Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

In less than half a minute, an unprecedentedly powerful pressure bearing down on the mind surrounded the empty spot outside Class One Hall’s headquarters. Evil Emperor could be seen with his feet above the ground. He had a smile on his face as he elegantly flew over before he slowly slowed down while he was above Happy.

He was domineering and awe-inspiring. The mental strength that caused people’s hearts to tremble formed a unique and powerful confidence. He gave off the feeling a sense of danger that the world was about to collapse around him, and a sense of respect also rose in all those who saw him, as if they were respecting the world itself.

This sort of feeling caused Wu Kuo and the rest to be fearful even when they were in the distance within Class One Hall’s headquarters, and it was even more prominent among those who had followed behind Evil Emperor because they were curious. But they only watched from afar and did not dare get too close.

“It’s Happy.”

“I was wondering why he didn’t go to Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters. So he was here waiting for Evil Emperor!”

“So Evil Emperor came for Happy?”

The crowd discussed with each other, and quite a number of people came to a sudden realization, and their gazes as they stared at Happy were filled with shock.

They knew very clearly what the meaning behind Evil Emperor’s act of coming here alone was!

He had deliberately cast aside Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters to come here in search for Happy, which meant that Happy had already caught Evil Emperor’s attention. This proved that he had already treated Happy as someone worthy of being his opponent.

*****

Evil Emperor stood 162 feet away from Happy. His expression was relaxed, and his tone calm as well as indifferent. Not a single hint of emotion could be detected on him.

“I thought you’d go to Wind Assault Tower once you’re revived.

“You mentioned that you’d give me an answer.”

It was as if Happy could not decipher the interrogative tone in Evil Emperor’s second sentence. He just brought out Recondite Steel Heavy Sword at his own pace from his Universe Bag while he said, “That place is too chaotic, and I can’t prove anything. This place is good. We can fight one against one, and we don’t have to worry about anyone ambushing us. After this battle, I believe that you will gradually stop having the thought of controlling the Chinese server.”

Evil Emperor snorted before he stared at the horizon. “You’re saying I’ll do that based on your ability to run around, or your sturdy body?”

Even though Happy’s previous performance had indeed brought him great surprise, he was still confident that he could take down Happy within a short period of time.

He had not come here purely to fight against Happy. What Evil Emperor truly wanted to do was to understand Happy’s strange decision just now. He also wanted to defeat Happy fairly in a one on one fight so that he could stop the criticisms about him regarding the fight twenty minutes ago from countless Chinese players.

Since Evil Emperor had already reached his current status, he no longer cared much about personal interests. He cared about his own reputation more.

“Evil Emperor needed the help from three other top-class elites ambushing one Chinese player to win.” He did not wish that this annoying rumor circulated in the world.

“We’ll talk using our strength.”

“Coincidentally, I don’t want to waste too much time on you either. I’ll let you have a taste of the real Great Dao Heart Demonic Seed Art!”

Once he finished speaking, Evil Emperor spread the fingers in his left hand wide before carelessly curling them a little.

Happy furrowed his eyebrows. He immediately noticed that the air around him seemed to have been suddenly seized by an invisible force. It froze instantly, and it started pressing down on him from everywhere.

This pressure seemed to be above Sky Demon Aura!

But Happy did not make any move to block it. He tightened his grip over Recondite Steel Heavy Sword, and his feet were fixed firmly on the ground like a cornerstone. He did not move in the slightest as he stared at Evil Emperor and allowed the force from all around him to envelope his body.

When the power clamped down tightly around his body, a sparkling light swiftly rose from his body.

“Loyalty to Protect the Country?”

“Why is he using the profound technique within the Blessed Realm Body Fortification Realm, Golden Bell Cocoon?”

At that moment, there were already quite a number of people gathered outside the streets leading to Class One Hall’s territory. Many people were able to recognize that Happy had activated the profound technique from a rather popular, basic body fortification—Golden Bell Cocoon.

Even though Golden Bell Cocoon’s profound technique was still frequently used as a skill by first-class players, when they saw Happy use this move before the strongest player in the world, Evil Emperor, all of them could not help but be dumbfounded. They cried out in surprise.

Clang!

A loud bell toll rose. The golden bell seemed to have crashed into something. In an instant, a very solemn golden light shone. The image of a golden bell was presented in its undamaged form outside Happy. It would appear that it had managed to block Evil Emperor’s attack.

But what caused the people to be surprised was that Evil Emperor’s attack did not seem to be that strong. Happy stood like a mountain in front of Evil Emperor and never moved. The golden bell just continued humming madly between them.

