Sword Among Us

Soon after Dragon Tiger Sect left, night fell!

Under the illumination of the torch, Happy and his group continued searching for Great Wolves who left their group. Eastern Green Gate, Whirlwind Young Li, and Azure Wolf took the chance and used the Great Wolves to practice their martial arts. A few hours later, they benefited greatly from their excursion, especially considering they were not bothered by anyone at all.

The sky began to brighten, but still, no one came to bother them. No traces of either Dragon Tiger Sect or Heaven Domination Sect could be seen. This situation lasted until around three in the morning. Under Happy’s protection, the martial arts of Eastern Green Gate, Whirlwind Young Li, and Azure Wolf jumped in levels by leaps and bounds after they practiced against the high-leveled Great Wolves. Each of them had had more than two martial arts in the ninth realm, and all of them reached Grandmaster Realm then.

Happy gained quite a lot of benefits as well. Aside from the hundreds of Great Wolf Pelts, Claws, and Tendons, he also received a Golden Wolf Claw, which had a very small drop rate. There was an incredibly eye-catching notice behind the item. [The hardness of this wolf claw is astonishing. It can be used to create the masterpiece: Emperor Breaking Dragon Tooth Sword.]

On the second day, when a white messenger pigeon flapping its wings appeared outside their battle zone, the group finally stopped training.

“Let’s go.”

Once he ended the last Great Wolf’s tragic life, Happy took out the letter from the messenger pigeon’s leg. He frowned before he turned around and said to the trio, “I have an emergency clan quest.”

“Same.”

Eastern Green Gate and Azure Wolf were not Murong Clan disciples, so when they saw that they had also received their clan or sect’s quests, they could not help the strange looks that appeared on their faces.

“What’s going on?”

“My quest is to kill my enemies and loot their items. What about yours?”

Whirlwind Young Li had just finished reading the contents of his letter. “Kill enemies and loot items? You’re not going to loot mine, are you?” Once he listened to his own words, he put on a dazed expression and waved the paper in his hand. “My clan asked me to escort a tribute box out of Gusu City and send it to the Eighth Prince’s mansion in Beijing.”

Once he finished speaking, he instinctively looked toward Happy. “Eldest senior brother?”

Even though he was a little shocked after he learned of Happy’s age and his status as a student, he could not change the habit he had formed over a long period of time.

Only Happy did not show any signs of shock toward the contents of his letter among the four people in the area.

It was an item protection quest, and it was for the birthday of the country’s emperor!

Because of the might of the emperor, all the respected and influential clans as well as most of the famous sects had to send their disciples to Beijing with tributes.

This was what the quest to protect those tributes entailed.

However, some of the people from less honorable factions seized the chance to target those tributes.

Of course, aside from that, the sects and clans who were enemies with each other would also send people to target their enemy sect or clan’s tributes in the dark. If they managed to steal them, not only would they be able to damage their enemy’s reputation, they would also be able to sow discord between their enemy and the court.

Eastern Green Gate was a disciple of Qingcheng Sect [1]. He had received a quest to steal the tribute of Sky Eagle Fortress, their enemy sect. The rewards for stealing their enemy’s protected item were much greater than successfully protecting the item.

Of course, there were more people than a single disciple from a sect assigned to steal from their enemy. Usually, the players who received this quest would have an equal number of enemies assigned to them.

“Protecting the items is boring. I’d rather just continue training.”

Whirlwind Young Li did not have any interest in the quest after he swept another glance over its contents. He suggested for them to just give up on the quest and continue staying in this place to train. Based on their speed, they should soon be able to enter Blessed Realm, and the speed at which they earned money was also very fast.

Azure Wolf and Eastern Green Gate quirked an eyebrow at it, unable to resist the temptation of his words.

When he saw this, Happy instantly put on a wry smile, and he could not help but analyze the situation for the trio.

“Don’t you think it’s strange? All four of us received the same clan quest at the same time. If my guess is correct, after this, World of Martial Arts will definitely launch some major event or storyline mission. Are you sure you want to give up on this grand banquet for the small benefit you can gain right now?”

His words instantly made the trio waver in their decision.

