The Decaying World

Lin Xiaoliu’s third brother?

Song Yunhui had heard from his classmates that he was supposedly a very strong master. He was said to hold a significant position in the Inner City.

But in a situation like this, a problem that not even the City Lord could necessarily solve in person, he didn’t understand why Lin Xiaoliu had so much confidence in her third brother.

He unconsciously exchanged a look with his mother.

In truth, what they truly valued was Lin Xiaoliu’s exceptionally powerful Sensing Power. Otherwise, out of desperation, they wouldn’t have tracked her down at her new school to ask for help.

Ultimately, Song Yunhui didn’t want to die. He had to live, grow, become stronger, until he could return to the Royal City and take revenge on his so-called brothers and sisters!

So on one hand, he hoped Lin Xiaoliu would relocate with them. On the other, he felt a pang of guilt, thinking he shouldn’t be using her like this.

Torn between selfishness and morality, he had chosen to return and leave the decision to his mother.

That way, he wouldn’t have to bear the condemnation of his own conscience.

And now, faced with a situation that was clearly impossible to resolve, Lin Xiaoliu was naive enough to think that going back to find a relatively strong relative could solve the problem...

"Xiaoliu... you’re underestimating the Bright Heart Association’s power... you’ll die..." Song Yunhui said softly, lowering his head.

"We’ve already moved through three cities. We can basically confirm that the City Lords of the previous Outer City Districts were all more or less connected to the Bright Heart Association..." his mother added helplessly.

If they weren’t truly out of options, why would they want to be constantly on the move?

"Yeah, Xiaoliu, your third brother is really strong, but this trouble is no small matter... If you go back and get exposed... you’ll really die!" Xu Yaya said, also worried.

Her family was just middle-class in Black Cloud City; her perspective and experience were nowhere near Lin Xiaoliu’s. At this point, she was already terrified.

"Don’t be afraid." Lin Xiaoliu reached out and put an arm around her best friend. "No matter what, I have to go back and ask my third brother for advice first. We’re still young and don’t think things through with enough maturity. We can’t make such a big decision all on our own."

Xu Yaya was always the one protecting her. This time, it was her turn to protect her friend!

Song Yunhui and his mother glanced at each other, helpless. Seeing that Lin Xiaoliu’s mind was made up, they knew they couldn’t persuade her.

"Alright... Since you’re so insistent, Lin Xiaoliu, then... could we perhaps accompany you to visit your third brother?"

He truly valued Lin Xiaoliu’s ability. If he had that ability by his side, he could avoid countless future instances of being tracked, monitored, and hunted. Combined with his own special Evil Energy, his safety in the future would be greatly assured.

"I can’t make any promises, but I can take you there to try," Lin Xiaoliu said seriously.

"Okay! But you have to promise us that if it can’t be resolved, we’ll leave immediately. Otherwise, I’m worried the Bright Heart Association will strike preemptively," Song Yunhui said earnestly.

"Okay!" Lin Xiaoliu nodded firmly. Her senses were extremely sharp, and she could feel that Song Yunhui and his mother held no ill will toward her; in fact, she sensed a considerable amount of goodwill.

This was also why she had been willing to come with them.

The four of them had a simple meal of roast chicken, tidied up their clothes, and then followed Lin Xiaoliu.

They did their best to take detours through the most crowded streets, aiming to make the people from the Bright Heart Association hesitate to act.

After all, this was still Black Cloud City, the Core Area belonging to the Three Great City Lords. If anyone dared to cause trouble in the busiest areas, they would end up in a direct confrontation with the Black Army.

They traveled across the city district, passed through some suburban areas, and even changed vehicles once along the way.

The four of them finally exited the Inner City and arrived outside the white walls.

Song Yunhui and his mother were both a bit nervous the whole way. But as they got closer and closer to the Qingfeng Daoist Academy, the two of them gradually noticed some differences.

As they moved closer to the sea, the surrounding wind began to pick up.

The houses and buildings along the road also gradually became more ornate.

The Outer City was supposed to be poorer than the Inner City, yet as they continued in this direction, they were surprised to find that the houses and buildings they saw along the way were not shabby at all.

This wasn’t about how new they were; after all, the naval war had only ended a few years ago, so most of the houses in the Outer City were newly built.

What created a stark contrast was another Outer City area, just a street away in the distance, where the architecture was noticeably much plainer and simpler.

Before they knew it, another hour had passed. The four of them, riding in an ox-cart, finally arrived outside the gates of the Qingfeng Daoist Academy.

Only then did Song Yunhui and his mother realize that the ornate buildings they had seen earlier were all centered around the Qingfeng Daoist Academy, expanding outward in ring after ring.

The core of it all was actually this place—a white manor that just looked like it occupied a slightly larger plot of land.

The manor was a complex of buildings enclosed by a large circle of white walls, within which one could see more than ten white pavilions of varying heights.

The white walls were thick, about two meters wide, and on top of them, men and women in white robes, carrying swords, patrolled from time to time.

This kind of display... it was clearly not an ordinary household...

However, considering this was the Outer City where land was cheap, and that those who could afford to study and cultivate at a martial academy would not be from poor families.

Song Yunhui and his mother could understand a family having this kind of ostentation.

But at this very moment, what truly puzzled them was Lin Xiaoliu’s reaction.

She stood outside the academy gate after getting out of the cart, and her body began to tremble.

"Xiaoliu, are you cart-sick? Why are you shaking so much?" Xu Yaya quickly supported her friend, asking with concern.

"No, I’m not shaking at all. What are you talking about?" Lin Xiaoliu’s gaze was firm. "I’m just happy, excited!"

