Sword Among Us

While the players did their best to kill the five evil cult elders, Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yuyan, Wang Chongyan, and Zhang Sanfeng fought furiously in Hero’s Mountain Villa. Violent qi forces clashed against each other, and the houses near Dragon Tiger Arena were all destroyed. The area in the center was swathed in darkness, and there was no light nearby.

At the same time, the elites from the sects were ambushed by the elites from the evil cult, like the successor of Flowers Sect, Hou Xibai, Yin Weed Sect’s Wan Wan, Bian Bufu, Eunuch Cao, and the others. The number of casualties the sects suffered was rather high, and all the hard work put into the martial art tournament was lost.

Happy and the others did not dare to stay for long. Once they killed the five evil cult elders at the gate, they successfully broke out of Hero’s Mountain Villa!

Boom!

The drawbridge was lowered.

Under Zhang Wuji’s lead, the group of top-class players in Life and Death Realm broke through the lockdown formed by hundreds of evil cult elites outside the villa with a force that could mow down all resistances.

When they were outside the city, the ground trembled! The sounds of hooves rumbled, and smoke tumbled about in the air. It was as if there were countless riders rushing over in a hurry.

Zhang Wuji’s expression changed. He turned his head around and said in an incredibly solemn manner, “Now that things have progressed this way, we might not be able to protect Hero’s Mountain Villa anymore! My fellow martial artists, please leave first. I will go back and coordinate with the elites from the sects and tell them to leave.”

Quite a number of people spoke up.

“Cult Master Zhang, I’ll go with you.”

“We’ll fight our way back!”

There were many top-class martial artists in Hero’s Mountain Villa, so it would be good for them to get a quest or two. It might be a once in a lifetime chance, so no one was willing to miss it.

“No. My Great Grandmaster has already given me the orders to send you out of Hero’s Mountain Villa,” Zhang Wuji said firmly. “I cannot let you get yourself into danger. Besides, the situation right now in Hero’s Mountain Villa is no longer something you can handle. You will immediately leave with the rest of the disciples.”

The Murong Clan Lady nodded and said to Happy, “The villa master and the sect leaders will worry about the martial arts tournament. This time, I believe that the sects will not fight tit-for-tat against the evil cult. We will temporarily retreat. I believe that before long, we will receive Reverend Wang’s hero invitation.”

“That’s right.” The eight aristocratic families and the disciples from various sects agreed to it. “Even though the evil cult came with an aggressive momentum, it will be very difficult for them to kill all the heroes of the world. We’ll retreat for now and not become Reverend Wang and Reverend Zhang’s burden.”

“Let’s go!”

Even though the players were still not satisfied with leaving just yet and were feeling regretful about it, the system notification had already rang, telling them that the martial arts tournament had come to an end, and the points had already been tallied. They could only respond to the call then and take the journey back to the plains of China.

Happy got what he wanted. With the proud score of nine points, he became the champion of the young disciples in the martial arts tournament. The system notified him that once he returned to Murong Mansion, the reward would naturally be delivered to the Murong Clan.

As for the title of first runner-up and second runner-up, which had been a great target of discussion…

Vast Heaven had thought that once the last evil cult elder died in his hands, he could get the title of first runner-up with five points, but he did not expect that One Emperor had received an extra quest compared to him, and he also had five points.

What made him want to cry was that One Emperor might have the same points as he did, but since he won against Vast Heaven before, the system naturally placed Vast Heaven in the third place, destroying his hopes of becoming at the very least the first runner-up and obtaining the Illusion Life and Death Pill.

However, getting the third place in the martial arts tournament was already a very good feat. It was enough for his name to spread through the game and obtain the favor of multiple sects, even if Vast Heaven seemed to have already made his decision on which sect to join.

One Emperor felt rather horrible because of the results, but…

He had managed to turn the tables in the end and seized the title of first runner-up as well as obtain an epiphany of the sixth sword on the stage. His rewards were pretty great.

