Sword Among Us

Everyone was initially stunned, then they went numb. The miners in the second level of the crystal mine grew used to Happy’s actions and could vaguely guess that he was grinding for his Golden Bell Cocoon’s level.

The only thing that they could not understand was why Happy even gave up on putting on a stance to negate some of the damage or counterattack. Right then, there were still very few people who paid attention to how much a high-tier body fortification could absorb EXP when the user faced different NPCs at different realms, much less those normal miners.

Only Red Coral and Black Rose got a hint of understanding from Happy as he received attack after attack. They watched him with increasing attentiveness, especially during the later stages.

The golden bell around Happy’s body seemed to be showing further signs of manifestation. Its outline became clearer, and the light gathered together instead of spreading outwards. It was no longer sparkling, but gave off a luxurious and elegant feeling.

“HA!”

As Happy released a loud and clear shout with boundless enthusiasm. A layer of flowing golden light suddenly appeared around his golden bell!

Ding!

The sound was similar to a bell chime that came from an old temple in the distance. It was full and harmonious, luxurious and elegant, and it gave off the feeling that it was holy, long-lasting, and not to be corrupted.

Stone King was not bewitched by it, however. The leader of stones had no intelligence and only had the mindset of completely defeating the enemy before it.

Thud!

A yellow gust of wind stirred by its fist went crashing at the golden bell at a speed that normal people would find hard to withstand.

Ding!

The bell chime rose again.

This time, Red Coral, Black Rose, Thunderous Battle, and the others held their breaths. They stared at Happy with incredulous gazes while he withstood Stone King’s heavy blow without moving.

Happy had actually managed to not take a step back under Stone King’s attack.

Most of Stone King’s attack seemed to have been negated by Golden Bell Cocoon, and the rebound seemed to have made Stone King’s next attack face some degree of resistance. It could no longer execute its attacks in a chain, and it was not as fierce as before.

They could not believe their eyes!

A Mystical Realm player had actually managed to not even take a step back while facing a Moksha Realm NPC’s attacks. Golden Bell Cocoon had only become slightly dimmer.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Stone King changed its battle tactic with decisiveness. It decided to use the wind generated by its fist to injure Happy and threw three consecutive punches at a speed that could tear through the air. Its blows landed repeatedly on Golden Bell Cocoon.

Three faint pits appeared on the round golden bell, then a highly destructive wind struck the golden bell, which caused ripples to show up on it.

It was surreal. The damage that was supposed to strike Happy was being evenly spread out over the golden bell.

The golden bell became a little dimmer.

Happy remained standing in front of Stone King as steadily as a mountain, but a pleasant looking curve had appeared on his lips. He lowered his head and cast a glance at the Silver Aquatic Dragon Set on his body. His gaze was full of excitement.

‘700 defense is really extraordinary. Not only did this Silver Aquatic Dragon Set help me withstand some of the more crucial damage, the defense given to me by the entire set allows me to remain steady. I wouldn’t have been able to remain so steady, otherwise.

‘And now, my Golden Bell Cocoon has finally reached great completion!’

Golden Bell Cocoon at Grandmaster Realm increased defense by 1,200 points, absorbed 20% qi damage, negated 20% of effective attacks, and could help the user retain their posture! The user could also use the Profound Technique of Loyalty.

Under Stone King’s fierce and brutal attacks, Happy sensed a powerful heat wave changing his body, arm strength, and affinity.

Once Golden Bell Cocoon reached max level, it was the same as the user going through a metamorphosis in which their marrows and tendons changed.

Their physical body would be strengthened to the max, their affinity would naturally increase by a large margin, and it was the same case for their arm strength.

The system’s notification came late.

“Ding! Congratulations, your Golden Bell Cocoon has reached Grandmaster Realm!

“You received an addition 2 Comprehension points, an additional 10 Affinity points, an addition 10 Arm Strength points, and an additional 10 qi points!”

The higher the Affinity, the more remarkable an effective defense would be, and the higher the Arm Strength, the stronger effective attacks would be. A player’s attributes were still very important.

When Happy received the notification, he could not help but laugh happily.

“Perfect timing!”

He had been holding back on attacking for half an hour, and finally, he unleashed his attacks in the wildest fashion on Stone King to his heart’s content.

Seven Stars Sword Style!

His Golden Bell Cocoon had reached great completion, and it was his fourth high-tier martial art that had reached max level (his Phantasm Body Movement Skill had reached max level while he was running away from the Embroidered Uniform Guards). It was thus time for his Seven Stars Sword Styles to reach max level as well.

His Golden Bell Cocoon had an additional 200 defense points added to it. With its protection at great completion and Silver Aquatic Dragon Set, Happy had the power to go up against Stone King face to face. His Seven Stars Sword Styles also had the effect of reducing Stone King’s attack power, and because of it, Stone King lost the ability to suppress Happy.

That was the truth.

Boom, boom, boom!

The miners in the second level of the crystal mine turned their heads around in disbelief and watched the battle in the hall.

At some point in time, all of them had imagined that someone would one day obtain the strength to fight against Stone King and kill the boss guarding the second level of the crystal mine, because they wanted to see whether it would drop the highest grade crystal ores.

However, they did not expect that the day for it would come so soon!

Happy’s clear voice suddenly rose and traveled into everyone’s ears clearly. “Everyone!”

The group was stimulated, and they quickly stood at attention.

“The alliance between the five sects has just been formed, but many people will definitely still harbor some thoughts about us, so I hope that you will all help me keep this a secret. I don’t want any outsiders learning about what happened here today.”

Happy paused for a moment before he added, “If someone spreads word or uploads a battle replay online, I will have the right to look into it.”

Those words were mainly for the miners of the other sects.

And as expected, the people from the three local sects spoke up in unison and said that they would keep everything they saw a secret.

After all, the second level of the crystal mine was only so big. Anyone could tell through whose sight the video had been recorded based on the angle once it was uploaded online, and it would be very easy for Happy to investigate just who spilled his secrets.

Happy thanked them and entered a state of complete concentration to fight against Stone King wholeheartedly.

Stone King roared in anger nonstop.

The wind from its fists and the light from Happy’s sword intersected with each other.

They exchanged blows tit for tat.

Red Coral and Black Rose had been watching the fight since the start, and the shock on their faces was replaced by extreme delight.

From the moment Happy officially went up against Stone King, they knew that they might be able to obtain Stone King’s Heart very soon.

Red Coral already had two of the four unique items that would only drop from Moksha Realm bosses firmly in her grasp. She could already ran ahead of the others in the competition of speed.

When she noticed the delighted gaze Black Rose cast on her, Red Coral’s emotions surged.

“Perhaps we can tell him the truth and ask him to help us get the other two quest items.”

Black Rose frowned and reminded her in a whisper, “Girl, that isn’t any normal quest!”

Red Coral stared at the silver figure which fought against Stone King head-on without backing down in the slightest. A complicated look flashed in her eyes. “With his current achievements, the quest that we treasure isn’t that important to him. Oh well, we’ll decide our course later on.”

Thunderous Battle stared at the two women for a long time before he looked away.