The Decaying World

The sky was turning pale and the fog was dissipating, leaving only wisps like cotton fluff floating in the air.

Lin Hui stood on the roof of Qingfeng Temple with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the disciples below as they began to remove the barricades. His gaze shifted, landing on the room where Tao Xuehai and his sister were staying.

’Something terrible must have happened to the Tao Family. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to entrust their children to me. It’s so bad they even need to change their faces and names. Where will they go from here...’

Sometimes, Lin Hui couldn’t help but feel a pang of melancholy. The world was a murky, chaotic place, as inscrutable as the starry cosmos. A person lives in this world, but what they want to do, what they *can* do—no one truly knows.

The Outer City People lived on paths laid out by the Inner City. The Inner City People, perhaps, lived on paths laid out by the Moon Tower People. No one could ever truly achieve the freedom they desired.

’I practice Swordsmanship, train so hard in Martial Arts... but for what, in the end?’ After a long while, this question once again surfaced in his mind.

But now, seeing what had happened to Tao Xuehai, he understood.

’That’s it. The reason I train so hard in Martial Arts... isn’t it so that when disaster strikes, I can swing my sword and cut down any misfortune, any enemy that comes my way?’

The thought in his mind was now crystal clear, and Lin Hui suddenly felt a profound sense of clarity.

CREAK.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened. A figure slowly walked out and looked up at Lin Hui on the roof.

WHOOSH.

The figure vanished, reappearing directly in front of Lin Hui. It was Tao Xuehai.

He lowered his head, his lips slightly parted. His once gallant features were now utterly haggard, and the vigorous spark that once filled his eyes had been replaced by a deep sense of bewilderment.

"Teacher..."

"What happened last night?" Lin Hui sighed. Though he was only a year older than Tao Xuehai, at this moment, it felt as if decades separated them.

"My family... was ambushed and slaughtered by the Qinghe Sect and some other vultures. So many people died... My parents unleashed their Ultimate Killing Secret Technique, and after killing two of the attackers, they broke through the encirclement to get us to safety," Tao Xuehai replied in a low voice.

"The Qinghe Sect... it’s them again..." Lin Hui frowned. "Did anyone else escape besides you two?"

"I think so. They were probably scattered and sent to other places," Tao Xuehai answered grimly.

"And your parents...?"

"Their life-bound items shattered. They’ve likely perished," Tao Xuehai said, his voice eerily calm. He kept his head down, long hair spilling forward to hide his face.

"..." Lin Hui didn’t know how to offer comfort. It wasn’t in his nature. All he could do was remain silent.

After a long silence, Tao Xuehai finally spoke again.

"Staying here will only bring trouble to you, Teacher. My sister and I will pack our things and leave shortly. Otherwise, if the Qinghe Sect tracks us down..."

"You can stay here without worry. Just hide your identities well," Lin Hui said in a heavy tone. "It looks like the Qinghe Sect was just taking advantage of the chaos. They don’t have a deep-seated grudge against the Tao Family. If they can’t find you, they won’t waste a huge amount of effort on the search." He himself wasn’t concerned about being tracked by the Qinghe Sect.

After all, he had already wiped out two of their halls. His feud with the Qinghe Sect was far greater than the Tao Family’s.

One grudge or two, it made no difference. He’d have to settle the score with them eventually anyway.

The only reason he hadn’t acted was that he’d never truly fought a Grand Priest Level expert and was unsure of their strength. Otherwise, if he was confident he could win, he’d probably be hunting down every Qinghe Sect master in the city to silence them for good.

"But..." Tao Xuehai started to say, but Lin Hui held up a hand to stop him.

"And where would you and your sister run to? The Fog Area? Without proper preparations, that’s a death sentence for you both. Besides, I ostensibly have the Rain Palace backing me. No matter how audacious the Qinghe Sect gets, they won’t dare to attack me in broad daylight."

