Decaying World

Chapter 40 040 Measurement Four

Because of the fog that shrouds the night, most of the houses here have left a lot of space inside. For example, the dining hall at this time is at least 200 square meters in size, which is extremely spacious.

Mingde stood in an open space, his right hand hanging naturally with his fingertips pointing to the ground.

"See it clearly. The first move of the Qingfeng Sword—Wind Direction Without Form!"

brush!
His right hand suddenly emitted a complex array of afterimages, which slowly merged together like flower buds.

The next instant, the flower bud suddenly bloomed, and a faint white sword light pierced out from the center.

Although it was clearly a finger, the sword light he thrust out at this moment was just like a real longsword, striking the ground in an instant.

puff!
A black hole of unknown depth appeared in the ground.

Mingde then slowly withdrew his hand.

"Now watch the second move, 'One-Handed Cloud Sweep'!"

He casually waved his right hand to the side, and layers of afterimages reappeared. In the next instant, all the afterimages suddenly merged and then exploded.

This time, however, no sword light was seen; only an invisible wind blew in all directions.

The next moment, Lin Hui suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He quickly turned to the side and saw that Mingde had appeared on his right side at some point, his fingers like swords, pointing directly at his neck.

Mingde, who had just been standing in front, turned into a blur and slowly disappeared.

The third move

Mingde unleashed one move after another, without holding back in the slightest, thoroughly demonstrating the Qingfeng Sword Technique.

Until the final killing move—the Three Points of Wind—a total of eighty-one moves, all were finished.

"Did you see everything clearly?"

"I see it clearly! But this disciple is foolish and does not know how to unleash such a move?" Lin Hui said in a deep voice.

Overall, he realized the power of the Qingfeng Sword. This sword technique is all about one word: sudden and unexpected.

Its distinctive feature is that it attacks people unexpectedly, then stabs them in vital areas, and kills them instantly.

This swordsmanship emphasizes unpredictability and danger, but it is like encountering a nemesis when it encounters a straightforward and impeccable fighting style.

Impeccable, and even the sword couldn't break through his defenses. In the end, even at the same level, Baohe Daoist was defeated by Song Zhanlong in just a few moves.

This isn't a difference in skill level, but a difference in tactics. Taking risky paths will naturally expose greater weaknesses. Once those risky paths are blocked and your weaknesses are too great, the final result will be a swift defeat.

However, this kind of martial art also has its advantages.

That's the first kill; if the opponent can't react in time, it's a swift victory.

"To unleash your power, you must maintain your inner state, your mental state—this is the essence of the technique. The technique of the Clear Wind Sword requires you to maintain a state as clear as a mirror on a lake, clearly weaving and compressing your sword moves, and then seizing the opportunity to unleash them in an instant!"

Mingde explained, while reaching into his inner shirt pocket and pulling out a small black scroll.

"This is a visualization diagram of our sect's mental cultivation method, used to help disciples experience the state of mind within it. You must remember that if the mind is chaotic, the hands will be chaotic. The mind is the foundation of everything. Keep the mind still, and the swordsmanship will naturally be orderly."

Lin Hui took the scroll and slowly unfurled it. On it was a picture of mountains and rivers under the bright moon. The crescent-shaped moon hung high in the sky, releasing silver moonlight that fell like silk threads across the mountains.

A sense of tranquility and relaxation welled up inside me.

Lin Hui carefully experienced this feeling, and slowly, he seemed to vaguely discover that the feeling of continuously executing sword moves when he practiced the Seven-Section Fast Sword was actually very similar to the artistic conception of this visualization.

As he watched, images of the seven-section fast sword techniques inexplicably surfaced in his mind.

“Alright, now it’s your turn to use the Nine-Section Swift Sword and attack me with all your might. I’ll test your current swordsmanship.” Mingde clapped his hands, interrupting Lin Hui’s train of thought.

"Yes."

Lin Hui straightened his body, gripped the sword in his right hand, and closed his eyes.

