Sword Among Us Novel - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Poaching People on Stage
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were not many regions who joined the first martial arts tournament hosted by the official website. Only around fifty websites in China participated, and less than thirty of them managed to organize a martial arts tournament. Hence, among the remaining websites, only three people could truly threaten Happy.
Only the three had reached Blessed Realm!
However, at that moment, the official website put up an announcement…
Since the limitations were rather small for this offline martial arts test, the rewards would not be too great. Aside from obtaining a rank on the official website, only the top three would receive prize money of 50,000 RMB, along with a normal high-tier martial arts that could only be learned by those in Blessed Realm!
The champion could also receive a high-tier martial art that corresponded with a low-tier martial art in which they had reached Grandmaster Realm. For example, Shaolin’s Long Fist corresponded with Arhat Fist. If a player wanted to learn Arhat Fist, they had to first reach Grandmaster Realm with Shaolin’s Long Fist.
When he received this news, Happy knew that his original plan of not fighting seriously had just been destroyed. 2
The ranks on the official website were not important, but the temptation of 50,000 RMB and one high-tier martial arts manual was great. Even though he had experience from his previous life, it did not mean that Happy was a person with no desires. On the contrary, what he pursued now were even higher achievements, and that meant he intended to go even further and was even more ambitious than before.
He would go into private schools in the future to learn and increase his Comprehension, and there would be many places where he would require money. It was also not easy to get a high-tier martial arts manual. Their drop rate was incredibly low, and the chances for missions or quests to provide them was also very low. Each book cost more than fifty thousand taels of silver crumbs, and the good ones would even cost 1,000,000 RMB, not to mention how difficult it would be to even find one on sale. 3
It was only natural that he would not let go of such a good opportunity.
*****
That afternoon, Happy used his status as the champion of South China Martial Arts Ranking Board to slaughter his way up the martial arts tournament. He did not change his attire. He was still dressed in blue robes, and he still had his face covered. The only change was that the cloth had turned into a proper face mask. It made him more handsome and mysterious.
During the first three elimination matches, Happy did not run into anyone in Blessed Realm.
He struck fast and easily sent his Gate Realm opponents flying off the stage. Within a short period of time, he ended his battle and entered the next segment of the tournament.
“Not bad.”
His first opponent in the second segment was one of the powerful players in Blessed Realm. He came from a website development company called New World and wore a white robe and a silver belt. He had an extraordinary appearance, and there was a smile that never changed on his normal face, which had not reached thirty years old. He appeared to be very amiable and experienced. From the moment Happy arrived on the stage, he started to close the distance between them with a pleasant smile.
“Young man, you’re still a student, right? I’m the website director of New World. Would you be interested in joining World Guild, which our company created?”
Happy was rendered speechless. He was simply stunned.
The website director of New World thought that the idea of joining the guild had formed in Happy’s mind. His smile did not change when he placed his hands in front of his body and provided an explanation just like how a leader would.
“This is what’s going on. Our company has been making plans to employ a group of strong players to join World Guild, and we will judge each member’s strength by their realms and how much they contribute to the guild. I watched your matches, and I think that you’re pretty good. Even though your realm is not high, it should not be a problem for you to get a salary of more than 5,000 RMB per month. Your studies won’t be affected either. If you have the intention to join us, you can sign a contract with us through our website.”
Happy had no idea what to say at this point. He was speechless.
‘Headhunters now come to recruit people even in a tournament?’
A salary of 5,000 RMB might sound pretty good, but he was still going to end up working for them, and he would at most be a high-ranked worker. He would just be providing money and items for New World. There was no prospect for any future development in this.
His eyes, which were revealed outside the mask, became calm again. “Not interested.” he answered with an indifferent tone. 1
“You can think about this more.”
When the director for New World said this, the system announced the in-game IDs of the two competitors and proclaimed the start of the battle.
“No need.”
A simple answer tumbled out of Happy’s lips.
The in-game ID of New World’s director was Earth’s Hollow Whistle. The pleasant smile on his lips finally became a little stiff. He did not expect that even after he offered such great terms, the boy who looked like a student would reject his offer without any hesitation.
“Hmph.”
New World’s director’s passion instantly disappeared without a trace. He felt that the masked boy did not know how to appreciate kindness, and faint anger rose in his heart.
