Decaying World

Chapter 82, Encounter 082

"What's going on!?" Wang Yueheng narrowed his eyes and stopped making pills. Mind-Controlling Worms are expensive and rare. If Lin Hui hadn't been valuable enough, he wouldn't have used them to control this person.

Most importantly, for the mind-controlling worm to control a person, the person must be unable to move and lose the ability to resist.

If he accidentally kills one of them and fails to control the person, he will suffer a huge loss.

To his surprise, what trump card could a mere internal energy martial artist possibly have to resist the control of a superior illusory force?

"Among internal forces, only the Zhou Tian stage can counteract the illusory force. Could it be..." Wang Yueheng looked around, suspecting that a Zhou Tian master had come lurking nearby.

However, he acted extremely quickly, arriving in person as soon as he received the news.

It's unlikely that any other force could be faster than him, since he obtained the firsthand intelligence directly from the Hundred Flowers Sect.

'Could it be that the Hundred Flowers Sect has an informant from another powerful clan?! The Liu family?!'

Wang Yueheng felt nervous.

He worried that once the mind-controlling worm was released, it would be immediately destroyed by a hidden expert.

"Or else!" He put away the mind-controlling worm, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "Just cripple it!"

He immediately activated his illusory power, and the enormous, invisible force instantly solidified, stopped rotating, and transformed into a new cube-shaped seal, which pressed down on Lin Hui.

And at the very moment the illusory force pressed down.

Lin Hui, who should have been frozen in place, felt a tremor in the longsword in his hand.

Buzz.
A barely audible sound emanated from his side and spread around him.

“Wind.” His lips moved slightly.

Clang!
Accompanied by the sound of a sword striking the ground.

Centered on Lin Hui, a violently twisted ring suddenly exploded.

A fierce wind, far more violent than anything Wang Yueheng had ever seen, surged out indiscriminately in all directions at this moment.

The wind, which had been compressing for a long time, forcefully squeezed the illusory force, causing it to pause for a moment.

boom!
The next moment, the illusory force crashed down, smashing through Lin Hui's figure, but only hitting an afterimage.

As the ground exploded, creating a deep crater.

Lin Hui, standing more than ten meters away from Wang Yueheng, instantly solidified, his long sword flashing past the side of Wang Yueheng's neck.

hiss.

The sword tip grazed his neck, leaving a trail of sparks.

"What the hell?!" Wang Yueheng was shocked and hurriedly switched to her vortex of illusory power to grab the other party.

But all they caught was another afterimage.

laugh!
The next instant, a trail of sparks flew from the other side of his neck.

The internal force barrier was shattered in an instant!
'No, the opponent is too fast!! Much faster than before!! What's going on!??' Wang Yueheng knew her own cultivation level. Her internal energy barrier was only second to the sixth level of Zhou Tian's perfection. Although she cultivated speed-type internal energy to make up for the lack of speed in her summoning ability, her defense should not have been broken so quickly!
That's just an ordinary longsword without any internal energy. How could it possibly break through my barrier with just speed?!
Wang Yueheng retreated repeatedly, shaking her head left and right, trying to catch a glimpse of Lin Hui's terrifyingly fast figure.

But all that could be heard was the sound of a violently blowing wind, a howling gale.

There was no one in sight.

Only golden sparks kept exploding on his body.

hiss!
Another spark exploded, and this time not only was the internal energy barrier broken, but even the body of the one who summoned it felt a long-lost pain.

"What kind of freak is this guy?!" Wang Yueheng felt a chill run down her spine.

He actually got hurt by an internal energy martial artist using an ordinary longsword!?
'This isn't the fighting style of the Zhou Tian martial artists! They only know how to use massive amounts of internal energy to wear down the opponent's weak points!!'

laugh!
Another spark ignited, and Wang Yueheng's clothes were ripped open, revealing that her pearl necklace had broken and scattered its beads all over the ground.

And in the center of his chest, on his silver skin, there was a tiny scar.

pain!
He actually felt pain!
Wang Yueheng felt increasingly panicked.

He kept retreating, his feints flying in all directions, but he just couldn't catch Lin Hui at high speed.

This made his anxiety grow deeper and deeper.

What to do, what to do, what to do!?

Wang Yueheng's mind raced as he tried to think of a solution, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock.

The opponent doesn't need to directly confront the illusory force; the explosive force only pauses for a moment, and that momentary pause is enough for the opponent to escape the coverage area at high speed.

Wang Yueheng had never heard of such a fighting style before! He had never seen anyone, whether in the inner or outer city, resist the illusory force in such a way!

'He's not thinking of just letting me die like this, is he?' This thought suddenly rose in his mind.

Wang Yueheng knew her own situation; her illusory power could only be activated for ten minutes at most before she would fall into a weakened state, at which point she could only rely on the physical strength and internal energy of the one who had been summoned to withstand it.

Without his illusory power, he wasn't sure if he could still threaten his opponent.

'No, that's not right. We were just sparring, not fighting to the death! He had no reason to kill me!' Suddenly, a thought flashed through Wang Yueheng's mind. 'Although I just tried to use the Mind-Controlling Worm, trying to be ruthless, he doesn't know that. He probably still thinks we're just sparring. So, as long as we talk it out, it'll all be fine! It's all a misunderstanding!!'

Wang Yueheng finally found a solution.

His robes had been torn into tattered pieces, and his exposed upper body was covered in bloody welts.

