Decaying World

Chapter 162, Exchange 162 (Xie Chengshan as Alliance Leader of the Boat)
Yunxiazi looked around and immediately noticed the changes in the terrain.

"Someone suddenly came up to me and asked if I had taken on a disciple in the outer city. It's strange, actually a very strange question. There are just too many geniuses and highly talented people in the inner city, no one would go to the outer city to take on a disciple. If it were anyone else, there would be no possibility of that. But if it were me, then it is indeed possible. Because I am the kind of person who is very willful."

"May I ask your identity, sir?" Lin Hui's tone became slightly more cautious.

"What's the use of status?" Yunxiazi retorted. "When your strength reaches a certain level, status will naturally follow. So, can you tell me how you perfected and created those sword techniques?"

For an ordinary martial artist, the seven-section or nine-section fast sword might seem ordinary. After being perfected, it is indeed much stronger, but its power is still limited.

But Yun Xiazi was different. As a top figure in the martial arts field of Tu Yue City, he immediately saw the complexity and difficulty behind these two martial arts. Or rather, the terrifying aspects.

Yunxiazi knew she couldn't have perfected and optimized two ordinary external martial arts to this extent.

The amount of work required is enormous.

That's why he was willing to wait so long, just to meet Lin Hui, the founder, in person.

"I just felt something was off, and then I slowly adjusted it based on my intuition," Lin Hui replied calmly. He naturally couldn't reveal the existence of the blood mark. Therefore, this was the only answer he could give to the public.

"A feeling? That's not bad. I also felt something was wrong back then, which is why I created my own martial arts." Unexpectedly, Yunxiazi accepted this explanation.

Then, he looked at the Ruyi Sword in Lin Hui's hand.

The sword was indeed as the Benevolent Sect had described—very unusual, very sharp. He had never seen that kind of material in any city before.

"Can you teach me the Qingfeng Temple Sword Technique?" he suddenly asked with a smile. "I can allow you to use my name to make yourself known as my disciple."

"You seem to have a rather high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Lin Hui's face showed a hint of displeasure. Although he didn't know who the other person was, such boastful words upon first meeting were somewhat off-putting.

"Want to fight? You can try drawing your sword and slashing me," Yunxiazi laughed. "I'll just stand here, not moving an inch."

"."

Lin Huicai suppressed the aura of purgatory; his internal energy was like boiling magma, threatening to leak out its polluting aura if he wasn't careful. He dared not make a move rashly.

At this moment, he himself was unaware of how much stronger he had become. After all, his strength and physique had always been enhanced through special effects and swordsmanship, and his body tempering was also based on the efficiency of drawing upon external unknown forces.

In terms of inherent qualities, the improvement is not very significant; it was only after starting with the Qingfeng Sword Technique that there was a noticeable increase.

In essence, the fastest way to increase speed is still through the Gale Sword Technique. However, that's just a side effect of improving other aspects; it doesn't contribute much on its own.

Now, the infernal devouring slaughter has caused his strength recovery ability to surge far too much in just a few days.

Although it hasn't been tested yet, a rough estimate suggests that the power increase is at least five times.

Besides these, he also carried the Nine-Eyed Demon, a formidable weapon. He had already tested the power of the Spirit Sealing Array. It was incredibly powerful. The Howling Giant, a monster from the Fog Zone that even the High Priest could only withstand, was perfectly sealed away using an array of the same strength.

Now, the spirit he sealed in for the second time was much stronger than the first time, and he found nine-eyed spirits at the highest level of the Purgatory Spirit Transformation.

This also includes the previously mentioned Spirit of the Howling Giant.
"Are you worried?" Yun Xiazi raised an eyebrow. "Worried about hurting me? Or worried about revealing something?" He actually guessed what Lin Hui was thinking at this moment.

"My current situation is somewhat unusual," Lin Hui did not deny.

“Interesting. You are much more interesting than I imagined before I came. I am very interested in your martial arts. How about this, we make an equal deal: you teach me a martial art, and I will teach you one. How about that?” Yunxiazi said with a smile.

"My martial arts skills are sufficient for cultivation, so I don't need them. As for passing on my martial arts to you and joining my Qingfeng Temple, you will naturally receive the instruction," Lin Hui said calmly.

"You want me to become your disciple???" Yunxiazi was stunned, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

"Your Excellency may send your descendants to my Qingfeng Temple," Lin Hui suggested.

"I have never married, have no children, and no descendants." Yunxia laughed. "Interesting. I can see you have a lot of confidence, but it doesn't matter. I, Yunxia, ​​don't care about the trashy opinions of the outside world. You just wait!"

Swish!
The next instant, he vanished from his spot, leaving no trace.

Lin Hui could only vaguely see a blurry figure flying rapidly into the distance, unable to capture its outline at all.

He was horrified, knowing that the guy was likely an old monster from some inner city.

'When did I attract the attention of a monster of this level? Could it be another force that the Benevolent Cult mentioned is paying attention to me?'

Standing still, he composed himself and, not waiting for Yunxia to return, breathed a sigh of relief and turned to head back towards Qingfeng Temple.

But he stopped after taking only a few steps.

'Now that my strength has greatly increased, my Nine Eyes are fully activated, and I possess the Infernal Transformation, why should I remain passively waiting for others to make their moves before countering them?'

He gripped the hilt of the Ruyi Sword, his immense, surging energy burning within him like a fire with nowhere to go.

