When he cried out in surprise, he seemed to experience a great psychological shock. He stomped against the ground and quickly used the same method in an attempt to negate the hidden force that came from the ground before him.
He was shocked because he had derived this move from the martial art techniques in reality. It could be considered as his secret, so no one else in the game had ever used it!
He did not expect that this person would be able to steal it after seeing it once.
'That's not right!
'He didn't steal it. Those movements show great familiarity. Could it be that this person is also a real-life martial artist?'
While the mysterious man in black thought about it, he became a little distracted, and he reacted a little too slowly!
What shocked him even more was that even though he had already negated the first layer of the hidden force, there was another layer of power that charged at him secretly.
The mysterious man in black only thought that the person stole his technique and was caught off guard, which resulted in him being struck. A hint of shock appeared in his eyes. He shuddered and staggered back, but he did not show any signs of it on his face.
His eyes lit up while Happy seized the chance to charge forward.
The mysterious man in black might have suffered a setback and was slightly slower in his reaction, but he remained calm. He activated his body fortification and used Heaven's Leg Breaker to form flickering leg shadows to pretend to move ahead in order to hide his intention of retreating.
When Happy saw this, he sighed with a lot of emotions in his heart.
'I knew it, he's someone really strong!'
When a normal person suffered a setback, their first reaction was to widen the distance between them and their attacker, but this person knew clearly that once he retreated, he would fall into a passive position, which was why he decided to use speed and force to gamble.
The offense and speed of Heaven's Leg Breaker were incredibly astonishing. The power that exploded forth was something that was very difficult for anyone to block unless they activated Arhat Body.
But unfortunately for him, Happy was an exception.
The speed of Heaven's Leg Breaker might be fierce and dazzling to other people, but Happy relied on the spiritual senses given to him by Nine Yang Divine Skill and the senses of Moksha Realm to fight against Inaction Realm martial artists and even against Myth Realm martial artists for a brief period of time. He had done it more than once, and such speed was only normal to him.
When he heard the shrill sounds of air being torn and saw the Heaven's Leg Breaker coming at him, he calmly turned around and brandished his Autumn Water Sword in the small space at the port. He thrust a few times at a seemingly slow pace.
Shick! SHICK!
Several ripping sounds rose. The duo shuddered at the same time and retreated hastily from the dazzling battlefield.
There were two footprints on Happy's sleeves, but his expression remained calm. His qi was steady, and he drew his longsword back with a calm expression. He appeared to want to stop fighting.
As for the mysterious man in black, a few clear sword gashes could already be seen on his black shirt and pants. Two of those gashes were even red.
"...Hiss."
The people from Class One Hall and Towering Palace did not know what they should think.
One mysterious man in black had continuously thrown the elite heavy-armored cavaliers into the river right in front of their faces. Later on, he won against Monk with Thick Eyebrows, Evil Wolf, Blood Robes, Vast Heaven, and Grim Heaven one after another. They were all players who were ranked at the top of Dragon Rank, and the shock dealt by that could not be imagined!
But that was not all!
The man in black who appeared later seemed to be even stronger. During the two times the men fought, he managed to gain the upper hand.
And what was more, he only used a rather commonly seen sword technique!
Dream Clouds kept quiet, and Blood Robes said nothing either.
Musical Note also remained silent even after a long time had passed.
Just then, when the duo fought, their fight seemed to be even more shocking and amazing than the fights of the top-class fighters who executed ultimate techniques.
The emotions of many people rose and fell!
Even Happy did not expect that the spontaneous fight would completely turn the views of many players toward the idea that ultimate techniques would always win against normal high-tier martial artists, and it happened way before the time in Happy's previous life.
Chapter 714 - Sword Tomb Plate
"You lost."
Happy pulled his sword back and stood straight while he stared at the mysterious masked man in black, whose gaze was dark and whose temperament had changed. There was also a solemn look on his face. It was the first time Happy met such a difficult opponent. His strength was probably just slightly below that of One Emperor.
Even though this person did not give him the pressure, threatening feeling, or make him have the will to fight with his full power against the God of Death, he still managed to successfully stir up his blood!
The black-robed man was pretty good!
Besides, Happy could tell that he should have practiced Life and Death Realm's Heaven's Leg Breaker. When his sword struck him, he did not even change his martial art. He only used a few methods Happy had never seen before to get himself out of trouble. There was a high possibility he had understood those methods on his own.
After a period of time, he would definitely have a place of his own in the game.
"That's right, I lost."
He wiped at the red wound on his c.h.e.s.t. Gradually, the frown on his face vanished and he looked at Happy again. "There are indeed a few people who are worthy of me becoming serious in this game."
"You praise me too much."
"Don't worry. I will honor my promise from before and not stop you. Right now, I only have one question." The mysterious man in black narrowed his eyes.
