Decaying World

Chapter 122 Acquaintance Part 122 (Thank you for suddenly forgetting the name of the Alliance Leader)

"Master, please accept my bow!" Tao Xuehai slid down to his knees so fast that it was quite unexpected.

So much so that Lin Hui didn't even notice before he was forced to kneel down and start kowtowing.

By the time he came to his senses, the kid had already finished kowtowing.

"I was originally going to give up on taking on apprentices," he sighed.

Lin Hui suddenly felt a little tired.

But he had always wanted a senior disciple to represent the family, and Tao Xuehai might be just the right fit.

He originally intended to take on apprentices on behalf of his master, and then finish teaching the sword techniques, but it turned out that he was the one who took on apprentices.

"Get up. I will now teach you the Perfect Qingfeng Sword technique." Lin Hui was generous and immediately began to explain the essentials of the Perfect Qingfeng Sword.

He was also very curious about the extent to which Tao Xuehai could master the Perfect Qingfeng Sword.

This guy has exceptionally high comprehension, is also incredibly dedicated to cultivation, and has access to a vast amount of precious medicinal resources. If it weren't for his congenital defect, he would probably have reached the level of a high-ranking official by following the summoning system.

To date, no one in the entire Qingfeng Temple has been able to cultivate the Perfect Qingfeng Sword to even half their own level.

This is because the perfect sword technique was created to suit oneself, but Lin Hui couldn't modify it because the sword technique evolved from the Blood Seal was too perfect.

He couldn't possibly ruin such a perfect sword technique just for the sake of someone else's cultivation.

The instruction was completed quickly, and Tao Xuehai couldn't wait to practice it several times before mastering all the moves.

To Lin Hui's astonishment, although this guy still couldn't perfectly master the sword technique, compared to the others, Tao Xuehai had already managed to demonstrate a fraction of that perfect essence.

It's practically a weakened version of the perfect sword technique, achieving about 70-80% of the effect of his own execution.

This is already quite outrageous.

Keep in mind that this is only the beginning of his learning journey. After completing the second stage of body tempering in the perfect version of the Qingfeng Sword Technique, who knows what level this guy will reach.

He already possessed perfect internal energy; after switching to other cultivation methods, he might actually be able to replicate some of the power of his perfect swordsmanship.
Thinking about this, Lin Hui's attitude towards Tao Xuehai changed from being indifferent to paying more attention.

This is a true genius!
As expected of someone from a prominent family within the inner city, their bloodline has undergone rigorous selection based on numerous qualifications.

After teaching the sword technique, Lin Hui sent Tao Xuehai back home.

He knew very well that it wouldn't be long before this kid would come back to him to exchange martial arts techniques.

After all, the more perfect one's swordsmanship, the faster and stronger one's body will become.

At that point, he would need to consider whether or not to pass on the Whirlwind Sword technique.

It wasn't that he was being secretive, but rather that the difficulty of the Gale Sword far exceeded that of the perfect version of the Gentle Breeze Sword. If it weren't for the blood seal infusion, it might have taken him many years just to get to the basics.

Not to mention cultivation.

Moreover, since the Gale Sword is his core martial art, it would be unwise to teach it rashly before the other party has shown a sense of belonging and sincerity towards Qingfeng Temple.

Fortunately, these troubles didn't affect Lin Hui for more than a few days. Soon, the Inspectorate of the Inner City sent people again.

Dai Enran personally led a team of seventeen or eighteen young members to Qingfeng Temple to improve their speed and agility.

Hong Ling was a man of his word. He paid the money directly and made everyone become peripheral disciples of Qingfeng Temple, learning the Perfect Seven-Section Quick Sword.

Once this sword technique is perfected, body tempering will have a significant impact on the body's speed.

It can be said that the reason why the disciples of Qingfeng Temple are so much faster than those of other sects lies in this martial art.

At first, the group of members that Dai Enran brought were all experts in both internal energy cultivation and spiritual inspiration, and they did not take Dai Enran's explanation for bringing them here to learn seriously.

They all just treated it casually, thinking that Dai Enran's statement was too exaggerated.

After experiencing the effects for several weeks, their attitudes changed drastically, and they became much more serious and respectful towards Wang Hongshi, who was in charge of teaching them.

