6 sword

They fell down!

At the moment Happy landed in front of Xiao Shan and the man with the long flute, two Ming Cult members moved like kites with their strings snapped. He weaved his way through them, and they fell one after another on the ground, unable to stand up anymore.

The Ming Cult members around Happy instinctively looked in his direction as if they had been struck by lightning!

They saw that the fallen Ming Cult members had a terrifying trail of blood that was about two feet long drawn from their throats to their waists. Even though they were Mystical Realm players and their body fortifications were not weak, they were actually killed instantly with one slash?

The Ming Cult members who originally wanted to go up to block Happy and his party felt as if lead filled their legs. They could not take half a step forward even after a long time had passed. They just stared from a distance with shock and fear.

Zhou Yu was also stunned slightly!

Even though he had heard about Happy's sword thrust that had managed to kill Class One Hall's Vice Hall Master Barren Murderer in one hit and how astonishing it was, the sword slash Happy executed just then was very normal. It did not seem like the rumored secret technique.

Besides, when he heard the people behind him discussing it, their words made him notice the Nation Protecting Divine Sword Happy held in his hands.

There were three colors flowing around the sword, and it had an additional layer that shone with a magnificent and phantasmal color after it fused with the other three colors. It looked incredibly noble and mysterious. The sharpness of the longsword could be seen clearly, and it was even more dazzling than the Heavenly Sword Emei Sect's Mistress Annihilation had held.

Zhou Yu felt his heart tremble!

For the first time ever, a solemn expression appeared on his face. He scowled and uttered two words that were barely audible, "Fourth echelon."

There were two other people who managed to recognize the weapon in Happy's hands.

They were Dream Clouds and Blood Robes, who were on the six great system-allocated sects' side. Both of them had seen many third-echelon Nation Protecting Divine Swords, so they could naturally tell that while the sword Happy held was Nation Protecting Divine Sword, it was even more awe-inspiring and aggressive than third-echelon ones. It was like a divine weapon!

Their expressions turned pale.

Alarm and panic flashed for a brief moment in their eyes.

Third-echelon Nation Protecting Divine Swords increased the damage by 1,250 points, but a fourth-echelon Nation Protecting Divine Sword was a monstrous product!

It had supreme grade materials that were worth more than one hundred million taels of silver fused into it during refinement, and all its attributes had been increased up to 300%, which meant that it had a total of 2,000 damage.

The increase in attack speed of Nation Protecting Divine Speed was not that obvious during the initial refinements, but during the later stages, the increase in attack speed by 300% made Happy's normal attacks look like secret techniques, and with that terrifying damage, he produced the effect that caught the two Ming Cult members off guard. It was enough to strike them down like they were twigs.

At that moment, Dream Clouds and Blood Robes were not the only ones who felt uneasy. Everyone in the area felt the threat that came from Happy.

He was like a sword that was still in its sheath, but already displayed his abilities as he approached them slowly.

For a brief moment, the chaotic battlefield paused.

Everyone's gazes were focused on Happy as he walked slowly to Zhang Wuji.

"Stop him!" Once he snapped out of his daze, Zhou Yu quickly gave an order to the man next to him.

Xiao Shan reacted quickly and left behind an afterimage in his place.

The flautist also placed the flute in front of his mouth in an agile motion for the first time ever and started playing.

Once the sound of the flute rose, Happy noticed that the area around him had begun to become distorted. Warning bells rang in his heart, and without a single bit of hesitation, he swung his sword in the direction of the powerful wind.

Whoosh!

Almost at the same time, Xiao Shan appeared and cut at Happy.

Golden Bell Cocoon!

Xiao Shan's teamwork with the flautist was perfect. He could use the suddenness of his movements to kill people in one strike the moment the flautist controlled them with his Soul Capturing Flute Note.

But he did not think that Happy's reaction speed would be much faster!

Golden Bell Cocoon appeared around his body.

Xiao Shao's certain kill strike was one of the three great killing moves from Jing Wuming, and it contained astonishingly destructive abilities.

Unfortunately, its destructive properties were Xiao Shan's greatest reason for failure.

The rebound from the golden bell caused the purlicue in Xiao Shan's sword-wielding hand to tear. He froze for a moment, and a dazzling light that was not at all inferior to his fatal slash sliced past his vision!

