Decaying World

Chapter 135 135 Gaze 3 (Thanks to the Northwest Mudslide Lickdog Alliance Leader)
After rushing to the inner city, Lin Hui was unable to find his elder brother and could only ask several people in his palace to help deliver a message.

To prevent trouble, he approached several people in the Amamiya branch, paid them bribes, and asked them to pass on his message.

Unless the eldest brother is truly unpopular throughout the entire Amamiya district, there will always be someone who can deliver the message.

Back in Xinyu Town, Lin Hui did see some unfamiliar faces from other places along the way.

The facial features and gentle demeanor of the locals in Xinyu Town are unmatched by any other place.

On the one hand, Qingfeng Temple is located here, and no gangs that harass civilians are allowed to exist in the surrounding area. The security situation has been excellent for the past two years.

On the other hand, these outsiders' clothing and appearance were completely different from others, mostly reflecting the open style of the inner city. Moreover, they walked with a hint of wariness, making them very easy to identify.

Back at Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui summoned Wang Hongshi and instructed him to arrange for people to investigate. Then he returned to the backyard, met up with Han Xiaoyue, and together they went to Kuangfeng Plain to cultivate.

Perhaps they were indeed compatible. After cultivating in the Gale Plains for a while, the two had a meal. After the meal, they each read and studied. One studied alchemy, and the other studied music and drama. They used this as a rest, and then continued their cultivation in the afternoon.

Aside from their initial conversation, the two didn't exchange a single word for the rest of the day.

As it was getting dark, Han Xiaoyue finally got up and left.

Lin Hui escorted her to the South Ninth Gate, watched her enter the city gate, and then turned back.

The fact that the Typhoon Sword Technique has begun to be practiced means that the evolution of the technique should also be put on the agenda.

Regarding mental attacks, there are the Illusionary Technique and the Spirit Sealing Array. The former is still under slow cultivation. As for the latter, the accumulation of crystals hasn't changed at all; it's still just one crystal from the beginning. It will take until nine crystals are accumulated before it can be used, which is probably still a long way off.

For his next evolution, Lin Hui first planned to try evolving a sufficiently sturdy and sharp weapon before evolving a new cultivation technique. Although his current twin swords were barely usable, as his opponents grew stronger, the blades developed more and more nicks, making slashing and cutting increasingly difficult.

There is a high probability of continued conflict with Qinghemen in the future, so a sufficiently powerful weapon is essential.

Therefore, Lin Hui sought help from his father.

As expected, his father found him about ten weapons, but unfortunately, these were all so-called top-tier weapons available on the market.

Finally, Lin Hui symbolically took a dagger and a longsword.

Inside Qingfeng Temple.

Lin Hui looked at the weapons placed in front of him and hesitated for a moment.

He had already touched all the swords, and the evolution plans given by the Blood Seal were all pretty much the same. Especially the swords; the one his father gave him and the two he carried on his back had basically the same evolution path.

'1 - Enhanced Steel Sword Version.'

'2 - Enhanced version of the soft sword.'

'3 - Enhanced version of the rapier.'

There's not much to expect, just a simple improvement in strength and toughness, which should take about a month.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Hui chose the steel sword enhancement route.

After confirming the evolution, he put down his weapon and placed it in a locked closet in his bedroom.

Stepping out of the bedroom, Han Xiaoyue was already sitting on the ground in the courtyard, meditating with her eyes closed.

Sensing his appearance, she opened her eyes and looked in his direction.

"Are you going to continue your cultivation today?"

"Hmm, do you have other plans?" Lin Hui asked.

During this period, he and Han Xiaoyue cultivated together almost every day. The two would meet up first, then have breakfast together, and after eating, they would go directly to the Gale Plain or the bamboo forest to cultivate and study. During this time, they hardly communicated.

Despite not having much interaction, Lin Hui felt much more relaxed and comfortable around the other person.

"Today is the anniversary of my family member's death, and I plan to buy some things to pay my respects," Han Xiaoyue replied.

"Do you need me to come along?" Lin Hui asked.

“No need, they’re not here. A symbolic offering will suffice,” Han Xiaoyue shook her head. “Also, I might have to go out for a while, so if you don’t see me, don’t wait for me.”

"how long?"

"It could take as little as six months, or as long as three or four years," Han Xiaoyue replied.

“That is indeed a bit long,” Lin Hui frowned.

Looking at Han Xiaoyue's calm expression, he was reminded of the annoying thing about his father pressuring him to have a child every few days.

It was fine before, but now that they know he has reached the pinnacle of internal strength, which is theoretically the limit for martial artists who transition from external to internal power, his father, Lin Shunhe, has started asking him all sorts of questions whenever they meet, such as when he is pregnant, whether his health is not good, and not to take too much medicine to avoid harming his body.

Fortunately, his mother, Yao Shan, was considerate of her son and helped him out.

So much so that now when Lin Hui gets home, the first thing he does is rush to his mother's place, without even going to see his father.

"Speaking of which, you've already reached the limit of your internal strength, there's no way to advance further. Do you have any new plans for continuing to cultivate so diligently?" Han Xiaoyue asked softly.

"Well, I plan to walk the path I want to walk. I don't believe what others say is the limit." Lin Hui had already prepared his excuse, and now it came out naturally.

"Knowing it's impossible, yet still doing it?" Han Xiaoyue's eyes flickered slightly. "What? You think it's impossible?" Lin Hui laughed.