Yes, Lin Hui did not teach them himself. He built his power to serve his own livelihood, not for the power to serve him, so naturally he could not personally teach this group of people.

At this moment, he was leading Han Xiaoyue, who had just arrived from the inner city, back towards the Lin residence.

Han Xiaoyue was summoned by him through a letter, with the purpose of responding to his father's suggestion to bring her home for a visit.

Once he gets through this hurdle, he probably won't have so many messy matchmaking and blind dates interfering with his cultivation anymore.

*
*
*
Lin House.

It was noon, just past lunchtime.

Lin Hui led Han Xiaoyue down from the carriage and slowly walked towards his father Lin Shunhe and his group of people who were already waiting at the side door.

Lin Shunhe, Yao Shan, and even the second aunt Liu Shenglan were all present. It seemed they were all curious about what kind of girl Lin Hui would choose for marriage.

Not only them, but even Master Du and his disciples, guards, and stewards came out to peek around. At a glance, it was a chaotic bunch of people.

"Sorry, my family is a bit curious." Lin Hui felt somewhat embarrassed upon seeing this.

"It's alright, I came here to show this to your family, didn't I?" Han Xiaoyue wore a veil, a bamboo hat, a light blue plum blossom robe, a silver ribbon around her waist, and a semi-transparent white lace veil over it. Her black hair reached her waist, her breasts were high, her waist and hips were slender and round, and her curves were full. Without looking at her face, she could indeed be considered a beauty.

This made Lin Shunhe and his wife, who were observing from afar, nod in agreement.

Lin Hui led his men closer and greeted each of the three men with great care.

"Come in quickly, it's chilly outside. Miss Han, come with me. It's our first time meeting, let's chat. I felt an instant connection with you the moment I saw you. Your refined demeanor is something that can't be cultivated in an ordinary family," Liu Shenglan said with a smile, taking Han Xiaoyue's hand in his own.

"Second Madam, you flatter me," Han Xiaoyue said with a polite smile.

The two of them walked to the side and went inside.

Lin Hui walked with his parents, and the two sides naturally split into two groups, one in front and one behind.

Along the way, Liu Shenglan carefully and subtly inquired about Han Xiaoyue's personal situation, family background, relatives, and personal qualities.

She comes from a prominent family in the inner city and is most familiar with the original blood nobles there. She also knows about marginal groups like Han Xiaoyue, whose original bloodline is almost completely extinct. Therefore, she is the most suitable person to take charge of this task.

Lin Hui held Lin Xiaoliu in his arms, listening to his parents asking him about his progress with Han Xiaoyue, whether she was pregnant, how many babies she was carrying, and what their names would be.
He was speechless.

After all the commotion, more than two hours later, Han Xiaoyue was settled into the attic of Lin Hui's courtyard. The two didn't share a room, but they did share a small courtyard.

After the three elders had found out the situation, they left satisfied to continue their discussion. They also told Han Xiaoyue and Lin Hui to get some rest and brought over a lot of nourishing soup.

This left Lin Hui both amused and somewhat embarrassed. He and Han Xiaoyue had only just met and hadn't gotten to know each other very well, yet things had been arranged like this.
"I'm sorry, my parents were in such a hurry, you must have seen this."

Inside the courtyard, Lin Hui helplessly explained to Han Xiaoyue.

"It's alright, this situation was within my expectations." Han Xiaoyue's eyes were calm. "What I didn't expect was that they were very open-minded about my appearance."

“Yes, I’ve explained to them repeatedly that I don’t care, and they’ve come to terms with it. After all, it’s my own decision to get married, and you weren’t born with this face,” Lin Hui said.

The two strolled up the stone steps to the attic, and Lin Hui opened the door and went in first.

“I used this place to refine medicine for a while before, so there’s probably still a bit of a medicinal smell. If you mind, you can move to a side room.”

"It's nothing. It's just a place to stay," Han Xiaoyue said calmly.

She always seemed so calm and undisturbed, as if nothing could frighten or startle her.

"Where's your luggage? Where's your change of clothes?" Lin Hui turned around.

From the moment they met, he noticed that the other person hadn't brought anything with him, only a set of clothes.

"Can't we just sleep like this?" Han Xiaoyue asked, puzzled.

"Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to sleep without changing your clothes?" Lin Hui blinked.

"It's alright, I use cultivation to replace sleep," Han Xiaoyue replied without changing her expression.

