'As I expected!'
His Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword had reached the tenth realm when he fought against the second bandit chief. The small epiphany he gained had allowed him to reach Level 93.27 for this skill.
There was a notification that he previously overlooked for Lancet Knife Throwing Technique.
[The path of hidden weapons is not a path taken only by weaklings! Sometimes, you will need greater power and courage to fight against powerful enemies, and you did it! Your Lancet Knife Throwing Technique has now reached a breakthrough and moved from the ninth realm to the tenth realm!]
Along with Shaolin's Long Fist, Happy now had three martial arts in tenth realm. With the completion of the two missions, two of his martial arts had reached the tenth realm, and the rewards could be described with one word—amazing.
Happy's extremely happy expression did not escape the four people's eyes.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Happy!"
"Remember to treat us to a meal."
Even though everyone felt that it was a pity that Xuan Kun and Whirlwind Young Li were sacrificed, the spoils of war they received along the way were so great that they still clicked their tongues in amazement. When they piled up all of their rewards, they found that they had more than six thousand taels of silver crumbs, and they had also received a few decent scimitars and longswords.
When he saw the group bringing out the money they looted and placing it before him, Happy frowned. He raised his head and met their gazes.
"Let's split it into seven portions, and give my portion to Whirlwind Young Li and Xuan Kun. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to complete this mission so easily."
"Senior Brother Happy, if you have a good opinion of us and truly think of us as your brothers, then don't say such words. Keep the money. If we take your money, then wouldn't this turn into a business deal?" Azure Wolf said frankly without much thought.
Eastern Green Gate and Qian Kunzi were stunned when they heard the first part, but when they listened to the second half of what Azure Wolf had to say, they nodded. "That's right. Senior Brother Happy, if we run into anything else in the future and need your help, does that mean we have to pay you as well?"
Happy had nothing to say about this. He smiled wryly, since he found himself at a loss for a reply.
"All this talk about money will just ruin our relationship. Senior Brother Happy, just keep the money!"
"That's right. Whirlwind Young Li and my brother have already received the news. They're waiting for us at the entrance to Jade Gate Restaurant for the drinks."
"Alright!"
Happy stopped trying to say anything else. He stuffed the money into his Universe Bag along with the leather armor, broadsword, another Universe Bag, one martial arts manual, and some money from the second bandit chief. He did not pay much attention to what he looted from the corpse.
"Let's go and drink!"
"Haha!"
"Let's go!"
Eastern Green Gate and the other three laughed and clapped before they followed after him excitedly.
*****
The two people who were revived in Guanlin Temple met up with Happy and the others once they rushed back to the city and arrived at Gusu City's Jade Gate Restaurant. They managed to swiftly gather together because they knew where they would meet. Then, under countless curious, surprised, and envious gazes from the people on the streets, they stepped on the very expensive stairs of Jade Gate Restaurant.
This place could be said to have a very eye-catching presence in Gusu City.
However, there had been few players who had gone into Jade Gate Restaurant to spend their money since the day the restaurant was open for business.
There was one simple reason for it.
Even a small pot of tea in Jade Gate Restaurant, which was called the Iron Goddess of Mercy, cost five hundred taels of silver crumbs, and that was the cheapest drink sold in the restaurant!
A new player could earn at most around one or two hundred taels of silver crumbs a day if he went out to farm for money. If competition was great, they would earn even less. There would be times when a player would spend even more than they earned.
Hence, there were very few players who could go into Jade Gate Restaurant.
When a player went in there to spend their money, the news would quickly spread through all the streets in Gusu City.
The news of the Blue-robed Noble Sword User entering Jade Gate Restaurant with six other players was received by quite a number of players, and the word spread far and wide.
Everyone began to ask about the identities of the other six people.
*****
"Junior brother, Xuan Kun. We will give our first toast to you!" Happy stood up by the window and lifted his wine cup earnestly. "I'll first drink it to show my respect to you!"
Once he finished speaking, he threw his head back and emptied the cup in one go!
When the stiff drink entered his throat, a dash of red swiftly crept up his handsome face. Happy exhaled, and he felt his whole body burn. He laughed, "This is good wine!"
The others got up and toasted each other too.
Eastern Green Gate and Whirlwind Young Li's facial color remained the same, but they also felt the burn of the alcohol!
"This is strong wine!"
"Indeed."
But the others were not so good at drinking.
"My gosh… This wine… Ack, it burns… Water… Where's the water?"
Xuan Kun and Xuan Zhong were, after all, still students, and they lacked experience in drinking wine. They might have boldly and heroically taken a big gulp, but the moment they swallowed half of it, they nearly spat out what remained in their mouths.
"You sure you're okay?"
"You were the one who was the most gung ho about picking stiff drinks just now, but look at you now! HAHAHAHA!!!" Whirlwind Young Li grinned and laughed so much that his cheeks went sore.
"My little brother… picked it…"
Xuan Kun finally got a beautiful waitress to give him a cup of water. He quickly rolled his eyes and claimed his innocence, but the red on his face did not go away.
