The Decaying World-Chapter 72 - 67: Handling 3

The conversation with his son had gone surprisingly well. Lin Shunhe left the attic, his heart a mixture of pride, worry, and relief.

In the enclosed corridor on the way back to his room, he gazed at the hazy fog outside the newly installed glass windows and suddenly spoke.

"Elder Du, what do you think of Ah Hui now?"

The black-clothed old man who had been following behind him slowly straightened his back.

"Young Master Hui is a man with a mind of his own."

That was the extent of his evaluation—just that one sentence. But Lin Shunhe knew that, given Elder Du’s personality, such a comment was already high praise.

After a moment of silence, he asked again.

"Honestly, in terms of Martial Arts, Ah Hui’s path is already set. I don’t want him to continue down it. Reaching the peak of Outer Strength techniques like the Qingfeng Sword is his absolute limit. But even at that limit, he’s no match for an Inner Strength master. The Sixth Layer of Inner Power... each layer is harder than the last. Not to mention, there are plenty of masters in the Inner City who have achieved Circulation. Ah Hui has already missed his chance to start cultivating Inner Strength from the beginning. Since that’s the limit of Outer Strength, he’d be better off learning the ways of business from me. He could wait for the organization to grant him a replica Evil Soldier in the future and close the gap in martial prowess in one fell swoop..."

"My Lord, even if he fuses with a replica Evil Soldier, he’ll still need combat experience. It’s not a bad idea to let Young Master Hui dabble in it now," Elder Du said calmly. "The Outer City is full of Outer Strength experts, making it a good place to hone his skills in a real fight."

"Sigh..." Lin Shunhe sighed. He had already received a promise from his superior, Lord Black Face, that the formal assessment of his merits had begun.

After their last conversation, he had rapidly expanded his business and successfully established a connection with a Priest from the Rain Palace, one of the Three Greats of the Inner City.

A Priest was a powerful individual at or above the level of an Upper-Tier Summoner, who normally resided in the Moon Tower District and rarely went out.

If not for him helping one of the Priest’s most favored scions find a crucial Treasure Medicine in a Fog Area, plus the Inner City connections of the newly absorbed Liu Shenglan of the Liu Family, he probably wouldn’t have been able to forge this connection.

Because of this, Lord Black Face speculated that his assessment this time would likely go very smoothly. Both the Liu Family of the Inner City and the Rain Palace Priest perfectly fulfilled the organization’s mission requirements.

His business had expanded even further, with branches opened in more than half the towns, ensuring that every town involved had a Mountain and River United Supermarket.

Profits poured in daily, an inexhaustible stream.

At the same time, because the United Supermarkets required a large number of staff, it also made it convenient for the organization to continuously plant personnel in both the Outer and Inner Cities.

Someone had already proposed that his division be established as its own hall, to serve as the organization’s branch in Tuyue.

"The review and assessment will take about a month. With your qualifications, My Lord, success is guaranteed. The only question is which replica Evil Soldier will be assigned to you. Once you have fused with it, it will be much easier for you to acquire the next one for Young Master Hui," Elder Du said earnestly.

"True. Before then, help me keep an eye on Ah Hui."

"Mm, although my own fusion failed, my constitution has undergone a qualitative change. I’ll have no problem dealing with most of the upper echelons of the New Martial Alliance." Elder Du spoke these incredibly impressive words with a calm demeanor.

"With you saying that, Elder Du, I can rest assured." Lin Shunhe nodded in satisfaction.

Passing through the corridor, the two parted ways. Lin Shunhe returned to his bedroom and saw his wife, Yao Shan, personally sewing a piece of white fur.

"How many times have I told you? Don’t do these things yourself. Just have the servants do it," he said reproachfully, stepping forward and gently taking the fur from her.

"It’s not like I have anything else to do, is it? I’m idle anyway, and living the life of a great lady is rather boring..." Yao Shan wasn’t angry that he took the fur, simply replying with a smile.

"It’s getting dark. Don’t strain your eyes." Lin Shunhe took off his outer robe and hung it on a wooden rack along with the fur.

"I had a chat with Ah Hui today. Wasn’t he staying at the Qingfeng Temple before? Guess what he’s been up to these past two days."