One slash in exchange for the other!

Happy was still uninjured, but Xiao Shan paid with his life.

Thud!

When Xiao Shan fell to the ground, a barely audible gust of wind struck the center of the flautist's sternum quietly. He shuddered, and the notes instantly came to a stop. He staggered a few feet backward and coughed up blood all over the ground. His face turned as pale as a sheet.

Ancient Wind's eyes went wide. It was only at that moment that he realized that the cold but frail-looking girl in front of him was a rarely seen elite.

She had managed to injure the flautist with one finger, which was an ability that no normal person possessed.

One of the two elites by Zhang Wuji's right had died, and the other was injured. It happened in an instant, and it shocked as well as intimidated the Ming Cult players once more. The people nearby moved backward, and when they looked at Happy walking over slowly, it seemed like they were looking at some sort of terrifying beast.

When Zhou Yu saw that things had progressed to this state, he understood that it was impossible for him to block the enemy.

He could only watch as Happy, Momo, and Ancient Wind strike at Zhang Wuji.

Boom!

Even though Zhang Wuji was heavily injured, he still had the power to counterattack. He delivered a palm strike to each of the trio.

A powerful force rose and swept outwards!

In an instant, sand and stones rose into the air. Dust swirled in the area, and Momo as well as Ancient Wind were the first to be affected. They were forced back and sent flying away while coughing up blood nonstop. However, since Zhang Wuji was heavily injured, he did not have the ability to kill the trio instantaneously.

Happy remained in the dust.

At the moment Zhang Wuji's attack was about to touch him, he activated Golden Bell Cocoon and Petite Dragon to avoid the attack by a hair's breadth. He also became the only person to not be forced to retreat after Zhang Wuji's attack.

Dragon Capture! Stormy Shadowless Kick!

At the moment Happy shot forward, he seized Zhang Wuji's arm and pushed his palm against the man's chest as quickly as lightning.

Bang!

The moment his palm touched Zhang Wuji's body, Happy could clearly feel an incredibly strange power circulating in Zhang Wuji's body.

Zhang Wuji's body flew out from the dust! He landed on the ground and coughed up blood.

As for Happy, he was forced more than thirty feet back because of the power of Nine Yang Divine Skill that was reflected by Zhang Wuji's body.

'As expected of Zhang Wuji.'

But Happy was not someone easy to deal with. Even though he knew that Zhang Wuji was incredibly tough because he had Nine Yang Divine Skill as well as Heaven and Earth Great Shift, which meant that he could shift the location of his vital accupressure points at any moment he desired to reduce the damage on his body, every single time he did that, the burden on his body became even greater.

At the moment Happy was sent flying, he patted his waist, and a Soaring Eagle Sword sliced through the air to chase after Zhang Wuji.

"Dream on!" Zhou Yu flew into a rage.

He had been helpless when Happy and his party fought against Zhang Wuji, but if he let Happy injure Zhang Wuji severely by himself, Zhou Yu's dignity would be crushed.

He flung his silver spear forward, and a piercing glare sliced through the air to block the Soaring Eagle Sword perfectly.

Unfortunately for him, it was not that easy to intercept Happy's Soaring Eagle Sword.

Thud!

The overlapping Soaring Eagle Sword split up beforehand.

Clang!

In the end, Zhou Yu only managed to block one Soaring Eagle Sword. The other two continued toward Zhang Wuji.

When Happy's attack was about to be effective, someone descended from the sky!

His fingers were like metal when he seized the Soaring Eagle Swords that had arrived in front of Zhang Wuji. Then, the exquisite and sharp Soaring Eagle Swords were instantly reduced to scrap metal by the old but powerful hands.

"Enough!"

White-browed Eagle King was like a towering mountain while standing beside Zhang Wuji. When he looked at the teenager who was heavily injured but whose expression remained the same, for the first time ever, a gentle look that was rarely seen on him appeared on his stern face and eyes.

"Grandpa."

Zhang Wuji wore a pained smile, but it was his address that made the expression of White-browed Eagle King to change drastically, even though his countenance had not changed once while he faced the elites from the six great system-allocated sects!

"Time's up!

