Sword Among Us

Even though the number of competitors in the martial arts tournament organized by Hero’s Mountain Villa reduced in number as time passed, many people watched the exclusive livestream of the martial arts tournament streamed on the official website.

Hence, although there were few people who managed to enter the martial arts tournament, as time passed and the identities of the people who joined the martial arts tournament were gradually revealed, more people began to have high expectations toward the champion of the martial arts tournament.

All those who entered Dragon Tiger Arena were people who were incredibly famous. Some of them might only be slightly famous in the game, but there were also plenty of people who did not even manage to clear the Street of Arenas!

The martial arts tournament turned into a true gathering spot for elite martial artists.

Many people even began to secretly guess the people who would rank top ten.

It could not be denied that the one whom most people believed would take first place was still One Emperor. Even though he never entered Dragon Tiger Arena, he had already fought against numerous top-class martial artists during the Street of Arenas and displayed his strength to everyone. No one doubted that One Emperor could win three rounds consecutively.

The second was Happy, who was top ranked on Famous People Rank and second on Dragon Rank.

His name was linked to the term undefeatable, and it was also a symbol of the game.

There were people who said that not only did Happy have the best equipment in World of Martial Arts, he also had the highest number of ultimate techniques as well as the highest number of elites by his side. He was also the person who did his best to create Mu Clan and might even one day replace Wandering Know-it-all as the richest player in the game.

He was a powerful person who had plenty of support behind him. He stood mighty and tall, and even if he fell, he would not fall as hard as One Emperor if he ever failed, because the exorbitant Illusion Life and Death Pill was not a problem to Happy.

There was also another powerful contender for first place.

Vast Heaven!

Six Pulses Divine Sword was the most amazing and stunning ultimate technique in Demi-gods and Semi-devils. Its sword qi could move about at ease, and it could mow down all resistances. In the novel, Murong Fu, genius of the Murong Clan, had lost miserably in Duan Yu’s hands.

There were people who said that there was a possibility that the scene in the television would repeat itself in the martial arts tournament and the successor of Duan Yu would defeat the disciple of the Murong Clan…

There were three more people who might take first place, but their supporters were much fewer.

One of the three was the successor of Sunflower Manual, Lu Mingyue.

He was an elite who had faded away from the people’s gazes for a long time. Now, he had returned to the stage of World of Martial Arts, and just as expected, he did not make the people disappointed. Not only had he won three rounds in one go, which placed him at the same rank as Happy and Vast Heaven, he also made everyone have even higher hopes for Sunflower Manual.

There were a few people who said that Lu Mingyue might be thinking about sweeping away the humiliation he previously suffered. With the use of the martial arts tournament, he could seize back the glory and honor he once lost.

The other two were Dream Clouds and Phantasmal Shadow.

Two women.

One of them was the strongest and most powerful woman in the game, and the other was the most mysterious woman in the game.

Things might not have gone Dream Clouds’ way lately and Class One Hall had been suppressed so much that its territory had become unprecedentedly small, but those who were skilled were still stronger than those who were not. They had several counties in the north that had banded together, and now they were controlled so well by Class One Hall that they were as united as steel boards.

Dream Clouds was also one of the rare martial artists in the game who never suffered defeat. No one knew just how great was her Divine Flames Art, and she kept such a low profile that no one could ignore her.

Phantasmal Shadow had challenged Dream Clouds in Beijing after the battle at Light Summit, but that battle had not been fruitful for her. She then stayed in Green Island while quietly developing her Wind Assault Tower between Class One Hall and Towering Palace. Throughout the process, she had also gained quite a lot of achievements.

“Lil’ sis, look, you have quite the fame. Even Chivalry Sect’s Wind Void isn’t as famous as you are.” Wu Kuo smiled while looking at his younger sister.

The girl had a faint veil over her face. She looked very mysterious because of how indistinct the veil made her face look. It was completely different from the noble, gorgeous, and awe-inspiring presence Dream Clouds gave others.