"No. It's just that I didn't expect you to be such a proud person deep down, despite your seemingly gentle appearance." Han Xiaoyue shook her head. "Actually, sometimes the path one takes in cultivation is not necessarily the right one."

“But cultivation can give me the power to protect myself and my family and friends,” Lin Hui said. He felt that the other person’s words had a hidden meaning, as if they were implying something.

"Power." Han Xiaoyue hesitated. But looking into Lin Hui's confident and bright eyes, she couldn't help but say it again.

"If you have time, you can go to the Moon Tower area in the inner city and take a look."

"Okay." Lin Hui felt that she hadn't said everything clearly, and it was very likely that there were some things she wanted to express hidden in the core Moon Tower area.

After a moment's thought, he immediately decided to go to the inner city in a few days to wait for the steel sword to be reinforced.

Anyway, he had wanted to visit the inner city's core area for a long time.

The two stopped talking and soon Han Xiaoyue left alone, while Lin Hui went to the Gale Plain to continue practicing the Typhoon Sword Technique.

Each time he practiced the Typhoon Sword Technique, he would maintain a delicate balance, quickly dissipating the air just before the giant cyclone was about to form, and then waiting a while before continuing to practice.

To outsiders, it seemed as if he were practicing a slow, deliberate martial art similar to Tai Chi sword, which seemed rather inexplicable. But only Lin Hui himself knew just how exaggerated his training method and the flow of his hidden power truly were.

Even Han Xiaoyue, who was with them, couldn't see anything amiss, which shows just how well the Typhoon Sword Technique, a martial art completely different from the system here, could conceal itself.

Three days later, Han Xiaoyue left. Apart from the Wang family who went to see her off, only Lin Hui watched her leave from afar.

I watched as she boarded the carriage, drove into the foggy area, and slowly drove away in some unknown direction.

This woman is mysterious and lonely. She is said to be best friends with Sister Wang Yueheng, but according to Lin Hui's observation, the two are not like best friends at all. Sister Wang spends more time taking care of Han Xiaoyue, conveying her various needs, and then fulfilling them in the name of the Wang family.

Han's departure was like a grain of sand leaving the desert, causing no ripples in Lin Hui's life.

After waiting for less than a week, he received a new double-edged, 1.6-meter-long silver steel sword.

This is the first weapon evolved from Blood Seal. It's a bit long and slightly wide, but extremely hard.

Lin Hui tried it out and discovered that the steel sword could actually retract and shorten, shrinking to about a meter long. He then named it Ruyi (meaning "as you wish").

It carries a hint of the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff).

Having decided on his weapon, Lin Hui finally began working on evolving the Typhoon Sword Technique and other martial arts techniques.

Just then, some bad news came from inside the city.

"What?! Big Brother is injured?!" Lin Hui looked at the maid from the Lin family who came to report the news in surprise.

After Ding Ning left, he gave his family a large sum of money as compensation and never asked for any more servants or maids.

Despite the inconvenience, he does not want to see that scene happen again.

Under the current circumstances, no ordinary person is suitable to be his personal attendant.

"Yes. That's what the people from Amamiya sent the message: Master wants you to be extra careful lately. Many conflicts were suppressed by Master Liu, but now that he's injured, they might all suddenly erupt at once," the maid replied, her words clear and concise, carrying a rather admonishing tone.

"Has my elder brother returned to the Lin residence?" Lin Hui asked.

"No, only news came back from Amamiya," the maid said.

"Understood, go reply to the letter." Lin Hui nodded.

"Yes, my name is Xiaoxin. From now on, I will be in charge of communication between Qingfeng Temple and the Lin residence. If the abbot has any other instructions, he can also instruct Xiaoxin to carry them out." The maid curtsied and said.

"Ah."

Lin Hui nodded and watched the other person leave quickly. He could tell that the person had some martial arts background, and his footwork had a hint of lightness skill.

It was clear that the father had realized his previous arrangement was flawed, so he replaced the person with someone skilled in martial arts.

After everyone left, he quickly packed his things, said goodbye to Wang Hongshi and Xue Meng, and without further hesitation, headed straight for the South Ninth Gate and entered the inner city.

Regardless, he planned to go to Amamiya to see what was going on with his older brother.

Half an hour later, in a side hall study of the Rain Palace, Lin Hui was led there and met Liu Wujun, who looked somewhat pale.

"I knew you'd come." Liu Wujun reluctantly put down the book in his hand and looked at Lin Hui.

"Brother, what exactly happened?" Lin Hui looked at his face and saw that he seemed to be seriously injured, so his eyes immediately became solemn.

Liu Wujun's strength is likely to be considered above average among the Grand Priests. The trouble that can injure him could be a catastrophe for others.

"I really owe you a lot for delivering the message this time. If I had been even a little later, I might not have made it back," Liu Wujun said helplessly.

"That serious!?" Lin Hui was taken aback.

"Yes, someone within the Liu family was communicating with the external enemy, the Wanhua Sect, and ambushed me. Most of my elite troops were killed in the sneak attack. Three experts of the same level surrounded me, and there were also troublesome imitation evil weapons locking on me in the distance. There were also traps and formations under my feet. Fortunately, I received your warning and stopped in time, not venturing too far into Naiyun Mountain, otherwise..." Liu Wujun lowered his head and coughed a few times, wisps of icy blue mist drifting from his mouth and nose with each cough.

The mist dissipated quickly as soon as it appeared, merging into the surrounding air and causing the temperature in the study to drop sharply.

(End of this chapter)