Sword Among Us

Once Thunderous Battle slowed down, his movements and efficiency in dodging instantly fell. The demonic sound that kept on echoing in the air also affected his ability to determine the mysterious man’s attacks through the wind. A sense of danger rose in his heart, and he knew that things had gone bad. Without any hesitation, he activated his body fortification technique and prepared to leave the battlefield.

The mysterious man’s flying needles continued attacking Thunderous Battle, who had trouble fighting back. The continuous throwing needles made the air roar while rapidly whittling down Thunderous Battle’s body fortification technique.

The flying needles had great damage, and after a round of attacks, the light from the body fortification technique around Thunderous Battle became dim. It was on the verge of collapse.

Thunderous Battle did not say anything, but he was shocked. It was only then that he realized that the person before him was indeed extraordinary. It was a stupid move on his part to challenge a player with an ultimate technique by himsel, and he quickly increased his speed in retreating.

However, the speed of the man’s attacks only increased.

For the first time ever, his Needle Tide had failed against a player, and his confidence was damaged. It increased the killing intent in his heart, and he was eager to use Thunderous Battle’s blood to wash away his failure.

At that moment, Happy attacked!

“Hmph!”

When he saw that the mysterious man continued to bother Thunderous Battle, Happy finally became angry! A hint of killing intent shone in his eyes, and he swiftly swiped at his waist with his hands. He grabbed the item without ever stopping and swung his hands forward.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Two cold glares shone one after another. Under the effect of the powerful suction force in the air, the speed of the lights, which was already extraordinary, increased even more. They shot through the battlefield.

However, the target of the two throwing knives appeared to be a little strange.

One of them flew dozens of feet away from the mysterious man, and the other was way off even in terms of height. It looked like it had been a long time since Happy had used his throwing knives and had completely missed his target.

However, when the first throwing knife that seemed to have no chance to affect the battlefield landed,the mysterious man suddenly lost balance while moving freely in the air. His body froze as if he had lost whatever force had been guiding his body, and he suddenly fell straight toward the second throwing knife that came charging at him.

The mysterious man had not noticed the two throwing knives.

However, the sudden snapping of the threads and the extremely precise throwing knives instantly brought a sense of danger that made his skin crawl. His heart froze, and in the end, he could not spare any attention to deal with Thunderous Battle. He flicked his wrists and knocked away the throwing knife that had arrived in front of his chest. Then, he spun in the air, controlling his fall, and landed on steady feet.

The moment he landed, he looked up at the young man who slowly walked into the battlefield.

It was the second time!

It was the second time he was forced to the ground.

The first time was when the young man had saved Little North. The mysterious man had nearly been dragged to the ground through the force that came through the threads connecting him to Happy’s saber. The young man had seen through his Needle Tide and noticed the threads hidden in the air.

The mysterious man swept his gaze over the area.

Thunderous Battle had done what the young man told him and seized the chance to quickly leave the battlefield. He guarded Little North, who was circulating his qi to heal his wounds.

Judging by how much those two trusted the young man, he was the strongest among the trio. This was something that was not difficult to tell.

When the mysterious man thought about it, a light crease appeared between his eyebrows, and his expression became solemn again. He had an array of complicated emotions in his heart, and no one knew whether he was cursing his fate for running into multiple top-tier players in the stupid forest.

Happy entered the battlefield and went to the area filled with the demonic sound. His robes fluttered, and he sensed the pressure and the unpleasant resistance in the air all around him while staying calm and relaxed.

‘Sunflower Manual and Sunflower Aura, they sure live up to their name.’

Suddenly, the mysterious man frowned, and with slight surprise in his voice, he said, “I see, so you’re Happy, the top person on the Famous People Rank. You do indeed live up to your name.”

“You praise me too much. You’re not too bad yourself. You’re the successor of Sunflower Manual. Once you master your skills in the future, you will face boundless possibilities.” Happy’s tone was calm. He did not sound proud and charmed that he had been recognized.

“I didn’t expect to run into you in this place.”

The mysterious man seemed to have become even more wary than before. He mumbled about how interesting it was under his breath while throwing a flying needle and gathering all the flying needles scattered in the area back to him.