“I’m just basking in Dream Clouds’ light.” Phantasmal Shadow’s tone was calm and had no surge of emotion. “Dream Clouds is very powerful! When it comes to scheming and decision-making, I cannot compare to her!”

“I don’t think that she’s really that good.”

“No, I made an analysis. She did three things in the game before! The first one was seizing most of the brocade boxes, which allowed her to stand above others in the game.

“The second one was spreading her influence over China and having Class One Hall’s branches extend all over the land. She was very ambitious, and she nearly succeeded.

“Her third act was trying to destroy Chivalry Sect, and she nearly destroyed it. She almost fulfilled her grand ambition of seizing control over the entire game.

“At that time, even if she could not destroy Chivalry Sect completely because of Happy’s influence, but if she could have gotten to deal a heavy blow to Chivalry Sect and forced it to fall out of the ranks, then she could have seized the chance to oppress Mu Clan. After that, it would have been very easy for her to control almost all of Chinese territory.”

She stopped talking for a moment before saying in a very sentimental tone, “It’s a pity that Happy seems destined to be a wall in front of her. Every time she takes action, Happy will appear!”

Wu Kuo said nothing.

“The last time I challenged Dream Clouds, I had the idea of using her to rise through the ranks. As long as I could win against her, I could prove to the others that my individual strength was greater than that of Dream Clouds, and it would increase the speed of Wind Assault Tower’s development. We could also stand as equals with Class One Hall in the north.”

After saying that, Phantasmal Shadow sighed in an incredibly regretful manner. “But a pity that Dream Clouds is too smart and rational. She remained calm even in the face of my attacks…

Wu Kuo disagreed with her words. “Lil’ sis, you need to be content with what you have. Wind Assault Tower is already one of the three great sects in Beijing, which I think is pretty good. Right now, how many people can seize a portion of the pie in the north from Class One Hall’s hands?”

“And this is why Dream Clouds is amazing.” Phantasmal Shadow smiled wanly and shook her head. “Her fighting to a standstill with me might have given Wind Assault Tower the chance to develop, but compared to the fame of defeating her, this fame that I currently have is too small. Right now, individual strength can still determine certain things.

“If we can’t develop swiftly, it’ll be too late in the future. There are far too many people who share your current thoughts. If we aren’t prepared for danger, when Class One Hall eventually attacks, we will be completely devoured by them.”

“There’s no way it’s that bad, right?” Wu Kuo hunched his shoulders a little. He felt that his younger sister was just exaggerating to stir up his attention.

Phantasmal Shadow shook her head in resignation and said with a contemplative expression, “To Dream Clouds, World of Martial Arts is not just a game. It is a battlefield where she conquers land, and she is the calmest strategist. She plans her advances and retreats at all times, and she does things that will get her the greatest amount of benefits with the smallest losses.

“That’s why Chivalry Sect was almost destroyed, and that’s why she managed to hold herself back under the pressure from Happy and Mu Clan, or else, Dream Clouds and Class One Hall would have long since vanished from the game.”

Wu Kuo was rendered speechless.

“You don’t have to think too deeply into it, you’re not up to that level yet. If you think too deeply, you’ll just end up frustrated.”

“Hey, lil’ sis, you shouldn’t be dealing such a low blow on your big brother.”

Wu Kuo looked unhappy, but Phantasmal Shadow ignored him. “I’m just telling you the truth.”

Wu Kuo was already used to such low blows, and he habitually shifted the topic of conversation. “Then, what do you think about Happy? What sort of person is he? If someone as powerful as Dream Clouds is played around like a fool because of him, is that boy also a strategist?”

“Him? No!” Phantasmal Shadow answered without hesitation. She cast a glance at the shed belonging to the Murong Clan with puzzlement in her eyes. “I have yet to see through him, but I might gain some new knowledge about him from this tournament.”