precise location since he left Punishment Mount, he was simply too fast, and the path he took was very strange, causing them to repeatedly lose him. They would also often find themselves entangled with fierce beasts or their journey obstructed by other things, which was why Happy to had reached the government-made road first and left.

“Darn it, we let him off lightly!”

When they saw that he had an extraordinary steed, everyone became incredibly gloomy.

Their plan of robbing Happy while he was on his way had failed.

“Let’s go!”

With a heart full of remorse, the group turned around on their horses in one uniform motion. With how swift they moved, they resembled a group of professional players from a guild who had been trained and had great teamwork.

Happy did not know that his actions had allowed him to avoid an unnecessary fight. He simply stepped on the stirrup, tugged the reins, and rushed out of the territory of Dengfeng County.

Even though he did not personally see the players who struck their horses and left, Happy knew his current situation very well.

He had bad blood with Class One Hall, so there was no way he would be safe.

He had no one he was close to in Shaolin Temple either, so he had to rush out of Zhengzhou as quickly as possible and get back to Gusu City, with which he was familiar. Even though he might still not have the power to stand against Class One Hall there, he was a disciple of the Murong Clan, and he had eyes and ears and friends over there. He would know of all the forces of power and players who entered the city. He would not be forced into a passive state like right then.

When he reached Gusu City, he could at least have a safe spot to stay!

He would no longer need to fight alone!

As he thought of that, he suddenly felt a sense of danger.

‘There’s someone here!’

The shrill sound of something rushing in the air made Happy’s entire body tense. He instinctively struck in the direction from which the powerful gust of wind came at him.

The shadow of his jade green hand swayed left and right in the air.

Thud! Thud!

His movements were swift and clean. Two arrows were struck away from the air. They sank into the ground by the road, their fletchings quivering!

However, Happy was not in a good state either. Even though he wore the Green Jade Shrouded in Heavenly Silks, his purlicue was in pain and a little numb because of the damage brought to him by two arrows shot by someone with Grandmaster Realm bow skills.

Everything had happened too suddenly though, so he had to do it, because he had already run into many people who had tried to rob him on his way. He knew that the arrows just then could not truly threaten him. As long as he tugged the reins and slowed down or stopped, they would miss him by themselves.

But if he reduced his speed or stopped rashly, he would definitely be in greater danger. Since there were people who decided to ambush him, then there was definitely not just one or two them around. No matter how confident Happy was in himself, he would never fight in battles he was not confident in winning. It was also not wise for him to be heavily surrounded when he did not know the situation and had yet to consider everything carefully. He also had no confidence in getting out of a huge battle to the death while intact.

“Good moves! Friend, please stop!”

A loud praise came from the left. With a whoosh, a black figure shot out of the forest like a wild goose. The person flew high into the air and swiftly landed like a specter. He blocked the middle of the government-made road, but his movements were incredibly strange. Just then, when he saw Happy accurately strike the arrow away, he was quite stunned.

“Who are you?!”

The moment the person revealed his skill, Happy knew that a powerful enemy had appeared. He frowned and decisively tugged at his reins.

His purplish-red horse raised its front hooves high in the air and let out a displeased neigh. Together with Happy, it stared warily at the black-faced man who was dressed in rags and looked like a beggar.