Once he regained his footing after considerable effort, Happy quickly calmed down his surging blood and qi. His eyes sparkled. He was so excited that it was reflected on his face. He had become completely serious. Even though he had combat experience from his previous life, this was the first time he lost to someone in terms of skills. How could he not be excited?
"Again!"
The two of them moved at the same time.
Boom!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Uncle Rong had unknowingly used a few martial arts from a few sects. The variations in his attacks were great, but every single time he gained a slight upper hand, that advantage would be immediately resolved by Happy. In fact, there was a danger that his moves would be countered and he would be suppressed.
The surprise on Uncle Rong's face became greater, and he attacked more frequently while holding back even less.
Soon, they had exchanged more than fifty moves!
There were now a few palm prints on Happy's blue robes. There was also blood at the corner of his lips, and his clothes were much wetter than before, as if he had just came out of water. However, the excitement on his face did not decrease; it only became greater.
Uncle Rong did not stop.
"This feels great!" Happy cried out, and he did not show any intention to stop as well. He changed between Black Tiger Fist and Shaolin's Long Fist to handle different techniques and situations.
The more they fought, the more they enjoyed the fight!
More than ten minutes passed.
Finally, when Uncle Rong laughed, praised Happy, and told him that he passed the test, the two of them exchanged one last attack before jumping back several feet away from where they originally were.
Happy's blue robes were already in tatters. There were a few claw marks and blood spots on them, along with a few foot marks. Uncle Rong was clean, but he was also panting slightly.
"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Rong!"
In truth, the moment Uncle Rong jumped backwards, the system gave Happy multiple notifications to tell him that his Shaolin's Long Fist and Black Tiger Fist had reached the highest level, Grandmaster Realm.
This unexpected surprise made Happy stunned for a moment before he quickly came to a realization and thanked Uncle Rong.
The man smiled and nodded slightly.
"Your Shaolin's Long Fist and Black Tiger Fist have now reached a high and profound realm. I only agreed to the lady's request to give you some pointers and train you. You should thank the lady."
"Thank you, My Lady." Happy turned around and faced the Murong Clan Lady.
"Alright." The Murong Clan Lady was all smiles. "I personally taught you your martial arts, so you can be considered my disciple. This is something I should do, but I did not expect that you would pass Uncle Rong's test so soon. When you go back, understand and digest what Uncle Rong told you. Also, this is your reward."
As she spoke, she brought out a hollowed out silver box that exuded a faint refreshing fragrance as if she had performed a magic trick. "There is a Spirit Storing Pill in there. It was created by the master of Five Terrace Mountain. It has the amazing effect of improving your innate affinity and developing your wisdom. I will give this to you."
'Spirit Storing Pill?!'
Happy quivered, and shock appeared on his face.
"Thank you, My Lady."
Under the crowd's surprised and envious gazes, he received the hollowed out silver box while unable to calm his heart.
The Spirit Storing Pill was a sacred medicine that was rumored to be able to strengthen innate statuses, and it had actually appeared as a reward during the early stages of the game for a new player? Was it because of how blessed the Murong Clan was due to their status as a famous clan, or was it because of Uncle Rong?
"Come with me to the backyard. It is time for you to understand some of Murong Clan's martial arts." The Murong Clan Lady turned around and left.
Chapter 52 - Acknowledged, Shifting Stars
The Murong Clan had enjoyed an ill.u.s.trious position for a period of time in the world of martial artists, but the formation of the four aristocratic clans and eight great clans suppressed them and dimmer their glory a little. However, this did not affect the power and prosperity of the Murong Clan itself. With their perfected and peerless martial art, Shifting Stars, they could even fight on equal grounds against the leading martial artists.
Murong Bo and Murong Xuan were the masters of the clan during the previous generation. They were genius martial artists, and they enjoyed an incredibly great reputation and high status in the world of martial artists. Even the master of Shaolin Temple and leader of the martial artists took the initiative to invite them over to his place in the past. It could be said that Murong Clan reached the peak of their glory during that time.
The information the Murong Clan Lady revealed made Happy excited. In his previous life, two genius players were produced by the Murong Clan. Not only did they train Shifting Stars until it reached perfection, their individual strength did not lose to the legendary seven dukes and thirteen aces. Even if they were engaged in a chaotic group battle, they could move about at ease and in a relaxed manner among countless enemies.
Even though the requirements to practice Shifting Stars were incredibly harsh, to Happy, who had three years experience in the game, it was only a matter of time before he perfected the technique!
"But a pity…" Once she mentioned Murong Clan's glorious past, the Murong Clan Lady's tone changed, and there was a slightly lonely and desolate expression on her face. "When the old master died and the current master went into isolated training to practice Shifting Stars, our fame gradually faded.
"No one outstanding has appeared among the disciples of the younger generation. Now… we can only choose someone among all of you in the current generation who is suitable to inherit our legacy."
Happy had nothing to say about that.
