Decaying World

"If the Elder of my Clear Wind Sword Sect is unharmed, we can let this matter drop," Lin Hui proposed his conditions. "You were the ones who provoked this incident, so deaths were inevitable. Furthermore, Fu'an Town belongs to my Clear Wind Sword Sect. You will pay ten million coins as compensation."

"Agreed." Li Chi nodded readily. After realizing the person opposite him was not from the Golden Goose Gate, he simply wanted to conclude the matter as quickly as possible.

Lin Hui hadn't expected him to agree so fast and paused for a moment.

"Fine. The payment must be delivered within three days. Is that a problem?"

"Agreed." Li Chi nodded again.

The two wasted no more words. After a final, locked gaze of confrontation, Li Chi raised his hand, signaling the surrounding sect members to make way.

Everyone hurriedly cleared a path.

Coincidentally, the path they cleared was the very same blood-soaked trail Lin Hui had carved on his way in.

Lying in disarray across this bloody path were corpses severed in two. At a glance, there were at least over a hundred bodies.

"I have learned much today." Li Chi cupped his hands slightly in salute. Lin Hui gave a cold snort. His figure vanished, whipping up a gust of wild wind that grabbed the nearby Wang Hongshi and whisked him away from everyone's sight.

In today's battle, he had witnessed the toughness—and the absurdity—of the Circulation Realm. Their nearly infinite Internal Force and higher-quality intensity raised their defense to a rather exaggerated level.

He was much, much stronger than Song Zhanlong.

In comparison, high-tier Called Ones like Wang Yueheng were actually easier to deal with because the Sealing Toxin could take effect directly upon contact. The Internal Force barrier of a Called One was far inferior to that of a Circulation Realm expert and could be easily broken.

The Circulation Realm counters me more than I anticipated. If I had learned the special effect 'Surrounding Wind' of the Wild Wind Sword Technique, I could have won this time. A pity. Lin Hui felt somewhat regretful as he gripped Wang Hongshi with one hand.

This battle had exposed many issues. Next, finding Xue Meng and treating the injured disciples would be the time to check for gaps and fill the omissions.

The perfected sword technique isn't very useful against someone like Li Chi. Even if his movements paused, I couldn't break his Internal Force barrier. Moreover, I suspect his mental resistance is much, much stronger than the average Internal Force Realm expert...

Lin Hui had used the perfected sword technique to draw circles a few times before leaving, but unfortunately, the opponent acted as if he hadn't seen it at all;

it was completely useless.

Descending the mountain in one breath, his figure emerged, and he suddenly looked toward the right.

There, a martial artist carrying a strange weapon on his back was turning around and walking into the distance.

Clearly, that was the person who had been watching the battle from the shadows just now.

In fact, if he hadn't sensed that quite a few people were watching in the dark, Lin Hui would have wanted to drag the fight out with Li Chi for a whole day to see who would fail to hold on first.

Unfortunately...

The environment didn't allow it;

the conditions didn't allow it.

Carrying the already dizzy Wang Hongshi, he took a step forward and vanished from the spot once again.

Regardless, with so many bystanders, the objective of this trip could be considered achieved.

Next was to find Xue Meng. If Xue Meng was dead, he would come back and kill a few more Internal Force experts of the Flying Stone Sect to avenge him.

If he was fine, then the dust would settle here.

…

Three days after the battle at the Flying Stone Sect.

The name of the Formless Sword, Temple Master Lin Hui of the Clear Wind Sword Sect, spread far and wide like a kite cut loose in the wind.

With Fu'an Town as the core, it spread rapidly in all directions. Especially those surrounding forces that had been oppressed by the Flying Stone Sect;

almost all of them sent envoys to visit the Clear Wind Sword Sect immediately.

However, Lin Hui couldn't be bothered to pay them any attention. He and Li Chi were in a relationship of mutual restraint.