Threats should be nipped in the bud.

The surging flames of energy caused a faint red light to flash deep within Lin Hui's eyes.

But the surge of emotion only lasted a few seconds before he immediately realized what was happening and forcibly suppressed it. 'It's really starting to affect me. No, I must strengthen my mental cultivation. My progress in the Virtual Manifestation Technique is still too slow.'

His daily practice of the Virtual Manifestation Technique made him clearly feel that his will and mind were getting stronger, but this rate of improvement was far slower than that of other martial arts.

This method is a cumulative martial art that requires long-term practice to see results.

Its prototype comes from the preparatory techniques of inspiration and cultivation. The same applies to those who are inspired. They must be cultivated slowly from a very young age, and it is not until several years later that they can attempt to perform the inspiration ritual.

Suppressing his impulse, Lin Hui knew that now was not the time to expose himself. Qinghe Sect was a threat. If he had information about them, he would naturally dare to go and kill them. But now he didn't even know where they were located, so there was nowhere to kill them. Making a rash move would only expose himself and would be pointless.

The Virtual Demonstration Technique and the Typhoon Sword Technique both require time. He's still young, there's no rush.
Gripping the sword hilt tightly, Lin Hui looked up at the sky and then vanished from the spot in a flash.

*
*
*
After the Purgatory Clan was dealt with, the surrounding outer cities and fog zones became much more stable.

Lin Hui also resumed his previous life of asceticism, which he had been leading day after day.

Time flies.

A year has passed in the blink of an eye.
Qingfeng Temple was calm and peaceful, with new disciples constantly breaking through to the Inner Strength Realm. Among the top ten, only two were not Inner Strength martial artists, while the other eight all broke through.

The power of the Qingfeng Sword Technique in tempering the body is beginning to show.

The disciples below the top ten, in their daily interactions with surrounding forces, and their occasional sparring and chivalrous brawls, all demonstrated combat prowess far surpassing that of the Qingfeng Temple disciples.

Over the course of that year, Qingfeng Temple's reputation gradually spread beyond the surrounding areas, reaching even more distant towns.

After contacting Long Ji, Lin Hui officially received a silver plaque representing his identity, engraved with his code name—Four Faces.

After joining, the first three familiarization tasks are quite simple: either ask him to help settle special personnel from outside the city, or ask him to help collect some relatively difficult-to-obtain medicinal formulas and prescriptions.

Lin Hui completed all the tasks and finally entered the stage of waiting for the official mission.

While waiting, Lin Wuhai and his sister proposed leaving.

The residence behind Qingfeng Temple.

Inside the banquet hall.

Lin Hui frowned slightly as he looked at Lin Wuhai and Lin Wuyue, who were kneeling on one knee with resolute expressions.

"You are still young, why do you have such thoughts? If you leave now, where will you go? What will you do? If Qinghe Sect finds you again, how will you deal with it? Have you thought about these things?"

"Master, I've thought it all through," Lin Wuhai replied in a deep voice. "The hatred for my parents is irreconcilable. I've already completed the tempering of my body with the Qingfeng Sword Technique, and successfully mastered two secret techniques. My strength is unlikely to improve any further in the short term. If I stay in the temple, who knows how many more years it will take to reach the next stage. Rather than slowly suffering, it's better to venture into the Fog Zone with my sister. My ancestors left a mark deep within the Fog Zone, above the Jade Sea. It was a backup family treasure vault, the reason my parents dared to lead everyone away. Unfortunately..."

Lin Wuhai spoke candidly without any attempt to conceal anything, ignoring his sister's attempts to pull him away, and then revealed everything about the family's treasure vault.

"So, your family's treasure trove contains something that can make you stronger quickly, so you plan to risk going there?" Lin Hui understood.

“Exactly.” Lin Wuhai nodded.

"What about the Gale Sword Technique? Aren't you going to learn it?" Lin Hui asked, frowning.

"This disciple is dull-witted," Lin Wuhai said, a helpless expression immediately appearing on his face.

After the Body Tempering Qingfeng Sword technique ended, his movement speed increased dramatically. Combined with his internal energy, his strength was even comparable to that of his sister, who was a high-level summoner.

But pain and hardship began when he started practicing the Gale Sword Technique.
The Gale Sword Technique relies on weaving a special net to attract external mysterious forces and transform them into a gale.

The problem is that his net was woven from other martial arts techniques. Even after the Qingfeng Sword Technique tempering was completed, it only improved part of the net's structure.

Practicing the Gale Sword Technique based on this foundation is incredibly difficult.

After trying for more than a month, Lin Wuhai was constantly injured while practicing, and he had no choice but to give up.

"Since you've made up your mind, I won't stop you," Lin Hui sighed. He took a money pouch from his waist and tossed it over.

"Go buy some things you'll need on the road. Also, if you encounter any danger and have nowhere to go, remember to return to Qingfeng Temple. As long as I'm still here, I can keep you safe for the time being."

Lin Wuhai caught the money bag and slammed it down on his head three times with a loud thud.

"Thank you, Master!"

The older sister beside her also gently kowtowed.

"Thank you so much, Abbot, for taking us in for over a year. If my Tao family ever rises again, we will never forget your kindness!"

Lin Hui waved his hand and turned away from the two of them.

He had intended to train Tao Xuehai into a key disciple, but unfortunately, fate is unpredictable.
A moment later, he sighed again, turned around, and the two figures had already disappeared.

(End of this chapter)