Sword Among Us

It was difficult!

Master Kong Xiang’s attacks were each stronger than the last. He swung his vajra madly, and it tore through the air. Even Happy’s dragon-shaped vortex was largely affected. He had a hard time moving forward, and his attacks’ range was limited when he tried to push forward.

If it were not for the weakening and anti-shock effect of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm, he might have already been struck so heavily that he would have coughed up blood and been defeated.

Master Kong Xiang might look very kind and gentle, but when he attacked, he was like an angry warrior attendant, and everyone who saw him feared him.

Whoosh!

Happy moved like lightning. He shot to the side when he heard the wind move, and then, a huge pit was formed at the spot where he originally was, terrifying him so much that he broke into cold sweat.

If that hit struck someone, if they did not die, they would definitely be disabled!

It was the first time Happy came to learn of the abbot’s abilities, and he found that it was very difficult for him to parry the attacks! He felt very dejected at that.

If his strength had not reached a certain level by then, if he had not been part of Shaolin Temple in his past life, which allowed him to have a deep understanding toward their martial artists, and if he did not have Golden Bell Cocoon as well as the defenses from his equipment to withstand the blows from the attacks, there was no way he could have lasted until then.

But as time passed, Happy gradually found his rhythm.

Using Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm to suppress Master Kong Xiang would definitely not work. Happy had no way to receive two of the monk’s vajra attacks without getting hurt, unless he used Dragon Fights in Wild.

Happy tried his best to maintain his strength while he used Air Slicing Palm Strike to create trouble for Master Kong Xiang. He also used Ten True Dragon Styles to receive Master Kong Xiang’s attacks.

Even though he did resort to some trickery, he was surrounded by danger. Booming sounds rose nonstop on the stage, and Happy moved between shattered stones and the vajra as if he was about to die at any moment.

‘Thirty-five… thirty-seven…’

Happy counted the moves while completely immersed in the rhythm, so he did not notice that a very heroic-looking man sitting beside Duan Yu on the other side of the spectator seat had slowly stood up. He stared at Happy’s figure on the stage with burning eyes with a solemn gaze.

“Sect master?”

“Sect master, what’s wrong?”

Duan Yu also noticed that there was something off about the man’s expression. He quickly moved his gaze away from One Emperor and Zhou Zhiruo and got up to say, “Big Brother Xiao?”

The man beside Duan Yu was Xiao Feng, the sect master of northern Beggar’s Sect!

The solemn look on Xiao Feng’s face did not fade away even after some time. He did not answer but instead looked at the rather quiet and honest-looking man who was not good with words, who had a buzz cut, and who was surrounded by four beautiful maids.

“Second brother, do you remember the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm that big brother taught you?”

“Of course.”

Xiao Feng’s second younger brother was naturally Palace Master Xuzhu of Vulture Spirit Palace, and he nodded vigorously. “There is no way I would dare to forget the ultimate technique of Beggar’s Sect.”

“But do you remember that I once told you that the original Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm was actually supposed to have twenty-eight moves? I extracted the essence of eighteen of its moves and did not record the remaining ten in the current ultimate technique of the sect.”

“Of course I remember.”

Xuzhu might have been a little slow and quiet, but Duan Yu quickly reacted to the situation. His eyes lit up, and he said, “Are you saying that someone stole and learned the other ten moves?”

“I don’t think he stole it.”

Xiao Feng was a forthright and heroic person, so he regarded the concept of accusing someone with unfounded claims with disdain. He only needed one glance to tell that even though the moves Happy executed were incredibly similar, they had been modified and were even more profound. Besides, they had actually gained a unique air when they were matched together with Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm.

The fierce and battle-crazed dragon seemed to have become able to adapt to any situation.

Xiao Feng no longer answered his brothers’ questions. He just watched the stage from a distance while mumbling to himself. “That young man might actually be able to last more than one hundred moves before Master Kong Xiang.”

The others fell silent.

Vast Heaven had been paying attention to the few legendary martial artists next to him, and when he heard that, his expression changed drastically.

*****

Executing Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm, Ten True Dragon Styles, Golden Bell Cocoon, and Phantasmal Body Movement Skill required a lot of qi, and when under great pressure, Happy needed even more of it!

Yet he could not handle using all the moves repeatedly.

Besides, Dragon Tiger Arena did not allow the usage of any medicine unless it was an antidote. Hence, Happy used up a lot of his qi when he was under the high pressure brought by Master Kong Xiang.

At that moment though, instead of saying that he was fighting hard to last through one hundred moves, it would be more accurate to say that he was trying to save up qi. He did not dare to relax even in the slightest while on the task.

No matter what, however, the speed of palm techniques was always above that of heavy weapons.

Once Happy got closer, he used Dragon Capture!

The vajra froze for a moment. A strange power entered Master Kong Xiang’s body through the weapon, and even though it only lasted for a moment, it gave Happy a lot of chances.

His fingers were worth gold, and one hand could serve as a blade!

Master Kong Xiang had just recovered his strength when he was struck by a hidden force on his right elbow. His vajra froze, and Happy caught up to him with continuous short and swift footsteps. He took a step forward with his right foot, and it was just in time to stop Master Kong Xiang from retreating to the spot where he wanted.

He pushed forward with both palms!

“ROAR!”

Master Kong Xiang’s upper and lower body were both attacked consecutively. Even if he had extraordinary skills, he was also surrounded by danger.

He withstood two of Happy’s palm strikes delivered at full strength with a grunt and flew more than thirty feet away. When he landed, he took a few huge steps backward as well.

Happy did not dare to be careless. He retracted his aura, and his Golden Essence Nine Yang Skill began to circulate madly. He seized the short time Master Kong Xiang’s qi had begun tumbling to restore the qi he had lost.

Fortunately, Golden Essence Nine Yang Skill’s recovery speed was several times that of Emei Sect’s Nine Yang Skill, and when he used it while attacking with Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm, he actually only used up a very small amount of qi. As long as he made careful calculations around his qi and made sure he did not fall below Life and Death Realm, he would be fine.

Even though Happy felt regretful and guilty for fighting against Master Kong Xiang, everyone else saw the two sides actually switch positions in regards to offense and defense. Every time Happy activated Ten True Dragon Styles, Master Kong Xiang became at a disadvantage and was even forced to take a few steps back when Happy set him up.

The two sides exchanged blow for blow as they fought fiercely.

Once they exchanged more than sixty moves, Happy felt even more proficient and familiar with his techniques. Under the great pressure given by Kong Xiang, his Ten True Dragon Styles and Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm had the chance to work together closely once more, which was a rare chance. One of them focused on offense, and the other on defense. One of them focused on pushing forward, and the other on retreating.

Sometimes, Happy was forced to take the initiative to attack for the sake of retreating. At other times, he had to activate Petite Dragon to retreat for the sake of his next attack.

Gradually, he noticed that the pressure from Master Kong Xiang was slowly fading away.

“Last ten moves!”

Master Kong Xiang was repeatedly harassed by Happy’s Ten True Dragon Styles and was miraculously suppressed during all sorts of critical moments, which made it difficult for him to exert strength. He was shocked by Happy, but also felt aggrieved. Finally, when the ninetieth move arrived, his momentum changed, and his Demon Subduing True Qi was retracted into his body.

Clang!

Master Kong Xiang stabbed his vajra into the stage and let go of his weapon. His face was solemn as he pushed his palms together.

“Amitabha. Young Swordsman Happy, you have actually managed to force me to this extent. You are indeed someone rare in the younger generation.”

While the monk spoke the name of Buddha, he took the posture of Flower-pinching Finger, which was made when Guanyin showed compassion to mortals.