Evil Emperor’s attack had actually been easily blocked by the profound technique within a Blessed Realm body fortification technique.

Even though it was a simple activation of the profound technique from Golden Bell Cocoon and both people had just decided to test each other’s strength, many Chinese players saw that Happy had put on the airs and elegance of an elite by not backing down in the slightest when he faced Evil Emperor. He also appeared to be relaxed, and this caused them to cheer in their hearts.

If Happy had used his strength and the number of people he killed at Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters to prove that he had strength that was equal to One Emperor and could fight against Evil Emperor, then right now, he used his bearing and his temperament completely cement his status as the second person in the Chinese server who could fight head-on against Evil Emperor!

Evil Emperor’s expression was slightly strange.

His discreet attack was indeed not very strong, but it was not easy to receive.

Because not only did the attack contain the supreme mighty mental pressure from Great Dao Heart Demonic Seed Art, it also contained an attack that would not lose to an attack by a martial artist at the beginning stage of Myth Realm.

Even though an attack of this degree was not enough to be of a threat to Happy, Evil Emperor believed that it was completely impossible for the profound technique from a Blessed Realm Body Fortification Realm to easily withstand his attack.

He originally wanted to show his might as the strongest in the world and force Happy to move from his spot to attack him or avoid his attack.

But Happy’s reaction and the strength he showed surprised him greatly.

Loyalty to Protect the Country was the profound technique of the lowest-grade high-tier body fortification, Golden Bell Cocoon.

Happy just used a small trick to easily crush his scheme, and he also used the profound technique within Golden Bell Cocoon, which was rather dazzling, to expose his attack.

Not only did Evil Emperor’s attack not make him more imposing and cause Happy to reveal an opening, he had helped Happy appear more imposing instead.

Evil Emperor focused his gaze. He knew that he must defeat Happy as quickly as possible. The longer he dragged out the fight, the more he would be straying from his original goal. His gaze turned cold, and he attacked once more.

This time, Evil Emperor no longer attacked in an ambiguous manner.

But Evil Emperor did not know that his attack just now had allowed Happy, who had just been revived, to gain a deeper understanding toward his own strength.

*****

Marrow Cleansing Classic could be considered an upgraded version of Tendon Changing Classic.

Once he mastered Tendon Changing Classic, it had strengthed his body to an astonishing degree. The most basic thing it did for him was to widen his meridian systems, increase his recovery ability, and strengthen his Affinity and Arm Strength by a large degree. It had also allowed him to form his periosteum fully, and it increased the defense of his body in the most direct moment. Even if he did not mention his true origin aura, Tendon Changing Classic already lived up to its name as a matchless classic in Shaolin Temple.

His defense increased by thousands of points, and his innate attributes, Affinity and Arm Strength had brought him an advantage in battles. They helped Happy greatly.

It was precisely because of this that Happy would dare to use the profound technique in Golden Bell Cocoon to fight against Evil Emperor when he decided to test his strength.

But ever since he started practicing Marrow Cleansing Classic, he never managed to reach a breakthrough for it. This also indirectly proved that this martial art was even more profound through a certain degree.

As Happy fought against Evil Emperor, the effects brought by the activation of the first realm within Marrow Cleansing Classic was brought to light. It allowed Happy to directly experience just how profound Marrow Cleansing Classic was.

Happy did not know whether Marrow Cleansing Classic was activated after he was tortured until all his bones were crushed by Flame Wolf and his Willpower increased to three. But when he used his current boy to withstand the pressure from the attack, he suddenly understood many things.

It was the amazing use within innate attributes.

Indeed, as the first realm for Marrow Cleansing Classic was activated, Happy already understood that innate attributes would not just allow him to suppress others based on how much stronger his innate attributes were, it had other uses.

At the very least, once Happy’s body had been cleansed and strengthened, every Affinity point he had was turned into defense, which was beneficial to him.

One Affinity point was turned to ten defense points.

As of current, Happy’s Affinity had already reached a terrifying 513 points. His equipment gave him an additional one hundred or so Affinity points, and when all of them were turned into defense, he would gain more than six thousand points for defense! And this number was already slightly stronger than the defense he gained when he activated Indestructible Body.

The greatest benefit in Marrow Cleansing Classic was in modifying his body and taking a step further in strengthening him as well as unearthing his potential. It could even turn his Affinity to defense.

Also, his Arm Strength had been changed to attack points!

One Arm Strength point was turned to ten attack points.

