Decaying World

Chapter 231 Black Clouds III

The outer city of Heiyun is similar to that of Tuyue, also divided into the peripheral area, the town area, and the suburban farmland.

The only difference is in the proportions.

Farmland is scarce here, and the streets are constantly filled with a large number of oxcarts carrying various kinds of salt-baked and dried meat that have been cut and processed.

After learning the ropes through his father's connections, Lin Hui purchased a large courtyard house from a local real estate agency.

As the leader of Qingfeng Dao, he still took a lot of valuables with him when he left. Not to mention, he took three hundred feather blood, and he only spent two on purchasing the courtyard, plus some gold notes.

This price already far exceeds that of Tu Yue.

In other words, the courtyard is very large, enough for more than a hundred people to easily move in.

After everyone was settled in, each person had their own way of adapting, and they spent a few days getting used to the environment before making any decisions.

Lin Hui then looked around to assess the situation.

They lived in a place called Xinque Town. Although it was by the sea, there were quite a few magpies. They would fly back and forth in the mist all day long. It was a mystery how these birds avoided the night fog.

Most of the residents of Xinque Town are sailors who go out to sea, while a small number are artisans who process and sell the catch they make at sea.

Outsiders like Lin Hui make up only a very small minority of the residents.

Like Xinyu Town, the town is right next to the white wall. This was a location that Lin Hui carefully chose, so that it would be convenient to enter and exit the inner city in the future.

After several days of gathering intelligence, the Qingfeng Dao members gathered together and summarized the information they had obtained.

"It seems that the situation here is much better than in Tu Yue."

Inside the newly purchased compound, Wang Hongshi and other core disciples gathered around Lin Hui.

The first to speak was Su Yaping.

Within a few days, he seemed to have already integrated into the place. He changed his clothes to a cool, light green vest dress, tied a sea monster leather belt around his waist, and wore a deep-sea black pearl pendant around his neck.

"In this place, both men and women wear skirts," Wang Hongshi said helplessly, tugging at her black skirt and pants, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

"There are still some differences. The men's skirts are more like elongated robes, while the women's skirts are still the same, but looser and thicker, and they often wear leather trousers or waterproof sea animal skin boots underneath," Qiu Yiren added.

“These are not the main points,” Wang Hongshi nodded. “The main point is that I specifically collected information about the food and living conditions here. There is also Wanfu meat here, but people don’t rely on it because there is no shortage of food here. The Moon Tower in the inner city has the ability to remove toxins from the flesh and blood of monsters in the fog zone, and has also formed an entire industrial chain. It not only supplies more than enough people in the city, but also exports a large amount of dried meat to other districts.”

“It’s the Moon Tower’s ability to exorcise evil spirits. I’ve heard of that too. One of the reasons why Black Cloud is so prosperous is because of this.” Su Yaping nodded.

Lin Hui pondered the "poison-removing evil energy." Tu Yue's evil energy was to absorb lifespan, which was why the nobles inside the Moon Tower had become cannibalistic demons. However, the evil energy of the original blood nobles here was to remove poison, which seemed far less practical than absorbing lifespan, but it had created an overall structure that was far more prosperous and powerful than Tu Yue's.

The use of this evil power, in every sip and bite, is truly difficult to categorize as good or bad.

“I went to the inner city yesterday to investigate. The Moon Tower here is just as open as the Heaven of Desire, but it’s not as arrogant and unrestrained as Tu Yue, because there are not just one Mistman here, but three!” Su Yaping continued.

"The three of you!?" Lin Hui asked sternly.

“Yes. The three Mist People restrain each other, and the three evil powers they possess are detoxification, nourishment, and reproduction. These three abilities complement each other, greatly increasing the population size of Black Cloud. This is also why geniuses emerge one after another here,” Su Yaping sighed. “However, there is a slight difference: the three Mist People here generally live on the three floating mountains in the inner city, not in the Moon Tower.”

"This also indirectly shows that the environment around the Black Cloud is extremely harsh, otherwise the three fog people would not have insisted on crowding together for no reason," Lin Hui said in a deep voice.

