Sword Among Us

The sect master of Heaven Descendants Sect had managed to guess that the owner of the brocade box in Shaolin Temple had been decided by the appearance of Class One Hall alone. The newcomer was slightly surprised by that, then he grinned.

“Our hall master once told us that Scholar of Burying Affection has two matchless skills. One is his Wind Flower, Snow, and Moon Sword, and the other is his intellect. Judging by what I saw today, you do live up to your name.” He paused for a moment, and his eyes burned with a faint heat. “If it weren’t because I have something I need to do, I would have asked you to fight me to see your strength!”

The Scholar of Burying Affection was the sect master of Heaven Descendants Sect.

His sect had amassed some degree of fame in the game, and the story of how Scholar of Burying Affection learned his Wind Flower, Snow, and Moon Sword also attracted quite a bit of attention. It was said that he got it from a brothel. Hence, Scholar of Burying Affection had a strange reputation in the game.

Scholar of Burying Affection smiled a little stiffly, then he wrapped his fist in his palm.

“I wouldn’t dare to show you my strength. If I have the chance in the future, I will visit your hall master! By the way, I have yet to ask you for your name, sir…”

The man might have said that he wanted to learn from Scholar of Burying Affection, but he remained as arrogant as ever.

“Call me Netherworld,” he answered airily and stopped looking at Scholar of Burying Affection. He turned his head around and sized up the Iron Chain Bridge, which was behind him while looking incredibly frivolous and arrogant.

Scholar of Burying Affection did not bother to be too tactful with Netherworld either and said with a smile, “Haha, you have a good name. It sounds very domineering! Anyway, my sect won’t be able to cross this Iron Chain Bridge. Since you lot from Class One Hall are interested, we’ll take our leave and not bother you.”

“If that’s the case, we won’t be sending you off.”

Netherworld was very satisfied with Scholar of Burying Affection’s sensibility, but his arrogance and attitude of completely disregarding their Heaven Descendants Sect made all the sect members, including Li Heng, scowl. If it were not because they were wary of the powerful Class One Hall, which supported Netherworld, they might have wanted to “show” him their “strength” right on the spot.

No matter how good Scholar of Burying Affection’s temper was, even he became a little angry when his show of good affection was reciprocated with coldness and indifference. His expression tensed.

“Let’s go.”

Even though the people of Heaven Descendants Sect had indignation written all over their faces, it was a pity for them that Class One Hall was a huge organization that they could not fight. With rage that they could not vent, they turned around and made to move down the mountain.

“Oh, by the way.”

Burying Affection suddenly stopped when he had walked around thirty feet away. He turned and stared at Netherworld, who had intended to watch them leave with a derisive expression.

“Even though it’s quite late now, I’d still advise you to wait until your reinforcements from Class One Hall arrive. This Iron Chain Bridge is dangerous and difficult to cross, and there’s also a person guarding it on the other side. It’ll be difficult for you to cross it. Don’t go throwing your life away now.”

Netherworld did not say anything. He scowled a little and looked away coldly. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Then I’ll be taking my leave!”

Scholar of Burying Affection no longer wasted his breath. He wrapped his fist in his palm and saluted before he swiftly went down the mountain.

*****

When they were around six hundred and fifty feet away from the summit, Li Heng turned his head around and cast a glance at the summit. Once he was certain that he could no longer see that hateful Netherworld, he turned to Burying Affection.

“Sect master, why did you deliberately give him that piece of advice just now?”

“That’s right!” A few people by his side quickly chimed in.

“There’s no need for you to give any advice to that sort of person.”

“Advice? I suppose you can put it that way, but…” He paused for a moment, then a cunning and strange smile appeared on his face. “My intention was never to warn him of the person on the other side of the mountain.”

His sect members were puzzled, and their expressions turned contemplative.

Li Heng was the only one who looked enlightened after hearing Burying Affection’s words. He smiled. “Boss, you’re real shrewd! If the people from Class One Hall want to snatch the brocade box from the person on the other side of the mountain, they’ll have to be quick! In just around an hour, the storyline with the emperor’s birthday will be over.

