Chapter 77: Killing to Clear the Way, Claiming the Land as One’s Own

Entering a chaotic clearing in the forest, Happy and his group grew even more puzzled. It was clear that a fierce battle had taken place here—three players’ corpses still lay there, arranged in a strange pattern, seemingly killed while concentrating on their skills and attacked from behind.
Not far away, the carcass of a giant wolf lay sprawled, with the ground soaked in blood, resembling a hellish scene. Four more players’ bodies were scattered around.
“…”
The four of them exchanged glances silently, showing signs of wariness.
It seemed the depths of Hanshan Temple Forest was no longer a safe place for leveling up.
“What do we do?”
Canglang shrank his neck and looked at Happy.
It was evident that the battle here had just ended. Someone had attacked a group of players fighting the giant wolf in a short time, killed them, then dealt with the wolf itself. Their strength was considerable, and they were in number as well.
“We’ve encountered several groups that were wiped out along the way. It seems others know about the profit from the giant wolf’s pelt. Moreover, someone wants to take control of this place. It’s no longer safe…” As they spoke, Ximen Qing and Xuanfeng Xiao Li looked grave. The latter paused briefly before saying, “It might be the Dragon and Tiger Gate.”
“Dragon and Tiger Gate?” Happy inspected the area near the battlefield for a while before turning back. “If it really is them, it’ll be easy.” His face showed no emotion.
Happy wasn’t afraid of the Dragon and Tiger Gate at all. After breaking through his limits, he had mastered lightness of movement and could move freely. If it were indeed the Dragon and Tiger Gate clearing out everyone… he’d see if they knew better. If not, well, old scores and new grievances—everything would be settled today.
He remembered that after today, the martial world would be filled with chaos and endless opportunities.
That’s why he had decided to spare time to help Xuanfeng Xiao Li and the others prepare their equipment, so they would have better chances of survival in this chaotic and dangerous world.
Whether those clearing out the area were the Dragon and Tiger Gate or another faction, this place—today—had to be his… After all, entering the martial world was imminent, and he wasn’t afraid of angering a player group over this.
“Let’s go!”
With a low shout, the four of them rushed deeper into the forest, their clothes rustling in the wind.
“Who’s there?”
Before they could go a hundred meters, four men in white emerged from behind the trees ahead and blocked their path.
“Stop!”
“The Tianba Gate is here on official business. Strangers, step back.”
Seizing that Happy’s group wasn’t easy to deal with, the leader of the white-clad men didn’t kill them right away, as he had with others.

Frowning slightly, the four of them stopped. Happy glanced quickly at the four people in front of him, then looked past their shoulders at a group of people in white surrounding a giant wolf not far away.
“Tianba Sect?”
“A sect that has risen recently. I heard it has quite a number of members and shows signs of surpassing the Dragon and Tiger Sect.” Ximen Qing, who knew the most about the situation in Gusu City, warned in a low voice.
Happy nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
His gaze shifted back to the leader of the group in white. With no trace of emotion, he asked, “Were all those people along the way killed by you?”
“Are you here to seek revenge?”
The faces of the four men in white changed, and their wariness became evident.
“Call your men!”
That single sentence made it clear—Happy was now certain that they intended to clear the area and monopolize its resources. They must have killed many people. His expression turned much colder as he glanced at the four of them with disdain.
“Tell your boss that I’ll take care of all these giant wolves today. Everyone from the Tianba Sect must leave within ten days, or… they’ll be killed without hesitation.”
“Hoh? What boldness!”
One of the men in white sneered, clearly angered. Before his companions could stop him, they saw a terrifying cold light appear in the hand of the young man in blue.
Bang!
The insolent man in white was thrown backward by a powerful force, crashing into a tree. A dagger with almost no handle was stuck in his chest. His eyes were wide open as he died instantly.
“Cough!” “Cough!”
The other three drew their swords, their faces filled with shock.
Although they had heard before that the “Blue-Robed Gentleman Sword” was the greatest swordsman in Gusu City, few had actually seen him fight. His move just now truly shocked them!
Ignoring the shocked and angry expressions on the three men in white, Happy calmly bent down as if no one else was around, gently brushing off some dust from his sleeve. He said, “My words may be bold, but with great power comes great authority. Just as it’s justified for you to kill your way forward, it’s only natural for me to claim this land as mine… Just pass on the message. The decision lies with your boss.”
The three men exchanged glances.
“Fine, wait and see!”
One of them turned and ran back.
Seeing this, Happy couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise. Could it be that the leader of the Tianba Sect happened to be among those surrounding the giant wolf?
At that moment…
The noise here had already alerted the group over there. A few of them slowed down and stepped out of the line.

What made Happy even more delighted was that Lin, the leader who organized this event, was right there. Even worse, the young man in white whom Happy had killed was actually Lin’s cousin. Having witnessed his cousin’s prowess, he had developed an arrogant attitude of looking down on everyone else in the world.

As soon as Lin Xuanfeng died, Lin received a message and cries of despair from his cousin. After reading the message and seeing Happy and his three companions not far away, his eyes darkened instantly.

“Bring them all here to me.”

“Leader Lin?”

Seeing this, the messenger realized Lin was determined to kill them and was shocked. “You’ve been in Gusu City for only a short time, so you might not know him—he’s Gusu City’s top expert, ‘Happy’…”

Ignoring his subordinate’s advice, Lin remained silent, his tone suddenly turning icy cold. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

The Dragon and Tiger Gate had been defeated by Happy—how could he possibly not know such an important fact? But the situation was different now. Back then, only four people from the Dragon and Tiger Gate had taken action, while Lin had mobilized no less than eighty men to enter the forest around Hanshan Temple to ensure victory. He didn’t believe that just one player could act so arrogantly within his tightly woven net.

The man in white quickly agreed. The order was quickly conveyed to every disciple of the Tianba Gate in Hanshan Temple. Upon hearing they had to deal with the Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword, their reactions were mixed…

With the lessons from the Dragon and Tiger Gate still fresh in mind, Lin now had to confront Happy. If they repeated that mistake and became enemies of Gusu City’s top expert, the future of the Tianba Gate would be bleak.

However, some were optimistic, believing that if they could take the chance to kill Happy, the Tianba Gate’s prestige would undoubtedly surpass that of the Dragon and Tiger Gate, making it the top sect in Gusu City.

Soon, the forest was filled with the rustling of clothes as dense footsteps rushed toward the same location!

“…”

The unusual atmosphere in the forest and the lack of response from the Tianba Gate made Happy and his group realize the other side’s “answer,” and they all wore solemn expressions. Happy’s gaze turned even colder as he took out a pair of gloves emitting a faint chill from his Qi Bag—Jade Silkworm Gloves—in front of the group of men in white.