Decaying World

Chapter 10 010 Frustration 2

"The two people beside Huang Shan are Zhong Yuquan and Zhong Yushan. Their elder brother is a summoning officer in the inner city government. There's also Chen Chong's sister, who is a summoner within the Chen family. Then there's your second senior brother and me. We all have relatives in our families who have successfully summoned the three great summoners in the inner city," Mu Qiaozhi said calmly.

Qiu Yiren and the other students who overheard this were slightly startled and secretly made a mental note of it.

"Then, Senior Sister, can a Summoner really reach the level of our Master in one fell swoop?" Qiu Yiren asked again.

"How could that be? They only gained a body of copper and iron at once, but there are still weaknesses in actual combat. If it really comes down to a fight, without a foundation in martial arts, it's naturally impossible to win against a master of the Ming generation. However, their status and position are different, so it will be much easier for them to learn martial arts techniques. Their starting point is far higher than that of ordinary people like us," Mu Qiaozhi explained, clearly having high hopes for her junior sister, Yiren.

By this time, most of the boys in front had already left, so she took the lead and started the girls to leave in line.

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Inside the gloomy oxcart carriage.

Father Lin Shunhe sat cross-legged on the soft couch, looking at his son who had been silent ever since he entered.

"What's wrong? You look so bitter and resentful?"

Lin Shunhe has been visibly busy lately; his skin is darker and he's thinner, but his eyes are brighter and more expressive than before.

He was wearing a brown-green silk robe with a leather vest over it, and he seemed to be in a good mood.

Lin Hui sighed and recounted the incident involving Lu Baihua.

“It happens all the time,” Lin Shunhe sighed. “That’s just how the world is. If you’re weak, you’re like a weed by the roadside. You can only endure being trampled on.”

"And what about our family?" Lin Hui suddenly asked.

"Don't worry, no one will dare to bother you for no reason." Lin Shunhe shook his head with a chuckle.

"why?"

"Because... your father is working for a powerful figure. And that powerful figure is no ordinary person. Alright, never mind that. Tell me, how are you feeling at the temple?" Lin Shunhe changed the subject and asked.

"It's alright. Master Mingde will bring me the accounts to calculate regularly, but they're not difficult and don't take up much of my time." Lin Hui thought about the simple math problems he had done before. Because they were so simple, he needed to think carefully to remember them.

"When Brother Mingde mentioned this to me, he also praised your excellent arithmetic skills, saying you were much better than the previous accountant. So he mentioned it to Daoist Baohe and confirmed that you would be in charge of auditing part of Qingfeng Temple's accounts from now on. As for your wages, they will be used to offset your current expenses for martial arts training, at a rate of one thousand coins per month."

A thousand coins wasn't much, but considering the high cost of martial arts training, and the decent food and other necessities provided by Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui didn't say anything.

"Did Father know that my cousin was inspired and successfully became a follower of the Rain Palace of the Sayue Cult?" Lin Hui asked again.

"Yes, the Lin family held a banquet a while ago, but it has nothing to do with us. We are no longer members of the Lin family," Lin Shunhe said softly. "Of course, your private relationship with Lin Hongzhen is your business."

"I understand," Lin Hui nodded.

"That's reality. Everyone has their own fate, life goes on, the sun still rises as usual, just like that fog, it won't change for tens of thousands of years," Lin Shunhe said with emotion.

Next, he inquired about Lin Hui's martial arts and sword practice. Upon hearing that his progress was slow, he stopped worrying. Clearly, in his eyes, mastering swordsmanship would be a bad thing; the right path was for Lin Hui to honestly work as an assistant accountant, doing the math, and eventually become a full-time accountant to earn a living.

"Once you become a full-fledged accountant, I'll find you a wife, and then you can have a few sons. That way, our branch of the family can expand and grow stronger," Lin Shunhe said with a smile.

"Dad seems to be in a good mood?" Lin Hui noticed something.

"Yes, we just made a big deal and earned quite a bit. But this is something I can't talk about. Just keep it to yourself and don't spread it around." Lin Shunhe nodded.

