Sword Among Us

Tendon Changing Classic was a supreme qi cultivation technique that did not lose to Nine Yang Divine Skill.

Nine Yang Divine Skill was something Happy practiced before, and he knew that the greatest effect for Nine Yang Divine Skill was to increase the user’s qi and Comprehension, as well as increase the user’s ability in mastering the essence of various martial arts. Its pure yang characteristic also prevented the user from being invaded by qi with cold properties or poisonous properties.

But Tendon Changing Classic was different.

It completely changed and remolded a person’s bones and expanded the person’s meridian system. It can increase the user’s attributes, and while it helped the user create a body of steel bones and bronze skin, it can also swiftly increase the user’s qi.

Even though he had currently only circulated two of the three full circulations, the level for Happy’s Tendon Changing Classic had reached the second realm, but only barely. Even so, the two circulations were already enough to bring Happy quite the substantial increase in his qi.

He had increased his qi by nearly ten points.

His Affinity and Arm Strength had both increased by seven points.

His defense had also increased by nearly one hundred points.

These were the figures Happy noticed when he deliberately observed himself quietly for half an hour in the pavilion.

‘As expected of Shaolin Temple’s supreme classic! Tendon Changing Classic does indeed live up to its name.’ At the moment Happy opened his eyes, delight shone from his eyes.

‘In less than a week and at most four days, I will reach Moksha Realm. If my discoveries at Punishment Mount are true, I might be able to utilize attacks on me to strengthen my tendons and bones, and I will be able to master this even faster.’

Happy stood up and brought out a Horse Plate without hesitation. He summoned a Hoof Shadow.

“It’s been a long time since we met, partner.”

Happy’s Hoof Shadow, of course, said nothing. It just snorted and rubbed its face against Happy’s in a show of affection.

“You’re still as mischievous as ever. Alright, let’s go. Bring me to Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts.” As he spoke, he got up his horse, and while a group of Shaolin Temple disciples cried out in surprise around him, he rushed down the mountain.

“Does that guy want to die or something?”

“Which senior brother is he? His riding skills are so good! The last time someone rode down like that, he fell off, and he was bruised all over.”

Happy said nothing.

While he listened to the Shaolin Temple disciples exclaim in surprise behind him, Happy laid against the back of his Hoof Shadow. His legs were clamped around the horse’s belly, and he rushed out of the narrow mountain trail like the wind to leave Mount Song.

*****

Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts was not far away from Beijing. After the Sword Among Us Tournament, it appeared near the suburbs of Beijing, and it was built by a barbaric merchant.

The merchant was so rich that he can rival a country’s wealth. When he came to Beijing, he was attracted by the prosperity of the Chinese plains, and he got himself a large piece of land to build a huge mountain villa outside Beijing. He then gathered all sorts of exotic creatures from all over the world, and he even hired countless martial artists to take care of his mountain villa.

On the surface, that was all to Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts, but in truth, the merchant was a Tatar spy. He used the name of gathering exotic creatures to gather himself an army in preparation to attack Beijing.

After the imperial court saw through his plan, the merchant hid underground and filled his mountain villa with traps that devoured countless imperial court officers. In the end, the imperial court was forced to let the martial artists settle this matter.

There were plenty of barbarian elites. There were beast tamers along with countless beasts that had been strengthened with medicine. Their qi realms ranged from Inaction Realm to the beginning stage of Myth Realm, and there were all sorts of them there.

This was a place that had all sorts of riches and dangers gathered together, and it naturally became a high-level place for players to train and farm items.

With how fast Hoof Shadow moved, it only needed an hour before Happy arrived at the perimeter of Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts.

“Hold him back!

“Tanks! Block the entrance, don’t let that damn beast tamer release those creatures!

“Brothers and sisters, be quick on your feet. Make sure to gather all the traps together and don’t let a single one of them slip by later! Gu poison users, get ready!”

There was a party of around ten busying themselves at the entrance of the mountain villa. As a young man who seemed like a leader gave his orders, two men who were built like tanks shone with a golden light Happy found familiar. They blocked the other side of the entrance like walls and fought for time for the people in the tunnel under the city gate.

In the tunnel were a group of people who were busy setting up traps. Judging by how familiar they were in doing this and how great their teamwork was, they should be outer sect disciples of Old Heaven Secrets.

When he saw this, Happy came to a stop.

It was not because of them blocking the entrance. There were plenty of city gates that can lead to Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts. It was just that this was the first time he came to the villa, and he wanted to personally witness the beasts’ strength as well as the level of the current players.

The group of people in front of him were clearly a rather unique group.

Most of them were long-distance hidden weapon users and trap masters. The girl standing beside the team leader was a Gu poison user from the Miao clan. She held a rather exquisite Gu poison box in her hands, and a clear as well as pleasant sound came from within.

She worked together with the two defensive players who practiced Arhat Body and were currently blocking the entrance to the tunnel. Their team leader was clearly thinking of using the trap masters to set up traps and instantly kill the group of beasts and their beast tamer inside the tunnel with a frightening explosion.

All this was clearly different from all that transpired in the game before Happy left.

The trap masters’ skills were even more profound than before.

Those two men who practiced the protective and defensive Arhat Body had already reached Golden Body Arhat, and their equipment also seemed pretty decent. They walked down the path of extreme defense.

Happy could not help but feel interested. He stayed and watched.

The defensive players faced the attacks from a group of beasts in the tunnel, but clearly, they will not be able to last for too long.

The power from dozens of continuous traps was still not clear for the time being, but a lot of knowledge was required to accurately control the timing to release the traps as well as find the best moment to make those traps explode so that they can maximize damage. One single mistake will cause them to create a situation where the beasts will get out of their cages.