"Enough! You can't keep up this burst of speed for long, can you? How about we settle this with a draw?! At most, you'll leave me with some minor injuries, which will heal in a day. And I can't keep up with your current speed. A draw wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Suppressing her panic and calming her emotions, Wang Yueheng spoke loudly.

laugh!
The instant after he finished speaking.

A sword mark flashed past his face and landed on the hill more than ten meters behind him.

boom!
The explosion created a crater several meters wide and deep in the middle of the hill, sending countless bits of dirt flying. Its power was almost comparable to the power that the illusory force had just displayed.

Lin Hui's figure slowly solidified, standing on the edge of the hill, sheathing his sword and turning around.

His gaze was fixed on Wang Yueheng, his expression cold and his eyes deep.

one second.

two seconds.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face as if it had thawed.

"Indeed, the outburst just now was a top-tier secret technique I created myself. The energy required to use it is extremely high, and I need to take healing medicine afterward. It's certainly not something that can be sustained. Our exchange was just a friendly spar, and there's really no need to continue. If we keep fighting, things will get a bit heated, and it will damage our relationship."

"Yes, we can't let this ruin our harmony!" Wang Yueheng nodded quickly. "Brother Lin's strength is extraordinary, and his speed and agility are unparalleled in my life. This trip out of the city has truly broadened my horizons. I never imagined that such terrifyingly fast martial arts existed in this world! There are indeed people more skilled than you!"

"Brother Wang, you're too kind," Lin Hui said with a smile.

He had just been inadvertently controlled, and could only unleash the Gale Sword Technique at the last moment. He used the unique internal force of the Gale Sword Technique to accelerate the flow of energy, drawing on external forces to transform into a gale and shake off the momentary illusory force.

Once the Gale Sword Technique is used, and the special effects are stacked and transformed, the result is quite obvious.

The Gale Sword is the type that gets faster and more powerful the more it's used, while consuming very little power.

If things really got to this point, he felt he could probably keep going for a whole day with special effects on!
But as Wang Yueheng said, they were just sparring, although he suspected that the other party had ulterior motives and seemed to have some murderous intent.

But with things like this, nothing you say will make a difference until it's made clear and actually done.

However, the difficulty of dealing with the higher-ranking summoners, as demonstrated in this encounter, exceeded his expectations.
An internal force barrier, the summoner's body, and illusory power make it truly difficult to kill.

Even when he unleashed his Gale Sword Technique, he only managed to break through the opponent's internal energy, leaving a slight wound.

It was still one of those shallow wounds, less than a centimeter deep.

If this guy hadn't been mentally unstable—no, I should say he had psychological problems—it would have taken a very long time to finally kill him.

This is all based on the premise that the opponent has no other cards to play.

But it just doesn't seem possible. Even an elder of the Hundred Flowers Sect has a trump card—a one-time burst item. My father has also obtained protective marks and a bunch of protective jade pendants from You Ying.

These young masters from powerful families within the inner city couldn't possibly be without something to protect themselves.
"Having witnessed Brother Lin's extraordinary skills today, this trip has been worthwhile. Shall we part ways here?" At this moment, Wang Yueheng's clothes had been cut off, leaving him bare-chested and covered in bloodstains. He was in a very sorry state and was naturally eager to go back and find clothes to cover himself.

“Very well, then let’s discuss the cooperation that Brother Wang mentioned,” Lin Hui said again.

Although he had just tried to kill the other party, and the other party seemed to have ill intentions towards him, this did not affect the possibility of cooperation between them.

This was the first person he had ever encountered who inspired him to rise above others.

"Cooperation?" Wang Yueheng was taken aback. Looking at the other party's sincere expression, it seemed that Lin Hui really intended to cooperate with her.

Cooperation
At that moment, a slight stirring occurred to him.

If he initially looked down on Lin Hui, only intending to plant landmines for the Liu siblings and incidentally earn some extra income for himself.

After that battle, he felt that having Lin Hui as a collaborator seemed like a very promising prospect.
With Lin Hui's current strength, he is probably hard to beat in the outer city. With such power, if he were to use his family's help, he might actually be able to squeeze out the rest of the family and monopolize the resources!

More importantly, Lin Hui is strong enough that even I couldn't defeat him, so it would probably be difficult for anyone else to handle him either.
But if that's the case, why should I cooperate with Qingfeng Temple? This guy is incredibly strong, his secret techniques are ridiculously powerful, and if I can't beat him, I'll run away quickly.
Wang Yueheng fell into deep thought.

A few seconds later, he suddenly looked up.

benefit!

Only with sufficient benefits can you bind the other party to you.

If before he came to cooperate with ill intentions, now he is genuinely planning to increase his stakes and cooperate with Lin Hui!

If such a martial artist were truly recruited, at least seventeen or eighteen towns around the outer city would be under our control for many years to come. Even if the New Martial Alliance came, they wouldn't be able to interfere.

"Brother Lin, I am personally very willing to cooperate. I also have some channels in the inner city. If you need resources, precious medicines, or even relics and exotic creations, we can discuss it."

He paused.

"I heard you're collecting Ganoderma lucidum? I've collected over a dozen of them before for medicinal purposes, so consider this a gift for you, Brother Lin. As the saying goes, no friendship is formed without a fight. With your talent, Brother Lin, you'll soon be famous throughout the outer city, and you'll eventually have a place in the New Martial Alliance."

His expression was incredibly sincere at this moment, because upon reflection, he realized that if Lin Hui cooperated with the other family members, his family's profit channels in the outer city would likely be destroyed.
Therefore, no matter what, we must bind ourselves to this person!
As soon as the idea came to him, he immediately stopped rushing to leave.

(End of this chapter)