Sword Among Us
chapter-12

Up until then, there hadn’t been many players who could truly go up against local ruffians in World of Martial Arts. They were only starting to accumulate the experience of real battles and the understanding of their techniques.

However, there were few players who had the courage to try and accumulate this experience and understanding. Hence, their knowledge of the intelligent NPCs who were smarter than wild wolves and fierce beasts was not high.

In this regard, there might be no one who could compare to Happy!

With three years of experience from all the things he had gone through in the game, he had certain advantages in the game now that it had only just been launched, though they were not advantages that were worthy to be spoken of.

Yet they were quite practical, and he also had some ingenious strategies he could use.

Villain Li Shan’s true strength was about the level of a martial artist in Gate Realm, and his weapon was of pretty good quality. Only players who had truly reached Gate Realm would be able to fight against him.

Once a player successfully defeated Li Shan, the quest would be completed. A quest such as this would then not be triggered by them ever again. Even if the player did run into some local rascals, the NPCs would just run away, since they would be on the lookout for the player.

A powerful player from Happy’s previous life had known that he would never be able to fight against the rascals once he completed the quest, so he deliberately tried to hunt one down after rejecting the quest.

Because of it, something amazing was revealed!

As long as the player rejected the quest and ambushed the local rascals afterwards, their fighting strength would be reduced so much that it would not even be half of what it previously was. This meant that they would be very easy to deal with.

Later on, many smart new players treated Li Shan post-quest as an ATM machine. They would take away his one hundred taels of silver crumbs and his Refined Steel Sword.

There were also a handful of people who would intentionally seek out rascals by lurking in remote alleys to force them to be their free sparring partner so they could train their normal martial arts!

Happy had also been enlightened by a friend later on and used the drunk rascals who only had half their strength to practice and master many of the martial arts he had gained later in the game. The drunk rascals’ strength was rated as high-tier, but they would not kill anyone, so they were much gentler compared to the bandits, robbers, rapists, and other criminals of that level.

Of course, Happy did not wish for this secret to be known by others. Once he attracted Li Shan’s attention, he swiftly brought the enraged Li Shan to a deserted wilderness.

“You want to run?”

Li Shan was unable to contain his rage after he was looked down upon and provoked by a boy. With the money in his pocket, he chased after him.

There were a few other players on the government-made road. When they saw the chase, curiosity appeared on their faces… but Happy looked young, just like a child, which made it clear that he was a player who had just joined the game a few days ago. Hence, they did not pay too much attention to him. They just watched the two people disappear and continued on their way.

Soon, Happy led Li Shan into a forest some distance away and looked around. When he saw that there were no people around them, he was no longer afraid of being found.

The moment he stopped, Li Shan’s enraged roars reached him from behind him.

“Brat! I’m going to rip your bones from your body!”

“Perfect timing!”

Happy turned around and kicked the ground with a Boy Worshipping Guanyin. Then, he struck Li Shan’s bosom at an even faster speed.

Bang!

The NPC did not have time to defend. Happy’s palm strike struck Li Shan’s chest dead center.

‘So tough!’

Happy was stunned. Even though he was prepared for it, he was still shocked by the huge rebound from Li Shan’s body. It would indeed be difficult for a new player without qi to go up against a martial artist who was nearly in Gate Realm.

If Happy had struck him with Shaolin’s Long Fist at the sixth realm, it would have felt no different from scratching an itch for Li Shan!

Happy did not wait for the rascal to counterattack. He turned around, and since Li Shan was still tipsy and not in his tip-top shape, Happy swiftly moved behind him. With Warrior Monk’s Hand Flip, he struck Li Shan again, making the NPC lose his balance and fall forward.

He then delivered two consecutive strikes on the fallen man. Against the Ferocious Wild Wolves, it would have been very difficult to increase the level of his Shaolin’s Long Fist with two strikes, but at that moment, the progress bar jumped twice and rushed straight to Level 68.

But even this did not free Li Shan from his drunken state.

Happy knew that once Li Shan got a firm footing, the battle would become exceptionally difficult. Hence, he decided not to be merciful. He closed in on the man in just a few steps and used Golden Dragon Stretches Claws.

Nimble Cat Hunts Mouse! Overthrow Rivers and Seas! Boy Hugs Zither! T-Step Elbow Snatch!