"Effectively hit Ceng A'niu twice. Obtained the affection of the teachers from the six great sects! Increased reputation by 5,000 points. Lose 1,000 chivalry points. Obtained 1,000 points."

The stream of notifications caused Happy to release a breath of relief. 'Two times? Looks like Dragon Capture is considered an effective attack. I've earned big this time.'

He had obtained more than 1,300 points on the way, so at that moment, he had 2,300 points. There might not be anyone in the six great system-allocated sects who could compare to him right then.

"Wuji! You're my boy Wuji!"

White-browed Eagle King's excited voice rang through the valley.

Wudang Sect's Song Yuanqiao, the sixth hero, and the seventh hero rushed out of the six great system-allocated sects' camp and surrounded Zhang Wuji. There might have been a small change to the plot, but it quickly returned to the original track.

When the players saw that, they understood that the quest at Light Summit had almost ended. With Zhang Wuji's identity exposed, Wudang Sect would definitely be unable to continue attacking. They would retreat, and the teachers of the six great system-allocated sects who lost to Zhang Wuji would find themselves too embarrassed to continue staying at Light Summit, and they will leave with their people as well.

As expected, Mistress Annihilation turned around and cast Zhou Zhiruo a glance. "I see, so you knew a long time ago that he's Zhang Wuji… Hmph!"

Zhou Zhiruo was very afraid of Mistress Annihilation, and she lowered her head without a word.

When Happy returned to the Emei Sect disciples, he saw that Zhou Zhiruo was incredibly upset, and he sighed in his heart. 'I knew it was going to happen, and I didn't manage to avoid it. Zhou Zhiruo's attack caused her to fall even deeper into the throes of love, and she is filled with self-blame and worry. Those feelings will fill her heart, and she won't be able to extract herself from it.'

"Amitabha." The abbot of Shaolin Temple called out the name of Buddha. "Since our six sects have lost in the hands of this young patron, we are willing to admit defeat. Everyone, it is not convenient for Shaolin Temple to stay for long in this place. We will take our leave now!"

"This is…" Kunlun Sect's He Taichong might not have been very willing to admit defeat, but when he saw that Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect had stopped attacking, he found that he no longer had a pillar of support, which was why he snorted, flung his sleeves, and left.

Immediately after, Mount Hua Sect and Emei Sect led their people down the mountain as well!

The sea of fire in the ravine behind the valley had been extinguished by then.

The members of Ming Cult and the six great system-allocated sects outside the ravine also received a notification from the system and had their real identities restored. They were released from the quest at Light Summit.

"That's all?"

"Damn it!"

"I only managed to make it to Mount Huangshan after rushing to this place for a few days and nights, but you're telling me that the quest at Light Summit has ended before I even saw the teachers and Zhang Wuji's shadow?"

"What the heck?!"

"This is a scam!"

Countless players gave up and cursed the heavens.

Even though the players who managed to survive the quest had some points, they could not get any benefits from the six great system-allocated sects or Ming Cult. It could be said that they had served as background characters for the quest, and it was easy to imagine just how great was their anger and grievance.

The people who were blocked by the sea of fire felt the most aggrieved!

They could tell that the six great system-allocated sects were about to engage in a furious battle in the valley, but they had been blocked outside. That was clearly something the system had intentionally cooked up to stop them and limit the number of players who could insert themselves into the plot.

"Bastards!"

"If I knew this, I wouldn't have come."

Many people complained to the high heavens, and after cursing up a storm, they went down the mountain. Some of them even came to a decision that they would never participate in this sort of quest if they ran into another one in the future.

It was a scam! It was so obviously a scam!

Most players only came to understand later that if they were too far away from a storyline quest, they did not need to participate in them at all, because they would waste a lot of time just to come over. Besides, such quests did not require a large number of people participating in them. If there were too many people around, the system would just increase the limits on who could remain till the end.

For example, the second half of the quest at Light Summit was only for half a day, so mobilizing one million men for it was a little too much.

However, it was the first time many people saw a quest adapted from an original Wuxia novel since the game had been launched. It was only natural then that they would be very passionate about it, and their enthusiasm swelled. Everyone wanted to participate, but coming over from far away was a bit of a waste of time.

This time, quite a lot of players who did not have high qi realms had managed to earn the chance to be among the top players in the game. The few days they took to travel back and forth had allowed them to have their qi increase to higher heights.