Happy was behind the group. He bade farewell to Zhang Wuji before he redirected his gaze to Sect Leader Zhou Zhiruo of Emei Sect. She had appeared on the walls while they broke out of the encirclement. There was a cold air about her, and she stared at Zhang Wuji as he left without hesitation. There was a brutal look in her eyes, and she did not move for a long time.

“Zhiruo.”

When Happy called out to her, he managed to attract Zhou Zhiruo’s attention. She swiftly returned to normal and looked toward him with a cold gaze. “What is it, Young Swordsman Happy?”

Based on how indifferent and unapproachable she was, she should know about how he had set up the scheme to send Song Qingshu away. It made him unable to appear on Dragon Tiger Arena and, thereby, destroyed Zhou Zhiruo’s plan to kill Zhang Wuji.

This was the first time Zhou Zhiruo did not face Happy while she talked to him, and he felt slightly dejected. His tone changed.

“Sect Leader Zhou, I heard from Chen Youliang that you are going to get married with Young Swordsman Song, and I thought that it’s just a rumor. But by the looks of it now, you are angry because of what happened to Young Swordsman Song. It seems like… I was reckless and offended you.”

Zhou Zhiruo said nothing for a moment. She frowned, and when she spoke, she did not deny what Happy said. “If that’s the case, I have to thank you for helping me protect my reputation.”

There was a faint hint of mockery in her voice, and her tone became cold. “But Wudang Sect’s Song Qingshu is the successor of Great Swordsman Song Yuanqiao. Great Swordsman Song also came forward to my mistress to ask for my hand in marriage.

“If we got married, even if it would not be a match made in heaven, at the very least, the relationship between Emei Sect and Wudang Sect would become deeper, and it would be especially important when the world of martial artists is so chaotic right now. Emei Sect needs the ability to have a place in this world.”

Happy answered her without changing his expression. “Then Song Qingshu might end up disappointing you. Even though they’re both disciples of Wudang Sect, but when it comes to talent and broad-mindedness, Song Qingshu cannot hope to compare to Zhang Wuji. In fact, he cannot even compare to me. Sect Leader Zhou, if you want to search for a partner, you should search for a good man. Don’t sacrifice all of Emei Sect for blind jealousy.”

“This is Emei Sect’s matter. Young Swordsman Happy, you don’t need to worry about it.” Zhou Zhiruo’s expression turned even colder.

Happy sighed softly. “True. In the past, when your mistress asked me to help you, it was because you were alone, and you were not strong enough, but now, it’s different. Right now, you are stronger than your mistress’, not weaker. You no longer need my help…”

Zhou Zhiruo’s cold expression finally melted a little. She could not help the hint of gentleness that appeared on her face when she remembered how Happy had brought her to chase after the Yuan Dynasty soldiers for days when the six great sects had been captured.

She also remembered Happy risking his life to scout Eternal Peace Temple and how excited she had felt when he found her and her mistress. When her mistress died, she had been overwhelmed with sadness, and Emei Sect had been without anyone to rely on, but Happy had come to them from miles away to help her solve her troubles.

In the end, he even turned against Zhang Wuji and Xie Xun for her to seize Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber!

It could be said that Happy was the greatest benefactor and her best friend that had helped her take full control of Emei Sect.

“Happy.” Zhou Zhiruo’s tone started to show clear signs of returning to gentleness.

But Happy did not give her the chance to talk. “In the future, I will no longer interfere or do anything that will affect you, Sect Leader Zhou. I hope that you will continue to carry out Mistress Annihilation’s will and bring Emei Sect to glory!

“As for your wedding with Song Qingshu, I’m afraid I will not be able to go over and congratulate you. But I sincerely hope that you… will be happy forever with Mister Song.”

He said his last sentence slowly and resolutely, and once he finished speaking, he did not give Zhou Zhiruo the chance to answer him. He just turned around and left.

When Zhou Zhiruo saw that, her expression changed, but she was not alone like that. The expressions of the elites from the other sects also changed. They stopped moving and looked over, because they did not expect that Happy, who had always had a great relationship with Zhou Zhiruo, would say such resolute words to break up with her.

The players could also not understand why Happy would cast away Zhou Zhiruo’s affection for him out of the blue.