Out of the blue, Happy gained an additional five thousand or so points. This was exactly why he felt as if he had unending power in his power when he was in Guanlin Temple, and the feeling made him even more giddy, was even more addicting as well as exciting than when he held a weapon in his hands.

In an instant, Happy understood just how much stronger he had become.

He had gained more than six thousand defense points out of nowhere.

The defense in Indestructible Body was around nine thousand points, Tendon Changing Classic gave him around three thousand points, his equipment gave him nearly four thousand points, and right now, he had six thousand defense points given to him by his Affinity. As of current, his defense had reached an incredibly terrifying figure—twenty-two thousand points!

When he activated Moksha Realm, his abilities would gain a fifty percent boost, and that figure would become even more terrifying. If he did not add the defense from his equipment, his defense would reach thirty-three thousand points.

This defense was already enough for him to ignore normal attacks from martial artists at the beginning stage of Myth Realm. In fact, he could completely ignore it.

What excited Happy even more was that once he mastered Tendon Changing Classic, he had a layer of periosteum serving as his body fortification, and it could negate ten percent damage.

When an attack that dealt forty thousand damage landed on him, it could not even break the posture retainment effect provided to Happy from his Happy’s fourth-echelon demon vessels. It would not make him sway, and it could not stop Happy from taking his next step.

Evil Emperor’s first attack to test Happy’s strength had been completely ignored by Happy because of this reason.

His attack had become even more terrifying as well. With Tendon Changing Classic and the boost in his attack provided to him by his qi realm, it would mean that his attack had been increased by nearly ten thousand points.

Right now, his qi points were only at the point of those at the peak of Moksha Realm, but his overall strength was already the same as a very powerful Myth Realm martial artist.

And his qi was definitely enough, because one of the characteristics for Marrow Cleansing Classic was to reduce the use of qi for all his skills.

Once he was done thinking about all this, Happy noticed that Evil Emperor had circulated his qi and was forming his next attack. His expression instantly turned strange.

1056: Evil Emperor’s Killing Move, Three Consecutive Kills

More people gathered outside Class One Hall to watch the fight. As Evil Emperor and Happy tested waters with their attacks, both released a presence saying that they would absolutely not back down from each other and stood as enemies of equal strength.

All players were not willing to miss watching a fight of this level.

When normal players fought, they would usually make some noise, and they would brandish their weapons or scheme against their opponent without making a sound.

During Evil Emperor and Happy’s first exchange of blows, they did not move or come into contact with each other, but it was a much more exciting and interesting fight compared to all the fights they had previously seen.

They attacked without making a sound, and they clashed against each other at equal power. In an instant, an air of hostility that the people wished they could produce rose. Everyone held their breaths, and stared unblinkingly at the duo at a stalemate on the empty field.

After a few seconds, Evil Emperor attacked once more.

The prideful Evil Emperor did not seem to want to be the first to move and lose his momentum as well as make himself seem less imposing.

He stomped against the ground, and hidden force surged forward.

At the same time, fierce light suddenly shot out from his calm eyes. They were like two cold swords that pierced straight into Happy’s eyes with a powerful mental pressure.

A mental attack, hidden force, and a quiet fist-generated wind.

Right when Evil Emperor attacked, he went straight for a lightning fast offense. He no longer used moves that would not constitute to much of a threat to test Happy’s strength.

‘He’s good.’

Happy knew Evil Emperor’s strength well, and he understood that Evil Emperor not only had an advantage over him in terms of qi, the power in Great Dao Heart Demonic Seed Art was extraordinary. When he used his mental pressure to whittle down a person’s willpower and his strength together, he could suppress an enemy both mentally and physically.

Happy did not care about those three layers of attacks at all, because the three Willpower points were already enough for him to ignore the mental pressure brought by Evil Emperor’s Great Dao Heart Demonic Seed Art.

But Happy did not want to reveal all his strength too soon and make Evil Emperor cautious of him. His biggest goal in this fight was to crush the legend that Evil Emperor stood supreme above all of them and was beyond their reach. He wanted to destroy the myth that said Evil Emperor could not be defeated.

He tapped against the ground.

Boom!

His Recondite Steel Heavy Sword, which was embedded deep in the ground, shot out because of a wave of hidden force.

At the same time, Happy’s feet left the ground. He twisted in the air, just like those actors did in movies, causing Evil Emperor’s attacks to land on the spot where Happy originally stood.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The hidden force exploded at the spot where Happy previously stood. A mental pressure in the form of a violent gust of wind descended from the sky, and it crushed all the dust and stones that filled the air.

The fierce offense illustrated just how elegant Happy was in the situation, and how good he was at seizing timing.

