Sword Among Us

Yan Dynasty’s royal mausoleum was created by the third successor of Ghost Valley, who was known for being very skilled in creating things. The most crucial point was the door. It was an Eight Trigrams Bewitching Matrix. All those who wanted to enter before the Living Door was opened could not do so. They could only wait until the light was at its brightest during the day and the bewitching effects of the matrix were at their weakest before they could enter the royal mausoleum with the help of items that could help them calm their minds.

When Happy and his party rushed to the area near the royal mausoleum, it was the period of time when the sun was at its brightest!

However, it was clear that there were a few groups of people who were even more anxious than them. They had been waiting for a long time and were divided into clear groups. They occupied a space outside the entrance of the royal mausoleum with solemn presences.

The thirteen staff-using monks were one of the groups. Even though they were secular disciples, they dressed as monks and were very eye-catching, for they looked like fierce warrior attendants. After they had died at the foot of Mount Song, not only had their debuffs worn off, their cultivation had also increased. The weapons they held had also changed to the specialty of Punishment Mount—Silver-spiked Staff. They were one with their staffs, and they looked like tall and steady mountains. Even though they were not numerous, they gave off a very powerful pressure.

Across the people from Shaolin Temple were a group of Wudang Sect disciples who held shortswords and were dressed in black and white Daoist robes. If the Shaolin Temple disciples gave off a presence that made them feel like steel and mountains, the Wudang Sect disciples were pine trees that stood at the summit of the mountain. Their presence was vague, and fifty or so people stood in the face of wind. Their robes fluttered, and they gave off a uniquely delicate air. They instantly caught quite a lot of female gamers’ attention.

There was another group that was pleasant to look at, and their presence did not lose out that of Shaolin Temple or Wudang Sect.

Emei Sect!

They were women with beautiful faces who looked like a flock of swallows gathered together. They were mostly in their twenties, and they gave off a dignified and magnanimous air. Their plain white Daoist robes gave them an ethereal air, especially when they did not have any makeup on. However, the swords in their hands did not lose to the boys’, and their gazes spoke of great character. It made quite a lot of people not dare to look down on them.

It was clear that the harmony between the members of Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, and Emei Sect was great at first glance, and anyone could tell that the relationship between the sect members ran very deep. Among the disciples in the area, only those three sects had their disciples belonging only to their sect. They dressed up for their sect, and they stood as a united front separated from the others. They were unlike the other four sects, whose equipment varied and whose presence was all over the place. Because of it, they lost a little in terms of charisma.

The first among the remaining four sects was Kunlun Sect. About one hundred and eighty people had come from it, and they were the most numerous among the seven sects. They had the picture of a fierce tiger with wings sewn above their chests, and by the looks of it, the group came from a sect created by players. They had all sorts of people with all sorts of moral codes among them. Most of them stared in the direction of Emei Sect while gesturing at the women. Sometimes, they would let out barks of laughter that only men would understand.

Their crude and roguish behavior made even Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect frown, and it was even more so the case for the disciples of Emei Sect. They glared at Kunlun Sect coldly with scowls on their faces, but it only added more charm to them. If it were not because the royal mausoleum was about to be opened, the women looked like they would rush over to kill the rogues.

There were also a group of people from Kongtong Mountain Sect. The person in the lead was a middle-aged man. He had a stern gaze and an equally stern expression. The people behind him were also very level-headed. However, the emblem sewn on their chests betrayed their status. These people did not just come from the same player sect, they were also a rather famous sect in the area—Hidden Soul Guild.

They had quite a lot of people. There were around eighty of them, and by the looks of it, some of them were good players who had achieved some degree of success in their cultivation. They were also a sect that gave Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, and Emei Sect a lot of pressure.

There were two more sects.

One of them was Beggar’s Sect, whose people were dressed in either rags or in a very flashy manner. There were more than seventy of them.

