After they learned of this news, the people who had remained a great distance away became extremely angry. They had no choice but to leave the spot where they had chosen to lay their ambush and make preparations to go up the mountain to engage in a fierce fight with the bandits.
Happy would not care to whom their tribute would end up with in the end.
In the end, Happy bade farewell to his sect members nd entered Yangzhou City by himself on his horse.
Yangzhou had the same status as Suzhou. It was also a very famous, prosperous, and thriving ancient city.
On the way, Happy immediately saw signs of the city thriving. Regardless of whether it was a tavern or a sundry shop, there were plenty of players gathered around them; business was good in all the shops. They enjoyed great popularity.
When he got close to the city, he met many powerful players from Yangzhou City…
He wondered whether it was because of the quest to escort tributes, but over the last few days, the overall number of Blessed Realm players had increased by a lot in all of World of Martial Arts. He even ran into quite a lot of players who fought against ferocious beasts toe-to-toe on the way to the city.
The other players might not be bothered by that, but Happy could tell the origins of a player's martial art along with the clan or sect they joined and where they came from based on their skillset. Hence, he could tell who were practicing high-tier martial arts after they made a few moves.
Two players had especially attracted his attention. When he was passing by a mountainside full of trees, he saw them fighting at full swing against a white tiger with an extraordinary presence. Based on their strength, the white tiger's abilities had already reached the middle stage of Blessed Realm, and it was much stronger than the Great Wolves.
The White Tiger Pelt was a luxurious item that was worth tens of thousands of silver crumbs. It could be refined into a masterpiece named White Tiger Battle Armor, which was worth hundreds of thousands of silver crumbs. However, Happy did not want to be misunderstood for no reason, so he did not slow down and just rode past the area.
Right then, when he thought about it, he regretted his decision quite a lot. After all, he had around one million taels of silver crumbs on his person. It would be quite good for him if he could buy a White Tiger Pelt.
With faint regret, Happy rode into Yangzhou City.
"Get down!" The soldiers at the city gate were very harsh and rude. They pointed their spears at Happy and stood in front of the horse to block his path. "Don't you know the rules? If you want to enter the city, get down from the horse!"
There were quite a few players at the city gate who were incredibly envious of Happy when they saw his horse. When they heard the guard's words, they found p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in his misfortune, and they snickered in their hearts.
Stunned, Happy pulled on his reins.
As he watched the soldiers who were like the Iron-faced Judge[1], he remembered some things, and he could not help but smile softly.
In Imperial China, such soldiers had quite a lot of power.
They were fearful of government officials and those with power, but they loved a person with money.
The soldiers would not block any of the three types of people.
Government officials were above the soldiers in status. Most of them had acc.u.mulated meritorious deeds through military achievements, and mere soldiers would not dare to block their paths even if they had great courage.
The second type were wanderers who had methods to deal with all kinds of matters. Soldiers were rather wary of this sort of people. The experience they had acc.u.mulated over a long period of time gave them a keen eye for them. They would allow all powerful martial artists who were above Blessed Realm into the city on their horses.
The final group of people did not have government titles attached to them due to their military achievements, and neither did they have great strength. What would they rely on, then?
Their steeds!
Fine steeds could show a person's identity and status. The steed Happy rode on was only worth two thousand taels of silver crumbs. It was incredibly normal, and it would naturally not soften up the soldiers at the entrance.
Only the valuable horses who were handsome, tall, and had extraordinary presence such as the Ferghana horses, Wind Chaser[2], and Red Hare[3] would be worthy of respect. Each of them cost thousands of gold pieces, which showed just how rich the rider were.
The soldiers would never stop such people. They would just shut their eyes and let them pass.
As of then, Happy had not yet had any chance to gain military achievements, and neither had he reached Blessed Realm. Even though he had the money to buy a good horse, it would be wasteful for him to bring out a huge stack of silver certificates to buy a steed.
Just as a number of players gathered at the city gate to watch the show, Happy leisurely brought out a stack of silver certificates from his Universe Bag, and under the incredulous gazes of the players around him, he stuck the silver certificates on the longspears that were nearly touching his nose. When he pulled his hand back, he wrapped his fist in his palm.
"It is my first time in your honorable land. I do not understand the rules, please forgive me."
"Heh."
"It's alright."
The stern expressions that made the two soldiers look like Justice Bao reincarnates disappeared without a trace. They put away the silver certificates in extremely slick movements and put on smiles that belonged to slippery old foxes.
"When you wander the lands, you must rely on your brothers! Alright, get in."
Happy wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to them again.
Then, he slapped his horse's b.u.t.t and had it slowly trot into the city.
Of course, it was not that Happy had intentionally decided to be so flashy, but time was money. He was used to entering cities on horseback in his past life, and he did not bother about this. His actions were done very naturally, and he did not notice that the players in the area sported strange expressions on their faces and had abnormal reactions to the situation.