Happy smiled faintly. "Go on."
"How long has it been since you joined the game?"
"Eleven months."
"You're not considered to be among the earliest batch…" the mysterious man in black mumbled before he suddenly smiled. "But it has been fewer than three months since I joined, and the level of my Heaven's Leg Breaker is also very low…"
Right when he said those words, the people inside and beyond the port could not help but suck in a breath!
Three months, and he managed to achieve this much!
The people from Class One Hall and Towering Palace might have heard the mysterious man in black say it earlier, but now that they thought about it in detail, it was indeed impossible to level Life and Death Realm martial arts to a very high degree within just three months. Some of the players who ranked among the top of Phoenix and Dragon Ranks remained quiet and said nothing.
"What do you want to prove?"
"Heh, I just hope that I will be able to fight against you again after some time!" the mysterious man in black answered boldly and heroically.
Happy rejected him immediately, "I don't think it's necessary."
"You don't dare to?"
"It's not that I don't dare to, but there's no need for it." He stopped talking for a moment before looking into the person's eyes. "Sir, what is your occupation in real life? You've practiced martial arts before, right?"
"What do you mean?" The mysterious man in black frowned slightly. "Since you know this clearly, why is there a need to say it? Besides, aren't you the same?"
"Me?" Happy smiled. "I'm just a normal employee in a small company. I've never practiced martial arts before, and I'm just a normal person. One of us has the advantage of time, and the other has the advantage of having a foundation in martial arts. Sir, if you want a challenge, there are plenty of heroes in the world, but I don't have the time to entertain you."
"You don't know martial arts? That's im
possible! Your use and control over hidden force is better than mine. How can you not be a martial artist as well?! You're lying!" The mysterious man spoke rather quickly.
Losing to a martial artist and losing to a normal player were two different concepts to him.
He could accept the former, but he could not accept the latter!
"There's nothing impossible. I'm indeed just a normal person. Sir, if you have so much free time, you can look for other people to spar."
Once Happy finished speaking, he turned around and left.
He had a rather good impression of the mysterious man in black, but he could understand some of the underlying meaning behind the words the man just said.
The person mentioned that he had just played the game for three months because he wanted to deliver a shock and increase his status as well as get rid of the negative influence of him losing the battle.
Regardless of what was involved in it, Happy did not want to be part of it.
"You—"
When black-robed man saw Happy turn around without hesitation to jump on the boat, his eyes sparkled with anger.
He actually lost to a normal player…
Over the three months since he entered the game, he had managed to win against Mystical and Life and Death Realm martial artists an unknown number of times with a lower qi realm compared to them. Up to this point, he had never lost before.
He did not expect that after he had prepared everything for one final battle that would show off his skills before he built his sect, something like this would happen.
He had been prepared to rip off the person's veil, but in the end, he did not manage to.
Under the influence of his loss, the mysterious man in black cast his gaze on the four remaining transportation boats with the treasure c.h.e.s.ts.
The blow dealt to him by the man in black's words was very great!
If that were really true, he would have to act based on the rules of the game and obey them as well.
The abilities which he had been proud of had actually been destroyed! The confidence he had over the past three months was demolished in one fight as well.
He had to reconsider everything.
He had to rethink cheering happily after he won the battles in the game, had to rethink the matter about him building his own sect, and also his subsequent development.
He had to rethink his future and plan in detail once more.
The mysterious man in black did not stop the masked man in black from leaving anymore. He stood stunned on the spot, and he, along with the people from Towering Palace, Class One Hall, and the other factions, only watched as the man in black untied the other hawser, slowly set the transportation boat sailing, and gradually left the port. He sailed the boat into the distance under the illumination of the rising sun.
After a long time had passed, the mysterious man in black and the people from Towering Palace as well as Class One Hall cast their gazes on the four remaining transportation boats.
Everyone's eyes burned with resolution!
*****
He sank the boat and left.
While still dressed in a black shirt and pants, Happy moved to an unmanned p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e boat that had stopped by the side, and it slowly set sail.
He finished the quest smoothly!
Whoosh.
Happy walked to the deck leisurely and finally took off the veil that had been covering his face while facing the boundless river. He exhaled.
Fortunately, the two top-class sects had been intimidated by the mysterious man in black, which was why not much trouble had been created, or else, with his own power alone, he would have needed to put in a considerable amount of effort to seize a transportation boat at the port from a group of great martial artists.
He completed the quest without any danger even though he had been terrified by it!
He did not have to worry about the overbeating grand elder destroying one of his ultimate techniques.
However, Happy raised his hand and touched the black and exquisite sword shaped plate in his hands. There was surprise in his eyes.
