Sword Among Us Chapter 8: Qi Realm

The requirements for Seven Stars Sword were as follows:

AST: 37, AFF: 41, CPH: 60, BMM: 47 and the required qi realm was Mystical Realm!

Player: Happy

AST: 24, AFF: 18, CPH: 25, BMM: 20.

…

Arm Strength represented strength and vitality. It slowly increased as time passed, and when the player worked hard to improve their martial arts.

Body Movement represented speed and dexterity. It also slowly increased as time passed, and when the player's lightness skill improved.

But it was different for Affinity. It represented defense and the player's foundation. Usually, it could only increase when the player's qi cultivation technique reached profound levels or they practiced martial arts focusing on strengthening the physical body. This also showed the difficulty in transitioning from practicing low-tier martial arts to high-tier martial arts.

As for Comprehension, it represented a person's ability to understand martial arts.

It would usually increase when a player reached a breakthrough and entered a higher realm.

Regardless of whether it were novice level martial arts such as Shaolin's Long Fist, qi cultivation techniques, lightness skills, or hidden weapon techniques, as long as the skills reached the ninth realm, which was an advanced realm, the player's Comprehension would also increase a little. The more profound a martial art was, the more the player's Comprehension would increase.

This meant that if a player wanted to move from learning low-tier martial arts to high-tier martial arts, they would need to practice many skills from different sects. They would also have to gain a certain degree of success with those skills before they could increase their Comprehension and become a truly powerful martial artist.

Of course, there was a shortcut to increase Comprehension.

All players could go to private schools and listen to lectures or buy books. Both could train the mind and increase Comprehension. However, the fees for private schools were very expensive, and up to this moment, it was difficult for the newbies in World of Martial Arts to earn money. There was probably no person who could spend the huge sum of money required to attend a private school.

There was a difference of dozens of points between Happy's four basic statuses compared to the requirements for Seven Stars Sword. Hence, while this high-tier martial art was something countless players coveted, the feeling of being in possession of it but being unable to use it was also not good. Happy could only put the book in a bank and continue practicing Shaolin's Long Fist.

He was still a long way from learning Seven Stars Sword, and he was even further away from learning the supreme martial art—Shifting Stars. The requirement for its qi was so high that not even Mystical Realm was enough for it.

Speaking of qi realms, this was something that all wuxia novels would mention. However, World of Martial Arts had created an even more detailed and distinct system.

Qi realms were divided as such: The most basic of all was Gate Realm, which was the gate to enter the path leading to life and death. Those who reached this realm would officially receive the right to venture into the world.

Then came Blessed Realm, which meant that the player had arrived at the threshold of qi. Once they received the blessings from heaven, they could become great martial artists in the world of martial artists.

Next was Mystical Realm, which meant that the player had officially become proficient in qi. It would have reached mystical levels, which would allow the player to learn high-tier martial arts.

Life and Death Realm was next, and it was the realm in which the players would know whether they would live or die before they engaged their opponent. The people who reached this realm were all first-class martial artists who knew many high-tier martial arts.

After Life and Death Realm, the player would transcend life and death and reach Moksha Realm [1]!

It was said that there were more than ten other qi realms after Moksha Realm.

*****

Happy practiced the qi cultivation technique every day, but once it reached the later levels, the effects of training became very small!

It only increased a little when each of the martial arts he learned reached a very high level—Miracle Realm. It was either this or run into an uncommon and amazing change to have his qi increase by leaps and bounds.

However, every single time his qi increased by a level, his strength would also become better exponentially. The change would be very great!

Happy remembered that the person with the highest qi realm was Leisurely Duke from the seven dukes before he had returned to the past, and that was three years after World of Martial Arts was launched.

It was rumored that Leisurely Duke received the ultimate martial art from Leisurely Sect—Northern Obscure Divine Skill. His qi realm had then instantly gone from the fourth Life and Death Realm to the fifth Moksha Realm, and he could fight against the one emperor, who was the most powerful player in the world, and not lose.

The requirements to learn Shifting Stars was the fourth Realm—Life and Death Realm. Due to the uniqueness of the skill, Happy had to be very familiar with the essence of many martial arts before he could understand the profound meaning behind "I will deal with you the same way you deal with me." With such a motto, it was unavoidable that it would have strict requirements to learn it.

It was precisely because Happy had seen through this that he had decided to stay in the Murong Clan, and he had not hesitated even for a moment. He even began to practice multiple martial artists from multiple sects diligently.

However, it was not easy to learn multiple martial arts well.

The Murong Clan would also not blindly give any player a skill and have them practice it just like that.

All the disciples in the clan had to work hard to fight for the right to learn each of the martial arts!

Happy had obtained Complete Reality Qi Cultivation Technique because he fed the pets attentively. Such an action received the Murong Clan Lady's favor, and that was why she made the decision to teach him in private. As for Shaolin's Long Fist, he received it because he needed it for the quest in Purple Bamboo Forest.

It was a surprise to him that he received Seven Stars Sword and Swimming Dragon. High-tier skills that should not have appeared in the reward list for low-level quests had appeared, but this had to have been because Happy had unexpectedly completing the quest too well, which had triggered the higher level rewards.

It might have been unexpected, but this was the true essence of World of Martial Arts!

"Miracles happen at random, and they can appear at any time."

It was only a pity that Happy could not practice the sword skills…

This was just like receiving an extremely valuable luminous pearl, but not being able to explain its origin. Because of that, anyone would be worried about inviting disaster to their home and would not bring out the pearl to use it.

At the end of the day, all the players had to work hard to receive their martial art manuals. Right then, Happy had already been officially taken in as Murong Clan's disciple, and he knew that from this moment onward, he had finally finished the quest to join the sect as its disciple! He could now go to the butler or the Murong Clan Lady to ask for clan quests, and through completing different quests, he could receive even more manuals from the Murong Clan's library.

But he did not immediately go to get a quest. Instead, he used the forty taels of silver crumbs he had gained from selling wolf pelts to buy eight units of Jingchuang Ointment, which could restore his HP. Then, he returned to the outskirts to the west of the city.

When he was miles away from the city, the world turned dark.

The area below Cold Mountain Temple became even more mysterious under the illumination of the moon. There was no one on the road, and wolf howls could be heard rising and falling in the forest in the distance. It was ghastly and terrifying, making the area beyond the city even more frightening!

At that moment, very few people knew that all of the wolves' abilities would increase slightly when night fell or that they would turn into Ferocious Wild Wolves. Even players in Gate Realm might not have a chance to win against them at night and in the forest since their sight and senses would be reduced.

World of Martial Arts had also just been launched for around a month, so there were very few players who had entered Gate Realm. Thus, there were very few players outside Cold Mountain Temple once night fell.

Fortunately, night did not last long. In the virtual world where time was calculated at a 2:1 ratio compared to the time in the world outside, night would only last for around four hours. Most players chose to meditate and practice their qi cultivation techniques during that time or look for a corner to test their skills with other players while they waited for daylight.

This method was denounced by countless powerful martial artists one month later, because night time provided an even better chance to train.

At night, all sorts of monsters would appear, and there would be even more chances to improve. For example, once the wild wolves turned into Ferocious Wild Wolves, their abilities increased, and the value of their pelts as well as the quality of their flesh also increased. They would also gather in packs, and if the player was fortunate, they could even find a wolf's den or the King of Wolves.

Translator's Note:

[1] Moksha Realm: Moksha is the Hindu term for the liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. The Liberation from the Cycle of Death and Rebirth Realm is WAY too long, so have Moksha Realm instead.