Happy talked about some of the things he had learned that could help people increase the realms of their his martial arts quickly, and he pushed the atmosphere of this banquet to its climax!
After drinking three pots of wine, Xuan Kun and Xuan Zhong turned into real-life Guan Yus [1] and lay passed out on the ground…
Qian Kunzi and Azure Wolf might not have ended up on the ground, but they were not much better. They nearly treated the beautiful waitresses by their sides as their bolsters.
Only Happy, Whirlwind Young Li, and Eastern Green Gate remained seated by the table without swaying.
As Whirlwind Young Li stared at the food on the table, he felt his heart ache.
"One meal costs two thousand three hundred taels of silver crumbs. This is blatant extortion... Hic… Next time, even if someone points a gun at me, I ain't coming here… Darn it all, I'm so poor I'm going crazy…"
Whirlwind Young Li spoke with a lisp, and all his words were nonsense. His breath also stank of alcohol.
Only Eastern Green Gate's head remained clear. He thus changed the topic of conversation.
"Senior Brother Happy, you should not be too far away from Gate Realm now, right?"
'My qi realm?'
Happy was taken aback for a moment before he suddenly remembered that he had indeed not paid any attention to the increase of his qi over the past few days.
His Lancet Knife Throwing Technique had increased by a few realms. It was close to Grandmaster Realm, and so was Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword. This meant that Happy might have received quite the increase in his qi.
Chapter 33 - Qi Increased, Flowering Knights Saber Technique
A normal low-tier martial arts would only allow a person's qi to increase by five to seven points when it reached great completion, which was the eleventh realm at Level 99.99, which
was the Grandmaster Realm.
But qi cultivation techniques and hidden weapons were different!
Due to their requirement of qi, the increase in their levels was slow, but every time one gained an increase in level because of their hard work, their qi would increase. A low-tier hidden weapon technique such as Lancet Knife Throwing Technique helped Happy gain around three times the amount of qi compared to normal martial arts once he made it reach the highest realm. This meant that he would gain around fifteen to twenty points.
His Lancet Knife Throwing Technique had already reached the tenth realm, and it was at Level 95.31.
Happy checked his qi. Just as he expected, it had increased by quite a lot—27.28.
The increase of his Lancet Knife Throwing Technique and his Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword's realms had increased his qi by around ten points. Judging by the looks of things, before long, he would have forty points and reach Gate Realm.
"Yup." Happy nodded at Eastern Green Gate. "I just need to get a few more martial arts up to the tenth realm, and I'll get there."
"Senior Brother Happy, you're free right now, so why don't you go to the market and buy a hidden weapons manual?" Eastern Green Gate could not understand. "Since hidden weapons can greatly increase qi, if you walk the path of someone who specializes in hidden weapons, you should be able to reach Gate Realm very soon, right?"
"There's no need for that."
Happy shook his head. In his previous life, there had been some people who had tried to take this shortcut and reach Gate Realm sooner. They practiced hidden weapons only and joined organizations like Tang Sect so that they could receive a few hidden weapon skills. Within a short period of time, they used a large capital and swiftly entered Gate Realm and even Blessed Realm!
However, everyone gradually came to a realization.
When it became a common sight for players to be in Blessed Realm and the effects of their realm were activated, giving them a 30% increase in attack, defense, and speed, their abilities to evade low-tier hidden weapons greatly improved. Once they closed in on the hidden weapons expert, such people's might was reduced by a large margin.
Thus, it became incredibly difficult for hidden weapons to determine the results of a battle anymore. At that moment, Tang Sect returned to being equals with the other sects from its previous spot as the top sect. Its people had to start practicing other martial arts.
Happy did not want to walk down the path of those people...
Besides, if he reached Gate Realm too quickly, it would become harder for him to receive high grade battle danger assessments. Once he entered Gate Realm, the increase in his abilities because of it would not be that great either.
When he considered things from this perspective, it was not very beneficial for him to enter Gate Realm too soon. It would be better if he mastered a few more martial arts and obtained some epiphanies through battles with the NPCs. That would be better for him.
Of course, it would not be convenient for him to reveal his experience from his previous life. Happy could only give a vague description of his experiences and say that he felt that hidden weapons was not a path they could tread for long…
Eastern Green Gate was a smart person. He understood with just a few pointers, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Happy also felt that besides Whirlwind Young Li, Eastern Green Gate was probably another person who would climb to the greatest heights from the six brothers in this game!
Happy swept his gaze across the room…
Whirlwind Young Li, in the end, was also defeated by the alcohol.
Happy instantly shook his head and laughed. He looked at the food on the table, but felt no appetite. Since he was free, he brought out the spoils of war he had obtained from the second bandit chief from his Universe Bag. Then, together with Eastern Green Gate, they began to examine the items.
[Ink Armor: defense, 100. BMM +1. Sells for three thousand taels of silver crumbs.]
