The Decaying World

"Oh? Unimaginable in what way?" Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.

In that instant, countless thoughts raced through his mind.

"An ant that has never seen the sky can never comprehend that the world is more than just the ground," Song Feishi said in a low voice. "All you and your Qingfeng Dao can see right now is the Black Cloud, the Tuyue of the past. You have no idea how truly powerful the top experts are."

"I really don’t know how big the sky is," Lin Hui chuckled. "Why don’t you show me?"

"Me?!" Song Feishi looked as if she had heard the most hilarious joke. Her eyes widened. "Are you... trying to fight me?!"

"Why? Can’t I?" Lin Hui smiled. "After all, I’m just an ant, and you’re a bird flying through the sky. If you want to win me over, it’s only natural for you to demonstrate some of your strength, isn’t it?"

Although Song Feishi had adjusted her assessment of Lin Hui’s strength, it was only an adjustment within the realm of mortals.

In reality, Lin Hui was neither one of the Fog People nor a Blood Ancestor. He was just a mortal who had reached this point through arduous cultivation of Martial Arts.

Even if his explosive power was immense, if he really fought her... She knew very well it would just be her bullying him.

It was like trying to smash an infinitely regenerating block of alloy with an egg. Even if the egg was fast and powerful enough to shatter the block once, the egg itself would be utterly destroyed in the process.

And in her opinion, the block probably wouldn’t even be shattered. At most, it would suffer a minor scratch... one that would vanish in an instant.

Lin Hui was special, very strong. But he was like a delicate, ornate artifact—beautiful and fragile...

All she wanted to do was preserve the beauty of this artifact, to collect it.

So it wouldn’t be shattered in the coming conflict over the Black Cloud.

But seeing his expression hadn’t wavered in the slightest, Song Feishi knew she wouldn’t be able to take him with her without forcing him to have a true awakening.

"Very well..." she sighed, slowly beginning to draw her sword. "Since coming to Qingfeng Dao, I have seen too many surprising and extraordinary things from you."

"Among mortals, your aptitude, comprehension, and Martial Arts are like stars, hanging high in the sky and shining brightly. But..."

Her tone shifted.

"No matter how brightly the stars shine, how can they compare to us, the sun!?"

Gripping her Longsword, her expression became grave.

"Allow me to make you understand the difference between the sun and the stars!"

"If the difference is so great..."

In an instant, the Lin Hui before Song Feishi’s eyes vanished silently, like a bubble.

"...then why are you just standing there, not moving?"

A new voice came softly from behind her, to her right.

’So fast!!?’

A chill went through Song Feishi’s heart. Without a second’s hesitation, she yanked her sword clear of its sheath.

But that very motion made her expression change drastically.

"!!??"

’What... is happening!??’

She jerked her head down, only to discover to her horror that her sword hand was completely unresponsive.

THUMP.

The next moment, both her arms were severed at the shoulders. Her hands, still gripping the sword, crashed to the ground, spattering a few drops of blood.

And that wasn’t all.

Song Feishi’s body trembled, and with a THUD, she collapsed to her knees.

"I... what happened to me...!?"

PSHFF!!

Suddenly, dozens of gruesome, bloody gashes burst open all over her body. In an instant, she was turned into a figure of blood before pitching forward and falling stiffly to the ground.

"You see," Lin Hui smiled, gently lowering the right hand that had been resting on his sword hilt. "The sun has stopped moving..."

PSHFF!!

Suddenly, Song Feishi’s entire body, along with her severed arms, completely exploded, transforming into countless wisps of silver mist that shot away from the courtyard.

Soon, all the silver mist vanished without a trace.

"No, no, no, NO!!!"

Outside the courtyard, high in the air far from the Qingfeng Dao Academy, Song Feishi’s form coalesced once more, her expression utterly grim.

But no matter how awful she looked, she didn’t dare to linger for even a moment.

She had known before that Lin Hui was extremely fast.

But she had never imagined he would be *this* fast.

She didn’t even know when he had struck. There was no sonic boom, no shockwave—none of the natural phenomena that should accompany extreme speed. Nothing.

His sword was like a silent, formless shadow; it had been behind her before she had even sensed it.

And then... came the indescribably humiliating defeat.

Song Feishi’s face gradually turned from pale to flushed with shame.

She sucked in a sharp breath.

The next moment, she hovered in mid-air.

She recalled her own arrogant words, then the miserable state of her instant defeat. The contrast was enormous.

She wanted to go back right now and fight him again.

But... she couldn’t even see how he attacked. Going back would only mean repeating the same humiliation.

Besides this concern, a vague sense of fear lingered deep in her heart.

He seemed to be hiding something more.

Within that small Qingfeng Dao Academy, there seemed to be something even more terrifying.

Recalling the old man she had once seen behind Lin Hui, Song Feishi came to a faint realization.

’The Jiuxiao Sect... Could it be that a so-called Jiuxiao Sect really exists!?’

Ever since she heard Lin Hui mention it last time, she had secretly investigated, but she hadn’t been able to find any information about the Jiuxiao Sect through any channel.

