Decaying World

Chapter 31 031 Change 1
The snow is falling heavier and heavier.
Inside Mingde's room, Daoist Mingde was no longer there; only his daughter Weiwei and three other disciples were gathered together.

All four remained silent, none of them expecting such a thing to happen so suddenly.

"What should I do now?"

Wang Yun frowned and asked in a low voice.

"Let's wait until the teacher returns. This is a very important matter, and we need to see how things are going with the abbot," Deng Mingchao replied softly.

"If it is the abbot..." Wang Yun didn't finish her sentence, but everyone knew what she meant next.

Lin Hui didn't speak, but walked to a corner and closed his eyes to rest.

Such important matters are not for them to decide. As disciples, all they can do is wait.

Soon, more than half an hour passed, and it was getting dark outside.

The figure of Daoist Mingde finally appeared outside the house. He looked tired, and there were bloodstains on some parts of his Daoist robe. He seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Upon entering the courtyard, Mingde kicked aside two old hens that had run up to his feet and pushed open the door.

"The abbot is critically ill and won't regain consciousness anytime soon. From now on, the three of us will jointly manage the affairs of the temple. However, I have significant disagreements with the other two."

"So what's the situation now, Dad?" Weiwei asked directly.

"The talks broke down, we had a fight, everyone has their own ideas, so we might as well go our separate ways," Mingde said, shaking his head helplessly.

"What do you mean? The abbot has only been unconscious and they've already gone their separate ways?" Weiwei was shocked. This was too fast!

Not only her, but the other three also changed their expressions slightly. At this speed, their so-called solo operation was probably premeditated.

Otherwise, the other two wouldn't have made such a quick decision.

"I misjudged Mingxiu and Mingchen, you traitors!" Mingde gritted his teeth and slapped the wall, leaving a deep handprint.

"Teacher, what's next?" Wang Yun asked.

"Let's observe the situation and continue with our previous approach, responding to any changes with constancy," Mingde said in a deep voice.

With the abbot seriously injured and unconscious, the many troubles he had previously blocked will take this opportunity to cause trouble.

Therefore, the next period may be the most dangerous for Qingfeng Temple. Fortunately, almost all the martial arts schools in the outer city have been eliminated, so everyone is on the same starting line, and no one is better off than anyone else.

After deciding on the next course of action, everyone saw that it was getting late and had no choice but to leave.

In the following days, Lin Hui continued to practice the Nine-Section Fast Sword diligently according to the original steps, while constantly seeking guidance from Mingde and occasionally sparring with other fellow disciples.

As a result, his proficiency increased rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed.

Since Baohe Daoren was severely injured, news has spread throughout the outer city that the main forces of various martial arts schools and external families have been severely injured by experts from the outer city.

Following this, new martial arts schools in the style of the outer city sprang up in various towns like mushrooms after rain.

They not only severely damaged the original martial arts school's top masters, but also snatched away various cooperative projects from the government and obtained huge profits.

This further worsened the environment for local martial arts schools to survive, and at the same time, it undermined their foundations.

Meanwhile, at Qingfeng Temple, after learning that the challenger Song Zhanlong had also opened a martial arts sect called Black Dragon Gate, some of the new disciples who had only recently joined began to quietly leave and transfer to Black Dragon Gate.

Time passes day by day.

More and more disciples are leaving Qingfeng Temple. Many of them originally came to learn Qingfeng Temple's movement techniques to improve their speed, but now that they have discovered that the stronger Song Zhanlong completely counters their movement techniques, they have no intention of continuing to train.

After all, even the strongest Baohe Daoist was no match for Song Zhanlong in just a few rounds, which means that the future of martial arts development at Qingfeng Temple is far inferior to that of Black Dragon Gate.

Everyone practices martial arts in pursuit of becoming stronger. Now, with no hope in sight, more and more disciples are leaving.

In just over a month, a full third of the disciples left and transferred to the martial arts sect founded by martial artists from Xingdao City.

Lin Hui was also somewhat wavering, but since Daoist Mingde had nothing to say about him, he had no intention of switching sides.

He wasn't worried about the future development of his martial arts skills, since his initial goal wasn't to become stronger, but to become faster. Otherwise, he could have gone directly to the Flying Cloud Pavilion.

March.

The Qingfeng Temple was sparsely populated and the place was deserted.

Lin Hui followed Daoist Mingde, walking quietly along the edge of the school's field, stepping on the slightly thick snow, all in silence.

"Zhao Jiang'an and Mu Qiaozhi have left." After a long silence, Mingde finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "They joined the stronger Black Dragon Sect and became disciples of Song Zhanlong."

"Teacher, you need not worry about your disciple. No matter what, your disciple will not betray your promise," Lin Hui sincerely assured him.

“No need for that. Don’t let kindness affect your future. If things really don’t work out here, you can choose another place that’s better for you. There’s no need to put all your eggs in one basket. You’re still young,” Mingde sighed.

"I understand," Lin Hui replied, but he had no intention of switching sides.

"Ah, you've become quite proficient with the Nine-Section Quick Sword by now, haven't you?" Mingde asked.

After he stopped, he turned around and looked at Lin Hui.

"Yes." Lin Hui nodded respectfully.

“That’s about enough. The reason I summoned you today is to take you on a real mist hunt,” Mingde said. “Of the three of my disciples, I have taken each of the others on a mist hunt individually. We are surrounded by mist, so naturally we cannot leave it.”