The three of them watched as she took a string of keys from her waist, selected one, and tried to insert it into the lock of the academy’s side gate. Her hands were shaking so badly that she missed the keyhole three times in a row, the key repeatedly slipping past the opening.

"..." A chill involuntarily ran down Song Yunhui’s and Xu Yaya’s spines.

CLATTER.

The key fell.

But...

CLICK.

The door bizarrely opened on its own, swinging outward from within.

"Little Junior Sister, why didn’t you let us know you were coming? If our patrol hadn’t seen you, we wouldn’t have been able to come and greet you right away."

Behind the door, a sword-wielding figure in a white, waist-cinched dress stood quietly.

Black hair cascaded from her head like satin, reaching her waist. Her coolly beautiful face and full, alluring figure formed a striking contrast, causing Song Yunhui to swallow unconsciously.

"Oh, Senior Sister Yuanyuan. I just... I just came to see my third brother about something." Lin Xiaoliu tried her best to keep her voice from trembling while forcing a smile onto her face.

"You’re still so shy." Li Yuanyuan glanced at the other three people behind Lin Xiaoliu.

"I am Song Shihan, the mother of Xiaoliu’s classmate. We just came to drop them off. Now that they’ve arrived, our task is complete," Song Yunhui’s mother said in a clear voice.

They planned to wait outside and try to persuade Lin Xiaoliu again after she came out.

"It’s alright. The Daoist Master already knows you are here. Please, come in together," Li Yuanyuan said calmly.

"In that case, we will impose." Song Yunhui’s mother hesitated for a moment before nodding. There were some things Lin Xiaoliu might not be able to persuasively explain on her own.

As the adult among a group of children, her presence would add much more weight to their argument.

And so, the four of them entered the side gate together, following behind Li Yuanyuan.

Following the enclosed corridor inward, they occasionally encountered one or two people in white leaning against the walls of the empty hallway with their eyes closed.

An inexplicable, formless current of air uniformly swirled around each of them, seemingly a type of aura-based Martial Arts of the same kind.

If it were just this, Song Yunhui’s mother wouldn’t have been too concerned. After all, it was normal for major clans to have their own unified, inherited Martial Arts.

But as they continued further inside and a small courtyard martial arts field to the side of the corridor came into view, her nerves began to tighten.

She saw a person in white with a colorful light flashing between their brows, holding a sword in one hand and clashing with two others at lightning speed. The exchange was so fast, the sword traces tearing through the air, that she couldn’t even see their movements!

’A Blood Progenitor?! Why would a Blood Progenitor-level figure appear here?!’ Alarms blared in Song Shihan’s mind.

’A powerhouse who should only appear in the Moon Tower is inexplicably here...?’

’I can’t even see the Sword Speed...’

’That means I can’t block the Sword Technique!’

Song Shihan was beginning to feel that coming along to Lin Xiaoliu’s third brother’s home might have been a huge mistake.

They rounded a corner and entered a second section of the corridor.

A tall woman with slightly dark skin and a black eyepatch over one eye was walking toward them.

The woman wore the same standard-issue, waist-cinched white dress, which accentuated the full curves of her chest. Unlike Li Yuanyuan, her face exuded a cold ruthlessness.

As soon as she got close, she spotted Li Yuanyuan and Lin Xiaoliu and gave them a slight nod. The woman didn’t even glance at the others as she walked past them.

She seemed no different from the other people in white they had seen earlier, but as she brushed past, Lin Xiaoliu froze completely, not daring to move a muscle.

Only after the woman was completely gone did she let out a soft sigh of relief.

This time, it wasn’t just her. Even Song Yunhui and Xu Yaya could clearly feel the terrifying, sinister chill endlessly radiating from the woman.

It wasn’t an illusion...

Song Shihan’s gaze swept over the ground where the woman had walked, and sure enough, she clearly saw a faint trail of melting blue frost.

’Extreme Cold Heaven... That’s Extreme Cold Heaven Power!!’ She recognized the origin of the woman’s power.

’How can such a terrifying corrupting power appear in this place?!’

’A power on the same level as Purgatory, Extreme Cold Heaven, has even shown up!’

’What the hell is this place?!’

’What she found most incomprehensible was that the Extreme Cold Heaven Power here showed no signs of spreading or corrupting its surroundings, and even melted and disappeared on its own?!’

’Extreme Cold Heaven frost that disappears on its own!’

’That’s as absurd as seeing a flame extinguish itself upon touching dry wood!’

"That... that was my third brother’s Closed-door Disciple, Senior Sister Fan Lingxi," Lin Xiaoliu explained, turning back. "But don’t be scared. She... she’s actually very nice, apart from her... her cold expression."

The three of them: "..."

If her voice hadn’t been trembling as she spoke, she might have been a bit more convincing...

The four of them continued onward.

This time, they passed through two more sections of the corridor without any further incidents, which allowed the four of them to breathe a sigh of relief.

CLICK.

Ahead, Li Yuanyuan finally reached a pure white, arched doorway and pushed it open.

The doors swung inward like white wings.

But the figure standing inside instantly made Song Shihan and Song Yunhui freeze.

It was a strong man with disheveled hair and a square-jawed face.

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor on the left side of the hall, a silver longsword resting across his knees. His eyes were closed as if he were comprehending something.

Song Shihan and Song Yunhui didn’t know who this man was, but even without knowing him, they could recognize what he was!!

A Fog Person!!

This man was a Fog Person!!

Song Yunhui was born in the Royal City and had seen many Fog People, so he could naturally distinguish and sense the characteristics of such a being at a glance.