The Decaying World-Chapter 116 - 109: Reputation (1)

The group blocking their path was an expedition team from the Three Sects and Six Gangs of the Inner City. Its core members were from the Chi Mi Bang, one of the Six Gangs.

On their journey, they had discovered the Purple Crystal Ruins alongside the team from Qingfeng Temple, but the two groups subsequently made different decisions.

The Qingfeng Temple team, led by Chen Sui, decided to explore it. The leader of the Chi Mi Bang team, however, was a wily old fox. He chose to avoid the risk and went elsewhere instead of entering.

This wily old fox of a leader was named Chen Hushan. At first, he assumed the Qingfeng Temple team was doomed and paid them no mind.

Unexpectedly, on his way back, just as he was nearing the main road to the exit, Chen Hushan spotted the Qingfeng Temple team again.

Moreover, he could sense that their auras were a great deal stronger than before. The previously unremarkable Chen Sui had actually broken through to the Inner Power Realm, which came as a surprise.

Then there were the large sacks of Purple Crystals. Though they were covered with ragged cloths, his group had still noticed something was amiss.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out it had to be something good.

Meeting again like this, Chen Hushan made an instant decision. His own team had come up empty, but he could simply snatch someone else’s prize and make it his own.

He had already returned to the gang empty-handed several times. Although there were no casualties, the repeated failures led to more and more gossip within the gang, and the support and benefits for the expedition team were dwindling.

’So, if I can bring something good back this time...’

As for how Qingfeng Temple might react... he’d heard they were a decent force in some of the Outer City’s towns, a real player even. But to the Three Sects and Six Gangs of the Inner City, the Outer City was nothing but trash. Not worth a second thought.

"Captain Chen Sui, it’s been a while." Having set his goal, Chen Hushan blocked Chen Sui’s path, a smirk playing on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.

"Looks like you had a good haul, eh?"

His gaze naturally fell upon the sacks of Purple Crystals the Qingfeng Temple team was carrying.

Within the Qingfeng Temple expedition team, Huang Shan was in charge of guarding their prize. Of the top ten members, almost everyone except Wang Hongshi had come on this outing.

Huang Shan, Qiu Yiren, and Chen Sui were all present. In addition, there was Chen Xiangzhi, the head disciple of the Intention Blade Sect, and others. Almost all of Qingfeng Temple’s current elites had joined the team.

And the situation had indeed been brutal. Three of the top ten had died in the underground ruins. The only reason the rest survived was apparently because the monsters they encountered were full... and too lazy to give chase for the time being.

Because of this, everyone who had narrowly escaped death and traded their lives for these three sacks of Purple Crystals felt a fire ignite in their hearts when they saw Chen Hushan eyeing their prize.

These three sacks of Purple Crystals had become the core of their future development plans. They absolutely could not be lost. If anyone dared to try anything, they’d have a frenzy on their hands.

"We paid for this haul with our lives."

Chen Sui knew he couldn’t hide it, so he spoke frankly while warily eyeing his opponent, trying to gauge the threat level of the opposing team.

"Is that so? You risked your lives, but we didn’t? Meeting like this is fate. Besides, we share the same surname, Chen. Since we’ve run into each other, it’s only fair to share. How about you sell some of your nice things to us?" Chen Hushan said with a grin.

"What’s your price?" Chen Sui glanced at the injured state of his team, suppressed his anger, and asked in a low voice.

’If we can avoid a fight, we should,’ he thought. ’As long as their demands aren’t too outrageous, we’ll just get through this first.’

During the days of Qingfeng Temple’s decline, the fickleness of human nature and his many harsh experiences had long since stripped him of the imposing aura he once had as the senior brother. He had become someone who preferred to avoid conflict and trouble.

His first instinct when faced with a problem was to see if he could evade it—a helpless habit born from those difficult times.

"Of those three sacks you have, just sell two to us. As for the price... we’ll value it as a standard Fog Area product of unknown effect. One thousand coins per jin. Your two sacks are probably around twenty-something jin, right? Twenty-something thousand coins for two sacks is a great deal for you." Chen Hushan actually had the gall to say this.

Only worthless trash from the Fog Area, confirmed to have no use, would be priced at one thousand coins per jin.

