The Decaying World-Chapter 149 - 139: Change (Part 1)

「Late at night. Qingfeng Temple.」

Lin Hui sat cross-legged in his bedroom, staring at the jagged nicks that had appeared on the surface of his Ruyi Sword.

’It’s about to break right after I strengthened it... At my current level, fighting without a good weapon is a real pain.’

He had returned from the Inner City, changed out of his disguise, and come back to his bedroom to assess the situation.

His weapon was damaged and his body was injured. This made Lin Hui realize that his strength was likely on par with a Priest or a Grandmaster.

’Above Priests, there are High Priests, Palace Masters, the Original Blood Nobility... and ultimately, the Fog People. This world...’ Sighing, Lin Hui reached out and gently placed his hand on the Ruyi Sword.

The pattern of the Blood Seal instantly materialized on the back of his hand.

’Ruyi Steel Sword: A retractable sword made of superior material, evolved from an ordinary longsword. Status: Damaged. Available evolution branches: 4.’

That was right. Lin Hui’s plan was to evolve it again. Since the steel sword couldn’t meet his needs, he would just evolve it once more. He had plenty of medicines to shorten the evolution time anyway.

He opened the evolution branches.

’1—Specialized Synthetic Steel Sword.’

’2—Phoenix Cry Sword.’

’3—Purgatory Phosphorescent Sword.’

’4—Nether Wind Sword.’

The four branches that appeared this time were clearly different. Compared to before, a single glance told him they were forged from different systems.

’My greatest need right now is a longsword that is strong and hard enough. Everything else is secondary. So... let’s see which branch meets my requirements.’

He checked them one by one.

’Specialized Synthetic Steel Sword: Forged from ultra-strong warship-grade steel synthesized in special proportions. Its durability and wear resistance have reached an extremely high level, and it possesses excellent resistance to various forms of chemical, high-temperature, and low-temperature corrosion.’

’Phoenix Cry Sword: A mysterious longsword that has sealed the cry of a Phoenix.’

’Purgatory Phosphorescent Sword: The personal sword of Misdieu, the Lord of Purgatory. When swung, it can release Purgatory’s phosphorescent light to corrode opponents.’

’Nether Wind Sword: An unknown blade infused with the wind of the Nether River. A single-use item that can release the Nether River’s wind to erode an opponent’s lifespan.’

’...’ Lin Hui could guess the evolution time required for each just by looking at the descriptions.

He opened them to check, and sure enough, aside from the first option—the Specialized Synthetic Steel Sword—none of the other three required less than twenty years...

Only the first one needed about a year and a half...

Fortunately, his goal was simply a sufficiently sturdy longsword, so he wasn’t picky. After confirming his choice of the first evolution option, Lin Hui put Ruyi away and began to circulate his Inner Strength to heal his injuries.

Circulating his Inner Strength essentially meant leveraging its innate ability to nourish injuries and accelerate recovery. He just needed to channel it to the wounded area over and over, slowly covering the spot to speed up the healing process.

Of course, this was on the condition that there were no major bleeding points. Otherwise, it would just accelerate the blood loss, turning a minor injury into a severe one.

But as soon as he began to circulate it, Lin Hui immediately felt that something was wrong.

He had just closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged for less than two seconds before he stood up again.

’Wait, how did my injuries heal?!’

He touched the center of his chest, the spot where he had been struck by the Grandmaster’s explosive technique.

It had been aching faintly before, with a visible gash on the skin.

But now, when he tore open the damaged part of his clothes, he could only see clear, smooth, pale skin.

Not even a scar remained.

’Could it be the inherent strengthening effect of the Purgatory Internal Power?’ he guessed internally.

Walking to the window, he gazed at the hazy fog outside, where strange, twisted shadows faintly flickered past.

’I suppose I’ve found the upper limit of the enemies I can currently handle. Although I still haven’t used my Spirit-Sealing Array or the Sealed Poison, other Grandmasters might have their own killing moves, not to mention the Heart and Spirit-based attacks of Priests. I still need to act with caution...’

Right now, his brother was injured and recuperating, and there were hidden troubles everywhere involving the Wanhua Sect, the Qinghe Sect, and the Liu Family. The Qinghe Sect in particular, having had two of their establishments taken down by him in succession, would surely retaliate.

Once they found out he was the one who did it...

’From now on, I’ll just focus on cultivating and living my life. No more rash moves. It would be better to shift my focus to the Fog Area.’

After setting his plan, Lin Hui drew the curtains, turned back to his bed, and lay down to begin cultivating his Inner Strength.

The Body Tempering practice for Typhoon Swordsmanship primarily involved using sword techniques to guide Inner Strength to temper both the body and the Heart and Spirit. The Inner Strength Body Tempering part was an enhanced version of what was used in Gale Swordsmanship, requiring one to constantly and carefully perceive the fluctuations of an immense and magnificent power beyond the deeper layers of the ’web’.

This type of cultivation was mainly about perception. The role of Inner Strength was to continuously amplify the Heart and Spirit to support the exertion.

Perceive the great power, connect with the great power, merge with the great power, and channel the great power.

These were the four stages of Typhoon Swordsmanship, and also the four sub-levels of Ninth Grade Body Tempering.

As for the techniques, they simply required repetitive practice. By circulating Inner Strength, one would perceive the great power, then use perfect techniques and a certain mysterious rhythm to channel that power, thereby training oneself.

Simply put, Typhoon Swordsmanship could be practiced statically or dynamically. Static cultivation trained Inner Strength and could only temper the Heart and Spirit. Dynamic cultivation was better, as it could train both techniques and Inner Strength simultaneously, tempering both the Heart and Spirit and the body.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, he went out to have breakfast at the entrance of the South Nine Gates and observe the situation.

