Chapter 952: Not Dead!

The treacherous canyon passages were crisscrossing and winding; every hundred meters or so, there was an entrance resembling a small valley. If there were signs or the sound of intense training, it meant someone was already practicing there, and most people would refrain from entering to avoid unnecessary conflicts—since visibility was poor, and one had to be wary of attacks from those inside as well as potential traps.
Ordinary player groups came here to train, not to cause trouble. Unless they were exceptionally powerful or domineering, they wouldn’t invade others’ territories…
Happy and the others were no exception. As they moved forward and saw signs, they continued deeper without hesitation!
However, the members of the Hunter Family stared at Happy with increasingly strange and astonished expressions…
Although they had never experienced the agony of the Heart-Ripping Needle firsthand, they could infer from descriptions and forum discussions that it was extremely vicious—constantly draining the internal energy of those caught by it, accompanied by unbearable pain and various other restrictions.
Yet, throughout his journey, Happy hadn’t used any healing potions. When encountering ghost scorpions or eight-eyed parasitic spiders, he acted as if nothing had happened, showing no signs of being affected by those vicious traps…
They naturally didn’t know that Happy possessed the supreme Shaolin scripture, the “Yijin Jing.” This martial art could rapidly restore and strengthen the user’s life energy, continuously reinforcing and expanding their meridians, allowing lost vitality to be replenished in short time.
Though the Heart-Ripping Needle was vicious, the contrast between its harm and the counter-effects from the Yijin Jing actually stimulated the latter to function continuously.
Despite the bright red marks on his chest, the actual pain had already been suppressed by Happy!
Back in the day, even the Mad Monk had been able to defeat countless powerful martial artists not just because of his physical strength, but also thanks to the Yijin Jing’s little-known ability to heal and suppress pain.
On the first day of practicing the Yijin Jing, Happy accidentally discovered this trait and used it to reach the peak of the third level. The damage from the Heart-Ripping Needle was clearly greater than that of sky silkworm silk. After getting familiar with it, the Yijin Jing’s growth rate was no slower than when facing attacks from a group of experts at the Wuwei realm—because such damage couldn’t be protected by physical defenses.
Thanks to the transformation brought by the Yijin Jing, Happy found he could quickly adapt to the stinging pain and barely suppress it.

Even if occasional sharp pains occur, causing deeper harm to the body, it can quickly subside and recover. Since it’s tolerable, Happy certainly doesn’t mind it helping her improve her level in the “Yijin Jing.” After all, as her level rises, her recovery ability gets stronger! This is also why she neveractively told Yu Long and the others…
However, having a needle inserted in her body and continuous blood loss from her chest—these things are better left known to the members of the Hunter Family, so they won’t think she’s practicing some unknown dark art. Fortunately, the people of the Hunter Family are rather straightforward…
Thanks to the reputation Happy had built, no one questioned her practice with the needle; instead, they gave her admiring looks—looks reserved for monsters.
Moreover, Happy noticed that whenever her wounds were stimulated and the damage worsened, the fluctuations in the “Yijin Jing” would speed up slightly. Over time, she even began to worry that the Heart-Ripping Needle might disappear after a certain period. A strange sense of anxiety arose in her…
…
“Happy, you’re injured now. Let’s choose a place with fewer monsters,” Yu Long suggested after wandering for over half an hour.
She shook her head without hesitation: “Weren’t you saying the fewer monsters, the fiercer the competition? No need for that hassle. We’ve already dealt with ghost scorpions and eight-eyed parasitic spiders before—just find a place with eight monsters.” After a pause, she added, “You guys do your best to draw them out. Leave the rest to me. I need to practice both defense techniques and movement skills at the same time. A few more monsters won’t be a problem.”
“…”
The group was speechless. Normally, they wouldn’t have cared—Happy’s ability to attract monsters at the Myriad Beasts Villa proved enough that ordinary attacks could hardly hurt her. But now the situation was different…
An injured person could cause serious trouble if something went wrong.
“Boss Happy, aren’t you afraid of the people from the First-Class Hall?”
“Let them come. What’s there to worry about? I already have the Life and Death Dream Pill ready, and I’ve died once before. The barefoot aren’t afraid of those in shoes. Once the traps are triggered, you just log off and leave.”
“Boss Happy, don’t say that. In other places, we might really fear the First-Class Hall, but in this hellish place, no matter how many they send, we’re not afraid.”
“Exactly.”
The brothers from the Hunter Family started shouting in agreement.