"Shifting Stars is a peerless martial art. We cannot teach it to any disciple in Murong Clan!" The Murong Clan Lady cast Happy a profound glance. "Uncle Rong can be considered as a person who is somewhat my master. Since you can fight him for one hundred moves and not lose, it shows that you are extraordinarily talented.
"You have the ability to learn Shifting Stars. Uncle Rong has also acknowledged you… but you still cannot learn this technique with your current abilities. You have a long way to go before then, and you must not be lacking in experience of the world of martial artists, do you understand?"
"I understand."
"This time, I asked you to come here because you attained the requirements to enter the world of martial artists. I will now hand you a very important task." She nodded and said, "There is a prerequisite to learning Shifting Stars, and that is you must learn one hundred different martial arts!
"Only by doing so will you be able to bring out the pinnacle of the profundity behind the words, 'I will deal with you the same way as you dealt with me.' Hence, from today onwards, once you leave our clan, you must learn one hundred martial arts and push them all above the tenth realm!"
When she finished speaking, the system let out its notification bell to remind the stunned Happy that he had received a clan quest that he must complete—One Hundred Martial Arts!
[Practice one hundred different martial arts and push all of them above Level 90. The number required for completion of quest: 96]
Happy had nothing to say. This huge quest that would definitely last for a long time was such a heavy weight on his shoulders that he had nothing to say about it.
Even though it would not take long for him to bring one low-tier martial arts to the tenth realm, he would need to spend more than one hundred years if he counted the acc.u.mulated time of practicing one hundred martials arts to that level…
And the prerequisite for it was that nothing came to bother his training during that period of time!
This was basically the same as martial artists going into isolation trai
ning for more than half a year!
When he thought about this in depth, Happy felt like he was about to fall unconscious or go mad.
He remembered that half a year later, World of Martial Arts would have been launched for a whole year, and there would be plenty of powerful players in the game by then. In fact, some of the foreign servers would also join their server. The one emperor, two empresses, three kings, and other powerful people who were so strong that they could defy nature would gain a solid standing that could not be shaken by anyone else. The representatives of those titles could act independently by then.
However, since he had already accepted the mission, Happy could not reject or raise a protest against it.
He sighed, forced to accept his fate.
With such a quest, it would be best if he pushed back the training for Shifting Stars a little. He would first learn a few decent high-tier martial arts to help him get through the stages that were to come, so that when the time came for him to fight against the seven dukes, thirteen aces, and other powerful fighters that were of equal standing to them, he could be on equal grounds against them.
Once Happy accepted the quest, he could officially leave Murong Clan to start his life of wandering about the plains as a martial artist and risk his life to experience the world…
Of course, the players could continue staying in their clan or sect and train while they received some minor quests to slowly become stronger and get through the stages that were to come.
There was nothing wrong with them doing this.
However, Happy knew that it was difficult for people who were bound to their sects and clans to trigger the many storylines and missions in the world of martial artists.
On top of that, leaving the clan or sect did not mean that the player could no longer receive any of the quests from them…
Leaving Gusu City straightaway and wandering around the plains alone was clearly very unwise. That was, in fact, the act of a true amateur.
Happy had silver notes worth nearly eighty thousand taels of silver crumbs and one Ruyi jade that was worth more than fifty thousand taels of silver crumbs. He was considered to have a lot of money when he had that sum on his person. If he turned that money into things that would add to his strength, it would be pretty good.
Once Happy left Murong Mansion, he went into an apothecary.
"Young swordsman, what might you need?" When the employee in the shop saw the Noble Sword in Happy, he went up to him in a friendly manner and greeted him. "We have the best Jinchuang Ointment for chiropractic purposes, antidotes, medicinal tablets that quickly recover qi, hangover soup, medicinal pills that treat internal injuries…"
Happy knew the medicines that the employee mentioned. Aside from the Jinchuang Ointment that he used the most often, the other medicinal pills were not cheap. However, what he needed the least right then was Jinchuang Ointment. He already had no fewer than two hundred units from training in Black Wind Mountain, and they were enough for him to last for half a year.
"Give me two units of medicinal tablets, ten units of Jinchuang Ointment…" another customer asked.
There were three players who were browsing through the various types of medicines in the apothecary. Once one of them announced what he needed and heard the price, he felt his heart clench in pain, but there was nothing he could do about it. Medicinal pills were too expensive. They actually cost two hundred taels of silver crumbs each, and the player who bought the medicine seemed to be someone who practiced lightness skills. Once he considered the amount of qi needed to use them, he could only grit his teeth and buy them.
When that player saw Happy come in, he was stunned for a moment before he nodded and left.
The other two did not leave. They continued to linger before the counter.
"One hundred medicinal tablets, ten antidotes, and ten medicinal pills."
"Al-alright!"
As if he were human, the employee was stunned for a moment before he took the silver notes. Soon, he put on an even more friendly smile. "Please wait for a moment."
Happy did not bother about the two players who were now dumbfounded on the side. He stood in a relaxed manner at the entrance and pondered over where he should go to practice his Black Dragon Murder once he bought a lightness skill manual.