This wasn’t just baseless boasting. Liu Wu Jun was publicly known as a top genius of the Rain Palace’s Yuanming Hall, ranked among the top ten in the entire Rain Palace. With his prestige on the line, if the Qinghe Sect dared to move against his family, it would be a direct slap in the face to the Rain Palace—and by extension, the Shayue Sect behind it.

As one of the three great powers ruling all of Tuyue, the Shayue Sect’s influence and number of followers were arguably the strongest of The Three Greats. He figured that if the Rain Palace was truly provoked, then whatever power was backing the Qinghe Sect would be in for a world of hurt.

Ultimately, Lin Hui knew he was riding on the coattails of his sworn brother, Liu Wu Jun, borrowing the prestige of the Rain Palace and the Shayue Sect. This had been made clear ever since the conflict with the Chi Mi Bang. Afterward, when the Inspectorate sent people to "learn" from him—a gesture showing Minister Hong Ling’s stance—Qingfeng Temple’s powerful backing was laid bare for all to see.

It was also why the New Martial Alliance had remained quiet ever since their envoy was severely injured.

"But..." Tao Xuehai opened his mouth, but no words came out. The thought gave him pause. If he and his sister really left, the Qinghe Sect would hunt them down in no time.

He could disregard his own safety, but his sister’s...

"From now on, you and your sister will need new names. As for your faces... you can wear masks, or alter your appearance with other methods." Lin Hui reached into his waist pouch and took out a small, dark stone box.

"This is a special, non-toxic paste called Face-Changing Paste. You can apply it to your face to alter your features. The color is an extremely close match to natural skin tones. One application lasts for a week, and this box has enough for half a year. When you run out, come to me for more."

He possessed the Special Effect Heart Union, which guaranteed him at least a thirty percent success rate in Alchemy. As long as he followed the correct steps and didn’t miss any key ingredients, he could activate this trait.

So, after learning of the siblings’ plight, he had stayed up all night to find an Elixir Recipe and quickly refined several batches of the Face-Changing Paste. It was his first time making this stuff, so he wasn’t sure how well it would work.

But in any case, if the paste didn’t work out, they could just wear masks. It wasn’t a big deal.

"Thank you... Teacher..." Tao Xuehai said, his head bowed. He took the box as tears dripped from his chin.

Perhaps it was the thought of his parents and relatives, or perhaps it was the bewilderment and fear he felt for the future.

From this day forward, he was no longer the young master of a great family, a wealthy scion, but the lone survivor of a fallen clan, forced to live in hiding and flee from his pursuers.

Without another word, Lin Hui vanished from the roof. He needed to make arrangements within the temple.

Certain people, who would inevitably notice something was amiss, needed to be briefed.

He wouldn’t be telling them the siblings’ true identities, but simply arranging for two newcomers to join the temple.

As for who these newcomers were, they would, of course, be Tao Xuehai and his sister under their new names and appearances.

The next day, two newcomers quietly joined Qingfeng Temple.

One was named Lin Wuhai, the other Lin Wuyue. These were the new names Tao Xuehai and his sister had chosen.

They both used the Face-Changing Paste to alter their features, and on top of that, they bought masks to wear daily.

With this two-pronged approach, there was no way anyone would recognize them.

As part of their cover, his sister, Lin Wuyue, also decided to study Qingfeng Temple’s Martial Arts once her injuries healed. Of course, she would only learn the Seven-Section Quick Sword and Nine-Section Swift Sword, which were available to all ordinary disciples.

Her main focus was still her family’s inherited Divine Summoning Skill. That’s right—unlike her brother, who lacked the aptitude, his sister, Lin Wuyue, possessed the talent for Summoning and was already an Upper-Tier Summoner. She had simply made little progress in the field of Martial Arts.

For Summoners with good aptitude, progress came with incredible speed.

The moment they completed their first Summoning ritual, those with strong talent could instantly reach the Upper Rank.

Only afterward would they explore other potential, such as practicing Martial Arts.

In other words, a Summoner’s ultimate potential was determined from the very first moment of their Summoning.

Lin Hui wasn’t concerned about this. The only one he cared about was Tao Xuehai.