And no matter how you looked at it, this Purple Crystal was clearly not trash.

His attitude made it obvious he was planning to rob them blind!

The moment he said this, the atmosphere on both sides instantly grew tense.

Everyone knew that if things went south, a conflict was inevitable.

Although Chen Sui had broken through to Inner Strength, he and Huang Shan were the only two on his team who had. On the opposing team, however, there were at least four in the Inner Power Realm! This was an impossible fight!

*

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「Qingfeng Temple.」

Lin Hui was slowly reading a Martial Arts Secret Manual left behind by Song Zhanlong.

He had just completed a cycle of both Body Tempering and Inner Strength cultivation. His body couldn’t continuously circulate energy without a break, so he needed some rest. Using this time to read Martial Arts and seek insights to accelerate the evolution of his Blood Seal was the most optimal arrangement he could make.

After a short while, he glanced at the timetable on his study desk. It was a device similar to a clock, a gift his father had bought for him from the Inner City a few days ago.

"It’s past ten. Ding Ning, any news from the expedition team?" he asked casually.

Ding Ning was dozing off in a corner of the room, her back against the wall, her mouth slightly agape, drool trickling down onto her chest. Hearing his voice, she jolted awake.

"They’re... they’re almost here. They said they’ll arrive around noon. That’s what the person who brought the message back early said." She quickly wiped away the drool, her face flushing with embarrassment as she noticed the wet patch on her clothes.

The expedition team carried messenger pigeons. Before returning, they would tie a note to one, and the pigeon, having memorized the way back, would fly home on its own. This was one of the common ways to report that they were safe.

However, this method was only suitable for reporting from nearby Fog Areas. In Fog Areas that were further or deeper, the pigeons would likely be preyed upon by monsters mid-journey, making it difficult to deliver the message.

Receiving a message by pigeon at the headquarters meant the expedition team was already very close.

"Is that so? Then I should get ready as well." Lin Hui was also a bit curious about what the expedition team might bring back from their first outing.

He had already notified the entire temple well in advance, telling everyone to prepare. Many of the team members on this expedition were children of prominent local families, so the news of the team’s impending return immediately created a lively buzz.

Standing up, Lin Hui changed into his outer robe, fastened his belt, and then attached his medicine pouch, purse, keys, and Jade Pendant in succession.

"I have some free time, so I’ll take some people to where they’re returning and practice swordsmanship while we wait. If I’m not back in a bit, don’t wait for me for dinner."

With that, he took his sword, walked out of the study, and vanished in a flash.

*

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*

「Behind the original site of Qingfeng Temple, at the foot of the Fog Wall.」

"If you want to rob us, just say so." Chen Sui stared at the opposing expedition team, took a deep breath, and did his best to calm his Heart and Spirit.

He didn’t know their true strength, but regardless, giving up the Purple Crystals without a fight wasn’t avoiding trouble—it was surrendering without a struggle!

"Think this through." Chen Hushan gestured with a smile at the bandaged members of the Qingfeng Temple team. Of their fourteen members, only three were outwardly unharmed; the rest were all injured to varying degrees.

"With all these wounded people, if we really come to blows, how many of you will survive is anyone’s guess." He was smiling, but his words dripped with icy menace.

Chen Sui gripped the hilt of his sword and exchanged a look with his junior sister, Huang Shan, who had stepped up beside him.

"Get ready to scatter and run! Every one of us that makes it back is a victory! They won’t dare to act recklessly in town!" he instructed in a low voice.

"Are we really going to fight?" Huang Shan asked worriedly.

"If we don’t fight, are we supposed to just watch them take all the Purple Crystals? Do you really think they’ll stop at two sacks?" Chen Xiangzhi, the head disciple of the Intention Blade Sect lineage who had remained quiet until now, also took a step forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

"Let’s fight. There’s nothing more to say. If we don’t, we won’t get to keep a single sack, and people might die anyway. They’re just testing our condition," he said, clearly speaking from experience.

"Alright!" Chen Sui’s gaze hardened instantly.

Turning his attention back, he fixed his eyes on Chen Hushan.

"Chen Hushan of the Chi Mi Bang, is it? Qingfeng Temple will remember this!"

"Remember? You’re nothing! Remember this? Who the hell do you think Qingfeng Temple is? A mere Outer City sect dares to announce its name before the Three Sects and Six Gangs?"

