Decaying World

Chapter 27 027 Unexpected Event Three

Snowflakes drifted down, and on the four-sided arena, layers of thick brown animal hides were laid out, with sturdy black ropes forming a fence on all four sides.

"There are twenty-four disciples remaining in the front courtyard. They will compete on stage starting from the last in the previous ranking. Those who win five consecutive matches will receive a special prize from the Abbot!"

The female Taoist priest who had been singing earlier carried a gong, struck it once, and began to read out the simple rules of the competition.

Among the crowd below, the twenty-four front courtyard disciples consciously moved forward. They had changed into white Taoist robes and stood out quite clearly in the crowd.

Senior Brother Chen Sui stood at the very front, holding his sword with both hands, waiting quietly.

Behind them, Mu Qiaozhi was talking to Huang Shanqiu.

Next is Wucheng, Chen Chong.

Wu Cheng had a confident expression and a strong physique. His black hair was tied up high, and his smile was bright and sunny. His bronze skin, set against the backdrop of his silver-white longsword, gave him an aura of abundant vitality.

Chen Chongze's face was gloomy, and he looked worried. He was clearly still recovering from his last encounter with Lin Hui.

The disciples in the front courtyard behind the two were much more low-key and relaxed. The men and women seemed to feel no pressure, and some were even flirting and chuckling quietly.

As a newly promoted disciple, Lin Hui stood at the very back, with only three or four people behind him. These were disciples who had been promoted later than him.

He was listening to two male disciples a little ahead of him discussing the competition.

"It seems that whoever goes on stage first in the competition is at a disadvantage."

"That's why there's a special reward for five consecutive wins, as a way to make up for it. It was originally a celebration, and the rankings start from the back, which means that the strongest players like Senior Brother will be the last to go on stage. The later they go on stage, the lower their chances of getting five consecutive wins."

"So, if you try to get five consecutive wins first, then all you can do is compete for the top ten ranking rewards?"

"That's about it. Who wants to go first?"

"Yu Fan, who was just promoted last month, is from Mengshan Town. He went up first as a warm-up act."

"It's him. Anyone who gets ahead of him is really getting a good deal."

The two chatted quietly, while Lin Hui calmly composed himself. He was also curious about how far he could go on stage.

In theory, Qingfeng Swordplay wins by speed, but in reality, the physical exertion of a gauntlet battle is not significant.

Unless the fight goes on for too long, or a secret technique or a high-energy-consuming ability like a lightness effect is used, it is not difficult for one person to fight three or four rounds.

'Looking at it this way, I'm ranked fifteenth, so I can aim for a five-game winning streak.'

Lin Hui gently gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, loosened his fingers, and then tightened them again, repeating this motion.

"Row number twenty-four, Yu Fan, please come up to the stage."

At this moment, the young Taoist priest on the platform loudly announced the first name.

On the surrounding stands, people gradually came up and took their seats. Among them, the most conspicuous were the director and deputy director of the Xinyu Town Public Security Bureau, as well as the heads of several wealthy families in the town. Amidst laughter and conversation, everyone took their seats at the places marked with their name tags, and then a Taoist boy served them tea one by one.

Wow.

A large gray canopy was set up overhead, covering part of the stands and shielding these relatively distinguished guests from the snow.

Yu Fan, who was twenty-fourth, was standing a few steps behind Lin Hui. Upon hearing the sound, he quickly went up the wooden steps on the side, held his sword, and stood on the arena. He bowed to the abbot and the Taoist priests and the Ming generation Taoists, then clasped his hands in greeting to the security chief and other guests. He then quietly stood at one end with his sword, waiting for his opponent.

"Rank twenty-third, Zhang Yuanchun, please come to the stage!"

As the sound rang out, a young woman with white hair drew her sword and leaped onto the arena.

"Please advise."

Without exchanging any words, the two men clasped their fists together, drew their swords, and threw away their scabbards.

In a flash, they slashed at each other.

clang.

The two swords clashed, then quickly slid apart.

The two men unleashed their nine-section swords simultaneously, their sword shadows flashing like two gray snakes beside them, constantly stabbing, pointing, slicing, or blocking at each other.

"This kind of swordsmanship is truly dangerous. If you accidentally get stabbed, it'll leave a bloody hole. The fast swordsmanship of Qingfeng Taoist Temple is indeed well-deserved of its reputation," commented Ning Shaolong, the head of the police station, stroking his beard.

He is thirty-nine years old and has just left the inner city to take up his post at the Xinyu Town Security Office for the first year. He was invited to come mainly because Qingfeng Taoist Temple in Xinyu Town is considered the strongest martial arts school, so he came to attend the ceremony out of respect. He did not expect that the first event would make his trip worthwhile.

"This is the Nine-Section Fast Sword of Qingfeng Temple, which focuses on speed. The moves are mostly point thrusts, slashes, and turns, laying the foundation for the later Qingfeng Sword Techniques." Deputy Director Yu Zhenhao explained in a low voice. He had served in Xinyu Town for many years and was quite familiar with Qingfeng Temple.

"This kind of fast sword is actually quite suitable for working in a police station. When encountering troublemakers, it can subdue them with a single strike in the shortest time. Because of its speed and precision, it won't cause too much damage. The previous Flying Cloud Fist always caused internal injuries, which was more troublesome," Chief Ning Shaolong said thoughtfully.

“That’s true. Our cooperation with Qingfeng Temple has always been very stable,” the deputy director agreed.

“Alright, we’ll hire three more people from here to join the emergency braking team, following the order of three from the front yard,” Ning Shaolong said in a low voice.

"Adding three more people to the emergency braking team at once, isn't that a bit much?" The deputy director hesitated.

