Sword Among Us
chapter-121

All-powerful Medicinal Stone was very eccentric. Once he set his mind on something, he would definitely get to the bottom of it. When Happy refused to exchange information with the tribute for the emperor, which was worth cities, he became even more mysterious, and All-powerful Medicinal Stone became even more curious about him! He gave the reason that six hours had yet to be up as a reason to stay near Happy. He talked about nothing and everything and asked questions in a roundabout manner.

Happy would still answer him in the beginning, but later on, he completely ignored him and let him talk on his own. After all, people like All-powerful Medicinal Stone would not take offense to others ignoring them.

Happy now had four Horse Plates in his Universe Bag. He also had 3,000 taels of silver crumbs and 2,000 taels of gold crumbs. The drop rate for money differed based on the target’s qi realm. The 2,000 taels of gold crumbs had dropped from the Mystical Realm bandit leader. Aside from the money, the Mystical Realm bandit leader had also given him a high-tier martial art manual—Five Tiger Rotating Hammer Technique. He also gained a middle-grade masterpiece—Arhat Ax.

The requirements to practice Five Tiger Rotating Hammer Technique were as such: Grandmaster Realm Rotating Hammer Technique. AST: 50, AFF: 50, CPH: 47, BMM: 48, Qi Realm: Mystical Realm.

The description for Arhat Ax was as such: Middle-grade masterpiece. Increases 440 attack, lowers 2 BMM, increases 50% blocking rate, increase 200 weapon defense.

It was obvious that he could not learn the former. First of all, even if ignoring the fact that he had not learned the low-tier martial art Rotating Hammer Technique, he could not even meet the requirements for the four attributes. His Qi Realm was not high enough as well. This technique was the same as Seven Stars Sword and Swimming Dragon, which were all beyond his reach, even though he had them within sight. For the time being, he could only set them aside.

Player: Happy

AST: 40, AFF: 37, CPH: 40, BMM: 41

The Mystical Realm bandit leader had dropped quite some items. Aside from the two that Happy could not use for the time being, he also gained a high-grade Horse Plate, which was the purplish red horse under him right then.

It was known as Scarlet Fox, and it was much faster and stronger than normal horses. It was the typical horse that could travel for hundreds of miles without getting tired. Even in the later stages of the game, when the drop rate would increase, such horses were still luxurious items that were worth thousands of gold crumbs.

Without any hesitation, Happy took away his original Horse Plate and put the purplish red Horse Plate by his waist. Then, he instinctively put on a wary expression while casting a glance at the unkempt man.

The latter also had his sights set on Happy’s Horse Plate. When he saw how extraordinary it was, his eyes sparkled, and he could not help but rub his fingers together. He looked extremely interested in it. However, when he met Happy’s gaze, he immediately wiped his mouth, sat up straight, and looked at the sky.

He seemed to have noticed that his actions just then made him look a little guilty. His face flushed red, and he snorted gently. “It’s just a high-grade Horse Plate. Hmph, that sort of thing hasn’t reached the level at which it could enter my sights.”

Happy was rendered speechless. He sighed.

There was just no way he could feel at ease with an expert thief by his side.

Of course, even though this man was used to stealing things, Happy’s experiences of training hard in the game were not for show. He looked through the other trinkets he obtained and could not help but feel a little pity. “That silver longbow should have been a high-grade masterpiece. It’s a pity that I didn’t manage to make it drop. Tsk…”

But his rewards could already be considered great!

Besides giving him a high-tier manual, a middle-grade masterpiece, a high-grade Horse Plate, the Mystical Grade bandit leader had also given him a few other low-tier martial art manuals and 2,000 taels of gold crumbs.

Furthermore, he got a Class S battle assessment for the second time!

While he dealt with the Mystical Realm bandit leader, he had also killed twenty other Forest Union bandits who were in the same qi realm as him. This made the system eventually determine that the danger of the battle this time was worthy of being classified as the highest danger class—Determined to Die.