“What the Dao Lord says is absolutely right.” Su Yaping nodded. “The biggest threat around Black Cloud is mainly the Mist Gods. The Mist Gods are a large group, with varying strengths. One strong one can be as strong as several Mist People, while the weak ones are at most only slightly stronger than the Blood Ancestor. There are quite a few Mist Gods around Black Cloud, and the one who most often fights here is the Sea Wave God named Minglan. I have only heard the general outline of the situation, and I will need to learn more about the details later.”

"That's enough. It's good that you have a general understanding of the situation. I'll be starting my job at the Martial Arts Academy tomorrow, and once I'm familiar with the place, I'll open a research and study center outside." Lin Hui nodded.

“Lord Dao, I have also found out the sea route you instructed for returning to Tu Yue,” Wang Hongshi said.

"You said."

“The ships under the Baihai Business Alliance make a round trip to the area where Tu Yuexingdao is located once a year. They have a lot of trade with the Corruption God Cult there.”

"The Corruption Cult?!" Lin Hui was taken aback and looked at Xia Si.

Xia Si looked equally bewildered. Wasn't the "God of Corruption" the group of eccentric, crazy people next to her?

“Yes, I’m not sure about the specific trade. Then there’s the Baiyun Merchant Alliance’s fleet of ships, which also goes to Tuyue every two years to buy local specialties,” Wang Hongshi said. “However, because there are relatively few things to buy there, the fleet sometimes rests and doesn’t go.”

"That's good, very well done." Lin Hui nodded. "Now that's a summary of the situation on Black Cloud's side, does anyone have anything to add?"

“I have one here.” Xia Si raised her hand. “Master, I don’t want to do study tours, I want to go to sea.”

"Go to sea?"

"Yes, the sea voyage is very rewarding when the weather is good. You can also encounter all kinds of sea monsters and mist gods. The scenery is beautiful and it's a lot of fun!" Xia Si's face showed obvious anticipation.

"It's good that you've thought it through." Lin Hui nodded.

"Master, I also want to go to sea."

"Me too, Dao Lord! In this place, as long as you have the strength, the income from going out to sea is very high! It's much better than Tu Yue!"

"I want to go to sea too!" As soon as Xia Si started speaking, most people raised their hands and said shyly.

Lin Hui looked at the list and saw that there were about ten core disciples in total, but only Qiu Yiren was willing to follow him to open a study center. The rest of them wanted to go to sea.

He was somewhat helpless. After being granted the seal, the group's strength soared, and their mentality seemed to have become a bit arrogant.

Don't underestimate them just because most of them are internal energy martial artists. In the outer city of Black Cloud, internal energy martial artists are not weak either. Moreover, they have the perfect version of the Qingfeng Sword Technique to temper their bodies and add the True Body Seal.

Even if they were to fight, those with perfect internal energy would still be no match for them.

This is equivalent to being above perfection and below the Zhou Tian realm. Such strength is not weak.

After some discussion, Qiu Yiren followed Lin Hui, while Princess Li Yuanyuan of the Shadow Dog Clan stayed in the city to handle the catch for everyone who went to sea.

As for the study tour center, without its own staff, it naturally cannot open.

A group of people wanted to go to sea, and even brought Su Yaping and Xia Si along, pooling their money to buy their own boat.

Lin Hui was somewhat confused, but after making a few inquiries and learning about the exaggerated rumors circulating in the Black Cloud Sect about going to sea to find precious medicines and then ascending to the heavens in one step, leaping several major realms from ordinary people to become high priests, he understood somewhat.

What's most absurd is that these rumors can actually be substantiated, with several examples appearing every year. The most famous of these is undoubtedly Wang Chongjun, the General of Zhenhai, who was in charge of managing the entire outer city bay. He is a typical example of someone who, after going to sea, went from an ordinary person to a powerful figure by consuming the Sea Dragon Pearl, achieving the status of Palace Master and Mingji in just three years.

The Jade Sea and Crystal Sea are boundless, full of mystery, danger, and opportunity, so much so that the entire Black Cloud City is filled with a trend of going to sea.

Lin Hui did not try to dissuade him, but followed the steps arranged by his father and went to Tai Su Martial Arts Academy to register. After a simple assessment, he was successfully hired three days later.