"The inner city, is it really that complicated?" Lin Hui was speechless.

"roll?"

"The competition is fierce; everyone is chasing after each other."

"No, the inner city is very quiet. The higher up you are, the more relaxed you are, because the improvement from cultivation is too weak, while the strength boost from the concentration of original blood is overwhelming. So there aren't many people who truly cultivate diligently." Han Xiaoyue shook her head slightly.

"and you."

"I'm used to it," Han Xiaoyue replied calmly.

It's clear that she had a very difficult past; otherwise, even someone with extremely thin bloodline from the inner city wouldn't have been able to develop such difficult habits.

And the injuries on her face couldn't have been caused by her own actions.

Lin Hui suddenly fell silent.

He could only lower his head and silently help make the bed, but since the maid had already prepared everything, he had nothing to do for the time being.

He then prepared to turn and leave.

But as soon as he turned around, he saw Han Xiaoyue casually tear open the collar of her robe and take out two books from her chest.

"..." So those two full curves I just saw were actually padded?

Lin Hui was speechless again. He had thought Han Xiaoyue wouldn't care about what others thought.

"There's nowhere to put it," Han Xiaoyue explained earnestly. "I don't like carrying things in my hands."

"I understand, I understand." Lin Hui remained silent. His gaze swept over the title of the book she had taken out.

A Brief History of Taisu, The Chronicle of Lin Sha.

It's Lin Sha again. To be honest, Lin Hui initially thought Lin Sha was related to the Sha Yue Cult, so he asked his older sister Liu Xiao a few questions. However, Liu Xiao replied that this person was not from the Sha Yue Cult, and she had never heard of any famous person in history with this name, at least she had never heard of it.

Seeing Han Xiaoyue carrying this book again, he felt a surge of curiosity.

"Speaking of which, the book you're reading is a biography, right? Who exactly is this Lin Sha? Can you tell me?" he asked.

“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of her,” Han Xiaoyue replied calmly, turning to sit on the bed. “She’s someone I really like and admire. But she’s actually not famous.”

"How can someone who isn't famous publish a biography?" Lin Hui asked, puzzled. This world isn't the information age of his previous life; publishing a book was extremely inconvenient.

“Because this is a book I personally wrote for her,” Han Xiaoyue replied.

Lin Hui sensed a strong, inexplicable emotion in those words.

"I don't want her sacrifices to go unnoticed by anyone. So, this is the only thing I can do for her," Han Xiaoyue continued, raising her head to look at Lin Hui.

"Want to hear her story?"

"Go on," Lin Hui said, pulling up a stool and sitting down. He had always been curious about Han Xiaoyue. According to his father's investigation, she seemed simple and had a clean background, but in reality, he always felt that she was hiding far too much.

"Let me ask you, if there's something you know you can't change the inevitable outcome no matter how hard you try, how much you struggle, or how much you risk your life, would you still try?" Han Xiaoyue asked.

"Why not? I enjoy the process of trying, and besides, if you don't try, who knows if things can't be changed? It's an inevitable process of trial and error," Lin Hui replied.

"If trying this once would require you to gamble most of your life, would you still be willing?" Han Xiaoyue pressed.

"I'm afraid I'm not willing to do that," Lin Hui shook his head. "My life is short, so I should spend my time on more worthwhile things."

“Lin Sha isn’t like that.” Han Xiaoyue shook her head and gently pulled the thin blanket over her legs.

"She was a top-tier genius. But unlike the typical path of a genius, she was selected along with dozens of other geniuses to undergo special training, nurturing, and brutal competition. After a long and arduous journey spanning a century, she reached the pinnacle of her life. And then…"

She paused, then lowered her gaze.

"Then, like dozens of others, they died silently in some unknown corner because of their failure."

“She wasn’t anything special, and she didn’t manage to accomplish that difficult thing, but I didn’t want her to just disappear into the past with nothing left. So I wrote this book for her.”

“Now I know her. So what you wanted to do has worked,” Lin Hui replied.

"Yes. Many times, I feel that I am actually a lucky person," Han Xiaoyue blurted out, then lowered her head and fell silent.

Seeing this, Lin Hui lost interest in listening to the story and immediately stopped disturbing her. He quietly left, closed the door, and left her alone to rest.

(End of this chapter)