"Nine-section Swift Sword, this disciple has already reached the seventh level of Body Tempering. Please enlighten me, Master."

"Go ahead and use it." Mingde smiled. His progress to the seventh rank of body tempering was indeed more genius-like than Huang Shan and the others.

Huang Shanqiu's genius lies in her mastery of swordsmanship, while Lin Hui's genius lies in body tempering.

Both have their own merits.

However, it must be said that Lin Hui's talent is more likely to be misjudged, since he is a late bloomer who accumulates knowledge and skills before making a breakthrough, and he will not show any special talent at the beginning.

Mingde's mind raced as he stared at Lin Hui, who was two meters in front of him, waiting for the other to draw his sword.

bite.
Just then, his expression shifted, and he seemed to hear a soft, bell-like sound.

It resembled a silver wind chime hanging under the window, swaying in the wind and gently colliding.

"Nine-Section Swift Sword." Lin Hui's voice came with a soft sound. "Phantom Golden Autumn"

The autumn wind howled, the wind chimes jingled, and in an instant, illusory figures appeared in Mingde's eyes.

That was Lin Hui's figure.

They are connected in a straight line, forming a continuous phantom image of drawing the sword, raising it, and then striking it.

laugh! !

All the phantoms instantly merged into a human figure, which appeared behind Mingde and slowly turned around.

The sword blade pierced Mingde's back silently.

puff! !

The blade pierced a thin layer of white light, leaving a small dent, before finally coming to a standstill.

".!!!" Mingde's smile had already frozen.

He raised his right hand slightly, making a sword shape, but until the very end, he didn't make a move. He simply watched Lin Hui's moves in silence.

In the end, he chose to use his internal energy to withstand the sword strike. His purpose was to witness the entire process of this move without missing a single detail.

He was lost in thought. Yes.

He lost focus the moment Lin Hui drew his sword.

He never imagined that the sword techniques of the Nine-Section Quick Sword could reach such a flawless level.

That sword light was flawless, without any additions or subtractions, as if it were the most correct and perfect trajectory in the world, drawing people's attention involuntarily.

After just one glance, Mingde realized that he had been practicing the Nine-Section Fast Sword incorrectly.

Not only was it wrong, it was terribly wrong!

If Lin Hui were to practice like this, the power of the Nine-Section Quick Sword would increase by at least half!
"How did you train?"

After a long while, Mingde asked in a hoarse voice.

"I have been practicing as instructed by my teacher. Is there any problem?" Lin Hui replied, sheathing his sword.

Of course, he couldn't possibly mention the existence of the bloodstains.

To be honest, this was the first time he had used the perfect version of the Nine-Section Fast Sword in a sparring match, and he didn't expect his teacher to react so strongly.

At this moment, I felt somewhat uneasy.

"Very good, very well done!" Mingde said forcefully, a smile returning to his face.

But that smile quickly turned into a stiff one.

He so wished that a genius like Lin Hui had appeared ten years ago. If he had grown up then, he might have been able to stop Song Zhanlong.

Unfortunately, it's too late now.
"You, demonstrate the entire Nine-Section Quick Sword technique for me," Mingde said again, suppressing the shock in his heart.

"Yes!" Lin Hui nodded, raised his hand again, and drew his sword.

The sound of the sword blade piercing the air, like a wind chime, rang out again.

The seven afterimages of the seventh-grade Body Tempering expert flashed continuously, unleashing a brand-new, perfect version of the Nine-Section Quick Sword time and time again.

After a long while, Mingde readjusted his Nine-Section Quick Sword after Lin Hui's demonstration. He felt that his attack speed had increased significantly. Although it did not have the same perfect, almost illusory, attraction as Lin Hui, it had indeed improved his own strength.

It should be noted that the Nine-Section Quick Sword is a simplified version of the Qingfeng Sword Technique. Now that it has been upgraded, it has also greatly enhanced the Qingfeng Sword Technique.