*****

When the mass of people descended from the hill, Happy and his party were mixed among the players in the valley. They were not immediately released from the quest at Light Summit.

Besides, Happy temporarily got rid of his plan to leave because of one sentence from Emei Sect's Mistress Annihilation: "Young Swordsman Happy, what do you think of my disciple?"

Happy, Momo, and Ancient Wind looked at Zhou Zhiruo, whom Mistress Annihilation had mentioned. Ancient Wind instantly nudged Happy's shoulder with a mischievous grin filled with ambiguous meanings on his face.

"Miss Zhou is very charming and enchanting. She has an ethereal presence, and she managed to injure Zhang Wuji with one slash. It's enough to tell that she has extraordinary attainments in sword skills and prove that your judgment is outstanding for taking her in as your disciple," Happy answered seriously.

His words caused Mistress Annihilation elderly face to turn red. She hid her blush with a smile, but Zhou Zhiruo glared at him in secret.

'Extraordinary attainments in sword skills?'

When Momo and Ancient Wind heard Happy's evaluation, they pursed their lips and looked elsewhere with stern expressions. They could not laugh in front of Mistress Annihilation.

"Young swordsman, you've praised my disciple wrongly," Mistress Annihilation said with a stern expression. "This lass cannot compare to you. You are young, but you managed to win against Zhang Wuji. I did not make a wrong judgment. Murong Clan's disciples are indeed extraordinary."

"Mistress, you praise me too much!" Happy was very humble.

"That Zhang Wuji is the boy from all those years ago. He is the son of the fifth hero of Wudang Sect. I didn't expect him to be so powerful now. Not even our mistress is his opponent."

Ding Minjun seemed to be unable to accept the fact that Zhou Zhiruo had just received favor from their mistress. She suddenly butted in, and Happy quirked his eyebrows. He immediately noticed that Mistress Annihilation's expression turned incredibly unpleasant, and in his mind, he thought, 'This woman might usually like to set up schemes, but she's still a simple-minded person. She doesn't know how to speak at all.'

But her reaction was incredibly quick!

"Junior sister, you seem to be very close to Zhang Wuji."

That one sentence pushed Zhou Zhiruo into the sight of Mistress Annihilation, who was fuming.

"Hmph! You traitorous disciple!"

Mistress Annihilation was someone who was straightforward and wore her heart on her sleeve. When she heard Ding Minjun mention the matter between Zhou Zhiruo and Zhang Wuji, her expression changed, and she snorted before she said, "I don't care how close you were to Zhang Wuji when you were children. Right now, Zhang Wuji is a member of the evil cult, and they are enemies of Emei Sect. Next time, when you see him, you don't need to say anything. Just draw your sword and kill him!"

Zhou Zhiruo said nothing.

"Did you hear me?!"

Zhou Zhiruo shuddered and quickly nodded in agreement.

When Happy saw this, he felt a pang in his chest. She was but a pitiful woman under Jin Yong's pen. It was already very difficult for her to remain so obedient when she was rebuked by such a mistress. It was no wonder then why she turned into an evil woman who targeted the entire world of martial artists later on.

"Mistress," Happy said. "Since the matter in Light Summit has been resolved, I should return to my clan and report this matter. That's why I will take my leave now."

He did not forget the fact that the mastermind behind the matter of the six great system-allocated sects surrounding and attacking Light Summit was Cheng Kun, but the people who carried out the plan was the imperial court—Princess Zhao Min of Ruyang Mansion.

If continued going with the people from Emei Sect, they would soon be attacked by the people from the imperial court!

Happy did not think that he could withstand the damage from Ten Fragrant Tendon Weakening Powder, which was an amazing poison in the world of martial artists.

"Wait." When Mistress Annihilation heard that Happy wanted to leave, she smiled and called out for him to stay. "You can't leave just yet. You've injured Zhang Wuji right in front of all martial artists during the battle at Light Summit. Emei Sect has also gained glory because of it! Besides, you've taken care of my disciples on the way.

"Emei Sect is considered a famous and huge sect, so it's still within my limits to provide instructions for a member of the younger generation such as you. Consider it as a way for me to return some of your favor."

'Instructions?'

Happy came to a stop.

That was too great of a joke!

