Chapter 169 - Class S Battle Assessment
Even though a tenth realm Flowering Knights' Song could not deal heavy damage to the Thousand Year Corpse King, the first ever injury enraged the zombie. Its black pupils shone with a fierce light, and its chase grew even fiercer. He almost did not give Happy any chance to execute an attack. Wherever he went, the burial mounds would be flipped over when he attacked.
Happy might have successfully landed one hit, but he did not dare to be inattentive or relax. His expression remained calm, and he listened to his surroundings to determine the Thousand Year Corpse King's attack trajectory. Then, he would choose the most effective way to avoid its attacks.
Whenever the Thousand Year Corpse King's attacks landed, he would swing his saber.
Clang!
Every single time the Thousand Year Corpse King was attacked, its body would tremble slightly before its movements returned to normal. Its murderous aura would become even stronger, and its attacks would become even more impatient and fueled with anger.
Happy's actions might have seemed to be in vain.
However, after Little North braced himself and approached the battlefield, he noticed that the Thousand Year Corpse King had cracks on its thin and black skeletal-like figure.
They might seem insignificant, but the more the corpse king was attacked, the more thin cracks appeared, and they were all connected to each other. Soon, the frighteningly fast and all-powerful Thousand Year Corpse King finally showed a barely noticeable lag in its movements.
During the battle, Happy made the best use of his time and was not negligent. He used his fastest speed to eat medicine.
Clang!
Once the faint cracks in the area which Happy attacked the most on the Thousand Year Corpse King's body were all connected together, larger and deeper cracks appeared on its body. When the Hundred-battle Saber struck the Thousand Year Corpse King again, thin fragments flew out of the Thousand Year Corpse King's body, and it lifted Happy's spirits.
'I'm almost there!'
Once the Thousand Year Corpse King suffered more than one hundred heavy blows, an opening was finally made on the sturdiest part of its body—its skin. Even though the Thousand Year Corpse King's combat abilities were far above the other zombies, everyone feared the Thousand Year Corpse King's movement speed the most. Once it was refined by Corpse Sect, it possessed high-tier lightness skill that was at pseudo-Grandmaster Realm. With its agile and deformed body, it could come and go like a ghost, and people would usually be unable to fend against it.
Happy calmed his heart down.
He could tell that the Thousand Year Corpse King's movement speed had been affected, and it was no longer as difficult to locate it with a n.a.k.e.d eye. When it moved, it also showed signs of weakness.
A normal player would definitely use such a safe strategy from the start to the end!
He had been suppressed for a long time by the Thousand Year Corpse King, so when he saw the monster begin to show weakness, he stopped moving in reflex. With a single move, he went to face the Thousand Year Corpse King head on.
A sparkle shone in the monster's eyes.
It flashed its sharp claws, which could easily tear through metal, and with a black gust of wind that was filled with a foul smell, it delivered an attack on Happy at lightning speed.
The Thousand Year Corpse King's movements might have become a bit slower, but to Blessed Realm players, its attacks were still deadly dangerous. However…
Happy tapped on the ground and turned around in an ingenious manner, just like a loach. He moved past the Thousand Year Corpse King, smoothly avoiding the monster's poisonous claws, and sliced at its body.
The ferocious saber glare that spread out was long and sharp. It struck the Thousand Year Corpse King's damaged body with a feather-light slash.
A black ink-like substance gushed out of the Thousand Year Corpse King's body.
The Thousand Year Corpse King let out a shrill howl. It staggered backwards for a few feet with its deformed body, then turned around and tried to run.
"Excuse me?!"
The Thousand Year Corpse King thought that with its speed, it would be able to flee easily when it was not surrounded. But unfortunately for it, it had ran into Happy, who knew its movements like the back of his hand. There was no way it could avoid a tragic end!
"Thinking of running?"
Happy had long since expected that the Thousand Year Corpse King would do it. Once he forced the Thousand Year Corpse King back, he tapped against the ground rapidly and kept close, like a maggot on bones. When the corpse king turned around resolutely, he swiftly activated Dragon Capture.
He caught it with ease!
Happy twisted the Thousand Year Corpse King's elbow and swung his Hundred-battle Saber upwards. With the speed of lightning, he cut into the crack…
Crack!
The Thousand Year Corpse King's right elbow fell with a great wave of black death aura.
Once it lost its right arm, the puppet lost its balance and began leaning heavily to one side, and even more weaknesses appeared. Its synchronization was also completely destroyed. The Thousand Year Corpse King's movements became quite pathetic when it tried to flee again.
Happy frowned and chased after it. He executed Dragon Capture a second time.
The Thousand Year Corpse King was pinned to the ground right then, its deformed body held in place by the Hundred-battle Saber!
It lowered its body with great difficulty and cast a glance away.
Boom!
A loud sound rose, and the Thousand Year Corpse King's body imploded. It crumbled apart.
Thud!
A small Universe Bag fell from the Thousand Year Corpse King's body and landed on the ground.
Happy's eyes moved fast. He quickly scooped up the Universe Bag and opened it to look inside. Then, the nervous and solemn look on his face dissolved into a smile.