This item was something he found on the table in the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e boat once he completed the quest. There was a piece of paper under the plate, and it was left behind by the grand elder for him. It seemed like the uniquely shaped plate was his reward for the quest.
It was a very strange item.
[Sword Tomb Plate:
[When it is necessary, you can enter the Murong Clan's sword tomb and obtain detailed information about this plate.]
"Damn it, is it a chain quest?"
After Happy thought about things for a while, an anguished look appeared on his face.
Chapter 715 - Cannot Spoil Her
Even though the battle at the port outside Yangzhou was not as breathtaking as the fight between Happy and One Emperor, due to the loot from Eunuch Yang's Warehouse being the goal, the elite heavy cavalier unit that showed itself for the first time and the deaths of thousands of martial artists still caused a huge ruckus in World of Martial Arts!
Aside from paying close attention to the person who finally obtained the loot, the battle between the two unknown men in black was also a hot topic on the net.
[Figuring out the identity of the people involved in the battle between men in black!]
The men in black's identities stirred up the curiosity of great martial artists and players.
After all, the skills of the two had already reached a degree where the people could only sigh as they watched them. It was especially so for the mysterious man in black when he arrived in the area and used his extremely ingenious method to handle the elite heavy cavaliers.
Over the next few days, the battle replay was seen by a lot of people. There were even many posts left behind in foreign languages from a lot of countries.
Many people were very curious about the mysterious masked man in black's true identity.
They were also very curious about the identity of the man in black who was dressed in the same way as the mysterious man in black. The internet was filled with speculations.
There were even people who wondered whether that person was the strongest player, Happy, based on the information the man in black revealed about himself entering the game. However, this guess was roasted by countless people, just like every other post.
[The swift formation of a top-class elite in three months. The mysterious man in black revealed some information during their conversation. Apparently, he knows martial arts in real life.]
The conversation between the men in black also became the focus of many players.
Everyone knew that the number of new players joining the game was still increasing, and the story that the game continuously released attracted a lot of martial artists and those who loved martial arts.
But there were advantages and disadvantages to those people joining the game.
It could be said that the later anyone joined the game, the greater their innate disadvantage was. It made it very difficult for them to catch up to those at the top.
But there were also people who said that those who joined the game later had to suffer less because of various experiences from the former players. In the past, the players needed half a year to enter Life and Death Realm, and now, they only needed three months.
Besides, more people began paying attention to the nature of Life and Death Realm martial arts complementing or counterring each other. Hence, the new players could pay attention to only one or two martial arts based on the information online. They could catch up soon to the other players who joined the game earlier and avoid a lot of setbacks, which was why it was easier for them to become famous.
Once the people talked about it, they forgot it entirely.
However, the appearance of the mysterious man in black still stirred up quite a fervent trend of practicing martial arts among the players who recently joined the game. It also caused many people to reevaluate the people on Dragon and Phoenix Ranks.
[Let's talk about the standards of those at the top of Dragon Rank!]
The battle replay showed the failure of the elites of Class One Hall and Towering Palace when fighting against the elite heavy cavalry unit, along with their loss in front of the mysterious man in black. It caused many people to inevitably think once more.
'Just what constitutes a real elite?'
'Just how far away are the brilliant and powerful players on Dragon and Phoenix Rank from us?'
'Are ultimate techniques really invincible to the point that normal martial arts cannot hope to compare to them?'
Such topics collected more than ten million comments on the internet. There were many people who debated various theories over the night in regards to the difference between ultimate techniques and normal high-tier martial arts.
In the end, they gradually came to one opinion: Ultimate techniques did indeed have some ingenious moves, but as the players' qi realm increased and the profound secrets of high-tier martial arts improved, they got closer to the strength of ultimate techniques.
Hence, a thread named [If we can use normal high-tier martial arts well, ultimate techniques can just stand to the side!] showed up.
The author brought a few fresh examples in the thread.
The man in black was naturally among them.
Heaven's Leg Breaker could only be considered a normal, speed-based Life and Death Realm high-tier martial art.
Even though its value increased by leaps and bounds after the fight, compared to Grim Green, Vast Heaven, Blood Robes, and the others who had ultimate techniques, their Nine Solitary Swords, Six Pulses Divine Sword, and Star S.u.c.k.i.n.g Great Skill seemed to have only occupied the top spots of Dragon Rank because of their fame.
Heaven's Leg Breaker was not as profound as Nine Solitary Swords, its momentum could not be compared to the dazzling Six Pulses Divine Sword, and it was not as bizarre as Star S.u.c.k.i.n.g Great Skill.
However, all of them could do nothing about the mysterious man in black.
From this, it could be seen that the understanding of martial arts, the judgment and control over the battle was what a true martial artist should have. It was not logical to just chase after martial arts that ranked at the top.
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