After all, a secret technique could decide whether someone won or lost in a battle during a critical moment!
Chapter 53 - Three Plans
The eastern part of Gusu City was once a place where players seldom frequented. Yet with time, it now bustled with activity. Players with the emblem of Dragon Tiger Sect sewn on their c.h.e.s.ts could be seen everywhere, and all of them had their heads held high. They were in high spirits.
Most of these people came from a huge building with a mighty and majestic stone lion serving as its door guardian in the middle of the street. There were a few huge men in black standing next to it. Above their heads was a plate with three words written on it with a flourish—Dragon Tiger Sect! This was the headquarters of Gusu City's strongest sect.
Compared to the high-spirited atmosphere among the disciples outside the sect, the atmosphere within the inner hall of the headquarters, which could only be accessed by the higher-ranked members, was incredibly dreary and still at that moment.
The one woman and two men who had nearly gotten into a conflict with Happy in Jade Gate Restaurant sat in the VIP seats i as they listened to Vice Sect Master Long Meng talk about what had happened.
Once Long Meng mentioned how Scholarly Immortal had vanished without a trace after he left Dragon Tiger Sect, the woman and two men did not show any obvious reactions. However, the man who sat at the top of the hall frowned. He shook his head slightly, but no one knew why he sighed.
The hall was silent then.
Long Meng, who had caused the deaths of the people from Dragon Tiger Sect and who had created a fearless and powerful enemy for himself, became even more anxious.
Even though he had already been rebuked sternly for making Scholarly Immortal, who was a powerful fighter in Gate Realm, leave the sect, what truly made him nervous was Happy, who had killed the bandit chief of Black Wind Mountain by himself.
He had seen Happy kill around twenty of their good fighters while being heavily injured. His skills with hidden weapons had already reached an unpredictable level. Hence, Long Meng did not dare to hide anything from his sect master. Not only did he tell the Blue-robed Noble Sword User's potential strength, but also exaggerated Happy's threat to Dragon Tiger Sect.
"I was indeed in the wrong this time. I should not have been greedy about the treasures of Black Wind Mountain, but I have already made the mistake. Happy must surely hate Dragon Tiger Sect to the core right now. Sect master, for Dragon Tiger Sect's reputation and our future development, we must get rid of Blue-robed Noble Sword User, or else our prestige will be ruined!"
The sect master did not speak. His name was Inquire the Dragon, and in the real world, he was a coal seller who had some money. The people called him Nine-tattooed Dragon. He worked through legal and illegal means, and he had some abilities. The reason he played World of Martial Arts was because his younger sister had persuaded him to do so.
Once he started it, he saw the huge potential and business opportunity hidden in the game, which was why he gathered a group of people to join him. He intended to gain a dominant position in the game and earn money through it.
With his brothers' gifts, he had reached Gate Realm without any problems, though there was never a doubt that he would. He then gathered together ten thousand taels of silver crumbs to create the strongest sect in Gusu City.
But what he did not expect was that various problems would continuously appear when Dragon Tiger Sect was preparing to use all their manpower to spread their name and occupy resources!
The lackeys of Dragon Tiger Sect used the might of their strongest sect to get themselves quite a number of enemies. In just a few days, Dragon Tiger Sect became a terrifying beast for
many players. It was pushed to the eye of the storm and entered a precarious situation.
Scholarly Immortal originally managed all this and modulated the conflict between them and the other players. Things had then slowly become better.
However, Nine-tattooed Dragon had not expected that the huge group led by two of Dragon Tiger Sect's vice sect masters would be unable to get rid of Blue-robed Noble Sword User—a player whom he had never paid attention to. And if that wasn't enough, around twenty of their brothers had died because of this.
What pained him most was that his right hand man, Scholarly Immortal, who had given a lot of good suggestions for the sect, had left Dragon Tiger Sect without hesitation…
The matter about the Blue-robed Noble Sword User defeating Black Wind Mountain and many of their brothers had also spread around. Soon, the entire city would know of it.
"Sister, tell me, what should I do now?"
The Blue-robed Noble Sword User's strength exceeded what Nine-tattooed Dragon understood. He had trained diligently and gathered all the information regarding World of Martial Arts over the past two months and he also knew just how strong Black Wind Mountain's bandit chief was. With those facts placed right before his eyes, he simply could not imagine how a player who had just reached Gate Realm could fight head on with the bandit chief and win.
Nine-tattooed Dragon could only ask for help from his younger sister!
Fortunately, she had extraordinary Comprehension and had been taken in by one of the four great aristocratic families—Nangong Clan. Her information network and knowledge was certainly above his.
When she sensed the gazes of the people in the hall on her, the beautiful girl under the veil gently put down the teacup in her hand. Until then, she still had not taken off the veil over her face. Besides a faint air of mysteriousness and allure, there was also a hint of cunning and wisdom in her charming eyes. She thought for a few seconds before she tapped her lips lightly.
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