“I appreciate everyone’s kindness, but I want to solve this issue on my own. You’re all here for entertainment in your free time, and I don’t want to drag my brothers and sisters into this mess. Unless one day I have enough strength to form my own group, I won’t invite you to join. You can think about it then! What do you think?”
“…”
“Form a group…”
“Happy Boss, do you mean you want to start a gang???” The brothers from the Hunter family’s family eyes lit up as if they were looking at a group of naked beauties, including the Gu women.
Happy replied, “It’s hard to say for now. I can’t give you a definite answer. If I get the chance, I think I will do it. To be honest, without any followers, it’s extremely difficult for me to compete with either the Blood Alliance or the First-Class Hall.”
“I told you, how could Happy possibly try to take on the Blood Alliance and the First-Class Hall without any plan…” Yu Long turned to the group of brothers, “From now on, we should spend more time training to improve our strength. Otherwise, not only will it be hard to help now, but we might not be able to intervene in the future either.”
“Don’t worry!”
“Starting now, we’ll begin training. Anyway, we got quite a bit of money from the Myriad Beasts Villa these past two days, so it will last for a long time.”
The group was full of enthusiasm.
Happy’s astonishing words finally distracted everyone, and they started moving faster and searching for a place to settle down.
“I know an odd spot… where no one ever goes.”
…
In a small city in the northeast, the group that was sent back to the Temple of War by Happy gathered together with grim expressions.
“That kid isn’t dead…”
“That can’t be right. I clearly saw the Heart-Ripping Needle pierce his body, with only a small part left outside.” The trap master looked utterly incredulous. “How is this possible? You know how powerful the Heart-Ripping Needle is. Although it’s not as deadly as the Little Li Flying Knife, once it hits its target, the person is doomed to die. Otherwise, the needle will haunt them for life!”
“But it’s already been an hour, and he really isn’t dead…” He Yi spoke in a low voice, holding a note in his hand, his expression extremely grim.
Although it was humiliating for the group to die at Happy’s hands, and they lost several pieces of equipment, even attracting Meng Yun’s personal “congratulations”! But thanks to the trap master’s words, the group finally felt a bit more confident. So He Yi promised Meng Yun that “Happy won’t survive more than an hour”…
But now, time has passed!

According to the observations in Guiwu, Happy was lively and full of energy, showing no signs of exhaustion or death at all!
Most importantly, Meng Yun sent another letter, her tone icy, ordering them to log off immediately and check the forum for updates…
The group looked at each other in confusion.
Needless to say…
It was a day of disaster for Yipin Tang.
At the crowded entrance of Guiwu, the news that a group of prominent experts from Yipin Tang had been utterly defeated by Happy would surely spark chaos on the forum. Countless big names would likely be mocking Meng Yun and Yipin Tang for failing to handle even a mere Happy who had just reached the Jie Tuo realm.
They could imagine Happy’s fame growing even more now.
But since that was the reality, there was nothing they could do…
The only hope they had still hadn’t materialized. At this point, they wished they could hide in the tavern and avoid seeing anyone—how could they really log off to watch their own forces get slaughtered, as Meng Yun suggested?
“Do you think Happy’s fighting style is weird? It seems like he’s about to hit his target, yet… I really can’t figure it out.”
The group sat listlessly in the tavern, drinking sullenly while constantly complaining, all centered around Happy.
It was fine not to mention him, but once it came up, some became even more puzzled:
“Leave him alone; I’m the one who can’t understand. I even checked his record from the Global Huashan Sword Competition a year and a half ago. His skills were decent, but not enough to take on both of us at once… How did he become so strong after returning to the martial world? It seems like I’ve wasted over a year practicing for nothing.”
“Could there be some reward for returning?”
“What reward? The official website clearly states there can be no rewards. The only benefit is restoring one to their peak condition.”
As the group discussed, someone suddenly blurted out, “What do you think… could it be related to his encounter with Master Xuan Kong on Songshan? I heard he defeated Master Xuan Kong on his first day back, solving that five-year-old Zhenlong puzzle. Maybe he got some techniques that allow him to be strong without any training?”
“…”
Those words jolted them awake!
The group eagerly gathered around:
“Right, I forgot about that…”
“He catches people every time—his technique might seem a bit like Dragon Claw Hand, but thinking about it now, it’s definitely not!”
“And also!! Could his evasion techniques be techniques too?”
“Very likely!!”

A group of people eagerly guessed the details of what made her happy, getting it pretty right, and finally, at someone’s suggestion, they rushed outside to find out more about it.
But when they checked…
they discovered a situation that took them by surprise.