When they saw this, many people had their eyes light up.

It was truly bold of him to use a move like this that would make himself be full of openings to handle Evil Emperor’s attack, and he even did it in front of Evil Emperor.

When Evil Emperor saw Happy being airborne and how his weapon had left his hand, he was first stunned before he had anger color his face red. Perhaps only Happy would dare to fight against him in such a frivolous manner in the entire game.

“Hmph!”

He did not bend his legs. Evil Emperor just shot into the air with rage on his face. He swung his right hand, and a palm-generated wind that was practically an afterimage swiftly appeared in the air.

His speed was astonishing.

While Happy was still spinning in the air, he seemed to have predicted that Evil Emperor would do this. His body miraculously stopped spinning, and in a serious manner, he extended a hand forward like lightning to slap Recondite Steel Heavy Sword, which was coincidentally in front of him.

Whoosh!

Recondite Steel Heavy Sword had shot out of the ground, and now, it suffered a strike from Happy’s palm. It turned around, and the heavy, black sword charged to Evil Emperor with a mighty howl.

The palm strike, which had made Recondite Steel Heavy Sword switch from spinning around in the air uselessly to charging forward with an amazing momentum, forced Evil Emperor into a predicament.

Even though Recondite Steel Heavy Sword flew at him like a huge hidden weapon, at the moment Happy’s palm came into contact with Recondite Steel Heavy Sword, he fused a wave of pure qi into it, which allowed this weapon to be able to launch the fiercest attack that could actually threaten Evil Emperor.

Now, that sword was right before him.

Should he avoid it?

Evil Emperor had come to the Chinese server this time to defeat One Emperor. After he worked together with three top-class players to ambush and kill Happy, he felt as if he was bullying the weak, and if he did not dare to parry one single attack from Happy, how would others look at him?

His gaze tensed. Evil Emperor swung his arm, but when his palm landed on Recondite Steel Heavy Sword, he did not manage to negate all the power in the sword. He immediately attacked the second time with an indomitable spirit, and finally, he sent Recondite Steel Heavy Sword back at Happy.

The black Recondite Steel Heavy Sword was sent back at Happy with a powerful force remaining in it. Evil Emperor had thrown the difficult back at Happy, but his momentum had stopped because of it.

The fight between two top-class elites seemed to have gained an intriguing air.

These two had never truly clashed fists up to now. Only Happy’s Recondite Steel Heavy Sword flew back and forth between them with loud whistles.

When he faced Recondite Steel Heavy Sword coming back at him, Happy did not panic. He just laughed loudly.

“Again!”

He kicked Recondite Steel Heavy Sword in an incredibly ingenious manner. The tip of his foot contained hidden force, and it instantly dissolved all the remaining might in the sword. At the same time, he grabbed Recondite Steel Heavy Sword, and he used the momentum to pounce at Evil Emperor diagonally.

Whoosh!

He was in the air, and when he pounced, he seemed to be full of openings. Even so, his movements were as smooth as flowing water, and it was done in one breath. He even gave off the feeling that he had become one with his sword.

‘This slash is finally presentable.’

At that moment, Evil Emperor finally noticed that Happy was truly relaxed in front of him, and he was not purely putting on airs and showing a heroic posture because he wanted the people watching to admire him. The posture he used to execute the slash might seem as if he was doing a parody of something, but he executed the slash while Evil Emperor landed on the ground and was in an awkward situation because he could not produce new force. His counterattack was incredibly fierce.

Evil Emperor mumbled in his heart, and he stomped on the ground with both his feet, one after another. Then, he suddenly shot up by dozens of feet. At the same time he avoided Happy’s slash, Evil Emperor shot above Happy once more.

Once he was above Happy, Evil Emperor would naturally not let go of such a good chance.

At that moment, Happy was airborne, and he no longer had the ability to dodge.

He executed a mental attack once more.

Evil Emperor said nothing else and produced a palm-generated wind with a fling of his arm. The mental attack he executed charged at Happy like a tornado, and it sent Happy flying.

This attack was one where Happy needed to activate his strange true origin aura while he was at Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters. It was only when he activated his aura that he managed to withstand the attack.

Boom!

Happy did not disappoint Evil Emperor. He activated his true origin aura and negated all the damage from the attack. His body only trembled slightly, and when he landed, he quickly regained his balance. He stepped on a tile which had exploded because of the remaining force from the mental attack and landed stably on the ground.