He became a martial arts teacher at the Tai Su Martial Academy in the inner city.

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The Fifth Branch of Tai Su Martial Arts Academy.

Within the Black Cloud Inner City, nestled among a large grove of palm trees near the city wall, rows of white stone buildings are arranged in a staggered pattern, surrounded by a high wall forming a large circle.

The shouts of martial arts practitioners could be heard from inside from time to time, and occasionally whipping and cursing could be heard.

Inside the branch campus, beside a training field the size of a football field.

A graceful, purple-haired female teacher, dressed in the academy's uniform black fitted dress, smiled and led Lin Hui on a tour of the entire academy.

"Our Fifth Academy's main student body consists of commoners from the thirty towns surrounding the outer city. Of course, there are also a small number of elite children from the nearby sea tribes, as well as some children of powerful families from the inner city who come with their teachers. You must remember the specific distinctions clearly, otherwise, if you offend the powerful families in the inner city, you will be in big trouble."

The female teacher directly transmitted her voice using her internal energy.

To become a teacher at the martial arts academy, the minimum requirement is to have a week's worth of sunshine.

So don't be fooled by her glamorous appearance and alluring figure; she's actually a hundred-year-old witch.

"Thank you for the reminder, Teacher Song. I will pay attention." Lin Hui nodded, wearing a polite smile.

"It's not just about paying attention, it's about remembering it perfectly." The purple-haired female teacher surnamed Song turned around and said seriously. "Here, the hierarchy isn't so strict. There are geniuses among the students, those whose strength rises quickly, and quite a few who even directly challenge and defeat their teachers. And every year, many teachers seriously injure or even kill students. Even if you're a teacher, you have to be careful around the children of powerful and wealthy families. Otherwise, you could face death if you're not careful."

"Understood!" Lin Hui nodded seriously this time.

The other person nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and continued leading the way.

Song Xinyan actually disliked doing these miscellaneous tasks outside of teaching, but she had no choice because she couldn't stand the irritable atmosphere in the formal classroom.

"You'll be in charge of the relatively safe Class Four. It's almost entirely made up of children from ordinary families, so the classroom atmosphere is great, and the students are all very obedient. Only two boys from pirate backgrounds are a bit rebellious, but it's not serious. As the class teacher, I'll mainly be teaching the Seven Styles of Smoke and Cloud Scattered Hand, which is common to the martial arts academy. This is the best martial art for building a foundation. Children between the ages of 6 and 16 can practice it. If they master it, they can successfully break through their internal energy barrier and then advance to the next class," explained Teacher Song with purple hair as they walked.

"Promotion? Does that mean we won't be responsible for continuing to mentor you?" Lin Hui asked.

He thought that, like in his previous life, the homeroom teacher would stay with him until graduation.

"Of course not. Those who practice internal energy martial arts have higher-level teachers to teach them. Of course, if you have a student you have high hopes for, you can have him become your student and take him under your wing. The student can then directly participate in the martial arts academy's entrance exam when the time comes. As long as the exam results are good, the martial arts academy doesn't care how the student was taught," Teacher Song said.

"Understood." Lin Hui nodded.

"The strength you demonstrated during the assessment was perfected internal energy, and with the addition of secret techniques, you could reach the Zhou Tian level. Therefore, your main responsibility is to teach basic swordsmanship. Although the students mainly study the Seven Styles of Smoke and Cloud Scattered Hands, they also need to be familiar with and have some knowledge of various other weapons. You don't need to be an expert, but you must know how to deal with them. That is your teaching task," Teacher Song instructed.

"clear."

After an introduction and tour, the class teacher, Song Xinyan, led Lin Hui to his private office.

And that's how my onboarding was arranged.

Lin Hui teaches one class each morning and afternoon, with each class lasting one hour. He is responsible for teaching students basic swordsmanship and practicing sword techniques with them.

The work was easy, and the income was good, with a monthly salary of 70,000 yuan. There was no backstabbing or deceit, and life was quite simple.

This perfectly aligns with Lin Hui's purpose of disguising his identity and first understanding the situation of Black Cloud.

After his life and work quickly settled down, he began to determine the evolution goals of the Blood Seal.

(End of this chapter)