Sword Among Us

Just when a man with long arms as well as sturdy shoulders and back landed across from Happy on the stage, the clear sound of the system notification rose beside Happy’s ears.

“Ding!

“Won against two disciples from aristocratic clans. Completed Exaltation Quest. Increase Comprehension by 3 points.

“Successfully won the challenge against Bei Lie. Battle Assessment: Class S. Gained an epiphany after you displayed your skills on Dragon Tiger Arena. Increase level of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm by three. Reached Level 96.78.”

The unexpected system notification made Happy incredibly excited. If his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm increased by three levels at that point, not only did it mean that he was getting increasingly closer to Grandmaster Realm, the attributes of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm had increased as well. It was even faster than before, and its damage was even greater.

However, logically speaking, winning against Bei Lie should not have helped him increase his technique by so many levels.

Happy vaguely noticed a reminder from the system.

“‘Gained an epiphany after you displayed your skills on Dragon Tiger Arena.”‘

A thought appeared in his mind. ‘Could it be that I will have a large increase in the level of my martial arts if I fight against all sorts of elites on Dragon Tiger Arena?’

While he was deep in thought, an abnormally dangerous presence suddenly came charging at him. “Brat, did no one from the Murong Clan tell you that you should be careful when you fight against me, Long Armed Ape?”

Bang!

When Happy snapped out of his reverie, Long Armed Ape had already shot in front of him like a sentient ape. He swung his arm, and Happy activated Petite Dragon subconsciously, but he was still struck in the chest. His Golden Bell Cocoon trembled violently, and he took three consecutive steps back. This showed just how strong the attack had been.

‘This is bad. I was actually distracted at this sort of time!’

Happy frowned and did not dare to be careless anymore. He quickly focused and retreated, but he was soon followed by a palm-generated wind that came charging at him. He felt a dull pain at his chest, and his Golden Bell Cocoon trembled violently. It was about to crumble to pieces.

It was at that moment that Happy finally realized that Long Armed Ape’s arms seemed to be slightly longer than a normal person’s, which meant that he was even more agile. It was why Happy did not manage to succeed in any of his dodges.

When Happy saw that Long Armed Ape was about to use the same old trick, he scowled and executed Dragon Capture.

He seized the other’s arm and fixed his grip over it.

Long Armed Ape’s offense was instantly broken down. His body became stiff, and a hint of panic appeared in his eyes.

“ROAR!”

Happy’s blood boiled, and a huge golden dragon rose swiftly from him. It sent Shen Tong flying violently. During that time, Happy seized the chance to circulate Golden Essence Nine Yang Skill to restore his qi and strengthen his Golden Bell Cocoon.

Shen Tong was not hurt greatly during the attack just then, but a deep and long trench was formed on the floor, courtesy of his feet dragging across it. When he came to an abrupt stop, there were bits of blood at the corners of his mouth, and a hint of ruthlessness appeared on his face.

“As expected of a Murong Clan disciple. You even managed to steal Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm.”

“You talk way too much!”

Happy had been struck twice by Shen Tong, and he was a little displeased. Then, he was even accused of stealing Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm, which made rage burn in every part of his body.

He twisted his body and shot out forward. When he punched before him, his movements were as quick as the wind. A raging and large dragon swiftly formed at Happy’s palm. It opened its mouth wide before it swiftly left him to charge toward Shen Tong.

When Shen Tong noticed that the momentum of that punch was even stronger than before, his expression changed. He quickly stopped talking to dodge it, but the great dragon’s agility far surpassed what he imagined. He could not avoid it at all. Because of that , he could only curl in on himself, raise both his arms, and withstand the second hit head-on.

“Go down!” Happy roared. His qi surged in him, and an even more frenzied and mighty dragon appeared behind him.

At the moment Shen Tong was heavily injured, he was also sent flying into the air. Then, with a swing of its tail, the dragon sent Shen Tong violently out of the stage.

The system’s notification instantly rose.

“Ding!

“You successfully won three matches on Dragon Tiger Arena and gained three points!

“Won against Long Armed Ape Shen Tong. Increase Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm by two levels. Reached Level 98.80!

“Will you choose to go down and rest or continue with the next round of challenges?

“If you choose to rest, you will be able to challenge any opponent on the stage at any moment you want to continue accumulating points.