The entire set that could suppress an enemy and deal a lot of damage was continuously delivered on Li Shan’s joints. The series of violent attacks were similar to a mighty storm that landed on the rascal.

“HAH!”

It was a pity for the drunk Li Shan, who was still lethargic despite his enraged state. From the moment he lost the initiative, he was continuously moved about while his vision remained blurry. He did not have a chance to stabilize himself. The movements of his limbs were restrained, and his weapon had also been struck away. He could not bring out his real strength at all.

“Very good.”

Once Li Shan dropped his Refined Steel Sword, Happy’s smile grew even wider.

Yet even without his weapon, Li Shan was a powerful enemy who could not be ignored. It did not matter that he only had half of his previous strength.

However, since his lethality was reduced, Happy could use his Shaolin’s Long Fist without fear.

He withdrew his aura, and his attacks, which had possessed the might of a storm, instantly vanished. His back was turned to the Refined Steel Sword while he calmly faced Li Shan, who finally had the chance to take a breath and gain a steady footing.

His rage at that moment reached the level at which he was about to explode.

Even though there was still a slight misty look in his eyes, the humiliation just then had been deeply engraved in his heart. The boy before him had actually managed to torment him with attacks that completely suppressed him.

This sort of thing had never happened before!

“Damn you, you brat, I won’t let you go until I cripple you!”

With an enraged roar, Li Shan spread open his arms and threw caution to the wind. He pounced on Happy in an overbearing manner, and his fleshy palms swiftly turned black. They were now as hard as steel. The first time they crossed fists after that, Happy felt an unmatched strength crash into him.

“Iron Palm!”

Happy was surprised again.

He had thought that once Li Shan lost his Refined Steel Sword, he would become much easier to handle in close-quarters combat. He had not expected that Li Shan’s Iron Palm would have already reached the ninth realm. His palm was black, which meant that he had already reached the state at which he could turn his palm into a sword. He was already near the peak of Grandmaster Realm.

Against Li Shan, who could use the Iron Palm, Happy felt like he was fighting against two weapons when he could only use Shaolin’s Long Fist, which was also a close-quarters combat skill. Each blow he received gave him a bruise, and he had an incredibly difficult time blocking the rascal’s attacks. He also felt pain when he got hit.

‘I made a mistake,’ Happy grumbled in his heart, but he showed no signs of fear on his face.

So what if Li Shan could use a ninth realm Iron Palm?

In the path of martial arts, either the enemy was stronger, or you were stronger. Someone would always have to be weaker. However, victory was never gained based purely on strength, but on intelligence.

If Li Shan were strong… then so be it! Breeze Passes Through Mist!

Happy activated Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique, and his aura changed. It withdrew into him, and he drifted from place to place. He changed his tactic to dodging and moving about. He no longer faced Li Shan head on but instead changed to drifting around the large man. He avoided the brunt of his opponent’s attacks and struck the enemy’s weak points.

Li Shan was unable to adapt to the change.

If there was anyone watching from the sidelines, they would be able to tell that the boy had started to move in circles around Li Shan. He moved incredibly quickly, and every time Li Shan attacked with force, he would miss. When he lost his momentum, Happy immediately seized the chance to attack, striking him so many times that the NPC staggered backwards.

“You stinking brat! All you can do is dodge! If you have the guts, fight me head on! Come on!”

Li Shan could not give voice to his misery, and he just roared endlessly!

As he spoke, a few of his punches missed. He was so angry that he nearly vomited blood.

Iron Palm was a technique that took the path of fierce and strong moves. It aimed to kill enemies with the fastest and most efficient speed possible.

But if the user ran into a person who did not want to fight against them head on, it made things difficult…

Li Shan felt like his punches landed on cotton. His powerful blows could not hit anything solid. Instead, he even brought suffering upon himself.

Happy completely ignored Li Shan’s crazed roars and continued moving about while avoiding a head on fight. He occasionally seized chances to hit him, angering Li Shan so much that he screamed and raged even louder, but he could do nothing about it.

As the two of them fought, Happy’s Shaolin’s Long Fist swiftly reached a breakthrough and went up to Level 70, which meant that he entered the eighth realm. The wind stirred up by his fists was gradually accompanied by louder and heavier booms, but Happy was too immersed in the fight to notice it. He didn’t see that the level of his Shaolin’s Long Fist continued to rise, and that the speed at which the progress bar filled up did not seem to have decreased…