Sword Among Us Novel - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Fourth Dark Horse
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Puffy God might be money-hungry, but he was quite good in other areas. At the moment of his defeat, he uploaded the battle replay online. In a short amount of time, the shock it brought to everyone was even greater than what they felt after seeing the battle replay Butt Shaker had uploaded.
Puffy God, who was ranked second on the ranking board, had lost for the first time in the battle replay! And he was suppressed during the entire fight till he could not even fight back. What shocked them even more was that Happy had used a fist technique that was the most common low-tier martial art given to all the new people who joined Shaolin Temple—Long Fist.
“That’s a lie, right?”
“How did he manage to use Long Fist this way?”
“Tsk tsk, did you see that light? That’s Long Fist in Grandmaster Realm!”
“Look at that chain combo. It’s different from a normal Long Fist. When he does that, it seems more powerful…”
Plenty of students from the University of South China sat before their computers, regardless of whether they were girls or boys. They were engrossed in the video, and some of the students who were very eloquent even began to speak incessantly to explain each move.
“He used Golden Dragon Stretches Claw to control his opponent and linked it with Consecutive Palm Strikes. There’s no way anyone who is hit with that attack can fight back! Tsk tsk, the Warrior Monk’s Hand Flip is linked with T-Step, it’s amazing!”
“And did you see that skill? The moment Puffy showed a weakness, he was controlled. Even though it was a very minor shift in his legs and a movement of his hips, Puffy’s balance was completely destroyed, and he lost control of his movements…”
Even Phoenix Dances, Puffy God, Brother Tea Words, NotaRascal, Butt Shaker, and all the people who were ranked at the top of the ranking board spread the word that they wanted to gather information about Happy and learn of his true identity. They also wanted to become acquainted with him.
There were even some who said that as long as someone was willing to reveal Happy’s personal information, some well-known beauties would think of hosting a social gathering in the dorms, which made the wolves boil in excitement!
For a period of time, Happy became a household name in all the dorms in the University of South China. In fact, it was publicly acknowledged that he was the strongest in the martial arts tournament and that he was going to come out as the champion!
As the creators of South China Martial Arts Ranking Board, the Three Lonely Wolves had naturally received inquiries from various departments and people from different floors. However, the trio answered uniformly that since Happy chose to cover his face and not show his true appearance to others, as the protectors of everyone’s information, they would naturally not reveal his personal data without the permission of the person in question.
Even though their dignified and ostentatious speech caused many people to regard them in contempt, it also garnered a lot of support from the students! They even spread a rumor saying that the trio’s moral fortitude was incredibly great, because they persisted in their stance even when they faced such great temptation! This was an incredibly difficult feat!
However, the world outside did not know that the Three Lonely Wolves’ stance was firm because of Xu Xin and their dormmate, Happy!
Xu Xin had long since asked the Three Lonely Wolves secretly and knew that Chen Kaixin’s in-game ID was Happy in World of Martial Arts. Ever since Happy’s fame rose, she heard many of the girls in the dorms discuss him. They wanted his identity to be revealed to the public so they could treat him like a blue chip—they wanted to fight for his attention like he was the highest-quality share that they must have. As the department princess of the Computer Engineering Department, Xu Xin felt very displeased. 3
While she protected Happy’s secret, she prepped the Three Lonely Wolves for the pressure that was bound to come. She made them swear that they would not reveal Happy’s information, and she even gave them a short lecture on work ethics.
Otherwise, there was no way that the two single wolves of the Three Lonely Wolves would be able to suppress the temptation of a social gathering in the dorms of beautiful girls. If not for Chen Kaixin, they might have long ago cast their dormmate into the mouths of sharks! They might have even stood in a corridor and told the entire university with a megaphone! 1
“Xu Xin is definitely interested now, and she wants to firmly wrap her hands around our Happy from within our organization.”
“Definitely! No, we have to make Happy suffer when he gets back! That brat has it way too easy.”
“Seconded!”
The Three Lonely Wolves once again unanimously reached a decision in their small clique. 2
*****
However, as the second segment ended, another figure who disrupted the harmony of the martial arts tournament appeared!
Another dark horse showed up before the people’s eyes!
Orochimaru! [1] 9
This person appeared in the battles of the second segment like a whirlwind. Each of his battles was incredibly bloody and brutal, and every single one of his opponents were torn to bloody pieces. In fact, he would intentionally drag on the match so that his opponent would be pummeled until there was not a single piece of skin left intact. He did this to nameless normal players and to the powerful players on the influence ranking board.
During the first segment, this person behaved like any other regular person and had remained an unknown entity. However, when the second segment began, all the players who were to compete against him were sure that they had ran into a lunatic. He was an incredibly bloodthirsty madman and had a disdainful and cold smile always on his lips. With a pair of samurai swords in the shape of crescent moons, he humiliated his opponents until they looked like lambs up for slaughter.
The worst of all was that once they ended the fight, Orochimaru would stick his weapons in his opponent’s corpse to further humiliate his enemy! His attitude provoked everyone and challenged their tolerance. 1
When all the victims uploaded their battle replays on the forum, countless students in the University of South China were enraged. They protested and requested South China Martial Arts Ranking Board to reveal this person’s information and major so that they could spit on them. They even said that they found it unbelievable that they would have such an inhumane and crazy fellow university mate!
The Three Lonely Wolves were bombarded with phone calls and found themselves in a predicament. In the end, they dug out that person’s information and were stunned…
Orochimaru was not a current student in the University of South China, and neither was he a student in the universities around the area. He was a senior who had not graduated and did not have a fixed job. As of current, he was a former senior of theirs who did not even get his graduation certificate.
Once they released this information, not only did they not manage to quell public outrage, they just stirred up an even greater wave of anger. The people began to make guesses that since this person did not get his graduation certificate, he harbored a grudge against the University of South China, and his anger had even come to involve the current students in the university, which was why he deliberately did something so provocative and gory! 2
Once they came to this conclusion, a number of hot-blooded people demanded that the top players on the influence ranking board defeat this person and treat him in the way he treated others!
In an apartment in another city, a man with a pale face and ghastly eyes browsed through the forum with an extremely mocking expression. He blew out a mouthful of smoke, and with a cigarette between his fingers, he typed swiftly on his keyboard.
[I am Orochimaru.
[My dear juniors, feel free to try and defeat me!]
Once he posted his thread, a bloodthirsty and rabid look flashed briefly through his eyes. 2
As one of the veterans who was among the earliest group of people to join World of Martial Arts, he had already played the game for nearly three months. Not only was he rich in experience, he had also made quite a name for himself in the game. Some of the players in the city would even turn tail and run when they saw a person dual-wielding a pair of samurai swords.
Almost one hundred Gate Realm players had died in his hands, and every day, that number increased by dozens. ‘The greenhorns in the University of South China only have one or two martial arts in Grandmaster Realm, and they want to teach me a lesson? They must have a few screws loose in their heads!’
However, he did not care what kind of deep impression he left in the minds of his dear juniors. Regardless of whether it was good or bad, his name should be a hot topic in the University of South China for a period of time. He had also intentionally left behind his real information because he wanted the news to reach his tutor’s ears, which should happen very soon…
Hmph!
When he thought of this, Orochimaru snorted coldly, and a smug look appeared on his face.
He looked forward to what sort of expression his tutor would have once he learned of his current reputation and his accomplishments. He might not be able to raise his head in front of the other tutors.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
Mogumoguchan Mogumoguchan
Translator’s Note: