Decaying World

"Did I not come here specifically to kill?" Lin Hui glanced at him, his expression inscrutable. "Like it or not, willing or not... none of this was my choice."

"In that case... Temple Master Lin, I wonder, could this man be handed over to my Golden Goose Gate?" Wu Shinan of the New Martial Alliance, who had been watching from the sidelines, braced himself and stepped forward.

He could see that Bai Feihan’s spirit was broken; if the man continued to fight, he would undoubtedly die. This was a rare opportunity.

“If I can recruit an expert from Xingdao as an insider, it would surely…”

Wu Shinan’s voice grew softer and softer. Under Lin Hui's gaze, he finally felt the crushing pressure the other four had experienced just moments ago.

It was a creeping horror—merely being looked at made his hair stand on end, as if he had to constantly guard against a fatal strike from an unseen angle.

From the moment Wu Shinan planned to intervene, to his stunned silence, and finally to his trembling fear, less than two minutes had passed.

In other words, within two minutes, four Internal Force experts had been slaughtered, leaving only Bai Feihan.

Such an exaggerated battle record left not only Wang Hongshi, Chen Sui, and the others, but even a man of Wu Shinan's extensive experience and knowledge, dry-mouthed and afraid to breathe.

Four Internal Force experts... and two of them were at the Perfection stage. These were top-tier martial artists of the Outer City, on the same level as himself. Was this the terror of a supreme speed-type expert?

"My apologies," Lin Hui finally replied. "When I stepped out this time, I said I would kill enough—kill until no one dares to casually provoke Clear Wind Temple again. So, I’m afraid I cannot oblige."

"I... I wouldn't dare. Please, do as you wish..." Wu Shinan’s scalp went numb. He didn't dare utter another word and hastily retreated.

Bai Feihan seemed to realize his future, his fate.

He gave a miserable smile. "I chose the wrong person, chose the wrong place... However, if you want to kill me... be prepared to trade your li—"

Pfft!

In the next instant, a thin slit tore through the Internal Force protecting his throat.

Immediately after, his Internal Force dissipated, and a line of blood appeared on his neck. He never had the chance to speak the rest of his words.

"I don't want to kill people either. Every strike of my sword negates decades of someone's bitter cultivation."

Lin Hui sheathed his sword and wiped the blood on his opponent's clothes.

"So, all of this is your fault."

Passing through the corpses, his white robe seemed to merge with the snowy ground, remaining as spotless as ever.

It wasn't until he left that Wang Hongshi and the others woke as if from a dream.

Chen Sui slapped Wang Hongshi hard, signaling him to keep up.

Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren reacted quickly, grabbing the corpses. This was Lin Hui's order on the way here.

Looting was one thing, but the key was that the corpses were needed to deter foreign enemies. This sortie by Clear Wind Temple was intended to carve out a bright and peaceful territory through slaughter.

They had to kill until anyone thinking of moving against Clear Wind Temple would immediately recall today's battle.

"Good lord...!" Huang Shan lowered his voice as he dragged a corpse by the head, glancing at Qiu Yiren, who was dragging the legs. His face was filled with irrepressible shock. "Four Internal Force Realm experts... All the experts of the old Clear Wind Temple put together only amounted to this level... And this time, in just a few minutes, they're all gone!?"

"That is to say, the Temple Master annihilated a force equivalent to the entire old Clear Wind Temple within a few minutes," Qiu Yiren said gravely. She looked ahead at Lin Hui, who was examining new traces in the wind and snow, her eyes full of reverence.

At this moment, the image of Lin Hui’s frantic, day-and-night cultivation involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

No matter the time, the Temple Master seemed immersed in cultivation, without a shred of entertainment, without a moment wasted.

Even for geniuses like them who enjoyed training, excessive cultivation would eventually lead to boredom and restlessness. But the Temple Master seemed to endure it all.

"Let's go," Huang Shan urged.

"Mm." Qiu Yiren snapped back to reality and continued carrying the corpse forward.

Chen Sui and Wang Hongshi had also gathered the remaining bodies, piling them up in front of the Black Dragon Apothecary.

The people from the yamen (local government office) arrived only now, belatedly. They were currently talking to Wang Hongshi, asking about the situation.

Clearly, they didn't want to handle this mess either. Leaving aside the fact that Fu'an Town was remote and neglected, the exaggerated strength displayed by top factions like the Flying Stone Sect and Clear Wind Temple was far beyond their pay grade.

When encountering cases like this, they mostly turned a blind eye.

"Is that so... You discovered these bodies by chance in a corner? And you don't know their identities? I see. Alright, the statement is recorded. Sorry to take up your time."

"It doesn't matter. It is our honor to cooperate with the government in investigating cases," Wang Hongshi replied with a smile.

On the other side, Lin Hui had followed the traces of the fight left by Xue Meng earlier, tracking all the way to the edge of Fu'an Town, outside the fence of a pig farm.

The pig farm was covered by a large shed, surrounded by hanging transparent curtains made of an unknown material similar to plastic.

There was a large hole in this curtain. The domestic pigs raised inside were all gone, leaving only messy, frozen, muddy footprints.