"Where… did that brat come from?"
"How arrogant! He bought passage with two hundred taels of silver crumbs! You can't just show off like this even if you have money, right?"
"Damn him."
"You can actually do it this way?"
"Damn it, we have to post this online later. It'll definitely be great news!"
The players around the city gate had varying reactions, but they could not affect Happy.
The closer he got to the market, the more bustling it became. All sorts of people cried out their wares without end.
"Selling all kinds of martial art manuals!"
"Supreme grade martial art manual for Iron Shirt! It can be mastered by just repeatedly practicing it without having to fight against anyone and is only eight thousand taels of silver crumbs! Those who want it, you have to hurry!"
"Great Wolf Pelts! They're a specialty from Gusu City! Three thousand and five hundred taels of silver each. Those who want it, hurry up and get it. There aren't many in stock—" (The person who said that did so only because he knew prices for commodities would return to their real price very quickly.)
"Forming a party to steal tributes! Those who know how to, come here! We only accept Blessed Realm players! We're looking for someone who has a high-tier martial art!"
"High-grade Jinchuang Ointment. We have high-grade Jinchuang Ointment. One bottle for five hundred taels of silver!"
"Selling equipment and weapons!"
"You can walk past, but don't miss these! Take a look!"
All sorts of noise rushed into Happy's ears from everywhere. It was like a giant farmers' market. However, not only did Happy not find himself unable to get used to the noise, he actually enjoyed it very much. He swept his gaze over the stalls on his sides from high above the horse based on the different voices he heard in search for items he might be interested in or which might be usefu
l to him.
"Who's that?"
There were only a few people who had the right to ride a horse and enter the city in the game as of then, and there were even fewer people who knew how to get a horse inside. Since Happy sat on a horse, he soon became a celebrity in the market.
Many of the stall owners deliberately made their voices louder when Happy passed by them, crying out their wares even more vigorously.
However, there were very few things that could attract Happy's attention. He never stopped moving.
In a while, he noticed a man who stood in the distance like an iron tower. His eyes were sparkling eyes as he stared at Happy with great interest. The empty space in front of him showed that he had placed items there for selling, but strangely, he never cried out his wares. Yet there were more players surrounding his stall compared to the other stalls.
Happy was instantly interested.
Chapter 94 - Ancient Tomb
The stall owner seemed to be around thirty years old. He had a grim face and did not like to speak much. Even if others asked him about the price, he did not seem to want to acknowledge their presence, as for his strength…
Happy sized up the man who was built like an iron tower that stood steadily on the ground. After he thought about it for a long time, the only conclusion he came to was that he had no idea just how strong he was. Without attacking, it was difficult to determine a person's strength. However, his instincts told him that this person was definitely someone remarkable, even though the stuff sold in the stall were metal weapons and jade items that did not seem to be of much practical use.
Happy cast a few more glances at the built man's items.
They were indeed very normal.
They were all commonly seen vessels, and they were either around tens of thousands of taels of silver crumbs or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver crumbs. He wondered why the people in the area valued these items so much, because anyone could get plenty of them if they just went and explored an ancient tomb once.
Happy looked away, and when he was prepared to leave, he suddenly trembled, and his gaze returned to the stall. The items in the stall were the same as before, but Happy's expression turned incredibly strange.
He cast the man a glance, and his expression became normal. He pushed his hand against the back of the horse and flipped over in a nimble move. He landed on the ground, then tugged his horse's reins to move to the front of the stall.
"Brother, can I ask a question?"
"Go on."
He sounded very cold and cool.
"Heh, I'd like to know where you got these items." While saying that, Happy pointed at the items in front of the man.
The players in the area looked at him with surprise.
"You're not from the area, are you?" someone in the crowd answered for the man. "This is no longer a secret to the people in Yangzhou. Not too long ago, someone discovered a hidden ancient tomb outside the city. In has Dirt Puppets and Stone Giants, which are very powerful. Most of the people who go in die, but all these items are from the ancient tomb. It's not far from here though. If you ride a horse, you should be able to reach it in twenty or thirty minutes."
The built man's face did not change. He only nodded after the person answered to show that the answer was correct.
"Dirt Puppets… Stone Giants?" Happy muttered to himself.
In truth, before he even got down from the horse, he knew that he had made a mistake.
Metal weapons and jade items were indeed normal, but that was three years later, when most of the players were generally above Mystical Realm, and there were also plenty of powerful players in Life and Death Realm. It was very easy for them to handle NPCs in the middle stage of Blessed Realm, so such items became a very common sight.
However, as of right then, it was the era of those in Blessed Realm. The Dirt Puppets and Stone Giants who protected the ancient tomb had combat abilities that were rather terrifying, and they were difficult to handle. No wonder then that there were so many people surrounding the stall for a look.
