Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  When the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guards rushed out of the city and saw the figure that left him in the dust, he spat fiercely.

  Once his lackeys arrived one after another, he glared at them and roared, "Why are you standing around like idiots! Get on your horses and chase after him!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  *****

  Ever since Happy was discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, he gave up on heading to Baokang through the sea. Even though he had killed imperial court officials before, he had never encountered such high leveled ones. The efficiency of the Embroidered Uniform Guards was linked to the level of the officials involved.

  Since Happy was already targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, if he still went to Baokang through water, he felt as if he would be deceiving himself. He opened the world map and looked for the shortest route going straight without bothering about government-made roads.

  His Hoof Shadow ran on the smooth road. When he saw dense forests or rather complicated terrain, he put away his Hoof Shadow and used his Phantasm Body Movement Skill to go through those places. It took him a few hours, and he quickly went through Hefei.

  However, he still had two days left before he reached Baokang!

  During that period of time, he logged off to eat only to immediately logged in again. He did not dare to stop and continued to rush ahead, charging forth like the wind that did not know about exhaustion.

  Even though the Embroidered Uniform Guards' strength could not threaten Happy, the strength of the imperial court was rather terrifying. If he killed an imperial court official but there was no concrete proof behind his actions, the Embroidered Uniform Guards would not easily punish him or declare him guilty. But if he killed Embroidered Uniform Guards, Western Depot and Eastern Depot would send increasingly stronger law enforcers for his head. They would even send Moksha Realm elites to capture him, and at that time, he would surely die.

  Once he died, he would not be revived in Guanlin Temple either. Instead, he would be detained and sent to a city wall that had nearly collapsed to perform hard labor such as repairing the wall or transporting bricks. He would be forced to work for a total of seven days and nights before he could be considered to have atoned for his crimes.

  Happy did not intend to go through that suffering!

  *****

  Happy's feat of killing the general in silver armor who was protected by twenty-four Life and Death fighters while being chased by an army of ten thousand people was soon known by all!

  It became a major matter that shook the world of martial artists after Five Venoms.

  With the armored sh.i.p.s from the Murong Clan, Happy could be said to have stunned everyone who saw the battle replay! He had earned precious time for the Murong Clan, especially during the two times he quickly charged out to kill people after at the bed of common reeds. It gave people a smooth and clean feeling, which reminded them of the Hong Kong martial arts movies that had once been popular in the world.

  The success in the quest helped Happy secure his throne on the Famous People Rank!

  There were also people who spread rumors saying that if they wanted to find out where he was right then, they had to wait until his Killer Star Effect disappeared. Once it did, they would need to spend at least ten thousand taels of silver to buy information about him once. His price was so high that he was among the three people who cost the most if anyone tried to figure out where they were!

  The two people who were ranked in front of Happy were One Emperor and Zhou Yu.

  These two came and went like the wind, but they secured the two top positions on the Dragon Rank firmly.

  Their investigation fees were high because they were people who had Mystical Realm high-tier martial arts at Grandmaster Realm, and they were also rumored to be people who improved the fastest. They had the highest chance to reach Life and Death Realm within two months as well. That was something that even Dream Clouds—the top ranked player on the Phoenix Rank—could not hope to achieve.

  On that day, Xu Xin made lunch as usual for Happy and woke him up.

  "Time for lunch."

  "Alright!"

  Every single time Happy heard Xu Xin wake him up for lunch like a wife, he felt especially energetic.

  There were quite a lot of bowls on the dining table.

  Chen Fan, Bai Lang, and Qi Ci sat in front of the dining table, and they cast uniformly jealous gazes at Happy. They did not move so that they could retain their postures and glares, and they looked so aggressive that they actually appeared threatening.

  "Why didn't you tell me that you're coming over to eat?"

  Happy very rationally ignored the trio's jealous gazes while he pulled out a chair and sat down across from them.

  "Xin, next time, don't make food for them. They're obviously here for a free meal, but they're glaring at me so viciously that they look like they're here to collect a debt."

  Xu Xin said nothing, but she swept them a gaze, covered her mouth, and giggled.

  A few seconds later, when they saw that Happy was eating so quickly that he looked as if there was wind behind his hands, Bai Lang, Chen Fan, and Qi Ci could not hold back anymore.

  "Damn it! You have Little Xin Xin focusing on serving you alone every day! You brat, you sure are living a rich and fulfilling life right now! Hey! You're the worst! Give me a big piece of ribs!"

  "Damn you! The taste is so good as well! Why am I not the person staying here!"

  "Bros! Don't show him any mercy, snatch all his food!"

  "That's right!"

  Once the trio tasted the food, their eyes lit up, and they stood up to begin shoving food down their mouths. They swept away everything without any signs of being gentlemen. It actually looked as if they had a grudge with the food.

  Happy's expression changed multiple times.

  "You guys are the worst! How many months has it been since you last ate?!"

  "Screw you!"

  When she saw the boys arguing and fighting for food, Xu Xin laughed so much that she bent over with a hand over her stomach.