Instructions from Emei Sect's Mistress Annihilation…

The seriousness of this could be great, but it could also be insignificant.

If it were normal instructions, Mistress Annihilation would only need to say a few words to increase Happy's Comprehension by one point or give him a secret manual for a sword technique. But Mistress Annihilation actually suggested for Happy to descend the mountain together with them.

Happy guessed that it should be a quest.

'What should I do?'

His mind raced. Happy could not quite grasp just how valuable would Mistress Annihilation's instructions be, and he hesitated.

After all, the person who would capture Mistress Annihilation was an elite from Ruyang Mansion. Right then, the Emei Sect disciples were tired after a great battle, and Ruyang Mansion would win with ease against the exhausted women. They could take down all of Emei Sect's members without a single bit of effort.

If Happy went along with them, he would definitely be in trouble.

Momo and Ancient Wind stared at Happy solemnly as well. They hoped that he would not lose everything just because his emotions overruled his head for a moment.

"Happy, reject the quest." Momo said quietly. "Don't forget about Ruyang Mansion. Hurry up and get your reward. Then we'll leave."

"Get my reward?" Happy was stunned.

"The battle has ended and the points have been accumulated. You haven't changed it for rewards yet, right? Do you intend to follow her to Emei Sect?" Momo cast him a puzzled glance. "I've already gotten my reward. I got myself one grade one masterpiece and two grade two masterpieces with over nine hundred points."

"Then why didn't I receive the notification from the system." Happy was stunned on the spot. He stared at Ancient Wind, and when he saw Ancient Wind nodding in agreement, he sucked in a deep breath. "It hasn't totalled up my points yet. The system didn't tell me to get my reward."

When the duo heard it, they were shocked. They exchanged a glance, and both of them had surprise on their faces.

It was the sign that the quest had yet to end.

"Could it be…"

"That it wants you to continue with the quest?"

"It's possible."

"Think about it carefully. If you continue, you'll be doing the quest at Ruyang Mansion. It'll be very dangerous!" the duo reminded him softly.

Happy thought about it long and hard. In the end, he looked at Mistress Annihilation.

"Alright, since you regard me highly, it will be best if I show my respect to you by obeying."

Just then, he had thought about it carefully. In his previous life, he did not remember receiving any word of a player from the six great system-allocated systems falling into any mishap when they descended the mountain. There was also no news of any subsequent quests from the six great system-allocated sects.

Happy had a bold assumption. Even if similar quests from the six great system-allocated sects appeared, there should only be a handful of people who could master them. Besides, the subsequent quests should be pretty good, or else, there would be some hints about them. Only some of the rarer hidden quests were hidden by players.

Of course, if he had missed hearing about it, then he could only blame himself for having bad luck.

Anyway, he did not have to be worried even if he died once. Thunderous Battle had obtained quite a lot of valuable medicinal herbs from the Thousand-year Blood Sucking Wood forest in Shennongjia. Among them were the valuable thousand-year ginseng and thousand-year Lingzhi that could allow a person to return to the peak of their condition.

Happy could take this risk!

Mistress Annihilation smiled and nodded.

"Alright. It's not good for us to stay here. Let's go down the mountain."

Happy turned to Momo and Ancient Wind.

"Since Mistress Annihilation has summoned me, let's part ways here. I don't know how much longer I'll need to follow the mistress, so if you have some free time, you can go to Baokang and help me look after Mu Clan for a while. I'll be eternally grateful if you do so."

"Since you agreed to it, then go at ease and worry about yourself! Until you come back, I'll stay in Baokang." Momo knew that Happy was worried that the quest would require a lot of time, which was why she agreed to it without hesitation.

Ancient Wind pondered it for a moment before he answered. "I'll go with Momo to Baokang, but Class One Hall isn't an easy opponent. I'll call a few friends to join me."

He also agreed to it. After all, Happy had taken care of him on the way, and he had also delivered an effective attack once, so he gained 500 points and got himself a valuable grade one masterpiece in exchange.

"Thank you!"

Once they finished speaking, Happy turned around resolutely and headed down the mountain with the Emei Sect members.

Momo felt very uneasy as she stared at the direction in which Happy disappeared.