The oxcart slowly entered the main road, and the sides were no longer remote. Through the half-open car window, Lin Hui could see golden rice fields being harvested on both sides of the dirt road.

Flocks of black birds circled in the air above the fields, I don't know how they got there.

"I've heard that birds can enter and leave freely without being affected by the fog, Dad, is that true?" Lin Hui asked.

“How could that be? These are birds that live in the city. Once they go out, they basically never come back. But if they go out for a short time and are lucky, they can still come back by speed,” Lin Shunhe replied.

With a thought, dark red blood characters appeared in Lin Hui's field of vision.

The 'Hundred Turns and Thousand Hearts' technique has been fully evolved, and now he is seamlessly transitioning to the third move – Transformation into the West Wind.

It still takes sixty days, consuming energy and time, but nothing else.

'It's less of an evolution and more of a deduction. When the time is up, the automatic deduction completes, allowing me to fully master the deduce and obtain enhanced and perfected techniques. This blood seal seems more like a deduction device.'

Lin Hui pondered in his heart.

When I got home, my mother, Yao Shan, had already prepared a large table of dishes. The family had also hired an extra helper to help with everything. My mother called her Sister Luo. She came from a nearby farming family.

Outside the courtyard, workers were building a second outer wall, doubling the size of the already large courtyard.

It's obvious that once the father had money, he started expanding the family business.

After finishing his morning work, his father took Lin Hui out to visit old friends, trying to build a network of connections for the next generation.

However, looking at his father's smug face, Lin Hui felt a strange sense of unease.

Although they separated from the family, their father lacked the power to support the family fortune and relied entirely on the blessings of benefactors. For now, the benefactors were taking good care of them, but what if one day the relationship ended?
By then, if they are unable to support themselves, how will they cope? Will they rely on these so-called connections and old friends?

He mentioned his concerns to his father, but his father dismissed them, telling him to relax and that he would handle things; he only needed to focus on his own tasks.

The holiday lasted three days and ended quickly.

Lin Hui got back onto the oxcart and headed back towards Qingfeng Temple.

This time, he didn't force himself. Instead, he asked Hui Shen, who was also the disciple of Mingde Zhenren, to arrange a single room for him to stay in.

What followed was the monotonous daily sword practice, honing the body, day after day, regardless of wind or rain.

Chen Zhishen still walked with him as usual, but after Lu Baihua's incident, he became taciturn, and the determination in his eyes was more somber than before.

He practiced swordsmanship every day without any distraction. While others rested, he practiced; while others played, he practiced; while others chatted, he would squeeze in time to practice. Lin Hui was worried that he would harm his health by practicing too much, so he often bought him some nourishing and healing medicines from the Taoist temple's logistics department. But for him, who had already started earning money, this was nothing.

But for Chen Zhishen, it was undoubtedly a timely and much-needed support.

Lin Hui only needs to wait for time to make progress step by step, and once he makes progress, he will never regress.

Therefore, his sword practice focuses more on training his physical reflexes. He doesn't need any nourishment or healing.

In the blink of an eye, the third move was successfully evolved, followed by the fourth move.

During this period, Lin Hui also officially took over part of the accounting work at the Taoist temple, and his identity changed from a disciple to a half-disciple and half-logistics member.

He Huishen and Master Mingde also interacted much more frequently than before.

During this period, another group of people left the Taoist temple, and a new group of people arrived.

After paying the tuition, the introductory teaching for the newcomers began again. This time, Lin Hui was no longer one of them, but stood in the area in front of the senior disciples.

Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren, two geniuses, have completely mastered the seven-section fast sword technique and its power points, and have begun learning the second set, the nine-section fast sword. It is said that they have also finished learning the nine-section fast sword, and the two have begun to formally spar with their senior brothers and sisters.

Among the new students, there were no geniuses like them; only a few had some talent, but they were far from being as good.

After the new student training session concludes.

The long-absent Taoist Baohe unexpectedly made an appearance, briefly surveying the backstage area to check on everyone's progress.