“It’s done!”

A group of trap masters deftly ran out of the tunnel through a safe path.

When everyone from that group retreated, they noticed Happy standing alone in the distance, but they said nothing. They just stood beside their team leader.

“Tanks, get back here, pronto!

“Gu poison user, get ready.”

As their team leader gave his order, the people in the tunnel shot out with a dexterity that was completely unbefitting of their size and height.

As deafening roars rose, huge white tigers and lions chased after them, and the roars that spilled out of their mouths actually had a power that was rather similar to Lion’s Roar.

The power in it was so strong that it did not lose to a martial artist at the peak of Inaction Realm at all.

What caused Happy to be surprised was that lions and tigers had valuable armor on them that will not affect their mobility.

‘As expected of a barbaric merchant who is incredibly wealthy. He even gave his lions and tigers grade one armor.’ Happy gasped in amazement from the bottom of his heart.

At that moment, fragmented whistles came from the other side of the tunnel.

The beasts’ actions instantly came to a halt.

“No good! The beast tamer noticed the traps! Damn it, Gu poison user, attack!”

That Gu poison user standing beside the team leader quickly opened the lid, and two lights, one gold and the other silver, shot into the tunnel at lightning speed.

Soon, a pink smoke quickly rose inside the tunnel. It looked incredibly dazzling and bizarre.

When he saw this, Happy could not help but put on a shocked expression.

The beasts inside had been prepared to retreat in an orderly fashion, but they suddenly went berserk, and they began to tear and fight against each other uncontrollably.

The Gu poison user’s Gu poison was the type that can confuse the mind.

“Trigger the traps.”

Once the team leader spoke, the traps hidden in the tunnel immediately let out a loud sound.

Metallic clangs and the sound of bodies being pierced through rose. It was mixed with the shrill and deafening cries from the wild beasts while they were in great pain. Those sounds tumbled out like waves from the tunnel.

‘…What a pity,’ Happy thought.

Even though most of the creatures in the tunnel died and it seemed as if the party had just carried out a perfect battle, when Happy thought about it carefully, he knew that the team leader did not manage to capture the opportune chance.

If the tanks had not retreated so quickly and if the trap masters did not set up their traps in such a dense fashion, when the beast tamer and his group of beasts entered the tunnel, the Gu poison user can attack, and they will definitely be able to kill everyone.

Judging by the gaps in the tunnel, there were still quite a lot of beasts remaining in the tunnel. This group of trap masters will either have to give up on the loot, turn around, and run, or risk their lives to fight to the life and death against these creatures.

But in Happy’s eyes, this party had yet to realize the difference in numbers of the beasts they killed compared to the ones they did not. They were already prepared to go and pick up their loot.

Just as Happy expected, right when the sounds of the springs from the continuous traps inside the tunnel stopped, only the pained wails from the dying creatures inside the tunnel were left.

They threw a batch of hidden weapons inside and ended the lives of those dying beasts, and the team leader led the two tanks ahead of the others to rush into the tunnel.

They entered quickly, and they left even faster!

They needed time to get loot from the beasts, obviously, but it was clear that the beast tamer’s whistle was even faster.

As deafening roars from lions and tigers rose, the tanks became in charge of serving as rear guards while the team leader led his party to run out while they fought.

“Damn it!”

“There’s still so many of them?!”

“Hurry up and set up a group of traps outside!”

“No! We won’t be able to last that long!” The tanks were the first to state that it would be too hard for them.

“Use Golden Body Arhat!”

“I already used it! Why else do you think we could have lasted so long?!”

“What the heck?!”

The team leader could not quite give up on the loot. “The equipment inside can sell for ten thousand taels of silver per piece. Are you trying to destroy me?! This won’t do, lure them out. Tanks, bring a group of them away. Trap masters, deal with the beast tamer with me. Gu poison user, get ready to release Gu poison!”

There were normal beasts and elite beasts in Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Those normal beasts were injected with medicine, and their damage was high, but it was easy for the players to whittle down their health, because they did not have any equipment on them. Only their pelts can be sold for money.

However, elite beasts went through special training, and they were incredibly hard to deal with. Besides, they will usually surround the beast tamer in a swarm, and they were decked in armor, making it so that the players will basically be facing a martial artist at the beginning stage of Myth Realm when they faced one elite beast!

‘That’s another wrong decision.’ Happy could see everything clearly from the distance.

They might be a big party, but trap masters and hidden weapons users were incredibly fragile.

Once they drew the creatures out, they will lose the power to control the situation. Instead, the person who will be controlling the situation will be the beast tamer, who was a slightly more intelligent NPC.

The Gu poison user’s effect will clearly only last for a moment, and there was a limit to the area it will spread. She will not be able to take care of the entire situation. At that time, the tanks will not be able to control the situation, and the trap masters will be the first to die.

And just as Happy expected, at the moment six beasts rushed out, the tanks’ pressure grew exponentially.

Right when the trap masters attacked, the beast tamer’s whistle immediately followed.

One side had their advantage taken away, and the other side gained an advantage.

The beast tamer kept two white tigers by his side, and the remaining lions stomped against the ground while they pounced at the trap masters behind the tanks from two directions while they were getting ready to release hidden weapons.

‘The white tigers and lions’ Arm Strength have actually surpassed three hundred and fifty points…?’ When he heard the faint rumbling sound from the ground, Happy sucked in a sharp breath. ‘It’s no wonder then why these people are all long-distance trap masters. A normal Moksha Realm elite might not be able to get an upper hand in close quarters combat, and if they get aggroed, they won’t be able to leave at all.’

While he thought about this, the party was already unable to continue fighting. In fact, someone shouted at Happy for help.

“Friend, could you lend a hand?!”