Not long after he took the siblings in, news arrived from the Inner City. Lu Xuan of the Rain Palace had sent a messenger with intelligence.

The Tao Family convoy, which had been in the middle of relocating, had been ambushed by Fog Area monsters and completely wiped out. The bodies of numerous Tao family members were discovered, mangled and torn to pieces by the creatures.

After receiving the report, Lin Hui gave it to Tao Xuehai and his sister. They both wept inconsolably. From that day on, they began to train with a desperate frenzy, day and night.

Perhaps they hoped to channel their grief and fury into strength, so that one day they could exact their revenge on the Qinghe Sect.

*

*

*

「Late July.」

The Xue Ying case in the Inner City finally came to a close. After Patriarch Chen of the Chen Family led his forces into several decisive battles against Xue Ying, it was publicly announced that she had been brought to justice. A horribly mutilated female corpse was put on display, and only then did the matter finally settle.

But this battle had come at a great cost. The Chen Family and their allies suffered heavy losses. Patriarch Chen, who was at the Palace Master level, and two of the family’s Supreme elders were apparently seriously injured, and were rarely seen in public thereafter.

The once-arrogant disciples of the Chen Family’s main branch all toned down their behavior, becoming the most low-key group among The Three Greats.

「August.」

The annual expedition teams, tasked with clearing out Fog Area monsters, were gradually assembled. They departed from the Inner City and began to sweep through the various ruins in the surrounding areas.

For a time, the amount of harvested monster parts being shipped back increased dramatically. Although most of it was just scraps—the truly valuable materials were all sent to the Inner City—only the parts with a short shelf life were processed locally in the Outer City.

But because of the sheer number of Fog Area monsters being slaughtered, a huge number of cargo trucks drove out from the Fog Wall every day, causing the Outer City’s various businesses to become increasingly active.

These resources were typically offered first to factions closely affiliated with The Three Greats.

Lin Hui’s Qingfeng Temple was among them, and received priority trading rights from the Rain Palace’s expedition teams.

A massive influx of materials was quickly converted into various kinds of equipment and medicine, which then flowed into the market.

This equipment and medicine, in turn, sparked fierce competition among Martial Artists and Summoners, and for a while, the Outer City bustled with extraordinary activity.

And just as everything was proceeding smoothly, not much different from any other year...

The unexpected happened.

A Fog Area cleanup team from the Government Office encountered an unexpected incident while-exterminating a small tribe of fog monsters.

The monster leader, which should have been at the "Dangerous" tier, had for some reason suddenly broken through to the "High-Risk" tier above it.

And so, tragedy struck.

The power gap between the Dangerous and High-Risk tiers is immense. By the time the team realized something was wrong, it was too late to retreat.

After a desperate struggle, only four of the more than thirty members of the team made it back alive.

The four survivors reportedly showed strange signs of contamination. Their eyes turned crimson, and they would occasionally lose their minds. Their skin began to fester and break out in pustules, their body temperatures skyrocketed, and even their breath carried a similar toxic contamination that could be passed to other living beings.

This news made Lin Hui, who had been closely monitoring the cleanup teams, feel his heart skip a beat.

The state of these survivors gave him a subtle sense of familiarity.

It bore a striking resemblance to the goat he had subjected to Purgatory Transformation.

To be sure, he made a special trip back to the Gale Plain to inspect the environmental changes his contamination had caused.

Sure enough, he discovered the cause.

After some of the contaminated creatures were preyed upon by monsters from the Fog Area, those same monsters had also begun to show subtle signs of Purgatory Transformation.

There were, it turned out, a few intersecting food chains between the Fog Area and the No-Fog Zone. The separation wasn’t as absolute as the Fog Wall suggested.

Having realized the problem, Lin Hui became even more careful about restraining his Purgatory Aura.

Regardless, the Purgatory contamination was already starting to cause an ominous chain reaction.

The Inner City quickly dispatched experts from the Rain Palace to investigate and find the source of the monster’s mutation.