Although it was supposed to be an inspection, his gaze kept lingering around Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren, clearly indicating that he came specifically for the two women.

He didn't care how well the others practiced.

Lin Hui stood in the back row, practicing the seven-section fast sword with meticulous care. He had replaced the wooden stick in his hand with a rough wooden sword. At this moment, his backhand swirl was skillful and smooth. The first three moves were perfect, but the last four moves instantly reverted to their original form, which was just mediocre and extremely painful to watch.

After finishing a set of sword techniques, he paused briefly to rest and catch his breath.

"Alright, everyone stop for a moment. Since the abbot is here, let's have a little impromptu competition today. Let's see how everyone is doing." Daoist Mingxiu clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

There were over a hundred disciples present, scattered throughout the large backyard practicing their swordsmanship. Upon hearing the sound, some of the newly arrived disciples immediately became excited.

Everyone enjoys watching the excitement, but the older disciples, whose progress is worrying, don't look too happy.

Mingxiu didn't care about any of that and clapped her hands again.

"Disciples who have mastered the Nine-Section Quick Sword, step forward."

The Seven-Section Quick Sword is only a training method, so it cannot be used for actual combat. Only the Nine-Section Quick Sword and the Gentle Breeze Sword Technique are the true combat sword techniques used in the temple.

Immediately, twenty of the hundreds of disciples stepped forward one after another.

This included senior disciple Chen Sui and others.

These twenty people are clearly the true elite among the current disciples of the Taoist temple.

As for the other disciples and students, they all have the possibility of leaving in disappointment before they have fully mastered the Seven-Section Quick Sword.

Therefore, they were not formal disciples.

These twenty people are the true core of Qingfeng Taoist Temple.

"Since it's a small competition, let's stick to the old rules and give a prize. The top five will each receive a dose of Bright Body Powder made by the temple," Mingxiu said with a smile.

The competition quickly began by drawing lots, with disciples stepping forward one by one, wielding wooden swords and wielding nine-section fast swords in combat.

Lin Hui observed the battle from the outside and keenly noticed that these disciples' movement speed was much faster than that of ordinary people.

"The body-tempering and lightness-enhancing effects of the Seven-Section Quick Sword are working," Chen Zhishen whispered from the side.

"Hmm, it's said that mastering the Seven-Section Fast Sword technique once has the effect of tempering the body and making one feel lighter. Now it seems that it really is true." Looking at his senior brothers and sisters on the field who were even more agile than monkeys, Lin Hui finally had a more direct understanding of Qingfeng Temple's life-saving abilities.

To be honest, this was the first time he had seen the true effect of the sword technique he had practiced since he entered the temple.

"However, such competitions are nothing more than a comparison of everyone's mastery of the nine-section fast sword and the degree of tempering of the seven-section fast sword. If we really want to go out, what we need to increase is our experience in dealing with other types of martial arts and enemies," Lin Hui said softly.

"That's true, but as long as your movements are fast enough to survive, you can slowly observe and accumulate experience. Isn't that the same?" Chen Zhishen said. After learning for so long, everyone is no longer the novice they once were. They often communicate and ask questions with others, and they know much more than before.

On the open space that had been cleared, the two swordsmen were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle. Finally, one of them couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly changed his move, switching from the Nine-Section Quick Sword to the One-Handed Cloud Sweeping Technique of the Gentle Breeze Swordplay.

Three consecutive slaps.

The opponent's wooden sword was suddenly jerked away by this move, flying out of his hand and crashing to the ground.

"Wucheng, victory!" the Taoist priest who was calculating nearby shouted.

Lin Hui, watching from outside, squinted as he observed this scene.

"Is the Qingfeng Sword Technique really that powerful?"

"Of course it's strong, otherwise why would our Taoist temple be called Qingfeng Temple?" A light female voice came from the side.

The speaker was a petite female disciple with a beautiful appearance and a pitiful demeanor.

Lin Hui recognized the person who had just arrived. Among the new disciples who had entered the temple, the one with relatively good talent was named Xie Li.

(End of this chapter)