“Let’s see how many of my attacks you can take!” Once Evil Emperor noticed that his attack did not seem to have left behind distinct damage on Happy, his pupils narrowed slightly. He executed two palm-generated wind, and they charged right at Happy’s face. He was an observant man, and he had naturally noticed that his previous attack down much of the true origin aura around Happy just now. It had not managed to instantly cut down an astonishing one quarter of the aura as it did while they were at Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters.

Happy did not stay still for Evil Emperor to hit him.

Petite Dragon!

He used Wave-like Subtle Steps and activated Petite Dragon to move like an illusion. Evil Emperor’s attack instantly landed on the ground.

“Eat this!”

Petite Dragon could allow him to retreat, but it could also allow him to advance.

He flung his sword, which he had previously pulled back, forward. This time, the power was even stronger and fiercer.

Even Evil Emperor knew that fist techniques would suffer against sword techniques, and he would suffer a great setback if he fought against Happy while he had Recondite Steel Heavy Sword. His gaze turned cold, and he stomped on the ground with hidden force infused in his leg beforehand. He suddenly had two illusions manifest from him, and three Evil Emperors appeared in front of Happy. All of them produced the same mighty pressure, and their attacks were just as fierce.

Happy was surprised.

This move was something Evil Emperor never used in his fight against One Emperor in the battle replay Happy watched.

Evil Emperor might be strong in the battle replay, but most of the time, he used his mental pressure and gave off a strong feeling that he could not be defeated. His true strength could only be considered to be about the same as One Emperor, but this move had clearly exceeded Happy’s expectations.

When Happy faced three lifelike Evil Emperors surrounding him to encircle him, Happy’s movements froze for a moment.

A slight pause would mean losing a chance to attack in a fight between elites.

Some of them would mean losing a chance to obtain victory, and some of it meant a chance to live.

“Urk!”

Hidden force charged forth from under his feet and rammed into Happy’s body. He felt a pressure against his chest, and immediately noticed that he was in danger.

Fortunately, his true origin aura was still around, and the situation was not so bad.

“You can be proud of yourself for making me use Great Dao Heart Demonic Seed Art’s Shadow Clone and Dao Heart Demonic Seed at the same time!”

When he saw that Happy had been affected by his Dao Heart Demonic Seed Art, just as he expected, a smug expression saying that he expected this flashed on Evil Emperor’s face, and fierce light shone in his eyes.

Shadow Clone utilized his mental force to create two identical clones of himself in his enemy’s eyes.

Dao Heart Demonic Seed was a very powerful move he could currently execute. He could use his mental force to attack his enemy’s mind and instantly destroy his enemy’s Willpower. This move could even allow him to control a person for at least two to three seconds.

Two to three seconds was enough to make Happy die several times in Evil Emperor’s hands.

*****

Shadow Clone, hidden forces, and Dao Heart Demonic Seed worked together seamlessly. At the same time Happy trembled because of the hidden force, he had already fallen completely into Evil Emperor’s attack rhythm. The Dao Heart Demonic Seed attack also caused Happy’s mind to be filled with great fear.

‘This is bad!’

Happy could not help but grit his teeth. His mind had nearly been destroyed, but he managed to instantly snap himself awake.

Bang!

Almost at the same moment he froze, two fists came charging at his head, and the fist-generated wind that came from it was fierce!

As expected of Evil Emperor, he chose to attack a human’s weakest parts. If those fists landed on him, even if Happy’s true origin aura could negate all the power, the hidden force contained within it would still deliver quite the damage on him.

At the moment of life and death, Happy unthinkingly activated the fourth style in Ten True Dragon Styles—Dragon Coil!

“Roar!”

*****

From the moment Happy activated his true origin aura and felt his damage weaken, Evil Emperor could feel his might being challenged and threatened, and he felt uneasy. Hence, he had activated the killing move that he had prepared to kill One Emperor instantly without hesitation. He wanted to use the most straightforward and fiercest way to get rid of Happy.

But what he did not expect that Happy’s Willpower was so strong that he could forcibly break out of Dao Heart Demonic Seed’s control, and it was all because he had three Willpower points.

His attack had almost landed on Happy’s body, but now, it landed on the illusion of the dragon that rose from Happy.

Boom!

It was as if his attack landed on a bronze wall filled with steel inside. Happy did not budge.

Even the hidden force contained in his punch dissolved in the shock, and Evil Emperor’s last hope was completely destroyed.

“Dao Heart Demonic Seed is indeed incredibly profound. I nearly fell for it.”

Happy also broke out in cold sweat because of it. He had nearly been forced into the cycle of reincarnation once more. This time, after he blocked Evil Emperor’s killing move, he decided to return the favor and activated Full Winds in Long Skies.

“Take this!”