"Ding!
"Killed the Mystical Realm Thousand Year Corpse King!
"Battle Danger Assessment: Class S.
"Comprehension +1. Level of Flowering Knights' Song increased. Flowering Knights Song: Level 95.37. Black Sand Invulnerable Body realm increase. Black Sand Invulnerable Body: Eighth Realm."
The system notifications rang one after another.
At the moment the notifications ended, the smile on Happy's face grew brighter.
As expected of a Class S battle, his rewards were great.
Flowering Knights' Song had become very difficult to level up once it had reached its later stages, but right then, it increased by five levels. Of course, he knew that the system would provide increasing high-tier martial arts by one realm as a reward, but he was now closer to pushing Flowering Knights' Song to Grandmaster Realm. At the very least, he had just cut down a whole day's worth of training time.
Also, he gained a Comprehension point. Even his Black Sand Invulnerable Body had leveled up by a lot. His rewards were indeed very great.
"Big Brother Happy." Little North came running over with his two now very miserable looking zombies. When he saw the black shards from the Thousand Year Corpse King scattered all around the ground, he was incredibly excited. "Can I have these— No, no, no, I mean, can I buy them?"
The shards from the Thousand Year Corpse King were materials that contained an even higher grade medicinal liquid. Once someone melted and refined them, they could get higher grade medicinal liquid to repair their zombies. It would also strengthen the sturdiness of their puppets' physical bodies and increase their levels. It was something that was incredibly important for Corpse Controllers.
"Take it. I have no need for it anyway."
However, Happy did warn Little North multiple times that he was not to spread the news of what happened and not to record it. Little North nodded vigorously and swore that Happy could be at ease.
After all, Corpse Controllers could be considered as a rather rare profession. Little North did not wish for there to be many
people who would fight with him for resources in the mass grave.
Just as Little North picked up the shards all over the ground, Happy's gaze was attracted by the Thousand Year Corpse King's right arm. It was not too far away from him, and it was still letting out a faint black aura.
Chapter 170 - Demon Vessel Appeared
Once he chased away Little North after he collected all the shards from the Thousand Year Corpse Year, Happy sat down cross-legged once he found a slightly clean empty spot. He held the Thousand Year Corpse King's right arm in his left hand.
However, ever since Happy picked it up, a huge change happened to the Thousand Year Corpse King's right arm.
The flesh, blood, and bone were reduced to dust and vanished. Only an empty shell was left. There were demonic and twisted muscle lines covering its surface. The five fingers were spread out, their sharp claws long and strong like metal. A colored light shone around them, making it look terrifying. There was also a foul smell that made people want to puke.
[Thousand Year Corpse King's Right Arm: Low-grade demon vessel. The corpse king has been exiled for a thousand years. After it was enveloped in corpse aura and submerged in unique medicine for an extended period of time, its right arm mutated and turned into a special weapon. Increase 380 damage. Increase attack speed by 20% (only for fist techniques). Increase 20 Affinity. Increase 20 Arm Strength. Has ripping effect (Enemy will have a certain chance of getting the bleeding effect). Has deadly poison effect (Enemy will be poisoned once they bleed. Under poison, enemy's abilities will be reduced by 20%).]
"It's actually a demon vessel?" Happy s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath and touched the muscle lines on the Thousand Year Corpse King's right arm. There was both surprise and delight on his face. "It's good stuff!"
In World of Martial Arts, divine weapons were classified as weapons that were greater than masterpieces!
Divine weapons were further categorized into low, middle, and high grade divine weapons.
Demon vessels were one of them. Even though their effects could not compare to real divine weapons, they had a few more additional effects compared to divine weapons. If those effects could be brought out completely, the damage would be astonishing.
The drop rate for divine weapons was incredibly low. If one among ten million people would be lucky enough to see them, they could already be considered to be insanely lucky. Happy, of course, never saw one in his previous life, because he only knew how to practice his martial arts.
When he managed to get into the international top sixteen—the qualifiers—he had completely relied on the Forge System that appeared later. He had managed to get a four-echelon top-grade masterpiece that would not lose to a divine weapon after considerable difficulty. It was the thing that allowed him to fight against top-tier players who had divine weapons and demon vessels in their hands.
The item in his hands right then might be a low-grade demon vessel, and its damage was not great, but its increase in Affinity and Arm Strength was something that many masterpieces did not have!
Once players lacking in attributes obtained such a demon vessel, they could practice high-tier martial arts that had higher requirements for Affinity and Arm Strength.
Also, the ripping and poison effects were incredibly important to intimidate enemies!
Happy was shocked that he could obtain a low-grade demon vessel in such a situation, and he could not help but sigh endlessly.
Perhaps the Gods had decided to pity him for working so hard in his previous life and ending up a nobody, which was why they decided to change his luck completely.
Boom!
At the instant he equipped the Thousand Year Corpse King's arm, a thunderous boom rang out in the mass grave!
Gray clouds filled the sky, and the muffled booms of thunder could be heard. It was as if the world was warning everyone that a demon vessel had appeared!