“I heard that you killed two great players on Dragon Rank on your own in Fox Cave, along with another thirty or so top-tier players. I’d like to see whether you can force me to use my full strength.”

When he said that, the expressions of Thunderous Battle and Little North changed slightly while they were not too far away.

He had still been holding back?

When he heard it, Happy chuckled softly.

“What are you laughing at?” The mysterious man’s eyes fixed on Happy as swiftly as lightning. His tone quickly turned cold. “Hmph! If I were in Fox Cave, none of those people would have been able to escape.”

Happy’s expression did not change.

It was only natural that he knew just how great Sunflower Manual was.

In his previous life, the mysterious person had used his Needle Tide, which could be used smoothly everywhere, to kill many of the great players on the Dragon Rank and Phoenix Rank, because not many people understood the secret behind listening to the wind to determine the location of his attacks. Of course, they were also at a disadvantage because they fought in the area where Sunflower Aura was active.

Happy could not be bothered to say anything as an explanation, so he only whispered, “You will soon know.”

Then, a provocative and cold glare shone in his eyes, which enraged the mysterious man, and the curtains for the duo’s fight were drawn!

*****

When great martial artists fought, they would usually only need to exchange one hit to know just how strong their opponent was.

The mysterious man’s flying needles were completely useless before Happy. At the moment he raised his hand, Happy knew his attack trajectory, and he took short and swift footsteps forward to avoid it. Sometimes, he would even use his hand to knock the needles away. He looked like an otherworldly, extraordinary, and erudite person. His actions alone made the mysterious man lose the desire to use his flying needles to attack him again.

Sunflower Aura and his flying needles were completely useless!

But Happy’s throwing knives were also useless against him.

The mysterious man knocked away the throwing knives far into the distance with just one hand. A low-tier hidden weapons technique was completely unusable against him.

The exchange of blows made it clear that long-distance attacks could not deal any damage to either of them. The distance between them gradually became shorter while they continued to treat the situation gravely, and a dangerous and tense atmosphere became more prominent.

The two of them simultaneously decided to test the other through close-quarters combat.

Even though Happy’s name had spread far and wide, the mysterious man was still very confident in himself. After all, all enemies within the area of Sunflower Aura would be affected, and they could only use less than eight-tenths of their usual speed and strength.

Sunflower Manual was a different ultimate technique compared to Ten True Dragon Styles.

It included a lightness skill, body movement techniques, body fortification techniques, qi cultivation techniques, and practically everything else one may need. The techniques could also change based on the user’s different physical conditions.

In the meantime, Ten True Dragon Styles only provided profound skills. The two were completely different.

Ever since he had begun to practice Sunflower Manual, the mysterious man’s fair palms had become as hard as steel. Even if he did not bring any weapons, he could easily fight head on against Green Jade Shrouded in Heavenly Silks without falling into a disadvantage.

Besides, the users of Sunflower Manual were able to move like fish in water while in the area of effect of Sunflower Aura. He was so fast that even Happy felt a little sick from watching him. From the moment they exchanged the first blow, he was forced into a defensive position.

The wind from the palms and the shadows might have seemed gentle, but it was only the image. If Happy let his guard down in the slightest, the wind and shadow from the enemy’s palms would come charging at him like lightning. A powerful gust would crash into his face, and a fierce and strong force would strike him from that seemingly gentle attack. It could catch people off guard.

If it were not for the fact that Stormy Shadowless Kick was a superbly fast high-tier martial art that could allow Happy to keep up with Sunflower Manual’s attacks even when it was weakened and that Happy had real combat experience against another successor of Sunflower Manual, he would have been injured a long time ago.

Even though he was at a disadvantage, Happy remained calm. He advanced slowly and carefully under the complicated palm shadows that filled the air while he fought against the mysterious man.

Bang! Bang!

Happy’s movements were very swift. Once he made a successful block, he immediately seized an opening and delivered a few Shadowless Kicks that had multiple shadows trailing behind them.

Whoosh!

The mysterious man had to turn around and protect himself, but the frequent impacts still forced him into a disadvantage. His feet landed on the ground, and he was forced a few feet back.

The freezing effect that came from Green Jade Shrouded in Heavenly Silks was also very uncomfortable.