A short woman from the opposing team stepped forward and sneered mockingly.

Her words were far nastier than Chen Hushan’s, showing no respect whatsoever for the members of Qingfeng Temple. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Senior Brother Chen, what are you dawdling for? Let’s just cripple them and take their stuff!" the woman said, turning to urge Chen Hushan on.

"Junior Sister Xie, don’t be hasty. It’s always best if we can settle this peacefully. I’m sure the members of Qingfeng Temple wouldn’t want anything to happen to their brothers and sisters now that they’ve made it back safely, would they?" Chen Hushan said with a smile, looking at Chen Sui again. "You can always find more things, but you only get one life..."

Chen Sui glanced back at his team members.

The eyes of the vast majority of the fourteen were filled with determination. They had all volunteered for this team. Unlike their opponents, they had joined with the mentality of risking their lives from the very beginning.

They had fought tooth and nail for this prize, and now someone was trying to rip it from their grasp!

"Let’s fight! Senior Brother, what’s there to be afraid of!?"

"If it comes down to it, I’ll take one of them down with me! I almost didn’t make it out of the ruins; I refuse to believe this is more dangerous than that!"

"They’re just one of the Three Sects and Six Gangs! The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Can the Chi Mi Bang’s reach really extend all the way out here!?"

Chen Sui took a deep breath, nodded, and turned his gaze back, slowly drawing his sword.

"In that case... Chen Sui of Qingfeng Temple. I await your instruction."

He dropped his scabbard and mimicked the Observatory Master’s stance, pointing his sword diagonally toward the ground as his Inner Strength began to circulate in his abdomen.

As the former senior brother of Qingfeng Temple, he naturally knew the old version of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship. He had also fully learned the perfected Seven-Section Quick Sword and Nine-Section Swift Sword, and had even redeemed points for the Secret Technique of Light Body.

His strength was no longer what it used to be.

’So, since there’s no avoiding it... we fight!’

"Got guts! A fresh Inner Strength breakthrough dares to challenge a senior? Who gave you that courage?" Chen Hushan laughed, but it was a scornful laugh.

He drew a short dagger from the back of his waist and gave it a deft, showy twirl.

He dared to make a move because his team had more than one Inner Power Martial Artist. He, Junior Sister Xie, and three other junior brothers were all in the Inner Power Realm. Furthermore, he and Junior Sister Xie were not just ordinary members of the realm; they had both reached the Fourth Layer of Inner Strength.

This wasn’t much among the Three Sects and Six Gangs of the Inner City—at best, it made them mid-to-low tier, otherwise they wouldn’t have been assigned to an expedition team as cannon fodder. But in the resource-starved Outer City... this was not a weak force.

SWISH.

With talks having broken down, Chen Hushan decisively struck first. Stomping his foot, he unleashed the Soaring Frost Skill, one of the four great arts of the Chi Mi Bang.

Inner Strength flowed into his short dagger. Combined with his rapid forward dash, he moved like a white line, instantly crossing the seven or eight-meter gap to stab at Chen Sui.

And it wasn’t just him. The other four Inner Power Martial Artists behind him also sprang into action.

With their Inner Strength circulating, they moved with incredible speed, far beyond what an ordinary Martial Artist could follow.

Chen Hushan led the charge, his frost-covered dagger slashing like lightning toward Chen Sui’s shoulder.

The gap between a mere newcomer who had just broken through and himself was almost as vast as the difference between an ordinary Martial Artist and an Inner Power Martial Artist.

Therefore, his strike was casual and effortless.

But...

SWISH!

The dagger actually missed!

Before he could react, a brilliant silver sword light bloomed before his eyes like a blossoming peony.

TING TING TING TING!!

Blinding sparks exploded rapidly around Chen Hushan. The protective layer of Inner Strength covering his body plummeted in an instant, and the color drained from his face in terror.

’What the hell is that speed!?!’

He didn’t dare to be careless. He immediately unleashed his Soaring Frost Skill at full power, his dagger whipping up a cloud of frosty qi around him. This freezing qi was bone-chillingly cold. Anyone who came into contact with it would have cold poison seep into their skin and bones in a short time, slowing their movements.