Sword Among Us
chapter-59

Chapter 59: Offline Martial Arts Tournament

The perfect chance of scoring himself a date with the woman of his dreams was destroyed by the figure of the woman who had suddenly entered Happy’s mind. Under Xu Xin’s curious gaze, he walked in front of her with an absent mind. Without saying anything to each other, they returned to the university, and Happy sent Xu Xin to the girls’ dorm.

Xu Xin stopped on the stairs leading to the girls’ dorm and looked at the pale-looking Happy in worry. “Are you alright?”

Happy forced himself to smile.

“I’m okay. I’ll be fine once I go back and sleep.”

“Alright, then you should go back and rest.” Xu Xin waved her hand.

Happy did not hesitate. He turned around and dragged himself back to his dorm with heavy footsteps.

*****

“You have a phone call!”

His phone rang. Happy picked it up his phone and looked at the call log. It was Xu Xin’s phone number.

“Hello?”

“Have you rested?” The voice on the other end of the phone was incredibly gentle and warm. It made Happy’s originally slightly cold heart become much warmer. He could not help but nod and let out a hum.

“I’m a little better now.”

Xu Xin hesitated for a moment before she said, “Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

He hung up his phone, and Happy sat powerlessly in front of his computer. He took a few deep breaths, and his gaze landed on a name on the South China Martial Arts Ranking Board shown on his computer screen. His gaze changed from its initial tenderness to confusion before it turned into pain and conflict. The emotions in his eyes continued changing, and after an unknown amount of time, he finally took in a very deep breath, and a resolute look appeared in his eyes.

In his previous life, that woman had adored and worshiped him. She entered the depths of his heart later on, but in the end, she became someone who hurt and left him. This time…

Happy sighed deeply. A hint of barely noticeable anguish could be seen at the corners of his lips. He sat back on his bed with an incredibly heavy heart. He slowly put on the silver-white helmet, which was as warm as a piece of jade.

‘I won’t give you a chance to hurt me again!”

Once the scene before him turned into that of a valley and he felt the bright sun high in the sky scorch the ground while exuding a bright light, Happy’s cold mood became slightly better.

Flutter…

Soon after he gained a steady footing, a white messenger pigeon flapped its wings and appeared in front of him.

Happy was slightly stunned, but he grabbed it in a familiar motion. He carefully took out the letter tied to the messenger pigeon’s leg, cast it a glance, frowned, and opened the letter.

It was not Whirlwind Young Li or any of his friends’ handwriting. Instead, it was a letter from a person whom he had only met once and who could even be said to have such a bad relationship with him that they were enemies.

The name written at the end of the letter was Nangong Ying.

In her letter, she said that Dragon Tiger Sect did not ask for his forgiveness, but would use its actions to change all its terrible habits. Nangong Ying had replaced Long Meng as Dragon Tiger Sect’s vice sect master and had laid down strict rules to restrict the sect’s actions. She said that she was willing to use money to compensate for the two times they troubled Happy for provoking him. She also hoped that they could become friends or even companions in the future.

Happy was not in a good mood. Hence, it was only natural that he did not pay too much attention to Dragon Tiger Sect’s letter, neither did he bother himself with it.

[You worry too much.] He carelessly wrote in his reply and continued to train in the valley.

If there was anyone else in the area, they would definitely notice that Happy had become much fiercer and more serious in his training! Not only did he run like the wind when he activated Cloud Treading Steps and gave off a murderous aura, but when he circulated his qi, there was a very thick murderous aura about him. If Dragon Tiger Sect appeared at that moment, they might not be able to go back in one piece like before.

*****

The deadline for the martial arts tournament South China Martial Arts Ranking Board held for the University of South China was on the second day. There was a total of four thousand or so people who had registered for it. Among them were even students from some of the smaller universities around the area. Some of the alumni who had just graduated had also joined. It was incredibly lively.

The official developers set up a tunnel for the offline martial arts assembly in different regions. They had all the people who registered to join the tournaments get a number, and they could go to the space specifically set for the martial arts tournament from the government offices in their cities.

To prove that what he thought was true, Happy also registered and joined the tournament.

When he was in the government office in Gusu City, he ran into Nangong Ying before the martial arts tournament. She had also decided to join, but he did not know which region she belonged to.

“He-hello.”

The woman who had been as arrogant as a goddess in Jade Gate Restaurant felt her heart race when she suddenly ran into Happy without being prepared for it. She was even a little nervous when she spoke to him. But once she sucked in a deep breath, she found that he seemed to be thinking of something and had not noticed her at all. She could not help but feel a little frustrated.

“Hey!”

When she raised her voice a little, Happy finally snapped out of his daze. He frowned slightly and sized up Nangong Ying. He then nodded at her faintly.

“Good day,” he said, and that was all.

When she noticed that Happy was not as domineering as he was during their second meeting, Nangong Ying let out a slight breath of relief before she summoned her courage and asked, “Are you here for the martial arts tournament as well? Which region do you belong to?”

Happy languidly wiped his Noble Sword. He ignored her.

‘Hmph! If you don’t want to say it, fine!’

But Nangong Ying did not dare voice her thoughts. She rolled her eyes in annoyance while criticizing him in her heart. She looked incredibly alluring and adorably wilful, which made her even more charming than usual.

However, in her mind, it was a sure thing that the Blue-robed Noble Sword User would show incredible splendour during the martial arts tournament. At that time, it would not be difficult for her to find out to which region he belonged through the information given by the official website.

Even though she was a little disappointed, she knew she had no chance of getting into the top ranks in this tournament. However, when she remembered that she could get to know his identity, she felt incredibly smug.

The two people did not say anything else to each other until the moment the martial arts tournament started.

The scene before Happy’s eyes changed. He appeared on an empty stage and looked around. The stage was made of sturdy marble. It was elevated from the ground by around thirteen to sixteen feet, but the diameter of the stage itself was less than sixty-five feet. The space available for moving and dodging was very small, and there was no audience around him.

A light crease appeared between his eyebrows. He suddenly remembered Nangong Ying’s getup, and he swiftly brought out an article of clothing from his Universal Bag. He drew his Noble Sword from its sheath and brandished it a few times before he cut the article of clothing into a triangular piece of cloth. He grabbed it and tied it around his face.

Once he was done with it, another person appeared across from him on the stage.

It was a girl.

The notification from the system showed up at that moment.

“This is an elimination tournament. Participants must go through seven battles. All those who win four battles can go to the next round!

“Each round is limited to ten minutes. If the participant admits defeat, they can withdraw from their current battle. If the participant dies or falls off the stage, they will be seen to have lost the battle. Both participants will automatically be sent to the next round.

“First round. Both participants are members of South China Martial Arts Ranking Board: Happy and Glutinous Rice.”

“Glutinous Rice?”

“Happy?”

The girl across from Happy was rather pretty and looked like a heroine. She stood tall and straight while blinking rapidly. She seemed to be in the same mood as Happy, finding his name to be rather amusing.

Happy did not think long. He thought about it for one second, but did not remember her name. With a shake, the Noble Sword let out a clear sword whistle, and Happy moved along with it straight at his opponent.