The armor could be considered as something that was nearly as good as masterpieces. However, its appearance was rather crude, and it had to be equipped onto other clothes. If Happy wore it, he would look like the random passersby in action movies about martial arts. His frown betrayed that he did not like it.
"It looks rather ugly, but it's still usable. Do you want it?"
Eastern Green Gate was stunned speechless. After a moment, he finally realized that Happy had asked him the question. He quickly shook his head.
"I won't need to use it. But… the Universe Bag would serve as a great help before we begin doing quests from our clans and sects. We wouldn't need to keep coming back to Gusu City all the time. Senior Brother Happy, if you don't mind…"
"Take it."
"Haha! That's great! With this, we can save up a lot of time! Thank you, senior brother!" Eastern Green Gate smiled. He helped himself to it and hung it beside his waist. He looked incredibly delighted.
"You guys helped me to obtain these spoils of war, you know?"
Happy continued to examine the weapon and the martial arts manual he had obtained.
The second bandit chief's saber was not that great. In fact, it was slightly inferior to the Hundred-battle Saber Happy had obtained from the tomb robber. Although it could sell for around five thousand taels of silver crumbs, it only increased the attack by 120, and its requirements for Arm Strength were rather high. Just like the Hundred-battle Saber, it was very difficult to be utilized for the time being…
The manual was a saber technique.
[Flowering Knights Saber Technique]
'Flowering Knights?'
Happy was first stunned before extreme happiness showed up on his face.
It was not because of how garish the name for this martial art was. Instead… it was because practically all low-tier martial arts in the system in his previous life could be countered by many other martial arts. For example, the heavy hitting axe techniques were wary of fist techniques that focused on close-quarters and high speed battles. They were also wary of swift sword techniques that focused on thrusts and upwards slashes.
However, among the endless low-tier martial arts, there was a handful of martial arts that had very few martial arts that could counter them. Even if there were some, they could rarely be found…
And Flowering Knights Saber Technique had been very popular in his previous life!
The creator of Flowering Knights Saber Technique was Hua Lang [2]. He was a legend among martial artists. For twenty years of his life, he had learned martial arts from all sorts of clans and sects, and after that, he had used all that experience to create his martial art.
Flowering Knights Saber Technique was considered above average in terms of speed, defense, attack, recovery, and body movements. It could even be said to be perfect. It could restrict multiple low-tier martial arts, and only a few martial arts could counter it completely.
Of course, it was impossible to be undefeatable by only mastering Flowering Knights Saber Technique. But if the user learned other saber techniques, they could absolutely stand supreme above all those who were below Blessed Realm in the world of martial arts with just one long saber. Even if the user fought alone against many, they could remain undefeatable!
With Flowering Knights Saber Technique in his hands, Happy felt a little drunk, as if all the strong alcohol he drank had finally taken effect. His blood boiled as if he was about to burst into flames.
Since the half a month ago he had joined World of Martial Arts, this was the first time Happy became extremely excited about a low-tier martial art…
"Beautiful lady, please give me another pot of wine and two pounds of beef!"
"Alright. Dear customer, please wait a while."
Once she heard it, the beautiful waitress with the oval face serving them by the side had a smile slowly blossom on her face. Her reply was gentle, and she stood up in an elegant and beautiful manner. She brought a pot of warm wine over and filled Happy's cup. Eastern Green Gate
was stunned for a long time watching it.
"Senior Brother Happy, your wine tolerance is amazing!"
"I'm in a good mood today! Let's drink!"
"Alright, I, Eastern Gate, will sacrifice my life and accompany you!"
Eastern Green Gate swept his gaze past his five brothers who were unconscious on the ground. He s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath and picked up the wine cup the beautiful waitress had filled up by his side as well.
"We won't go back unless we're drunk!"
"Well said! Let's drink!" Happy laughed while feeling a little tipsy.
The two of them tilted their heads back at the same time and drained their cups in one go.
Chapter 34 - Metamorphosis
"Brat, you went to drink, didn't you?"
Happy held a tray and moved to the Three Lonely Wolves' side in their university's canteen. The three of them looked at each other and smiled, and their smiles morphing into profound ones.
"We couldn't tell, but all those who come out of Murong Clan are indeed extraordinary. It has only been a while, and you're already ahead of us."
Happy found himself unable to say anything about this, but he was puzzled in his heart. He cupped his hands together and blew into his palms. His nose twitched.
"I don't stink of wine."
"Duh!"
The Three Lonely Wolves nearly had a stroke from how exasperated they were. Ci Qi even looked guilty, as if he had committed a great crime.
"Happy… you've become stupid."
"Haha! If we can keep the alcohol in our bodies after we drank it in the game, why would you need to even log out to eat? Just continue drinking and eating in there, and live the rest of your life in the game."
They knew about what had happened because when they finished their lectures and returned to their dorm, they heard a certain someone cry out tipsily for another two pounds of beef and one pot of Red Daughter. They had wanted to drag the brat out of his bed right away.
Their voices were not low, and a group of people sitting by the table not too far away from them heard it. They could not help but snicker.
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