Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The competition between hundreds of people did not last long. The top ten were soon determined!
Aside from Happy, Eleventh Crane, Young Fallen Rain, Distinguished Dragon, who was quite proficient with his fast sword technique, and Heaven, who was a dual-wielding swordsman using a long and short sword, five more players also won the tournament one after another based on rather high points.
As expected, Happy became the first with the highest score and obtained the right to lead the team to Swallow Fort.
Swallow Fort was a property of the Murong Clan, and it was very close to Mantuo Villa. Since its environment was rather quiet and the sea-route was smooth, it was tacitly agreed by Unrequited Love Valley, Peach Blossom Island, and the Nangong Clan to be the place for the final tournament before they went to the official martial arts tournament.
Once the final ten young heroes were chosen, the elders of the four groups would accompany them to Hero’s Mountain Villa!
The Murong Clan sent out ten people!
Happy was the one tasked to lead them out of Gusu and to Su River.
It was only when they were on the way that the group noticed that seven of them were from Mu Clan, and they were rather close to each other, which was why they could talk to each other cordially. Eleventh Crane, Distinguished Dragon, and Heaven also seemed to be rather close to each other.
The other three people might not have joined Mu Clan, but one of them was Happy, and everyone knew that he was the mastermind behind Mu Clan. It was a publicly known secret in World of Martial Arts.
Young Fallen Rain was among the other two. She was petite and adorable, and she was well-loved by everyone. The last one was a man called Purple Robes. He quietly followed behind the group without saying a single word and seemed a little out of place.
On the way, Happy took the initiative to talk to Young Fallen Rain. “Young Fallen Rain, Joined Finger might be a finger technique that can be released instantly and has great power, but if you stay in your starting stance for too long, it’ll be very easy for your opponent to read your attack trajectory.
“You must have been practicing too long and lack experience in fighting against real people. Next time, pay attention to cover up your starting stance, since it’ll mask what you’re doing. When you practice to the point where you’ve reached your peak and can attack with ease while also taking others by surprise, even I will feel fear when I fight against you.”
“That’s right.” Eleventh Crane seemed to be very experienced in this, and he nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. That finger technique is really powerful. The instant damage is about the same as that of my full strength arrow. If you could launch a surprise attack with it, not even the gods could withstand it.”
Young Fallen Rain’s eyes lit up. “You’re right.”
The other junior brothers and junior sisters also came over, and one of them said, “Junior Sister Fallen Rain is already very powerful. Senior Brother Happy, please give us some pointers as well.”
Distinguished Dragon and Heaven understood Happy’s goodwill, since they had seen him fight before.
Even though his moves were very simple, he did not drag out the execution of his attacks, and they were all performed without hesitation. Although other people had ultimate techniques as well, when they were compared with normal people, the difference was like between night and day.
Distinguished Dragon scratched the back of his head and asked seriously, “That’s right. I’m also thinking about how I can increase the damage and speed of my sword technique. I wonder whose sword technique is faster, mine or Xiaoshan’s?”
Happy thought about it for a moment. “There’s only one thing different about Xiaoshan’s speed compared to yours.”
“Oh?”
Distinguished Sword had only asked the question tentatively. He did not expect that Happy would immediately turn to him and answer him, and he seemed to have a very deep understanding toward him and Xiaoshan. It immediately lifted Distinguished Dragon’s spirit.
Everyone else understood what was great about Quicksword Xiaoshan, and they also knew that Distinguished Dragon had reached another level in terms of speed. Aside from his sword technique being fast, his weapon had also reached the third echelon. It could be considered to be at the top in terms of speed among many of the masterpieces.
When they heard that Happy seemed to have something to say about it, everyone, including Purple Robes, who stood away from the group, looked over with interest.
“Sword will!”
Happy said something that the people found very unfamiliar. Then, he explained it in detail under the people’s puzzled gazes.
“Xiaoshan has been practicing his quick sword for a long time, and he has always been famous for his speed. He is also very smart, and he doesn’t try to develop his technique in other areas. He just focuses on studying speed-based sword techniques. After half a year, he has indeed gained some achievements.