She had assumed it was all something Lin Hui had fabricated.

But now...

At this thought, she immediately wanted to use her token to contact the Association Leader and report this anomaly.

But the next instant, her face fell as she realized all of her belongings from her waist had been left behind in the courtyard...

She wanted to go back for them, but an inexplicable chill rose in her heart.

Immediately, she dared not stay any longer. Ignoring the fact that she was wearing nothing, she flew off into the distance at top speed.

At that moment, under the pear tree in the courtyard, Lin Hui was toying with a small, exquisite blue Jade Talisman.

"Daoist Master, why didn’t you finish her off?" Master Yunxia asked, stepping out from the shadows, confused.

"Because her status is special. It’s enough to make them a little wary," Lin Hui said nonchalantly.

"Them? You mean, this Song Feishi has a faction behind her?" Master Yunxia’s expression hardened.

Lin Hui didn’t answer, just smiled.

"Go find Xia Si. The two of you will go together."

"Yes." Master Yunxia bowed her head respectfully and departed.

Turning around, Lin Hui sensed the faint mark on Xia Si. The fluctuations from the mark were much, much stronger than before.

Clearly, she had grown much, much stronger.

And the fruit he desired was just about ready to be picked...

At this thought, the corners of Lin Hui’s mouth curled up unconsciously.

Xia Si, Song Feishi... both were good seedlings, in essence. It was just that the chaos of the outside world had temporarily clouded their vision.

But that was fine. Soon, he would make them understand that in this world, only through the Wind could one find the deepest peace within...

Whether it was power, strength, or perseverance—everything else in the world was like a dream, an illusion, a bubble. All would come to nothing.

Only tranquility...

In his eyes, they were good children who could still find their way back from a wrong path. As long as he found an opportunity to show them the true nature of the world, he should be able to make them return to the embrace of Qingfeng Dao with all their hearts.

"But what if they are unwilling to return from their errant ways?"

"In this world, how can everything go as I wish?" Lin Hui answered with a smile.

Suddenly, a chill shot through him. He spun around instantly and saw the phantom of an old man floating right behind him.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" The old man roared with laughter. "Good disciple, let your master tell you, there are only two types of things in this world. The first are allies, and the second is dreg!"

"If they are unwilling to be our allies, then turn them to dreg!" The old man’s voice grew from a whisper to a thunderous roar, reverberating endlessly in Lin Hui’s mind.

"Qimei..." Lin Hui retreated rapidly, but his vision flickered, and everything vanished.

There was no old man, no voice. It was as if everything he had just seen and heard was a hallucination.

’I have to... resolve this as soon as possible...’ Lin Hui’s expression became grave. He quickly headed for the study where the Golden Coral was stored.

He had to release the Blood Seal at the fastest speed possible and evolve the object sealing the fissure!

*

*

*

Southeast of the Black Cloud, on a small island called Kurong.

This was one of the Black Cloud’s cargo distribution points. A large number of cargo ships would repackage their goods here daily, which would then be transported by the sea vessels of various merchant guilds to more specific major districts.

In the town at the center of the island, sailors and seamen mingled with the crowds of local residents, constantly weaving through the market to shop.

The large number of merchant ships also brought a massive amount of various goods. And since this place lacked the strict legal system of the Black Cloud, a trade in contraband naturally arose.

Xia Si wore a conical hat and a form-fitting black men’s outfit. With a sword at her side, she strolled slowly through the market, looking as unremarkable as any other market-goer.

But far behind her, three powerful auras were shadowing her, sweeping back and forth over the town, searching for her.

Those were the three great guest elders of the Bright Heart Association. She had already clashed with them several times on her journey, but had never been able to gain an advantage.

The three of them formed a formation with an extremely powerful trapping ability. They didn’t try to kill her, but simply to trap her. Moreover, as time went on, the power of their formation would rapidly increase.

This tactic gave Xia Si a major headache.

If it were a real, head-on fight with blades, she would have no fear. But now, she couldn’t break their defense, couldn’t land a killing blow, and could only run. It left her extremely frustrated.

Sensing the three auras behind her gradually moving away, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

She began to think. If she could separate the three and deal with them one by one, she should be able to take them out easily.

In terms of speed, her Body Technique far surpassed theirs, so she could naturally leave whenever she wanted. But she was frustrated and unwilling to accept it!

Just as she was pondering a strategy, Xia Si suddenly stopped. Her gaze sharpened as she looked up ahead.

Directly in front of her, someone was already blocking her path.

This person had a scholarly and elegant demeanor, a smile on their face, and was dressed in a familiar white robe that she found somewhat glaring.

"Senior Sister Xia, by order of the Daoist Master, it’s time for you to come back."

"Su Yaping...!" Xia Si’s face darkened. "You think *you* can block my path?"

"Senior Sister Xia, we are also just following orders. Please don’t make things difficult for us," another female voice came from behind her.

Xia Si turned her head slightly to look behind her.

A beautiful woman in a white dress with gold trim, holding a Longsword, blocked her retreat with a sincere expression.

It was Master Yunxia.