The Thousand Year Corpse King's arm seemed to have come alive. Its rigid shell suddenly softened and obediently attached itself to Happy's arm. The black muscle lines started squirming in an odd manner from his shoulder to his fingers. They pressed themselves against every part of his skin, acting very compatible. It perfectly showed off the powerful curves of his muscles.
Crackle…
Popping sounds rose from Happy's hand.
"Ha!"
Happy discovered to his surprise that an invisible force entered his body from the weapon. He soon got used to the changes and the continuous growth in strength. At the same time, a great power that made him feel as if he was getting swollen rose in him; it felt as if it was trying to break out of his body! It was in a hurry to find a way to surge out!
Naturally, Happy would not let a demon vessel affect him. Soon, he calmed the surging emotions and spread out his right hand's fingers. They now looked like the claws of a wild ghost that had just come back from hell. Happy opened and closed his hand repeatedly, and it let out a piercing, sizzling sound.
'No wonder those people with divine weapons in my previous life were unparallelled in strength!'
Having a divine weapon basically meant that half of the user's combat abilities would be increased.
Happy got used to it for a while while paying great attention to every minor change.
Then, he removed the demon weapon and brought out a small bag from his Universe Bag. It was filled with the spoils of war that had dropped from the Thousand Year Corpse King.
"What is this?"
Aside from one Ten Thousand Poisonous Palms, there was also a few pieces of equipment along with a rather strange pear-shaped metallic object. It instantly attracted Happy's attention.
He brought it out and observed it.
The pear-shaped metallic object was made out of very fine and detailed components. There were many small holes on it, and they were as tiny as a cow's hair. The object was black, and it gave off a mysterious, frightful air.
After Happy observed it carefully, he gradually linked it with an item in his memories.
"Hiss…"
Happy's heart trembled violently, and he s.u.c.k.e.d in a sharp breath. He could not help but become serious while observing the killing weapon in his hands.
Pear Blossom Storm Needles!
It was Tang Sect's ultimate hidden weapon.
It was said that there were endless unique hidden weapons contained in that vessel, and they could destroy a martial artist's body fortification technique and qi force. Once it was released, all the people in a circular area of one hundred and sixty-four feet would die! It was also so quick that no one could dodge it! Its value was definitely not below Poison Resistance Pill and Corpse King Pearl.
"Looks like this is the rare treasure I got from the Thousand Year Corpse King."
Happy nodded in silence, but soon, he remembered that he had also received a demon vessel as part of his loot. If the rare treasure was the Pear Blossom Storm Needles, what about his low-grade demon vessel which ranked higher. How was he supposed to explain that?
It was a little hard to make sense of it.
"Could it be… that the first Thousand Year Corpse King is even better than normal Thousand Year Corpse Kings?" Happy began to let his imagination run wild.
He could only skip over the questions that he could not explain, so he went to examine the other spoils of war. Aside from a pair of Ghost King Boots, he also received a Yellow Dragon Bow. The top and bottom of the bow looked like a pair of wings that supported the body of the bow.
However, Happy did not have the thought of learning bow techniques as of then, because he would have to spend too much time on it. Hence, it would be best to sell it to the members of Beautiful Robes Faction.
Once he had that thought, Happy took the initiative to send a messenger pigeon to Phoenix Dances of Beautiful Robes Faction.
[You managed to get a few high-tier martial art manuals so soon?!] Phoenix Dances replied very quickly. Great joy could be detected from her words. [Give me the information about the martial art, and
I'll ask the members. By the way, you can send the Demon Subduing Staff manual over now. I've already prepared the items. Go to the commission shop later and send me the other items as well.]
Happy said nothing in return.
He sent the information about the Ten Thousand Poisonous Palms and the other two high-tier martial art manuals he had bought from Luoyang, packed up, and left the mass grave.
Right then, he was still under the protection of the twenty-four hours he had gained after he obtained the title of Killer Star. Once they passed, the items he had just obtained would no longer be protected by the title, and he might lose them if he died.
Since he had to send items to Phoenix Dances too, he might as well send all his loot to the bank. That would definitely be a good decision.
But Happy did not expect that he would see a wandering martial art with a straw hat and a valuable sword standing at the city gate. His arms were crossed over his c.h.e.s.t.
He had thick eyebrows, and a charming moustache in the shape of an upside-down V. He seemed to be constantly smiling, which gave a very cunning and cordial feeling.
Chapter 171 - Commission Shop
When Happy returned to the city, Phoenix Dances sent him a message and said that there were enough people who could buy his high-tier martial art manuals.
Happy soon sent the five Ten Thousand Poisonous Palms over along with the low-tier martial art manuals—Thousand Corpse Hands—that were necessary to her. Of course, he also sent her the Demon Subduing Staff and Silver-spiked Staff as well as the other two high-tier martial arts he had bought in Luoyang.
It was a total of eight high-tier martial art manuals! It made Happy's savings account instantly jump up to two million, and he appeared at the top of the Rich Rank again. Fortunately, no one could figure out where he was at that moment, so he had the chance to safely dispose of his money.
"What should I buy?"
Happy wandered around the city in a gloomy manner.
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 90