“When we were at Light Summit, his sword technique was so fast that it was astonishing. When he draws his sword, he immediately draws blood. At that time, Xiaoshan should have already understood the profound secret behind speed-based sword techniques.”
The group fell silent. They were still puzzled, but Purple Robes, who remained away from the group, had a surprised expression. He stared at Happy’s side profile with a contemplative look. A strange emotion shone in his eyes.
“Could you explain this in greater detail?”
“This thing is something that you will only truly understand once you really experience it. I can’t explain it clearly, but I can tell you that if you want your sword technique to become faster, you must believe in the sword in your hands and release the sword in your heart. You must attack with an indomitable spirit, Distinguished Dragon!”
The group still had a very puzzled look.
But this time, aside from Purple Robes, Distinguished Dragon also seemed to have gained some understanding. He touched the sword in his hand and nodded slowly.
“I think I understand a little. You want me to be less hesitant when I attack, right? To attack based on instincts and my senses?”
“Something like that.”
Happy smiled. It was as expected of a swordsman whose speed was almost equal to that of Xiaoshan, and as expected of a Murong Clan disciple. He understood what Happy said with just a few words of advice.
“Senior Brother Happy!”
“I have a question as well…”
When they saw that Distinguished Dragon seemed to have gained an epiphany and Young Fallen Rain had also gained something, the others also became excited. They asked questions to learn how they should practice in the future as well as how to increase their strength within a short period of time.
Happy found the situation a little difficult to handle alone, but even as he smiled ruefully, he allowed them to ask their questions.
He answered them based on his experiences in his previous life and from the understanding he had gained in various areas. Everyone gained something in the end, and they were incredibly pleased.
The group of people became even more excited while they traveled.
Even Eleventh Crane, whose abilities with the bow were extraordinary, could not help but ask Happy some things even though he thought that Happy should not have any constructive suggestions, since he had never come into contact with bow techniques before, but when Happy spoke up, his answer made Eleventh Crane feel as if he had been struck by lightning.
“I don’t really understand bow techniques, but I know that the truly good archers will face their enemies head-on in a dignified manner. They can take life with a single arrow, for they fuse their peak bow techniques with their will into their arrows. Even spirits will find it hard to avoid the arrows then, such as Flying Dagger Little Li.”
Eleventh Crane said nothing, but he sucked in a deep breath and sank into deep thought.
At that moment, Purple Robes, who had remained away from the group, was finally unable to hold himself back.
“Senior Brother Happy, you have been talking about will all this while, but we don’t quite understand it. I just want to know whether you’ve come to understand sword will. If you have, could you demonstrate it to us on the spot?”
When the person, who had always been a little out of place in their group, spoke up, he immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
However, it had to be said that his suggestion suited everyone’s tastes.
No one had experienced Happy’s strength on a personal level before. They could only describe him as unfathomable, and that they could not fight against him with brute force, but no one knew the specific details of his strength.
Happy cast Purple Robes a glance, and under his delighted gaze, he nodded without hesitation. “Alright, sure, but I need an opponent.”
“I’ll do it!” Purple Robes volunteered himself.
“Okay.” Happy turned to face the others and said, “Is there anyone here who can lend me a longsword? The more ordinary it is, the better.”
Young Fallen Rain quickly unbuckled her sword. It was a very normal masterpiece, and Happy was a little taken aback by how normal it was. He weighed it in his hand and cast Young Fallen Rain another scrutinizing glance. When a rather embarrassed expression appeared on her face, he nodded and smiled. “This is good.”
Right after saying that, his presence suddenly changed.
Clang!
A clear sword whine rose, and an astonishing sword momentum charged through the air. Everyone’s expresion changed upon seeing it.
Then, they noticed to their disbelief that Happy did not activate his qi realm or use any technique. He had only drawn his longsword slightly, and this tiny move alone had caused Purple Robes to feel his body shudder, and he broke out in cold sweat.
“Try to ponder over this.” Happy resolutely pushed the longsword back into its sheath and returned it to Young Fallen Rain. “Alright, that’s all. Let’s be on our way.”
