Decaying World

Chapter 38 038 Measurement Part 2 (Thanks to HelloKiss, the Alliance Leader)

Watching Weiwei leave, Lin Hui remained expressionless, put away the letter, and returned to his room.

He wasn't lying just now; his parents' business was doing well. His father was really good at business, and the profits were much higher than before. They even opened a branch store.

As for him, although Qingfeng Temple's reputation has declined, Lin Hui is not dead; his martial prowess remains.

Even if they can't beat the Black Dragon Gate, taking on other petty thugs is still a piece of cake. Safety is still guaranteed.

So, in terms of economic conditions, it simply means that I can no longer support my family. That's all.

Back in his room, he sat cross-legged on the cushion, his gaze naturally falling on the bloodstain information panel below his field of vision.

'The Nine-Section Quick Sword has evolved.'

A line of tiny Chinese characters had been displayed for several minutes.

Looking at this line of text, Lin Hui consciously controlled it, gently transforming it to reveal the information about the Nine-Section Swift Sword.

'Nine-Section Swift Sword: Mastered to perfection, a basic sword technique from Qingfeng Temple. Upon perfect mastery, it grants the special effect: Lightness and Agility.'

'Can the "Lightness" and "Agility" effects be combined?'

The bloodstain's hint appeared quickly as the Nine-Section Swift Sword was opened.

"Merge." Lin Hui confirmed without hesitation.

He felt that merging the two effects might produce a stronger result, and since the Blood Seal had already given a hint, it shouldn't be worse if they were merged.

The next second, the blood-red writing below their field of vision quickly melted away, coalescing into a new line of writing.

'Merger complete, special effect: Ascension.'

'Special Effect: Feathering - Significantly reduces energy consumption; halves weight and triples base sword speed when activated.'

three times!?

Lin Hui was startled. He had vaguely sensed that the lightness effect should have increased by more than two times. Now, the combined effect of feathering clearly showed that the sword speed was increased by three times and the weight was halved, which confirmed his guess.

'The power consumption has been significantly reduced, which means the special effects can be kept on for longer periods?'

Lin Hui took a deep breath.

'This is the perfect version of the nine-section swift sword!'

Once this special effect is activated, his sword speed and movement technique will instantly surpass those of his senior brother by a large margin.

Perhaps, it's possible to catch up with the three Ming generation members who have reached the Inner Strength Realm!

Lin Hui was overwhelmed with emotion. After so much hard work and waiting, everything had finally paid off.

Nine-section sword
He closed his eyes, and countless perfect techniques of the Nine-Section Quick Sword surged wildly in his mind, merging with his previous training memories.

At this moment, the fundamental martial arts of Qingfeng Temple were rapidly integrated into his mind.

A subtle warmth flowed quietly from my mind, permeating my entire body.

The warm current continuously transformed Lin Hui's physique, subtly adjusting it towards greater lightness and agility.

This modification lasted for more than ten minutes before slowly coming to an end.

Lin Hui sat cross-legged on the ground and slowly opened his eyes.

Feeling the indescribable, unique changes throughout his body, he reached out and gently grasped her hand.

Suddenly, a flood of memories about wielding a fast sword rushed into my mind.

'The previous seven-section fast sword technique didn't cause any adjustments to the body with the Blood Seal, but the nine-section fast sword technique did. Does this mean that only relatively advanced martial arts can trigger the Blood Seal's evolution and subsequent body adjustments?'

At this moment, he himself did not know how strong he was. After the evolution, he had no specific reference to determine the level of his own strength, the perfect version of the Nine-Section Quick Sword.

Standing up, Lin Hui adjusted to his body's current state. After his boiling blood calmed down a bit, he began to reflect on his condition.

'This is what I wanted; the ultimate speed is only missing one last element: the Gentle Breeze Sword Technique.'

His initial goal was to learn movement techniques and speed, and now that he had achieved half of that goal, his sense of urgency had lessened considerably.

"So, my next goal is to first learn the Qingfeng Sword Technique, and then find a way to improve the safety of my environment and that of my parents."

To improve environmental safety, it seems the only option now is to enter the inner city.

There are only a few ways to enter the inner city.

First: Being selected to join one of the three major factions.

Second: Spend a lot of money to buy vacant houses in the inner city.

Third: By holding official positions in outer towns, one can gradually rise through the ranks and be transferred to the inner city.

"Of these, the second one is the easiest for me to achieve right now. Many wealthy people in the outer city mainly live in the inner city, earning money in the outer city and spending it inside. This is also the main source of many new inner city residents."

Lin Hui was making plans in his mind.

"However, making money at Qingfeng Temple is somewhat difficult now, and even in its heyday, with all the various positions held, it wouldn't have been enough to earn enough wealth for our entire family to move into the inner city. Therefore, we still need to find another way."

Lin Hui pondered deeply, racking his brains. However, many profitable industries in the outer city were backed by influential figures and powerful forces. His current strength was far from sufficient to get involved. In such a field, even the Inner Strength Realm was just the foundation; it was almost entirely a competition among influential figures.

After thinking it over, he sighed softly.

"Looks like my strength still isn't enough."

He didn't want to break away from Teacher Mingde and lose his moral compass, but he also wanted to make a lot of money and move into the inner city. The only way to achieve both was to...

