Sword Among Us

Aside from the soft human skin mask in Thousand Destruction’s lunchbox, there was also a set of northern clansman’s clothes. There was even the emblem of Sword Crafting Hall on them.

Once Happy was dressed, Thousand Destruction smoothed out his clothing and brought out a bronze mirror from the lunchbox.

“This is your current image. Mu Li is your identity in the mighty northern clan. You’re a disciple who transports materials to Sword Crafting Hall. That should not be a problem for you with your arm strength.

“But you’ll have to be careful. The temperature in Sword Crafting Hall is incredibly high! You’ll be using up a lot of your qi. Every Sword Crafting Hall disciple has a unique qi cultivation technique that can ensure that their qi is constantly circulating.

“Sword Sect disciples and normal martial artists will not be able to get close to it, so you must be careful not to reveal your tracks.”

Thousand Destruction’s reminder caused Happy to feel even more at ease.

He had Nine Yang Divine Skill, so there was no way he would be afraid of the heat. Could that place possibly be worse than Sky Demon Secret Cave? Of course not.

He nodded to show that he would keep it in mind, and Thousand Destruction marked down the specific location of Sword Crafting Hall on the map. “Go to this place and search for Ten Thousand Swords. He’ll be able to tell you what you should do next.”

“Got it.”

Happy managed to easily complete the second segment of the quest! He bade farewell to Thousand Destruction, and with his new identity, he walked in an imposing manner through the halls to the mark on the map while leisurely admiring as well as observing the situation in Heaven Shaker Fortress.

There were still no players who had managed to enter Heaven Shaker Fortress, and there were very few battle replays about the place.

Happy would naturally not record anything. The fewer people who knew about Heaven Crystal, the better.

He passed through a few courtyards while walking along a corridor and gained a general idea of Heaven Shaker Fortress. He was on a square-shaped corridor, and wherever he went, he could see a huge and majestic dome-shaped building standing tall inside Heaven Shaker Fortress. It was so majestic that it was like a temple of heaven, and it was incredibly stylish and glorious.

The closer he got to it, the warmer it got.

The cold from the snow and wind seemed to become much weaker.

It was only at that moment that Happy understood why he was dressed in such thin clothes. Even though he was still far away from the dome, the temperature had already started changing. The world around him seemed to have entered spring, and by the looks of it, that place was the core of Heaven Shaker Fortress—Sword Crafting Hall!

When Happy arrived at the foot of Sword Crafting Hall, he sensed just how tiny and insignificant humans were!

The large dome-shaped building was as big as a football stadium, and it was dozens of feet tall!

Not a single speck of snow could be found in a circular area of 328 feet within Sword Crafting Hall. It evaporated because of the hot air before it could even get close to the place. In fact, even the small bit of vapor vanished without a trace.

The ground around Happy was so clean that it looked as if it had been washed!

“This is amazing…”

Compared to the nameless Murong Clan that was built in the middle of a busy street, the mighty northern clan was indeed much more stylish. Its Sword Crafting Hall alone was enough to make them gain a great status among the eight aristocratic families.

It was no wonder then why the descendents of the former royal family—the Murong Clan—who had a lot of money and power accumulated, would treat them as a great enemy.

The mighty northern clan did have the money and strength to be arrogant!

The door of Sword Crafting Hall was very wide. It was the size of twelve doors, and there was endless heat coming out of it.

The expressions of all disciples who got close to it turned grave, but they said nothing.

That included the mighty northern clan disciples who stood at the entrance. They were half-naked, revealing their chiseled chests. There were also some Sword Sect disciples who were dressed in long white robes and had extraordinary elegance, along with the disciples of the Nangong Clan, who were dressed in brocade robes and looked very noble.

There were six rows of six people in each. They stood at the entrance with the heat waves crashing into their faces. Their gazes were sturdy and resolute, and they refused to give in. It was as if they were competing against each other in the dark without any one of them willing to admit defeat.

The mighty northern clansmen were naturally dealing with the heat well. They had to stay for a long period of time in Sword Crafting Hall and had a unique qi cultivation technique that helped them deal with the heat. When they were competing with each other, most of the time, they were just paying attention to the strength of those from Sword Sect and the Nangong Clan.

The Moksha Realm disciples had already stood at the entrance for a long time.

The faces of the Sword Sect disciples were covered in sweat. Their robes were drenched, and the sweat on their palms fell to the floor from their swords. But their gazes remained firm, and they never took a step away from their spot.

It was the same case for the Nangong Clan disciples. Even though the heat came crashing at them in waves and they felt suffocated, they did not want to admit defeat. They gritted their teeth and persevered, which filled the mighty northern clansmen with admiration.

The thirty-six people might not have high qi realms, but they were still a rather impressive scene in Happy’s eyes.

He circulated Nine Yang Divine Skill a little before walking into Sword Crafting Hall as if he was part of the normal disciples who went in and out of Sword Crafting Hall in an endless stream.

Sword Crafting Hall was a very majestic sight!

A huge sword pool, which had a diameter of more than sixty-five feet, was right inside. There were more than thirty weapons of various sizes plunged into the boiling water. There were at least four furnaces and forges beside each sword pool.

Two powerful half-naked men stood by each forge. They were drenched in sweat while they swung the huge and heavy metal hammers.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The loud and piercing sounds of hammers hitting metal were very rhythmic and reverberated through the soul.

There were more than one hundred sword pools!

It meant that there were more than four hundred mighty northern forgemasters working in Sword Crafting Hall at that moment!

The loud and powerful hits gathered together to form a deafening sound wave. The booming sounds never stopped, and they hit everyone’s eardrums and hearts heavily.

The feeling of awe instantly rose in Happy’s heart!

It was the real power of the mighty northern clan…

It was no wonder then why they could stand tall in China for so many years and be admired by all sects.

The astonishing sight before him alone was enough to testify for everything!

“Mu Li! I’ve waited for you for a long time. Why are you only here now?”

Right when Happy entered, he heard a voice that made his heart race. He turned his head around and saw a few young men dressed similarly to him standing behind him. They had their hands on their hips and stared at him with indignation.

The man in the lead pointed at the wooden bucket by the side.

“Hurry up and move these items to Sword Pool 68.”

A few people beside the man had smiles that said that they were delighted by his misfortune.

Happy’s spiritual perception was very sharp. When he entered, he quickly discovered a secret by the edges of the sword pools. There was a number on the edge of each sword pool, and there were numbers from one to four carved on each forge by the sword pools.

Happy guessed from the expressions of the young men that the Sword Sect disciple he was disguised as had a very low position. He was the target of teasing and pranks, and he also had to do a lot of hard labor.

‘If that’s the case…’

Happy quickly noticed some things from the young men’s expressions, tone, and the environment around him. He gathered all the information he could.

He swept his gaze over the ten or so huge wooden buckets filled with black charcoal beside the young men before he looked at the actions of a few people in the distance who held the buckets in their arms. It made an idea spring into his mind.

He walked over quietly and grabbed two buckets that weighed more than 220 pounds. He took a bucket in each hand before he walked to Sword Pool 68.

The group of young men stared at Happy’s back with expressions that quickly turned stiff. They looked like they had seen a ghost!

Happy had been paying attention to their reactions, and his heart instantly sank.

‘Crap.’