Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Happy waited for dozens of seconds on the spot before a person came out slowly from the forest. He was thin, dressed in tight-fitting clothes, and with swords on his back. His eyes were long, narrow, and cold, which matched his expression.

Compared to the offline tournament, Orochimaru had become much thinner, but his qi had become much stronger. He was enveloped in a chill that caused others to become afraid of him. His gaze was cold, and his eyes shone with a wary and solemn light.

“We meet again.” Orochimaru’s first sentence was spoken in a very indifferent tone. Some of his killing intent was gone, and he sounded much more level-headed and calm.

“Yes, we meet again.”

Happy curled up his lips slightly.

Both of them sounded calm. If it were not for the previous scene, anyone who was not familiar with the two would definitely think that they were two friends who had not met each other for a long time.

“I was ordered to kill you,” Orochimaru said in a cold voice.

Happy stared at Orochimaru coldly. It had been five months since they last met, and his arrogant way of speaking when he made a ruckus to make the University of South China suffer utter humiliation was gone. He had grown calm, and he seemed to have reeled in his emotions to a large degree. He had also become much more mature.

Even though Orochimaru was as ruthless as ever while he played the game, when he truly appeared in front of Happy, he still shocked him.

Orochimaru was a very cautious and careful person. Even though he was incredibly ruthless and diabolical, based on Happy’s understanding of him, at the moment Happy saw through his scheme, he should not have showed up. He should have fled far away to look for another chance to set up an ambush.

Could it be that he could not take Happy’s provocation, since he appeared in front of him without bothering to hide?

“You know that you can’t kill me.”

Happy held his sword while standing where he was.

A complicated look flashed past Orochimaru’s eyes. He hesitated for a few seconds before he said, “I have a question. The traps I set just now were hidden, and I believe that I have set them up very carefully. There were no signs pointing toward their existence, so how did you notice them?”

“Did you think that I would actually tell you?” Happy nonchalantly retorted.

Orochimaru nodded quietly. “That’s right, if I were in your place, I wouldn’t tell you my secret either. But everything about you over the past few months has been very mysterious. In less than half a year, not only did you surpass me, you appeared on the top of the Famous People Rank and became the third on the Dragon Rank.

“The players have acknowledged publicly that you are a top-tier player on the same rank as One Emperor and Zhou Yu, so I thought that top-class players at your level will have extraordinary magnanimity.”

“It’s useless even if you try to provoke me.” Happy’s tone turned cold. “I have never thought of myself as someone magnanimous. Did you receive a request from Xuanming Elders to come and kill me?”

“As expected of the top player on the Famous People Rank, you have a sharp mind. I didn’t expect you to guess it.”

Orochimaru’s eyes flashed.

“But you know that you can’t kill me.”

Happy suddenly found himself unable to attack. Time had washed away every emotion and memory he had toward Orochimaru. The man’s name was almost gone from his memory altogether.

Besides, even if Orochimaru had once incited the University of South China’s public wrath, he had never attacked anyone from the University of South China, so there was no need for them to fight to the death because of some small conflict in the past. If Orochimaru had changed, Happy did not want to get himself another enemy out of the blue.

“I know that with my current strength, I cannot kill you, but this concerns whether I can get Profound Abyss Divine Palm, and I cannot refuse my master’s request,” Orochimaru told the truth with a complicated expression.

‘Master?’

Happy focused. He stared at Orochimaru in a daze, and a contemplative expression appeared in his eyes.

He suddenly understood things and cast a profound glance at Orochimaru before he calmly equipped his Golden Armor Set and took up his Nation Protecting Divine Sword in a reverse grip. He then looked around him warily.

Entering evil sects or denominations of righteous sects was different from entering proper sects!

Disciples of righteous sects could have a choice of whether they wanted to take up their master’s quests. Even if they gave up on the quest or failed it, they would just lose some of their reputation.

But it was different for disciples of evil sects, especially those who were disciples of ruthless villains!

Most powerful martial artists from evil sects were wild and selfish. They would order their disciples on a whim and force them to take quests. If they went against them, they would kill the disciples with one palm strike.

Quite a number of players who entered sects of the powerful villains had similar experiences. Whenever their masters issued a quest with a fierce gaze, if their choice of words was not proper, the player would get struck by a palm strike. If they had just entered the sect and were not close to their masters, it was not unusual for them to be killed right there and then

When Happy heard Orochimaru call Xuanming Elders his masters, he immediately understood that Orochimaru must have been forced to do something entirely beyond him. He had to come and set up an ambush to retrieve the personal item of the consort of Ruyang Mansion.

“Why are you still rambling on?”

Lu Zhangke’s voice rose from behind Orochimaru, and his tone was ghastly. His killing intent also spilled outward.

“Boy, you only have yourself to blame for being alone and leaving the six sects’ group to move about on your own.”

“Oh? Senior Lu, are you really that confident that you can kill me?” When Happy, who was already in his gear, saw Lu Zhangke, he did not panic. “Senior, you seem to have forgotten that you didn’t manage to kill me while we were at Eternal peace Temple, and that proves that I have ways to protect myself.

“If I manage to flee again by a stroke of luck, I will accidentally send those items to Ruyang Mansion. I wonder, what will you do at that time? In my opinion, it’s best if you take your precious disciple and leave right now; otherwise, if something happens, you might regret it.”

Lu Zhangke’s expression changed!

Orochimaru stood quietly by the side. He did not know why Lu Zhangke wanted to kill Happy, but based on what Happy said, he could guess some things, and he chose not to speak.

Lu Zhangke’s eyes flashed, and after some pondering, he said, “Fight against me for ten rounds! If you can last against me for ten rounds, then I, Lu Zhangke, will not bother you again.”

“Senior Lu, do you think I am young and foolish, or just plain ignorant? Even if I don’t die after fighting against you for ten rounds, half my life will be gone. At that time, you will never let me go. Did you seriously think that everyone in the world is as stupid as He Biweng?”

Happy sneered at him in disdain.

He Biweng loved wine and was rash. His mind was indeed much more inferior compared to that of the cunning Lu Zhangke.

Lu Zhangke had skills and a sharp mind. If Happy truly had to withstand ten Profound Abyss Divine Palm strikes, even if Happy did not die, he would lose half his life lost to frostbite. Even if he wanted to run then, he would be unable.

When Lu Zhangke saw that he could not deceive Happy, his expression turned sour.

“What do you want in exchange for those items?” When he asked that question, it was clear that he had already decided to compromise.

An Inaction Realm fighter had decided to reach a compromise before a Life and Death Realm player, which proved to Orochimaru that Happy was not a simple character. It seemed that no trap could deceive him, and he knew that the words he said just then had not been wasted.

Happy smiled and said with a drawl, “Those things are completely useless to me. I have absolutely no problem in returning them to you.” Once he said those words, his tone changed. “But Senior Lu, don’t you think you should offer up something for them?”

“State a price!”

Lu Zhangke tilted his cold face upward.

“Feelings will be hurt when money comes into play, you know? I only want one thing, the Heavenly Sword in Princess Zhao Min’s hands.” A charming and hearty smile bloomed on Happy’s face after saying that.

A gentle breeze blew between Lu Zhangke and Happy.