“Recently, there has been an increasing number of outsiders in the outer urban areas, putting a lot of pressure on public security. Having more manpower is always a good thing,” Ning Shaolong explained.

The emergency braking team is well-paid, but that's not the key point. The key point is that this position has the power of temporary decision-making. In case of an emergency, they can handle it themselves first and then report it.

This power of execution, as long as it is not directed at people from the inner city, will not cause any problems even if it is an accidental killing.

That's why the deputy director hesitated.

"Alright, let's watch the arena. It's time to decide the winner." Ning Shaolun smiled, stopping the deputy director who was about to speak.

In the arena, the two were now locked in fierce combat, their sword shadows clashing dozens of times before parting ways and returning to their respective owners.

Swish!
Just then, Zhang Yuanchun stepped forward from the left, his longsword transforming into a cone that swept towards Yu Fan's upper body. Yu Fan tried to block, but his wrist went limp and he couldn't connect with the force.

Ding!
His longsword was jolted and flung away. A silver blade then hovered motionless in front of his chest.

"Thank you for your kind offer," Zhang Yuanchun said loudly, panting.

"Zhang Yuanchun wins!" the young Taoist shouted loudly from the side.

This scene was not unexpected; it's normal for a higher-ranked player to outperform a lower-ranked player.

But the twenty-second person to go on stage was also defeated by Zhang Yuanchun in just a few moves, which surprised everyone.

Immediately afterwards, twenty-one, then twenty, were all knocked off the stage. Although Zhang Yuanchun was already quite exhausted, he still forced himself to stand on the stage.

Lin Hui watched the woman quietly from below the stage, estimating in his mind how many moves it would take him to defeat her if he used his ordinary strength.

Judging from the afterimage left when Zhang Yuanchun made his move, he had already reached the second level of Body Tempering.

Her ability to achieve so many consecutive victories at this level is largely due to her understanding of swordsmanship. After all, her physical tempering isn't exactly an advantage.

Soon, another person went on stage. This time, Zhang Yuanchun finally couldn't hold on and was knocked down in three moves. He fell to the ground and was carried off by two people.

But everyone around him gave him a warm round of applause.

The outcome of subsequent matches was unpredictable, with players constantly changing opponents, and no one could win two matches in a row.

Finally, Lin Hui heard his ranking.

"Ranked fifteenth, Lin Hui!"

Lin Hui gripped the sword hilt tightly and stepped onto the stage, his expression calm.

hiss.

He pulled out his sword sheath and tossed it aside, while simultaneously hearing Chen Zhishen cheering him on from afar.

His opponent was a young man ranked sixteenth, with striking features and handsome appearance. Compared to Lin Hui, whose features were rather ordinary, he was much more popular among the female disciples in the audience.

"Ranked sixteenth, I am safe in Fengcheng. Please enlighten me, senior brother." The other party clasped his hands in a fist salute to him.

"Ranked fifteenth, Lin Hui. Junior brother, please." Lin Hui pointed his sword downwards, toward the ground.

He watched from the sidelines and knew his opponent's skill level; at most, he was at the second-grade Body Tempering level, posing no challenge.

In a real fight, his opponent's strength might prevent him from even warming up.

'Then I'll focus on defense; consider it practice to improve my defensive skills.'

He said this to himself.

Ending the fight too quickly would offend too many people. The previous battles had taken many moves to determine a winner, but his was over in an instant, which was too abrupt and conspicuous.

Lin Hui doesn't like to stand out.

Therefore, he decided to end the fight in a gentler way.

clang!
The moment the gong, signaling the start of the battle, sounds.

Feng Cheng'an drew his sword with all his might, and the Nine-Section Quick Sword burst forth with a gray sword shadow, striking Lin Hui's right shoulder with a speed even faster than before.

clang!
Unfortunately, his sword strike seemed to be a fluke, as Lin Hui blocked it with his sword held in reverse.

Without hesitation, Feng Chengan sheathed his sword, gathered his strength, and in an instant changed his move, stabbing towards Lin Hui's abdomen.

clang!
There was another crisp sound.

Feng Cheng'an's expression changed slightly, and he changed his move again, his sword shadow transforming into a gray snake as he launched a series of attacks.

Clang, clang, clang! !
Strangely, no matter what moves he made, the sword shadows would suddenly freeze beside Lin Hui and then be parried.

Lin Hui stood still, his longsword transforming into an almost invisible gray line, floating and dancing, blocking all sword lights that tried to approach him.

The clanging sounds of the impacts, like a musical melody, rang out continuously and at an increasingly rapid pace.

Lin Hui remained expressionless, not even moving an inch, simply standing still, precisely deflecting every sword strike and every move from his opponent.

half a minute later
The previously noisy commotion in the surrounding stands had long since subsided.

Lin Hui narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly raised his long sword to block the tip of the opponent's sword that was aimed at his brow.

Ding.

With a soft sound, he looked at Feng Cheng'an across from him, who was panting heavily and had an incredulous look on his face.

Extend your free left hand, suddenly extend your index finger forward, and use your finger as a sword to gently tap.

Apply it to the center of the other person's forehead.

puff.

Feng Chengan could no longer hold on, staggered back a few steps, and collapsed to the ground.

He had just unleashed his full power, unleashing over a hundred sword strikes in one go, each strike delivered with his full strength, but...
At this moment, his face turned red, then purple, and his lungs pounded wildly like bellows.

"Next." Lin Hui's voice rang out, as if he hadn't moved at all.

Feng Cheng'an tried to get up, but he couldn't; he was completely exhausted. He had to be carried off the stage by two support staff.

(End of this chapter)