"He had a breakthrough in his swordsmanship?" Yao Shan guessed, stunned for a moment.

"No... He took his sword, ran to another martial arts hall’s entrance, and challenged them in front of over a hundred people!" Lin Shunhe plopped down and slapped his thigh.

"What?" Yao Shan jumped in fright. "How... how did he get so bold?! What if he got hurt?!"

"Heh, not only did your son not get hurt, he even annexed their martial arts hall!" Lin Shunhe said with a laugh.

".....That...!" Yao Shan looked at her husband’s slightly smug expression. How could she not know he was just running over to show off to her?

’But isn’t his son my son too? What’s there to be so smug about? Just because he found out a little earlier?’

"Well, that’s good... I haven’t had a chance to talk with Ah Hui for a while either. His mind is completely focused on martial arts now. He only comes home once a week. I barely even see him," Yao Shan sighed.

"I’ll talk to him later. You can also go see him when you have time. His courtyard isn’t far," Lin Shunhe said.

"That’s true... Children always grow up. They can’t just revolve around their parents forever, or they’ll never accomplish anything." Yao Shan understood. No one in this world who achieved great things did so by staying close to their parents.

*

*

*

「Inside the attic.」

Lin Hui looked at the two boxes on the table before him and gently reached out to open one. He took out the Yun Lingzhi, carefully bit off a small piece from the edge, and chewed it slowly.

Just now at the Black Dragon Sect headquarters, he had confirmed through testing that the medicine’s properties were very potent. A tiny bit could reduce his evolution time by three days. It was incredibly powerful; he couldn’t eat it too quickly all at once.

Otherwise, his stomach wouldn’t be able to absorb it. Diarrhea would be the least of his worries; wasting the medicinal effect was the real problem.

Therefore, he had to consume these two Treasure Medicines as quickly as possible, right at the limit of his stomach’s absorption capacity.

That night, he did nothing but slowly sip water and chew and swallow the two stalks of Yun Lingzhi.

As he continuously digested and absorbed it, the evolution time for the Gale Swordsmanship in his vision rapidly decreased from nearly two years.

After finishing the first stalk, the time was reduced by more than three months.

After finishing the second, it was reduced by another three months.

In total, in just one night, he had reduced the time by a little over half a year, bringing the remaining time for the Gale Swordsmanship down to one year and about one hundred and thirty-odd days.

This invigorated Lin Hui. Early the next morning, he went to the Black Dragon Sect headquarters again and found Chen Yuan, who was organizing their supply channels.

"The channel for Yun Lingzhi? Yes, it’s still there. There are three more stalks that Master Song ordered previously. They should be delivered soon," Chen Yuan replied.

"Do you know where the Medicine Man gathers them?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.

"It should be somewhere deep in the Fog Area," Chen Yuan replied cautiously. "As you know, the Fog Area is actually vast, far larger than Tuyue itself—it’s boundless. As for the specific location, I really don’t know."

"It’s a secret passed down through generations of Medicine Men. The Medicine Man family that Master Song connected with is no pushover either. They’re a leading clan in their local town, known as the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Villa. Their strength is no weaker than our Black Dragon Sect... I mean, the Qingfeng Sword Sect," Wang Hongshi explained gravely from the side.

Lin Hui nodded.

’Indeed. Anyone who can gather such Treasure Medicine must have considerable martial strength. Plus, Treasure Medicine brings in money fast; it’d be strange if their family wasn’t wealthy. With strength, money, and medicine, they just need to have a few more kids to become a formidable local power.’

"Then send some people over to keep an eye on them," he instructed.

"Yes, but Sect Leader, the members of the Black Dragon Sect branch are divided into two parts: disciples and trainees.

Disciples are supported by the sect, dedicating themselves full-time to martial arts. Trainees simply pay a fee to enter and learn Martial Arts. Assignments are usually given to disciples, who need to be paid a monthly stipend. Some of the disciples who left have now returned. What do you think, should we take them back?" Wang Hongshi asked.

"Take back the ones with Body Tempering strength. Reject the rest," Lin Hui said casually.

After giving his instructions, he took the secret manual for the Black Dragon Claw into the Song Mansion. In the center of the empty estate, he found a gazebo, sat down, and began to read it carefully.