Ancient Wind was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and he could be considered to be someone experienced, so he comforted her by saying, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Even Zhang Wuji was unable to do anything to him. The power of the top ranked player on the Famous People Rank isn't for show."

"Let's hope so."

Even though Momo received Ancient Wind's comforting words, she still did not become completely at ease.

Emei Sect did not leave quickly. In fact, they were actually quite slow.

It was only when all players had left Mount Huangshan that they reached the foot of the mountain. On the way, the number of Emei Sect disciples kept decreasing as well. When Happy saw that, he felt incredibly gloomy.

Suddenly, when they arrived at a rather dense forest that was at the foot of the mountain, Mistress Annihilation came to a stop at the front of the group!

A strange sound could be heard from every direction.

"Enemy ambush! Everyone, be careful."

The person who spoke was Happy.

Even though he was prepared to be ambushed when he followed Emei Sect down the mountain, when the moment truly arrived, he still could not stand Mistress Annihilation's actions. He shouted and jumped into the air like a bird.

Ding Minjun, Bei Jinyi, and Zhou Zhiruo tightened their grips over their weapons and put on wary expressions.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!!

Black smoke began tumbling toward them from all directions out of the blue.

"Be careful, there's poison in the smoke. Hold your breaths and charge out!"

Happy gave a command and woke up Mistress Annihilation. She then shouted loudly, "Listen to Young Swordsman Happy! Emei Sect disciples, hold your breaths and charge out with me!"

Once she finished speaking, Mistress Annihilation took the lead and charged up a tree. She tried to break out of the black smoke by going above it. Happy, Ding Minjun, Zhou Zhiruo, and hundreds of Emei Sect disciples followed closely behind her.

"Fire!"

There was Ten Fragrant Tendon Weakening Powder contained within the black smoke. Some Emei Sect disciples occasionally fell prey to it and fell from the air, terrifying the others so much that they did not dare to breathe.

The group could only brace themselves and charge 328 feet forward by force to get out of the ambush zone. Mistress Annihilation cast a glance at the Yuan Dynasty soldiers who were before her and wanted to turn around to escape, and she instantly flew into a rage.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Heavenly Sword was drawn, and sword force came charging out like a magnificent waterfall. Mistress Annihilation cut up the group of Yuan Dynasty soldiers into two before she smoothly returned her sword into its sheath. The entire deed was done in one go.

While Happy sighed in admiration regarding the old nun's extraordinary sword techniques, he frowned as well.

Mistress Annihilation did indeed have a fiery temper. Once it was triggered, she would not think about leaving a single person alive to look for information.

In his gloom, the system gave him a piece of good news.

"Successfully helped Mistress Annihilation avoid a disaster. Obtained 100 points!"

'As I expected! The quest from the final battle at Light Summit hasn't ended.' Happy felt his heart sink.

"Mistress, my junior sisters seem to be limp."

Zhou Zhiruo turned back and looked behind her. There were hundreds of her junior sisters who had fallen at the back and moaned nonstop. There were only around a dozen who managed to escape the disaster, and she instantly felt at a loss.

"Damn it, just what sort of poison has this sort of effect?" Mistress Annihilation turned her head around to look at the hundreds of disciples who did not manage to escape from the poison smog, but she did not dare approach them carelessly. She was so angry that she gritted her teeth in exasperation. "These dogs of the imperial court, I will definitely have them repay this debt sooner or later!"

"Mistress, this isn't the time for you to care about this. Since the imperial court decided to set up an ambush here, the other five sects might be their next target, since they were also injured badly after the great battle," Happy reminded her at the perfect moment.

Mistress Annihilation instantly sucked in a sharp breath. "The imperial court intends to defeat us while we are tired. They might have harbored the thought of defeating all the six great sects and Ming Cult in one go. This won't do. We must spread the news. Happy and Zhiruo, I will write a letter now. The two of you go and immediately bring it to Light Summit and hand it to Wudang Sect's Great Swordsman Song, have him tell the news to the heroes of the world!"

Happy and Zhou Zhiruo's expressions changed.

"What about you, mistress?" Zhou Zhiruo asked.

Happy said nothing.

"These children are still here, so where can I go? I will wait here and see just who wants to destroy Emei Sect." Mistress Annihilation lamented and sat down with her legs crossed. She was very determined. "You mustn't waste time. Hurry up and leave!"