"You want to enter the ancient tomb?" the built man suddenly said, and his eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Happy was silent for a few seconds before he nodded slowly.
"I do want to take a look."
When he heard Happy's answer, the light in the built man's eyes became even stronger. "Are you in Blessed Realm?"
"No."
The built man was rendered speechless. A brief flash of disappointment that he did not bother to hide appeared on his face. "Then I suggest that you don't go. The Dirt Puppets and Stone Giants guarding the ancient tomb are all very powerful. Not only is their movement speed high, their attack power is also astonishing. Their defense is also extraordinary. Even if a few Blessed Realm players attack together, they have to be incredibly careful. They have to take turns attacking them, and even then they will only be able to destroy those monsters after more than thirty minutes."
"Oh."
The players around them looked at him in surprise.
Even though they knew about the existence of the ancient tomb, they hadn't known about the details.
"Thank you for your reminder. I just want to take a look."
Happy smiled, already making calculations in his heart. There was still more than half a month before the first stage of the banditry disaster would come to an end. During that period of time, he wanted to train in Yangzhou and push his qi realm to Blessed Realm so that he could learn his first high-tier martial art—Flowering Knights' Song.
'Blessed Realm…'
People's qi would be refined to an exquisite degree by that time, which was why only those who reached that realm had the right to learn the lowest grade high-tier martial arts. It was also why only then would they truly have the right to wander around the lands and gain a footing in the world of martial artists. Otherwise, they were bound to only be passersby.
Just like Happy.
Even though his current strength was great, there was still quite a distance between him and true powerful players in Blessed Realm.
If Orochimaru's Reverse Dual Swordplay had been higher in level, it would have been impossible for Happy to win against him using the advantage of his experience in various areas. It would also have been impossible for him to become the champion of the offline martial arts tournament and obtain the high-tier martial art—Flowering Knights' Song.
Happy knew that since the game had been launched for two months and he only joined one month after it was launched as well as the fact that he had been held up with feeding rabbits for a period of time at the start, he was destined to suffer from a disparity in strength against the strongest batch of players in the game!
If he wanted to make a name for himself in the storyline quest and reap benefits from it, it would not be enough to rely on just his abilities in Gate Realm and a few throwing knives.
Not only did he need to increase his qi realm, he also needed to have a high-tier martial art with a rather high realm.
Until then, his qi had increased to 65.89.
However, the hardest task was to actually level up high-tier martial arts.
Practicing high-tier martial arts was different from practicing low-tier martial arts.
There were plenty of things that could be used as target practice for low-tier martial arts. The players could begin with practicing on wooden dummies during the first realm, then move to some normal wild beasts, and when their martial arts reached the fifth realm, they could aim for Gate Realm NPCs. Later on, when they reached the peak of Gate Realm, they had even more choices and targets to choose from.
However, it was completely different for high-tier martial arts!
The skills of high-tier martial arts were developed from low-tier martial arts in Grandmaster Realm. It meant that they received an upgrade, and every single skill and technique in high-tier martial arts were the pinnacle of perfection of each skill and technique for their respective low-tier martial arts.
It was impossible for Happy to increase the level of high-tier martial arts if he went up against normal opponents!
If he considered his targets based on their qi realms, then he had to choose targets in Blessed Realm, because he could not gain any experience from enemies below it and the level of his martial arts would not increase then! Only when he chose opponents who were in or above Blessed Realm would the level of his high-tier martial art increase.
Once Happy realized that there was an ancient tomb outside Yangzhou City, he was immediately tempted.
The fever for stealing tributes grew stronger every day. He believed that most powerful Blessed Realm players would join in, and they would neglect training during this period of time. If he went to train right then, he would probably find all the good training grounds empty of people.
When Happy was about to leave, the built man frowned, and in the end, he could not help but say, "If you really want to practice your martial arts, then come with me."
Happy stopped and turned around to look at the stall owner.
"Huh?"
"I've been practicing my martial arts in the ancient tomb. If you really want to go, we can form a party. You can wait for me to sell these items and buy some medicinal tablets to restore qi before we head there."
The man had a good eye for judging people. He had been able to tell that Happy did not want to go there to farm beneficial items, but to train.
"Alright. I'll wait for you over there."
Happy could already be considered as a very experienced person who was as cunning as a fox. He knew that it was very difficult to practice high-tier martial arts in their initial stages. A lot of time will have to be spent using recovery items, so he nodded and agreed to the deal.
When he saw that Happy had indirectly acknowledged that he did indeed have the goal of practicing his martial arts, a hint of joy that was rarely seen on him showed up on the built man's face. Once they exchanged a knowing look, the man decided to put away his stall. "You're even more impatient than I am. Then, I won't be wasting your time. Come. Quite a number of my party members have left my party, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find anyone to train with me."
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 52