"How did Senior Sister Wang, Senior Brother Deng, and Sister Weiwei perform?" Lin Hui asked curiously.

“Weiwei was so scared that she had nightmares for a week after returning home. Wang Yun and Deng Mingchao did so-so. They fought with two ordinary mythical beasts for a long time. Although they didn’t manage to kill them, it was still alright.” Mingde paused for a moment. “The purpose of me taking you on a solo hunt is mainly to familiarize you with the procedures and precautions for entering and exiting the fog. This way, when you have to enter or exit the fog area in the future, your safety will be guaranteed to the greatest extent.”

"Disciple understands." Lin Hui nodded. The two walked around most of the Taoist temple, arrived at the back, passed through a grove of trees, and followed the path deeper inside.

Before long, we arrived at the boundary of the fog zone.

Mingde gripped the longsword in his hand, gently drawing out the silver blade and pointing it diagonally at the ground.

"The mythical beasts in the fog zone are divided into five categories: harmless, harassing, dangerous, high-risk, and destructive."

"It's easy to tell from the name," Lin Hui said thoughtfully.

“Yes, most of the ones we encountered at the edge of the fog zone were actually harmless. They looked very big, but they could only threaten ordinary people and were completely harmless to us.” Mingde stood in front of the gray wall formed by the fog, slowly took out a piece of amber-colored incense, and gently lit a corner of it with a tinderbox.

Then, holding Ningxiang in one hand and a sword in the other, he slowly approached the foggy area.

"Follow."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui quickly followed.

He looked around curiously, and the moment Ning Xiang came into contact with the mist, she miraculously expanded into a spherical space with a diameter of more than ten meters.

Within this space, all the mist was forcibly squeezed out by an invisible force.

The two of them seemed to be inside a transparent sphere, rolling forward step by step.

Beneath our feet lies barren, black soil, rugged and uneven.

Tall, dark figures, at least three meters tall, kept flashing through the surrounding mist.

call.

A humanoid black shadow swept past Lin Hui's head, making him feel a chill run down his spine and causing him to stop in his tracks.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a harmless half-giant,” Mingde said calmly from the front.

"Yes."

Lin Hui nodded.

The two continued walking for a while, and finally, a small wooden hut appeared in front of Mingde.

The cottage was entirely gray-black, surrounded by a small fence of white thorns.

Mingde approached, opened the fence, and skillfully walked in.

"This is a temporary rest stop I set up in the fog zone. If you get tired from hunting, you can come here to replenish your supplies, rest, and catch your breath. There is a jade talisman that Amamiya obtained inside, so monsters of the Intrusion level and below generally don't dare to approach."

"Okay." Lin Hui nodded.

"Next, let's find a mythical beast to practice on." After leading Lin Hui around the door, Mingde walked out again to begin their formal training.

"Go ahead, I'll wait for you here. Within fifteen minutes, find a mythical beast, attempt to hunt it, and bring back a portion of its body tissue. That will count as successfully passing the trial." Mingde handed Ningxiang to Lin Hui, then pushed open the door to the small house.

"I'll wait for you here."

"Yes." Lin Hui fell silent, watching the teacher enter the room, lock it, and then stand at the window, waving at him.

He composed himself, glanced at Ningxiang in his hand, and carefully tucked her into his pouch.

This incense is quite magical; when lit, it produces no open flame, but continuously emits white smoke.

After confirming that Ningxiang's effects were unaffected, Lin Hui drew Qinghe Sword, stuck the scabbard into the soil inside the hut's fence, and then walked slowly and deliberately towards the foggy area outside.

The hazy fog, as if representing the unknown, quickly enveloped and submerged him from all sides.

Lin Hui glanced at the bloodstain information notification at the bottom of his field of vision.

'Nine-Section Quick Sword: Evolution Remaining Time - May 19th.'

More than three months have passed, and the total evolution time of nine months seems to have not been reduced at all.

This disappointed Lin Hui somewhat, but he quickly regained his composure, focused his attention on looking around, and remained vigilant.

Time passed little by little.

Not long after.

Woo.
A strange whimpering sound drifted from the left, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The sound gradually drew closer, becoming increasingly intimate.

puff!
In an instant, a gray shadow pounced down from behind!

It was a long, thin, humanoid monster with smooth, strangely grayish-white skin.

Its head has no facial features, only a sharp, black horn on the top of its head.

The monster's pounce instantly jolted Lin Hui's already taut nerves.

He raised his hand and drew his sword, thrusting it upwards and backwards, unleashing all the power in his body without his noticing.

laugh!
The sharp blade sliced ​​through the humanoid monster's chest first, sending sparks flying.

Can't break through?!
Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly dodged to the side, precisely avoiding the opponent's attack.

"This monster is called the Faceless Man. Its skin is as hard as iron. To defeat it, you need to find its weakness." Teacher Mingde's voice drifted over from afar.

"The Faceless Man's weakness is usually its single horn on its head; cutting off the horn will kill it completely. Be careful, though; its claws contain anesthetic toxins, and injuries to them will rapidly reduce its agility," Mingde continued. "You're lucky. The Faceless Man is among the upper-tier harmless beasts, a true test of agility and sharp eyesight. Generally, only those at the sixth rank of Body Tempering in our sect can handle it. You can treat it as a test."

(End of this chapter)