More than half an hour was required to move from the foot of Mount Huangshan to Light Summit, and that was if they went at full speed and Ming Cult did not stop to fend against them.

"Stay where you are!"

When the group rushed out of the ravine that was previously a sea of fire, someone finally appeared at the stone steps leading to Light Summit and blocked Happy as well as Zhou Zhiruo. "Sir, how brave you are. How dare you come up to Ming Cult?"

The person who appeared was Zhou Yu, chief of Phoenix Sun Branch of Ming Cult. Zhou Yu swept his gaze over Zhou Zhiruo's enchanting curves while she moved forward at the opportune moment to provide an explanation.

Zhou Yu smiled faintly then and his gaze landed on Happy. "I see you received a quest. Congratulations."

Once he finished speaking, he calmly opened up a path without any intention to stop them.

Happy did not say anything.

He admired Zhou Yu in his heart. When he saw Zhou Yu move away elegantly, he immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and nodded at him. He then led Zhou Zhiruo past him to head to Light Summit.

They left swiftly.

"Big Brother Zhou, why did you let him leave so easily? Xiao Shan died in his hands, you know?" The sounds of robes fluttering could be heard, and the flautist appeared behind Zhou Yu with a displeased expression.

Zhou Yu turned around slowly and said, "I know. If it were anyone else, it would have been easier, and I would have fought against them for a while, but he brought with him Zhou Zhiruo. Sigh, she's a woman the quest won't allow us to touch. If we attack her and the cult master learns about this, everything we did today will be in vain."

He paused for a moment before he continued. "Xiao Shan did not suffer any injustice when he died. Happy lives up to his name as the top ranked player on the Famous People Rank. Besides, even if we worked together today, we might not be able to kill him."

"Hmph! I can't calm down. When I think about Xiao Shan dying in his hands and how he managed to get a hidden quest to go to Ming Cult's Light Summit, I feel so angry that I want to tear him apart." The flautist was not as magnanimous as Zhou Yu.

"Then work hard on improving your skills; otherwise, if you just rely on your mouth, you won't be able to kill Happy." After saying that, Zhou Yu leisurely looked up and sighed. "I remember that my little sister warned me to pay attention to Happy in the beginning, but I didn't pay too much attention to her words. If I knew that he would rise to fame during the Emperor's Birthday, I might have stolen his tribute and fought against him."

"It's not too late now." The flautist's eyes sparkled.

Zhou Yu cast him a faint glance before he said leisurely, "He has a fourth-echelon Nation Protecting Divine Sword. Do some calculations on how much his attack speed and damage have increased."

"By the way, why didn't that fourth-echelon grade one masterpiece appear on the Divine Weapon Rank?" Once Zhou Yu gave him a pointer, the flautist felt his heart tremble. The volume of his voice increased from his disbelief. "Why hasn't it been renewed yet? What's going on?"

"You're asking me? You picked the wrong person." A sparkle appeared in Zhou Yu's eyes. "Wandering Know-it-all is the one who writes that book. Go ask him that question. Right now, I want to know just how many fourth-echelon equipment pieces Happy has aside from that fourth-echelon Nation Protecting Divine Sword."

The flautist said nothing.

*****

While the flautist was astonished by Zhou Yu noticing all those things, Happy had already led Zhou Zhiruo into Ming Cult's headquarters without any obstacles in the way.

The disciples of the six great sects had already descended Mount Huangshan, which was why their arrival did not stir up a major reaction from the Ming Cult members. When they heard of the reason why they were there, they soon brought Song Yuanqiao over.

Song Qingshu also came over with an excited expression. He must have heard from the Ming Cult members that someone from Emei Sect had come over with something to tell them. When he learned that it was Zhou Zhiruo, he went through the trouble of coming out and meeting them.

"Hehe, I see, so it's Young Swordsman Happy." When Song Yuanqiao saw Happy again, there were hints of complicated emotions on his face. After all, Zhang Wuji was his fifth brother's son, and Happy had nearly killed him. However, he still showed a magnanimous attitude.

"Young swordsman, you came back. Why is that so?"

Song Qingshu decided to go to Zhou Zhiruo and attend to her. "Junior Sister Zhiruo, why did you come here?"