“If Netherworld waits for the reinforcements from Class One Hall, he will have to delay for at least half an hour. At that time, if the person on the other end of the bridge manages to drag the time a little, he will be able to claim the brocade box as his own, and Class One Hall’s plan will also end in failure.”

After he spoke, everyone’s eyes brightened up.

“That’s right! With how arrogant that person was, he would never allow such a thing to happen. It’s highly likely that he will be so upset by the thought that he will try to cross Iron Chain Bridge by himself.”

Other people might not know about the strength of the person who was on the other mountain, but Heaven Descendants Sect knew. Li Heng had already made a very clear analysis regarding him.

The stranger had great courage, was meticulous, and had extraordinary abilities.

Even if the internal members of Class One Hall had outstanding high-tier martial arts, it might still be just a dream for them to kill a Mystical Realm NPC one-on-one.

Li Heng quickly came to a realization.

His sect master might have seemed to have given a piece of advice on the surface, but in truth, it was a suggestion that spurred Netherworld to take action.

Also, with how arrogant he was, he would definitely not allow time to just pass when there was not much of it left. He would definitely do something.

Once he attempted something, Netherworld might end up running into a disaster!

“Alright, enough with the talk. It’s up to him to determine what he wants to do. Whatever he chooses has nothing to do with us.” Scholar of Burying Affection schooled his expression and ended the topic in a timely manner.

His sect members understood what he meant. They stopped discussing the matter and treated the event as if it had never happened. They then quickly descended the mountain.

*****

When the people from Heaven Descendants Sect left, the eyes of Netherworld, who stood at the cliff, shone with a cold glare, and he narrowed them slightly. He stared at the crude iron chains that were about three hundred and thirty feet long. There was a grave look on his face.

Scholar of Burying Affection did not make the wrong guess!

The brocade box outside Shaolin Temple might have already landed in Class One Hall’s hands, but to ensure that it would remain safely in their hands, the sect had sent most of their powerful fighters to escort it. Another handful of people went out of Mount Song for another brocade box, and as of then, he was the only person left on Mount Song. If he had to wait for reinforcements from his sect, it would take at least half an hour.

Netherworld was a player with very great ambitions.

Once he entered the game, his nature of a professional gamer was also brought out to its fullest. Every single time he ran into a quest, he would clear it with excellent results, and his journey up to that point had been smooth. He had never fallen behind anyone before.

The only thing that displeased him was that luck was a very important factor in World of Martial Arts!

To him, players like Xiao Shan and North Placating Duke were not only not professional gamers, but people who did not have much experience in playing games. They could only make their mark in the game because they were lucky enough to learn one or two unique high-tier martial arts, and the thought of it was truly aggravating to Netherworld.

Since a long time ago, he wanted to know how a professional player like him from Class One Hall would end up like if he ran into one of those people with incredible luck!

When he thought of this, Netherworld raised his head with great arrogance. His gaze landed on the lone mountain that was enveloped by white fog three hundred and thirty feet away.

Whoosh!

He uncrossed his arms, and the metallic claws let out a faint clatter.

The next second, Netherworld jumped up!

He rose lightly, just like a wild goose, but he landed on the iron chain with the force of a thunderbolt. He was less than three feet away from the cliff, but the swaying iron chain immediately sank under his weight, and the range of its oscillation was slightly affected.

Netherworld soon adapted to it, and his expression showed that he had expected for that to happen.

He moved slowly.

Right when he crossed one-tenth of the bridge, the mountain wind suddenly became stronger. Netherworld swayed in the air. In the end, he gritted his teeth, flipped around, and seized a chain with his claws. His legs were suspended in the air for a moment before he clamped down on the chain. He looked like a meat skewered on a metal spike when he attached himself tightly to one of the iron chains. He then swayed along with the wind.

He held the iron chain with both his legs and exerted force with both his hands. Then, just like a gecko, he began to move forward along the chain above the deep chasm that separated the two mountains.