That is, to strengthen the current power of Qingfeng Temple and make our sect bigger and stronger again!
"First, go and negotiate the profit sharing with the teacher. Oh, and the profits from the medicinal herb fields behind the Taoist temple are currently being controlled by Daoist Mingchen. The other two branches that were separated also need to be brought back and merged. In this way, by expanding the number of students and increasing our sphere of influence, and imitating the Wooden Flower Gang by collecting hidden taxes on our assets, our income should reach the required level very quickly!"

"However, I still need to find out the specific requirements for buying a house and relocating to the inner city."

With his thoughts reaching this point, Lin Hui took a deep breath, stood up, and thought about which people he knew knew about this.

Faces flashed by rapidly, and soon settled on a man's face that he recognized quite well.

'It's definitely better to go home and find my dad.'

After thinking it over, he realized that among all the people he knew, the one who knew the most about this was actually his own father.

Lin Hui was speechless. He immediately got up, too lazy to pack his things, picked up his sword, opened the door, and left.

As soon as he stepped outside, he sensed something was different.

After mastering the Nine-Section Quick Sword, his body seemed to undergo subtle changes, and his movements became inexplicably lighter than before.

Leaving Qingfeng Temple, we sped back along the mud path, and the scenery on both sides moved much faster than before.

Because there was no point of comparison, Lin Hui had no way of knowing exactly how fast he was going.

Looks like I'll need to buy a portable timer to keep track of time and speed.

While Tu Yue isn't particularly advanced in the field of mechanics, it does possess basic timekeeping devices similar to clocks. However, these are all items from within the city, making them relatively expensive to purchase.

Lin Hui sped up and didn't go straight home, but headed straight for his parents' small shop.

Before long, more and more houses appeared on both sides, and the flow of people became denser. Once on the street, the flow of people and vehicles was even more bustling, with farmers and vendors setting up stalls to sell their goods everywhere.

After crossing two streets, we finally arrived at Old Man's Little Shop—Shanhe General Store.

The shop is a bit bigger than before, and in addition to groceries, fresh fruits, vegetables and dried goods are displayed at the entrance.

The old man was half-reclined behind the wooden container, holding a comic book in his hand, engrossed in reading it.

"Dad!" Lin Hui strode in. "Are you free? Want to chat?"

"Why are you back again, kid?" Lin Shunhe sat up abruptly upon hearing the voice, turned around and saw that it was his son. He immediately blurted out the question.

"What are you talking about? Have you thought it through? Are you planning to switch sides and join the Black Dragon Gate?"

"What are you wandering around for? Let's go inside." Lin Hui pulled his father into the room where the goods were stored.

"Dad, do you know how much the cheapest house in the inner city costs?" he asked in a low voice.

"Buy? Prices have gone up again recently. A small house for one person would cost around four million. That's the cheapest one. Why are you asking about that?" Lin Shunhe replied, looking puzzled.

"It's nothing, I was just asking." Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat. Four million dollars, how long would it take to earn that much if he just worked honestly and earned a salary?
"You're not thinking of moving to the inner city, are you?" Lin Shunhe saw through his son's thoughts at a glance. "To live in the inner city long-term, you not only need money, but also proof of identity, which is very troublesome."

"What kind of identification?"

"It's the Inner City Resident Certificate issued by the Inner City. You need to pass a certain assessment to prove that you are indeed of sufficient value to the Inner City before you can get it. Simply put, those who only have money but no ability are not allowed to settle down. However," Lin Shunhe paused, "there will always be loopholes in any system. I do have a way to spend more money to get the certificate."

"Someone like me shouldn't have to worry about failing the assessment, right?" Lin Hui asked hesitantly.

"It's hard to say. The problem now is that the issuance of inner city resident permits is not truly fair and open. Most of them are controlled by the subordinate forces of the three major powers. If you want to enter the city, unless you are a highly skilled talent that the inner city desperately needs, you still have to honestly pay more money." Lin Shunhe shook his head and said.

He glanced at his son, who seemed lost in thought.

"Why are you suddenly asking this? Have you struck it rich?"

"Haven't you gotten a little more arrogant because your strength has improved a bit?" Lin Hui said helplessly.

“You’re still at Qingfeng Temple, so even if you break through in strength, it won’t mean much anymore. If it were the old Qingfeng Temple, the top ten elites might have a chance to pass the assessment, but now martial artists from the outer city have come and swept through the martial arts industry. This news has spread everywhere, and the overall level of martial arts schools in the entire Tuyue Outer City has been artificially raised by a large margin. Now, even if the swordsmanship of Qingfeng Temple is practiced to a very high level, who can they beat? The market doesn’t recognize it anymore,” Lin Shunhe sighed.

"Indeed, the original brand effect has been completely destroyed," Lin Hui sighed.

What is a brand?

"It's nothing." Lin Hui pondered for a moment, "Then, Dad, if I can revive the reputation of Qingfeng Temple's martial arts, will that increase my chances of passing the ability assessment?"

“That’s possible. But given the general trend, what can you do on your own?” Lin Shunhe shook his head.

"Indeed," Lin Hui sighed.

Of course, he wouldn't tell his father what he really thought, even though he said those words.

If Song Zhanlong of the Black Dragon Gate was able to challenge the Qingfeng Temple and single-handedly destroy its business, why can't he?

With the Blood Seal in hand, and after learning the Qingfeng Sword, his evolved and perfected form should easily reach the strength of the Ming generation. Reaching the level of Baohe Daoren is only a matter of time.

How old is he now? Achieving his goal before he turns twenty is enough.

(End of this chapter)