  Once the "war" was over, the four stroked their stomachs as they watched her take away the very clean plates to wash them. They looked to have had their fill of food, and it was only then that they finally set aside engaging themselves in such low-brow arguments.

  "You're so lucky, you have a girl here who knows how to cook, can do house chores, and is so pretty and gentle. Don't even think about telling me that you're not attracted. Don't hesitate anymore, hurry up and settle down with her, since you won't find someone like her once you miss your opportunity."

  Qi Ci picked his teeth and spoke to Happy without even thinking about lowering his volume, and the sounds in the kitchen became much softer.

  Bai Lang and Chen Fan stared at Happy as well. In truth, when they saw Xu Xin taking the initiative to send food over, they understood her intentions. They came over to take a look, and they saw that Xu Xin had actually decided to cook the food personally, which made them even more certain about what her goal was.

  "Are the three of you here today to force me to take action?"

  When he noticed the trio's gazes and knew that they stood on the same front, Happy smiled wanly. He scratched the back of his head. "You decided to hand me over with just one meal?"

  "One meal's enough."

  "That's right, what's there to be discontent about? If your partner is Xu Xin, we can even hand you over while forking out money for her as well." Chen Fan looked as if it was only par for the course that he consider things for his brother.

  However, when he thought about Xu Yao and his own plans, he knew that he did not dare to take that step. He could only apologize to his brothers for not accepting their kind act of trying to force him to take action.

  Happy s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath and changed the topic away from his personal relationsh.i.p.s.

  "Don't be too hasty, if Xu Xin gets scared away, I'm going to blame all of you! Alright, let's talk
about serious matters. You usually don't have time to come over, so what's the deal with you today?"

  Chapter 316 - One Emperor’s Legend of Ten Billion

  Bai Lang placed a leg over his knee, smiled, and pushed the glasses over his nose bridge. "You still have a bounty over your head, and you're rushing for time, so we'll cut to the chase."

  It seemed that he had become more charismatic in the real world. Half a year ago, he still looked very boyish, but right then, a profound air could be found on him, even though it was very faint.

  "There are two things we have to tell you.

  "One, our people have reached Baokang's Shennongjia. We've also contacted Thunderous Battle, but the situation is rather complicated, and progress is very slow.

  "Two, it's about our cooperation with the official developers. Over the past few days, there have been many people who challenged the royal mausoleum, but all of them failed. Too many people have died from Ninja King's clone, Ninja King himself, or in Nation Protecting Divine Sword's tomb or the tomb with the heirloom seal. Those who went there couldn't even reach the entrance to the second level…"

  When Bai Lang said that, he spread his arms and grinned. "Up until now, we're the only ones who have successfully cleared the royal mausoleum. The official website has shared our battle replay, and now, our view count has surpassed one hundred million! Not only are the views not slowing down anytime soon, there is an increasing number of people who are researching our battle replay. Hence, the official developers want to contact you through South China Martial Arts Ranking Board.

  "Next time, if there are similar activities, our battle replays can enter the pay-to-view website. It can be considered as an independent website focusing on uploading walkthroughs for quests. If anyone wants to research those dungeons or events in the future, they will need to pay an appropriate sum of money to log in to experience the uploader's first person view in the game…"

  When Chen Fan and Qi Ci saw Happy's expression change, their faces filled with excitement and pride!

  After all, the official developers were the ones who had come to them right then, and they had even asked South China Martial Arts Ranking Board to design that specific website. From that, they could tell that South China Martial Arts Ranking Board's fame and influence was swiftly growing.

  "You're not forced to do it. If you think that there is a need for you to keep a secret, we can choose not to sell your point of view. We can sell battle replays that do not require a lot of secrecy on your part, and viewer confidentiality is very high. The price would also be cheap. Hence, the official developers believe that they could reach more than 50% sales. If the battle replay was recorded from your point of view though, the percentage would be even higher!"

  Happy felt dazed.

  The system of paying to view walkthrough battle replays was very popular in his previous life, but he had only come to realize its importance and experienced it after his friends told him about it. It was very addictive. It was said that the official developers managed to gain a lot of profit through that system. The amount of money they earned every single day was very shocking, and the elites on the Famous People Rank had been proud of being placed on the ranks to sell their battle replays.

  In his previous life, Happy had been very inconspicuous in the early stages of the game. He had always been training, and he never created any battle replays. During the later stages of the game, most of the profit gained from thats pay-to-view system was divided by the elites on the ranks.

  He had thus not expected that the pay-to-view system would be developed earlier because of South China Martial Arts Ranking Board and his own influence, and the first person they invited would be him.

  However, Happy soon changed to the right mindset to talk. "How much are they planning to pay us for this pay-to-view system?"

  The trio was stunned.

  They had thought that Happy would be stunned by the major piece of news for a long time. They did not expect that he would ask the core of the problem straight away.

  "The uploader of the battle replay can apply for the quotation himself. Once their application is verified, the uploader can get 10% of the income!"