’Black Dragon Claw, originally named Black Dragon Skill, was created by True Black Dragon of Feiqing City District. This Cultivation Technique requires first soaking the entire body in a special medicinal liquid to gradually thicken the skin until it becomes as tough as cowhide. Then, one must use an Outer Strength Body Refining Technique to hammer all parts of the body. This is combined with an Inner Forging Technique, using orally consumed medicine and the Black Dragon Chant Secret Technique to temper the internal organs. Ultimately, one can achieve a state where the body, inside and out, is like dragon hide—incomparably tough and impervious to blades and spears.’

’This Cultivation Technique begins Body Tempering with an initial Body Refining Technique. Third Grade Body Tempering is equivalent to the first layer, and the Ninth Grade limit can reach the third layer. Body Tempering can be repeated three times, for a total of nine layers. Upon Great Success, one can transition from outer to inner, generate Inner Power, and enter the Inner Family. The only weak point is the eyes, which must be strictly guarded in combat. Additionally, because this Cultivation Technique follows the Ultimate Dao, after completing the first Ninth Grade Body Tempering, one will suffer from a condition of burning lust, and one’s temperament will become violent and irritable. This is an imbalance of the heart and kidneys and requires harmonizing methods to pacify...’

Reading this, Lin Hui confirmed his previous suspicions. The Black Dragon Claw was indeed an Extreme Martial Arts technique. Just look at how strong its defense was. Daoist Baohe, who was also in the Inner Power Realm and could extend his Inner Power into his weapon—meaning he was at least at the Sixth Layer—was actually unable to harm Song Zhanlong.

That just went to show how absurdly powerful it was.

’The Black Dragon Claw allows for a Third-Time Body Tempering, whereas the Qingfeng Sword Sect only goes as far as a Second-Time Body Tempering. No wonder the Black Dragon Claw is so formidable...’ Lin Hui quickly finished flipping through the manual and sighed.

’I was planning to start practicing it at the same time, but this side effect is a bit troublesome. I’d better wait until the Gale Swordsmanship has finished evolving. Anyway, with medicinal acceleration, it probably won’t take that long...’

He mused that if it weren’t for him, the Qingfeng Sword Sect might truly have never had a chance to make a comeback. After all, any discerning person could see the gap between a Second-Time Body Tempering and a Third-Time Body Tempering.

The Black Dragon Sect truly lived up to its origins from the Xingdiao City District. The Black Dragon Claw wasn’t just an Extreme Martial Arts technique; it also involved a Third-Time Body Tempering. Its strength surpassed the Qingfeng Sword by more than just a notch.

Putting away the secret manual, Lin Hui stood up and once again began his daily Second-Time Body Tempering. Although the Second-Time Body Tempering was the limit for the perfect version of Qingfeng Swordsmanship, it also had its advantages.

Namely, that it generated Inner Power early.

Especially the perfect version. Its Inner Power generation speed was so fast that it accumulated at a rate of three to five Inner Power Silk Threads per day.

Moreover, as the Inner Power Silk Threads accumulated, Lin Hui could faintly sense that this Inner Power was also silently affecting his body from within. The threads seemed to emit a subtle force—he didn’t know if it was particles, radiation, or a force field—that acted on his entire body.

Lin Hui clearly felt that ever since he stepped into the Inner Power Realm, his senses had become more acute. His five senses—sight, hearing, smell, and so on—were much sharper than before.

And, more crucially, he could now seem to perceive the subtle, transparent web that had formed outside his body.

This web was the foundation for filtering and absorbing external forces, converting them into Inner Power.

Previously, he could only indirectly perceive the web’s existence. But recently, he could faintly feel it floating around his body, as if woven from countless threads extending from within him.

Only after his continuous Body Tempering session reached its limit and he felt that his body was no longer generating Inner Power threads did Lin Hui stop.

He sat cross-legged in the gazebo to rest for a while. Just as he was about to delve into the secrets of the Black Dragon Claw again...

A disciple came running in, bowed, and reported.

"Sect Leader, three former front-courtyard disciples of the Qingfeng Sword Sect have come to visit. Do you wish to see them?"