The final group was a student group whose players did not seem to be over twenty. They did not have many people, only around thirty of them, and although the ones who stood in the lead had powerful presences, the group behind them could be said to vary in terms of strength. It was especially the case for a number of fatties who seemed to need to be weighed in tonnes instead of pounds. They chatted and laughed with their ridiculously large bellies, and no matter how anyone looked at it, it was an incredibly hilarious sight.

‘Mount Hua Sect?’

Everyone took in the situation of the other sects and ranked their power in their hearts.

Right then, the group with the least number of people was Shaolin Temple, followed by the group of students from Mount Hua. Many people knew the fame of the thirteen staff-using monks. When they were still in Blessed Realm, they could already fight against bandit leaders at Mystical Realm and not be at a disadvantage. They escorted the brocade boxes to the foot of Mount Song for hundreds of miles, and that power naturally made many people not dare to look down on them.

Then, it was Mount Hua Sect, who had few people on its side.

The leaders seemed to be two girls, and they had an otherworldly beauty, which could be compared to that of the outstandingly beautiful girls from Emei Sect. However, it was clear that the other sects did not look too highly on the sect’s strength. Even though they, too, had a uniform sect emblem, they were just too young and few in number. Naturally, no one would place them high enough to threaten them.

Once they made the comparison, Wudang Sect and Kunlun Sect, who had the greatest number of people, along with Hidden Soul Guild, who was summoned by Kongtong Mountain Sect, were ranked among the top three. Mount Hua Sect, Beggar’s Sect, Emei Sect, and Shaolin Temple, who had the fewest people, appeared to be rather weak compared to them.

Naturally, this was just a simple estimation of strength among the sects.

When the royal mausoleum was activated and the sects truly came into conflict with each other, they might actually end up to be equals in strength.

The number of people could be ignored.

The thirteen staff-using monks did not show a single hint of wavering in their resolve even when they came face to face with the numerical advantage the other six sects held over them. From this alone, it was clear that they had absolute confidence in their own strength.

And while Beautiful Robes Sect, which had been drawn because of Mount Hua, might not have great fame in World of Martial Arts, in truth, they already controlled five middle-sized and small cities. They were also on their way to become a large sect that could monopolize those areas.

Their luxurious storage and unique as well as perfect contribution point exchange system had also become the target of imitation of many other sects in their region. It was a pity for the other sects that they had scarce resources, and the distribution of power among the higher-ups was unfair, which was why they were incapable of forming an effective cycle.

*****

“The royal mausoleum is about to open, why isn’t he here yet?”

Some of the internal members of Beautiful Robes Sect had begun to chat among themselves. They would occasionally cast a glance at the bamboo forest behind them in hopes to find the blue-robed figure they once saw in the martial arts tournament, but as time passed, they gradually became antsy.

The Three Lonely Wolves were also in the group, and they did not look too highly on the situation at hand.

Even though Beautiful Robes Faction was quite strong on its own, and those who had already reached Mystical Realm had all been mobilized by the higher-ups, the other six sects did not seem to be easy to deal with…

It might be very difficult for them to monopolize the royal mausoleum.

If Happy did not arrive on time and entered the royal mausoleum with them using the effects of the jade pendant Little Jade had gained from her sect, they might be in even more trouble.

Aside from Emei Sect, the other six sects did not seem like kind people. If anything happened, the hard work and successes Beautiful Robes Sect enjoyed in the months before might all end up in smoke.

Flap, flap, flap…

A snow-white messenger pigeon rushed into the sky from Beautiful Robes Faction. It swiftly disappeared into the horizon.

The six sects ignored this.

There were less than two minutes until the royal mausoleum opened. The people from the seven sects should have all gathered, so what use was there for them to send any sort of information at such a moment?

As expected, two minutes passed, but no new faces showed up in the bamboo forest.

The sun shone brightly above everyone’s heads. Seven people who stood close to the entrance of the royal mausoleum had white incense that could calm hearts with them.

The time to enter the royal mausoleum had come!

The expressions of the people from Beautiful Robes Faction changed.

Happy had not managed to come…

Little Jade stared at the bamboo forest behind her, unable to hide the disappointment on her face.