“If you choose to continue with the second round of challenges, the difficulty will increase, and you will face the famous fighters in the world of martial artists.”

When Happy heard the first half of the notification, he felt incredibly pleased. ‘I knew it, if I successfully win against someone, I gain experience and the level of my martial art increases, and the further I progress, the greater the experience I receive is!

‘But it’s a pity that as the number of times I challenge the arena increases, the opponents I face will also be even more powerful.

‘The first was Dongfang Xiong. He might have been pretty good, but he’s too prideful, and I could exploit his weakness. The second was Bei Lie, and I fought at full strength from the start.

‘The third was Shen Tong, but he was rather unlucky. The strengthening effect of my Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm had not disappeared before he took the initiative to challenge me. It was the same as him meeting an opponent who was at the same qi realm as he was and whose power would just continue increasing. There was just no way he could withstand the power of three of my punches.

‘But I don’t know who the next person to come on the stage might be.’

Happy chose to go down the stage to rest.

Even though he had the urge to push his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm to great completion, he did not know whether his next opponent would be someone at Guo Jing’s level.

With the intention to play safe, Happy chose to go down from the stage to rest and wait for a suitable opponent and a good chance to go up the stage again!

*****

“You did well!” The Murong Clan Lady stood up and welcomed Happy back with a very satisfied expression.

At that moment, the elites from the eight aristocratic families cast them very complicated gazes, especially Dongfang Xiong, Bei Lie, Nangong Ruoshui, and the other young disciples.

Dongfang Xiong was originally very indignant and believed himself to have a case of oversight, which was why he had accidentally let Happy take advantage of him and seize his weakness.

But Bei Lie’s loss told him that Happy had not used his full strength when he went up against him. It made his wounds ache while he stood in an incredibly dejected manner in the crowd. His face was red, but he said nothing.

Bei Lie had lost fair and square, so he naturally had nothing to say. Besides, even Long Armed Ape, who was rather famous in the world of martial artists, had lost even. His defeat came even faster, so Bei Lie did not feel that he had been humiliated much.

Only Nangong Ruoshui had fortunately escaped the fate of losing.

When the disciples from the eight aristocratic families who had previously mocked him nonstop saw that he just continued to stand quietly behind the Murong Clan Lady in their shed once he returned, it was as if their mouths had been sewn shut. The shed was swathed in an incredibly gloomy atmosphere.

When a new pair of people appeared on the stage, Happy saw Guo Jing walk over with a majestic gait.

Happy became wary and thought, ‘I knew it. What will come has come. Great Hero Guo is finally unable to hold himself back!’

Even though he gained his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm from Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber, in the end, it was still something that was the masterpiece of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, so he could not quite explain how he got it. He sighed in his heart, knowing that he could only proceed with caution and listen to what Guo Jing said…

“Young Swordsman Happy, a word, if you would?”

“Of course.”

Happy gave the Murong Clan Lady a look that said not to worry about him and followed Guo Jing into a remote area.

“Young Swordsman Happy, this is the first time we meet. We should not need to be so serious, but since you have Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm, then everything has to proceed in a logical fashion.” He stopped talking for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone was solemn. “You are Murong Clan’s disciple, and Murong Clan is famous for taking in various martial arts from various sects. That is why I do not care where you got your Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm.

“Perhaps you even learned it on your own. But you should know that Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm is Beggar’s Sect’s ultimate technique, and over the generations, only our sect master has been allowed to learn it.”

Happy waited for a moment, then, he said, “Great Hero Guo, if you have anything to say, please do so in a straightforward manner.”

Guo Jing stared at Happy with a profound look before he nodded and said what was on his mind.

“You are not to teach Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm to others. Also, you are only to say that you learned this technique through Nine Yang Divine Skill. If you are not able to make the martial artists in the world acknowledge your status as the inheritor of Nine Yang Divine Skill, I will be forced to retrieve Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm from you personally.

“Also, you owe Beggar’s Sect a favor!” Guo Jing’s words made Happy’s heart tremble in fear. “If there comes a day Beggar’s Sect is in danger, I hope that you will come forth to help us!”

Guo Jing seemed to be implying something, and once he finished speaking, he did not wait for Happy’s answer and just left straightaway.