  Bai Lang, Chen Fan, and Qi Ci analyzed the situation with great excitement. "The official developers set the lowest quotation at 10RMB. If ten million people buy it, the total profit would be one hundred million, and we would get ten million. Once we deduct what is needed for tax, we can still get around a few million."

  A few million was a huge sum for university students, especially when they could get such a huge income through an inconspicuous battle replay. Who would not be tempted?

  However, that sum did not manage to tempt Happy.

  "It's too low."

  Happy's answer caught the trio off guard, and they were thrown into disbelief. They looked at each other at a loss for a long time.

  'That is too low?'

  "Don't be too greedy…"

  "Since we're the uploader, 10% is definitely too low. They're just sitting there and reaping in the profit, while we're the uploaders as well as the ones taking the risk. Besides, we're selling our experiences and benefits. We must at least gain 50% of the profit, or else, we shouldn't make the deal. Reply to the official developers and tell them that this is what I said. If it's not a 50/50 split, I will not provide any battle replays."

  "50%?!"

  Chen Fan was shocked by Happy's expectations, and his voice throat even grew dry.

  Based on the figures they provided just then, 50% would mean fifty million!

  Qi Ci was also shocked, but he shook his head to show that he thought it was not practical. "That's not possible."

  After all, the platform was provided by World of Martial Artists. The official developers were in control of everything. To him, the official website giving them 10% of the profit was already a very shocking benefit.

  However, Happy had his own thoughts about it.

  He remembered that in his previous life, the only battle replay he ever experienced was from the most mysterious player in World of Martial Arts—One Emperor, the strongest player in the game!

  Even after the game had been launched for two years, One Emperor only made one battle replay. The location was at the top of the Forbidden City. It was during the time when he appeared for a brief moment and killed Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue[1]'s disciples. The video showing it was not long, taking up less than three minutes. The change in the field of vision was incredibly shocking, however, and the pay-to-view system had received a profit of more than ten billion.

  Based on rumors, the official developers had tried to get in contact with One Emperor for a very long time, and they finally gritted their teeth and agreed to a 20/80 split to get the right to upload his battle replay.

  Even if One Emperor took away 80% of their profit, they still gained ten billion from that battle replay alone!

  It was clear from that just how great One Emperor's popularity had been at that time, and the official developers were also very flexible when it came to the price and division of profit.

  Happy, however, would not say those things out loud. He only tapped against the table and used a very calm tone to tell to the trio, "Everything can only be gained if we fight for it. Last time, did you ever think that the official developers would contact you on their own? You didn't, right?

  "But now, they did it. This proves that we have a bargaining chip that the official developers view as valuable. This bargaining chip is something other people do not have; it only belongs to us!"

  Chen Fan, Bai Lang, and Qi Ci were so shocked by Happy's argument that they sank into deep thought.

  "Please don't tell me that you've already agreed to the official developers?"

  Xu Xin had also heard the quartet's conversation. When she walked out from the kitchen, she stared at the trio.

  The trio's faces turned red. They instantly felt embarrassed.

  "Urk."

  "At that time, we tho
ught that 10% was a very great deal."

  "Idiots." Xu Xin could not bear to watch it anymore, and she sighed in resignation. "Did you talk about this together, or did the three of you talk about it on your own?"

  "We did talk about it with another group." The trio finally found some semblance of confidence. "At that time, we even asked a few students from the Economics Department…"

  "But you're still students. You must have been so happy that you felt faint when you heard that you'll be earning around ten million, right?" Xu Xin moved in front of the trio and sat down beside Happy.

  The situation swiftly turned into a 2 vs 3!

  "It's fine," Happy said while remaining calm. His words attracted everyone's attention.

  "You may have promised them, but if they want to get the rights, and even if it's a verbal authorization to my battle replay, they will need to get my approval for it. Bai Lang, do the official developers intend to go through you to contact me and get a first-person battle replay for my battle at Common Reed Bank?"

  Chen Fan, Bai Lang, and Qi Ci were silent.

  The trio looked as if they were staring at an alien. "How did you know?!" they asked in disbelief.

  "It's obvious." Happy shook his head in resignation. "Aside from that battle replay, I can't think of anything else that could tempt the official developers. Just do as I said and reply to them. Tell them that my battle replay is related to my personal benefits and secrets. I want at least a 50% share of the profit."

  Happy had not asked for the exorbitant price of 80% because he still did not have that right. One Emperor had been dormant for two years, building a mysterious air about himself that led to everyone believing that he was invincible, to earn that right!

  When Happy remembered the battle at the top of the Forbidden City he experienced through the battle replay, he could not help but long for it.

  'One of these days, I will reach that height!'

  Chapter 317 - New Model!

  As expected, with Happy's confidence and Xu Xin's support, the Three Lonely Wolves chose to send an email and contact the official developers again. Once they told them Happy's thoughts, the official developers only hesitated for a moment before they agreed with his demands. However, they also put forward a condition—they were to be the ones who will handle the specific operations, such as setting the price.