“At least I won’t give up,” Happy said decisively. “You can earn money at any time you want, and you can also practice martial arts anywhere you want. Don’t be blinded by temporary comfort and benefits. To tell you the truth, even if they didn’t launch this activity, I still intended to leave Gusu City to wander around the world outside. You’ll have to be careful on your own in Gusu City in the future.”

“You’re going to wander around the land?”

“I like that!”

The trio’s eyes lit up.

“Don’t look at me. I like to challenge my own limits, and the places I go to will be very dangerous. It’s not suitable for me to take you there.” Happy immediately dispelled their ideas.

“Oh.”

Once the trio thought about it, they understood.

Indeed, Happy’s abilities could not be regarded at the same level as other Gate Realm players. They could not compare themselves with him.

“Then, shall we go back?”

“Yup.” Happy lowered his head and finished packing up his spoils. “We have over one hundred and thirty Great Wolf Pelts. Take one set each, and we can distribute the rest evenly. Everyone should get around thirty sets. The money you get from selling Great Wolf Fur Equipment Set should be enough for you to use for a long time.”

“But… we can’t distribute this.”

The trio’s expressions changed. Happy was the one who had contributed the most in killing the Great Wolves. The trio had just helped a little on the side, and they had even practiced their martial arts without having to pay with his assistance. When they put it this way, they had already taken advantage of Happy, so how could they split the spoils?

“Enough with the nonsense. Even if I have a lot of money, I have nothing to spend it on. Just treat this small amount of stuff as an investment from a brother. Do well in Gusu City. After I leave, I don’t know when I’ll come back. You have to take care of yourself.”

When they heard Happy say that, the trio instantly stopped speaking, but they felt touched.

When they returned to Gusu City, the city was bustling with activity.

Countless players carried all sorts of weapons on their backs and walked in and out of apothecaries and weapon shops. Practically all the players went about strengthening their equipment and weapons after they received the quest to protect their tribute, because the rewards for the quest were very great. Aside from receiving two thousand taels of silver crumbs and three martial arts manuals, they would also receive a relatively high-grade weapon as well as their clan or sect’s reward, which would add a few points to their innate stats.

They moved about like a storm. After all, all the players wished to use this chance to become outstanding in the game!

When Happy and his group returned to the city, they managed to attract a lot of people’s attention. They were noticed by people from Dragon Tiger Sect, Heaven Domination Sect, and many unfamiliar players.

Everyone, without exception, stared at the Universe Bag hanging by Happy’s waist. Their eyes flashed with greed, and they looked like bandits who had their eyes fixed on a car transporting money.

Once they walked into a tailor’s shop, there were quite a number of players who were dressed in outstanding gear following behind them.

Happy did not pay any attention to them at the start. However, once the undamaged Great Wolf Pelts were handed over to the tailor, the heat in the gazes around them rose swiftly!

“Brother.”

Right when one person wanted to approach Happy, he was blocked off by Azure Wolf. He stared at the player with wary eyes, while the latter had an awkward and nervous expression on his face.

“Who are you?”

“Brother, I-I have something I’d like to say to Happy.”

Happy was stunned. He turned around and sized up the player who approached him. The latter had a rather honest look, but there were small beads of sweat on his face. He tried his best to smile with his eyes, but that only made him look ridiculous. There was eagerness in his expression, however.

Even though he did not know him, for politeness’ sake, Happy still asked the person, “What is it?”

“I—um, this humble junior is Ma Liang. I am a merchant. I bought a shop over there…” The plump player seemed to be very nervous in front of Happy, and he wiped his sweat repeatedly.

Happy’s eyes lit up, and he immediately paid a lot more attention to Ma Liang.

“A player who conducts businesses?”

It was clear from his tone that he was already a little interested. Merchants could be quite influential in the game. Their financial resources alone were something that could not be ignored.

However, in Happy’s memories of his previous life, Ma Liang was not among the Top Ten Rich Merchants, and neither had he ever appeared on the Extravagant Millionaires Ranking Board.

“Yes, this humble junior came to see you to co-conduct a business deal, Eldest Senior Brother Happy.”

“Oh?” Happy said with a drawl. A thought appeared in his mind, and his eyes landed on the Great Wolf Pelts in his hand. A hint of a smile showed up on his lips.