However, the boy’s skills were indeed very good. He had watched the trending battle replays on South China Martial Arts Ranking Board. In every single one of Happy’s battles, he showed the style and ability only powerful players would have. When he killed his enemies, he did so crisply and cleanly. He was also incredibly shocked by how Happy handled Orochimaru, who was in Blessed Realm. He did not quite have the confidence to win against this young man, which was why he intended to tempt him to his side using benefits.
“Enough with the nonsense.”
Happy could guess that the person before him had gathered all the information related to him and that the middle-aged man wanted to win the battle in another way—by taking advantage of Happy’s age, using his naivety against him. Hence, Happy immediately cut him off coldly.
“If you want to hire me, then bring out your abilities. If you win against me, I’ll join you.”
“Alright!”
Happy had successfully goaded his enemy into action, but even though Earth’s Hollow Whistle had been forced into doing something he could not do, he could not show any fear, which was why he had naturally accepted Happy’s challenge.
Boom!
His robes fluttered, and a powerful aura appeared around his body. The unique presence and pressure belonging to those in Blessed Realm was shown, and it swiftly went to envelop Happy.
But unfortunately for him, Orochimaru was clearly more successful when it came to creating a presence.
When the aura came charging toward him, Happy only turned his body slightly. His sleeves danced madly, but he was unaffected.
“Take this!” 1
Earth’s Hollow Whistle pointed his longsword at Happy, and he moved like a dragon to appear to Happy’s left.
Right when Earth’s Hollow Whistle attacked, Happy saw through his background. It was Wudang Sect’s high-tier martial art—Strength Star Sword Technique. It was a pity that his realm was not high. He had only reached the fifth realm, and it was only slightly better than a low-tier martial art at Grandmaster Realm.
A plan formed in his mind, and a weight settled in his hand. The Hundred-Battle Blade landed on Happy’s palm, and Happy did not hesitate. He seized the chance. With one gentle move, he shifted into the countless sword shadows that Earth’s Hollow Whistle brought out. He executed Flowering Knights Blade Technique, and with the sound of wind blowing through a forest, he swung his blade at his opponent.
Flowering Knights Blade Technique was extraordinary when it came to skill, defence, and other aspects. It was generally stronger than other low-tier martial arts. Happy managed to defend against Strength Star Sword Technique right in time. Sparks flew, and a hoarse clang rang out, accompanied by the beautiful sound of wind being cut. The two competitors’ entangled figures could practically not be seen on the stage.
“Good blade work!”
Right when Happy executed Flowering Knights Blade Technique, Earth’s Hollow Whistle’s eyes lit up. He could not help but praise Happy loudly, and the grave look on his face became even greater.
When an expert took action, all would know he was good because of his skills!
Since he had begun practicing the high-tier sword skill, Earth’s Hollow Whistle had sparred with quite a number of people, and he clearly knew just how much of an advantage high-tier martial arts had over low-tier martial arts. However, Flowering Knights Blade Technique gave him a misconception that he faced someone of equal level. With Happy’s astonishing instincts and his control over the battle, with just a few moves, Earth’s Hollow Whistle found, to his horror, that he was exposed to the threat of being at a disadvantage.
‘How can this be?’
Earth’s Hollow Whistle could not endure this thought.
Even though he knew that he was not Happy’s opponent, he still sucked in a sharp breath when he found himself being forced into a disadvantage so soon. He activated his qi madly, and a small sliver of qi force was instantly forced out of the tip of his sword. The sword shadows became sharper, fiercer, and more eerie. The layers of flashing sword glares surged across him.
Sword force!
Happy’s pupils shrank swiftly.
Once the sword force was released, the lethality of the attacks increased by leaps and bounds. They would deal a lot of damage to other weapons. In this sort of situations, it was not beneficial for Happy to fight against his enemy with brute force. He flipped his blade around and tapped against the ground a few times. He performed this series of actions with incredible composure, looking like an Immortal who retreated a few feet in the air horizontally. He left Earth’s Hollow Whistle’s attack radius.
Earth’s Hollow Whistle was instantly caught in an embarrassing situation…
The use of sword force drained an incredible amount of qi, and it also affected his moving speed. Once Happy retreated, Earth’s Hollow Whistle immediately found himself in a difficult situation. He could neither advance nor retreat. With a sigh, he admitted defeat in a sulk.