Zhou Zhiruo ignored Song Qingshu and went down on one knee, giving Song Yuanqiao and Song Qingshu a shock. "Great Swordsman Song, Emei Sect has been ambushed by the dogs of the imperial court. Right now, hundreds of my sect members are in danger. My mistress is also in a perilous situation. Great Swordsman Song, I hope that you can lend us a hand."

Happy cast a curious glance at Song Qingshu. He remembered that Song Qingshu should have followed the crowd to return to Wudang Sect, with which he would also be captured. Why was he here?

"What?!" As expected, Song Yuanqiao's expression changed drastically. "Please, get up. What happened. Tell me in detail."

Something major had happened, and Song Qinghu did not dare to act rashly. He stood and listened to Zhou Zhiruo narrate the entire matter once she stood up.

Song Yuanqiao's expression changed repeatedly, and he looked incredibly solemn.

"This is bad!

"If the six sects are ambushed at the same time, wouldn't my sixth brother be—"

"Dad, sixth uncle is in danger!"

It was only then that Song Qingshu remembered about that matter. Song Yuanqiao had wanted to take care of Zhang Wuji, and so Song Qingshu stayed with his seventh uncle in Ming Cult, but his sixth uncle had led the Wudang Sect disciples to return to the sect and spread the news that Zhang Wuji had not died yet back to Wudang Sect.

"Let's go and take a look."

When he heard Song Qingshu's suggestion, Song Yuanqiao shook his head solemnly. "There are many powerful fighters in the imperial court. They must have sent a lot of their elites to fight against the six great sects, so if we go, it'll be too late, and we might even end up dying ourselves."

"Great Swordsman Song, please save my mistress!" Zhou Zhiruo panicked when she heard that, and she began crying.

"Miss Zhou, please don't panic. If you want to save your mistress, you must seek help from Ming Cult. I'll go talk to Wuji," Song Yuanqiao said solemnly.

"Isn't Zhang Wuji recovering from his wounds?"

A flash of regret and worry appeared in Zhou Zhiruo's eyes. She caught up to Song Yuanqiao, but she did not expect that the worry in her voice would displease Song Qingshu. A hint of hate appeared briefly in his eyes.

"Wuji has Nine Yang Divine Skill, and his physical constitution is incredibly good. He can recover after taking medicine and resting for a while. By the way, I forgot to tell you, but Wuji has been elected as the cult master of Ming Cult."

Zhou Zhiruo was so shocked by the sudden news that she could not speak.

Song Qingshu snorted. "Being a cult master of an evil cult means that he'll die sooner or later."

"Qingshu!" Song Yuanqiao glared at him to reprimand him.

The group arrived went to the inner hall of Ming Cult's headquarters. When they saw Zhang Wuji, they found that his face was now clean. He was recovering from his wounds with the help of the seven elites from Ming Cult. Even if they were in the distance, they could already sense the hot and pure qi from his body crashing into their faces.

Happy and Zhou Zhiruo were both people who had injured Zhang Wuji, so their presence immediately brought displeasure to the seven elites from Ming Cult.

"Great Swordsman Song, why did you bring those two here?"

"Miss Zhou."

Zhang Wuji did not think too deeply about it. He immediately stopped circulating his qi and comforted Yang Xiao as well as the others before he arrived in front of Zhou Zhiruo.

She bowed beautifully. "I, Zhou Zhiruo, greet Cult Master Zhang. I hope that you can lend a hand and save my mistress."

"Your mistress? Mistress Annihilation? What's wrong with her?" The delight on Zhang Wuji's face instantly vanished, and he looked at Happy in puzzlement.

When he noticed that Zhang Wuji's gaze was neither wary nor filled with hate, Happy felt slightly guilty.

"Cult Master Zhang, you have a kind heart. If we have a hero like you taking care of Ming Cult, it is a blessing for the world of martial artists!" Happy opened up the conversation with such words and repeated Zhou Zhiruo's words.

"The six great sects have been ambushed, and the martial artists will definitely blame this on Ming Cult! Cult master, since you've already decided to revive Ming Cult, we must take this matter into our hands," Yang Xiao said when he walked up. His gaze moved back and forth between Happy and Zhou Zhiruo's faces.

Happy felt as if he had just been sliced by a knife.