Receiving the highest danger of battle assessment had not only increased Happy’s Comprehension and Body Movement by three points, it also pushed his high-tier martial art, Flowering Knights’ Song, into the later stage of the ninth realm from its initial eighth realm. With just one more step, he would enter the tenth realm.

Even though it might seem as if he had just gained one realm, high-tier martial arts were different from low-tier martial arts. A low-tier martial art could be level up within half a day, whereas high-tier martial arts would need more time the higher the realm was. The time necessary would practically multiply in length with each increase in realm. Thunderous Battle had trained for nearly five days to get from the eighth realm to the later stage of the ninth realm. From this, it could be seen just how hard it was to walk down to master high-tier martial arts.

But while it was difficult to practice them, the increase in qi with each new realm was something that low-tier martial arts could never hope to compare. In fact, the increase was even greater than of throwing knives, hidden weapons, qi cultivation techniques, and body fortification techniques.

A normal high-tier martial art could increase one’s qi by at least 25 points.

After all the time he spent practicing Flowering Knights’ Song, Happy’s qi had increased by more than twenty points. When his realm increased, his qi reached 126 points.

To reach the Gate Realm, 40 Qi Points were required. To reach Blessed Realm, 80 Qi Points were required. To reach Mystical Realm, 160 Qi Points were required. To reach Life and Death Realm, 240 Qi Points were required.

Happy now only needed 34 Qi Points to reach Mystical Realm.

“34 Qi Points.”

Happy quirked an eyebrow.

Even though his realm increased very quickly, he still needed one hundred Grandmaster Realm martial arts before he could fulfill the requirement for his clan quest to learn Shifting Stars. If he spent a lot of time mastering high-tier martial arts, the day when he could master Shifting Stars would be even further away from his grasp.

Hence, while the increase in his qi if he practiced high-tier martial arts was great, it would waste too much of his time. Happy did not have the intention to learn too many of them.

“Hey, instead of spending our time daydreaming in this place, why don’t we take a stroll and look for stuff to do? There is definitely a place to practice martial arts in Mount Song, right?”

All-powerful Medicinal Stone could no longer sit still. He gave another suggestion.

Happy just ignored him.

‘Practice martial arts?’

All the places that were available to practice martial arts were areas were wanderers would go to, which meant that there would be people there. He did not want others to notice that there was a red dot within three-tenths of a mile from them. While it would mean a fortuitous event and treasures for others, to him, it would just spell endless trouble!

Once the news spread to Mount Song, not only would he attract the attention of the thirteen staff-using monks, he would also attract the attention of millions of Shaolin Disciples. Happy did not have the intention to turn into a genocidal maniac.

Half a minute went by…

All-powerful Medicinal Stone moved around, choosing a couple different spots and stayed in them for a while before he switched to another spot. He stared at Happy, who sat on the ground for a very long time without moving, unable to understand him.

“No way…” he said again. “Do you intend to sit here until the emperor’s birthday arrives?”

His gaze was incredibly bitter.

Happy was speechless.

He opened his eyes and cast All-powerful Medicinal Stone a glance. Then, he could not help but let out a sigh that was filled with various emotions.

“Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid and boring.”

“If you still refused to speak, I would have thought that you’ve fossilized after sitting for so long.” All-powerful Medicinal Stone rolled his eyes in an unhappy manner. This was the first time he met a young man who could remain silent for so long.

“When night arrives, the wild beasts around Mount Song will be very enthusiastic. At that time, you’ll be very busy. So it’d be best if you rested a little more and saved up your strength, or you’ll end up not being able to endure the fight.”

His serious and earnest expression made All-powerful Medicinal Stone believe his words. He swept his gaze around the depths of the forest, which had already darkened, and he took a deep breath. His voice also became much softer.

“The wild beasts will run amok? Are you serious?”

“Yup.”

“Then… will there be rats? I’m scared of rats the most.”

All-powerful Medicinal Stone shrank a little. He gulped, and his nervous expression made Happy feel troubled once he saw it. He wanted badly to just stand up and run until he disappeared from All-powerful Medicinal Stone’s sight. With this utterly eccentric person by his side, Happy did not know whether he wanted to laugh or cry.