He had no intelligence channels for the Inner City, and it wasn’t appropriate to let the temple disciples know about his other trump cards, so he could only come to keep watch himself.

’I exposed the Qinghe Sect’s Divine Statue, so their main target definitely won’t be me, but the Qinghe Sect itself. The Fog Spirit’s Divine Statue was hidden under the New Martial Alliance branch headquarters, so the New Martial Alliance will definitely be implicated and investigated. This matter won’t blow over quietly.’ Lin Hui mused while eating a braised meat bun and drinking hot soy milk, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the groups entering and exiting the South Nine Gates.

In the morning, merchant caravans transporting goods into the city arrived one after another in an endless stream. From time to time, figures would leap out from within, moving swiftly and disappearing in a flash, causing everyone to stop and lower their heads, daring not to look.

A couple of these figures would appear every few minutes. It was impossible to tell if they were Summoners or Martial Artists from the Inner City.

However, most of the caravans entering the city were used to it. They knew these were people they couldn’t afford to provoke, so the groups tended to pass through the sides of the gate, leaving the central path for these powerful experts.

Lin Hui watched for an hour and, seeing no activity, was about to get up and leave.

But just as he finished the last of his soy milk, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he looked toward the main entrance of the South Nine Gates again.

"Where Wanfu arrives, grace is bestowed upon the people!"

CLANG.

A clear-sounding gong rang out.

Two Martial Artists striking gongs, their heads covered with black veils and their bodies shrouded in long, black robes, revealed only their eyes.

They shouted as they struck the gongs, leading the way and clearing a path.

Following close behind them was a black flatbed cart, over ten meters long and four or five meters wide.

On the cart rested a massive, dark-red object that resembled a meat jelly.

Its surface was covered in a dense array of serrated mouths of various sizes. Some were eating, some were talking, and some were sticking out their tongues to lick their lips.

At a glance, the thing was simply a mass of flesh covered in countless small, black mouths!

"The new Wanfu Meat is here! Those who want some, register at the Government Office!" the black-robed gong-striker shouted again.

"The meat is here!"

"Quick, quick, quick!"

"So hungry... It looks so fragrant! Hahaha!"

A large crowd of people, who had been hiding somewhere, now swarmed forward, all pushing toward the giant, dark-red mass of flesh.

They drooled, their eyes mostly vacant. They were emaciated, some with sallow complexions, others coughing incessantly. Some even knelt from a distance and began to kowtow to the fleshy mass.

Aside from them, the majority of the Outer City’s populace kept their distance, unwilling to even get close, forming a stark contrast with the frenzied crowd.

Watching this scene, Lin Hui felt a strange curiosity about the origin of this Wanfu Meat.

He didn’t know what purpose the Inner City’s upper echelons had for continuously providing Wanfu Meat to everyone. Perhaps maintaining the population had some special significance for the Moon Tower and the Fog People.

Getting up, settling his bill, and leaving, Lin Hui didn’t spare the Wanfu Meat another glance. The words Han Xiaoyue had said before she left echoed in his mind again: ’Go take a look at the Core Area of the Moon Tower.’

’Once my brother has recovered, I’ll go take a look. After all, it’s still too far away,’ Lin Hui planned.

Over the next few days, just as Lin Hui had predicted, the Inner City showed no intention of investigating him. Instead, they posted wanted notices for the various members of the Qinghe Sect, offering substantial rewards for any clues.

It was obvious that the Qinghe Sect had now become a thorn in the side of the Inner City’s Three Greats.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Lin Hui. He diligently focused on his Body Tempering cultivation day after day and took medicine to accelerate his Blood Seal. Occasionally, he would check on his disciples’ progress. He would also go home to see the ever-learning and growing Lin Xiaoliu, as well as his parents and second mother, who spent their days leisurely.

Life seemed so harmonious and wonderful.

But unfortunately, in this world, peace has always been a luxury.

Over a month later, after just a few days of stability, news arrived from Wang Yueheng in the Inner City.

Xue Ying and experts from the Chen Family had clashed in the Fog Area. The Chen Family had been ambushed, resulting in the deaths of three Priests and one High Priest—a devastating loss.

One had to understand that although the Chen Family was one of the Inner City’s Three Greats, High Priests were still rare. Each one was a strategic pillar. The loss of a single one prompted the Chen Family to immediately launch a frenzied retaliation.

A large number of Chen Family experts swarmed out, beginning a relentless daily search for Xue Ying’s whereabouts in the surrounding Fog Areas.

In comparison, Liu Wu Jun’s injury was a trivial matter.

Nearly everyone’s attention was focused on the grudge between Xue Ying and the Chen Family.

And the stir from this incident also affected Tao Xuehai, who was practicing martial arts at Qingfeng Temple.

「Qingfeng Temple. The assembly hall.」

Lin Hui sat in a grandmaster’s chair, holding a cup of tea, listening to his disciple Tao Xuehai’s report on the recent situation.

"To be honest, we never expected someone in our family to get involved. My great-uncle was on good terms with the Chen Family. He and two old friends were somewhat famous in the Central Ring, known as the Three Friends of the Snow. Each of them specialized in a different musical instrument. They often played together in the mountains to study music theory. One of the three Priests from the Chen Family who died this time was one of those Three Friends of the Snow..." Tao Xuehai said helplessly.

"This isn’t something for you to worry about. Just focus on your training," Lin Hui said, frowning slightly as he saw the clear worry on his disciple’s face.

He had high hopes for Tao Xuehai. The kid had extremely high comprehension, was willing to work desperately hard, came from a family with a deep martial heritage, and had abundant resources. It was almost a certainty that he would reach great heights in the future.

But lately, since the news about his great-uncle arrived, the kid had clearly become somewhat agitated.