That night, Mingde didn't rest at all, but instead kept adjusting his swordsmanship, integrating the new, perfect version of the Nine-Section Fast Sword into himself.

To his slight disappointment, no matter how hard he tried, his Nine-Section Quick Sword technique was far inferior to Lin Hui's.

He could never replicate that swordsmanship, which was so perfect it was almost bewitching and hypnotic, no matter how many times he tried.

Fortunately, although he couldn't imitate it, even if the effect was slightly inferior, it still made Mingde feel that his swordsmanship had improved by at least several percent.

Unlike Mingde, who stayed up all night racking his brains, Lin Hui demonstrated the scene a few times before going to rest in the side room arranged by his teacher.

He wasn't just resting; he was also making adjustments for the next stage of the Blood Seal's evolution.

Blood Seal's next target had already been arranged: the Qingfeng Sword Technique, which she had just learned.

Having mastered both the Seven-Section Quick Sword and the Nine-Section Quick Sword to perfection, the next ultimate technique, the Gentle Breeze Swordplay, is naturally not to be missed.

This time, however, Lin Hui did not evolve the whole set together, but planned to evolve it piece by piece.

He lay supine in the dimly lit bedroom, on a hard porcelain pillow, his eyes closed, quietly gazing at the red characters below his line of sight.

'Qingfeng Swordplay: The primary swordplay of Qingfeng Temple, focusing on speed and illusion. The swordplay is unpredictable and dangerous, consisting of eighty-one moves. It was continuously refined by multiple generations of Qingfeng Temple masters and can evolve into three branches.'

'Huh? There are actually three evolutionary branches?' Lin Hui was stunned, surprised.

It should be noted that the Qingfeng Sword Technique is already the highest sword technique of the Qingfeng Temple, but now, the Blood Seal has actually given three more evolutionary branches, which is strange.

This reminded him of the inexplicable evolutionary branches that would appear whenever he grabbed something randomly.

For example, the chicken legs back then.

'Could it be that things are like the chicken leg incident back then?'

A sense of anticipation inexplicably rose in Lin Hui's heart. He quickly focused his attention and clicked on the evolution branch column.

laugh.

The blood-red lettering was blurry, then clear again.

Currently available evolutionary branches: 1. Perfect version of Qingfeng Swordplay. 2. Purgatory Breath version of Qingfeng Swordplay. 3. Extreme Cold Whisper version of Qingfeng Swordplay.

'I knew it, just like the chicken leg incident, it still brings up purgatory and extreme cold.' Looking at the three newly appeared branches, Lin Hui fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he separately extracted the first move, Wind Direction Without Form, and used it to evolve the Blood Seal.

This time, the Blood Seal only gave an evolved version of the move, changing from "Wind Direction Without Form" to "Wind Direction Without Boundaries".

'Only by evolving the whole set together can we access other branches?' Lin Hui frowned, this conflicted with his previous plan.

Looking at the complete evolution of the side quests, even a fool would know that the other two, Breath of Purgatory and Whisper of Extreme Cold, are absolutely incredibly powerful, after all, they are comparable to the perfect version of the Qingfeng Sword Technique.

Just look at the perfect version of the Seven-Section Quick Sword. Its body tempering speed is astonishingly fast, allowing someone with ordinary talent to disguise themselves as a genius.

'It's time to make a choice.'

Looking at the three choices that appeared with the bloodstain, Lin Hui hesitated.

　Recommend a new book

　　"Martial Lord of Troubled Times"

　　In the third year of the Republic of China, the political situation collapsed. The Southern government was newly established, while the Northern warlords fought each other in a chaotic struggle. Western ironclad warships knocked on the gates, and the ghosts of the previous dynasty lingered.

　　This is an era where firearms clash with physical strength, and rebel factions dance with evil spirits—beneath the undercurrents of revolution, cults flourish, and weapons, demons, strange beasts, and armored iron bodies abound…

　　
　
(End of this chapter)