He was worried Li Chi would charge directly into his sect's headquarters. Li Chi was worried he would intercept and kill his sect members outside.

Under mutual apprehension, both sides actually abided by the agreement quite well.

The money and the compensation for healing medicines were quickly delivered to the headquarters.

As for Xue Meng, he didn't wait for Lin Hui to search for him;

he returned from the mist zone on his own, covered in injuries.

"What?! You actually went and fought Li Chi?! And you didn't lose?!"

Inside the Clear Wind Sword Sect.

Xue Meng stood up abruptly from his chair, his eyes wide and round, his face full of disbelief.

If it were someone who didn't understand the Circulation Realm, it would be one thing. But he happened to be an Internal Force Realm martial artist who had witnessed what level the Circulation Realm was. That was why he knew how exaggerated and terrifying that power was.

Infinite Internal Force expenditure turned the Circulation Realm from the penny-pinching usage of the Internal Force Realm into an extravagant, spendthrift style.

This extravagance naturally brought about vastly increased power and killing range.

At this moment in the main hall, Xue Meng, covered in bandages, stared dumbfounded at Lin Hui, who was sitting on the grand preceptor chair, looking down and drinking tea.

"Really? You really exchanged blows with Li Chi?" he questioned again.

"It was right inside the Flying Stone Sect. The traces are still there. If you rush over, you can see for yourself," Lin Hui said indifferently.

Putting down the teacup, he looked calmly at Xue Meng.

"I killed quite a few people this time. It should keep the sect quiet for a few years."

"According to the Flying Stone Sect's statistics, you killed a total of one hundred and thirty-five people, including three Internal Force Realm martial artists—no, it should be four." Sitting on the other side, Wang Yueheng was also somewhat speechless.

"Now, the reputation of the Formless Sword of the Clear Wind Sword Sect has spread throughout the surrounding area. You've become famous in a single battle," he lamented. "What are your plans next?"

"Since we have drawn a clear boundary with the Flying Stone Sect, we will operate accordingly. The Clear Wind Sword Sect is still too weak right now. This battle exposed many problems. A lack of experts and insufficient elites are the key issues. I plan to hold an internal grand competition first, select the ten disciples with the most potential, and then concentrate on training them to create elites. We will strive to have them break through to a new Internal Force Realm, avoiding a situation where the sect is supported solely by myself and Elder Xue," Lin Hui replied.

"This is good! I agree!" Xue Meng nodded repeatedly.

"Then, it is to continue cultivation. In the Dao of martial arts, I am far from reaching the limit, so I will continue to practice." Lin Hui planned to honestly refine pills, take medicine, accelerate the evolution of the Blood Seal, and complete the body tempering of the Wild Wind Sword Technique to obtain the special effect, Surrounding Wind.

"Additionally, Brother Wang, I would like to ask: how much do you know about the Tuyue Jade Talisman?"

"The Tuyue Jade Talisman?" Wang Yueheng was stunned, then thought for a moment. "This item is produced by the government and the Rain Palace. It can isolate the mist at night. The specific production method is unknown, but I suggest you do not investigate too deeply. The implications of this item are enormous;

it is not something you can touch right now."

"Alright. Then let's focus on holding the grand competition and the celebration first." Lin Hui could see that Wang Yueheng's advice was serious.

Even a high-tier Called One like him said so. As a partner with shared interests, there was no reason for him to deceive Lin Hui on this matter.

"By the way, do you want to make a trip to the Inner City?" Wang Yueheng asked. "At your current level, staying in the Outer City actually doesn't help you much. Only the resources of the Inner City can allow you to increase your Internal Force faster."

"We can talk about that later;

no rush for now." Lin Hui knew the other party meant to introduce him to connections.

But he didn't care. After this live combat, he understood even more clearly that strength was the only hard currency.

Having discussed the upcoming arrangements, Lin Hui saw Wang Yueheng off and entered a state of bitter cultivation once again.