Decaying World

Chapter 6 006 Joins the Second

Inside Qingfeng Temple.

The training ground behind the main hall.

A row of teenagers dressed in gray short-sleeved shirts stood in neat rows, holding short branches, waiting for the Taoist priest in front of them to teach them martial arts.

"I am Mingxiu, and I am also the Taoist priest who is specifically responsible for teaching you and others the basic sword techniques." The Taoist priest had a handsome face and a burly figure, giving off a strange contrast, like a scholar's head pressed against a bear.

He was dressed in a dark blue Taoist robe and carried a slender iron sword in his hand. The sword's blade was gleaming silver and looked quite expensive.

“Most of you come from poor families. You come here to pay for martial arts lessons so that you can run faster than others when you encounter danger. Everyone knows that the martial arts of Qingfeng Temple are number one in speed in the entire Xinyu Town! This is the premise for you to come here to learn martial arts.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the twenty-four teenagers before him. He paused slightly, especially when his eyes swept over the two newcomers in the corner.

One of them had a square face and a resolute gaze. The other had ordinary features and was unremarkable.

The person behind him is Lin Hui from the Lin family, who has been here for a week.

During this week, Lin Hui did not start practicing martial arts. Instead, under Hui Shen's arrangement, he did some basic physical training tasks, such as chopping wood, fetching water, and carrying heavy objects.

After a week, Lin Hui clearly felt that his physical strength had improved a lot. Although his arms and legs were still sore, at least his spirits were much better.

He had been staying in a dormitory-style room during this period. Hui Shen had originally planned to arrange a single room for him, but Lin Hui refused.

He doesn't intend to break away from the crowd and act eccentrically, as that would be too conspicuous.

At this moment, he looked around at the other people who had come to learn martial arts together.

"So many people our age are here to learn martial arts?" he asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course, who wouldn't want to learn to run fast? It doesn't cost much anyway," the determined-looking boy replied casually.

His name was Chen Zhishen, a name that unconsciously reminded Lin Hui of Lu Zhishen, although his personality was completely opposite to Lu Zhishen's.

This guy had an incredibly strong will. Because he shared a large dormitory room with Lin Hui, their mats were right next to each other, and they knew each other well. That's how Lin Hui knew that this guy would get up and start training every day before dawn, as soon as the fog lifted. He did everything: running, fetching water, chopping wood.

He also helped Lin Hui with a lot of work. Considering that the other party's family was not well-off, Lin Hui secretly shared one-third of his food with the other party. Anyway, he had money and food from his family, and his family was much better off than the other party's, so he didn't need this.

As they spent more time together, their relationship quickly warmed up.

"But don't be fooled by the large number of people here. Many of them only come once every few days to learn and then go back to practice on their own. After all, they still have to work and earn money. There are only about ten people like us who live here and practice all day."

"There must be three such large classes a day, with about twenty people each time, totaling seventy or eighty people, making a total of about ten people?" Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I’ve been here longer than you, so I can see clearly. There are only about ten people, maybe a dozen or so, but I’m not good at math, so I can’t count them,” Chen Zhishen replied in a low voice.

“Look at those three people standing in front.”

Lin Hui glanced at them and saw that although the three were dressed the same as those around them, their workmanship was noticeably better in the details.

The three individuals consisted of two men and one woman. Judging from their skin, facial features, and hair, it was clear that they came from well-off families.

"Those three are the best martial artists in the temple. The men are Senior Brother Chen Sui and Second Senior Brother Zhao Jiang'an. The woman is Senior Sister Mu Qiaozhi. They are all the eldest sons of top wealthy families in the surrounding towns."

"Chen Sui is a distant relative of a branch of the Chen family. You know how powerful the Chen family is. Zhao Jiang'an's Zhao family is the largest business in his Qimen Town. Senior Sister Mu Qiaozhi's family is in the medicinal herb business, and the supply of medicinal herbs for seven or eight surrounding towns depends entirely on her family."

Chen Zhishen may seem honest, but his ability to gather information far surpasses Lin Hui's.

"Then why would they come here to learn?" Lin Hui didn't finish his sentence.

Qingfeng Temple is, after all, just a place for learning external martial arts. Compared to the three major schools in the inner city, these people clearly have the ability to enter the three major schools. Why?
“Naturally, they were screened out.” Chen Zhishen shook his head. He lowered his voice. “I don’t know the specifics of the other two. I just heard that Senior Sister Mu Qiaozhi was disappointed because her aptitude was much lower and she didn’t want to just coast through life in the industry, so she decided to only learn survival skills and mainly run business for her family in the future.”

Lin Hui wanted to ask more questions, but at that moment, the Taoist Mingxiu jumped onto the wooden platform and looked down at everyone.

"Our Qingfeng Temple may not be good at fighting, but when it comes to self-defense, it's undeniable. Today, I'll teach you the temple's basic swordsmanship, which is also the prerequisite and foundation for learning the Lightness Technique. It's called: Seven-Section Swift Sword!"

"This sword technique mainly consists of seven moves. The moves require the coordinated training of all the muscles in the body. It is mainly used to temper the body and cannot be used in actual combat. Please remember this."

Next, Daoist Mingxiu began to explain and demonstrate the specifics of the Seven-Section Quick Sword.

The crowd listened intently, and Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen also focused their attention. After all, they had been training hard for a week, and they were eager to receive martial arts instruction, so naturally they didn't want to miss it.

"To achieve speed, sword techniques should primarily rely on footwork. Although you're holding a sword, your real focus should be on your feet. Powering your escape involves pushing off with the balls of your feet, tensing your calves, and simultaneously swinging your sword to increase your perceived danger. This will cause your pursuers to abandon you and choose other, easier prey."

Master Mingxiu explained in great detail, and Lin Hui listened with frequent nods.

But he didn't get to listen for long.

Suddenly, a familiar soft sound echoed in my mind.

hiss.

bloodstain!
The bloodstain moved again.

But this time it was completely different from before. A line of small characters suddenly appeared out of thin air below Lin Hui's field of vision.

'Seven-Section Swift Sword: A basic sword technique from Qingfeng Temple. Upon mastery, it grants the special effect of "Lightness of Movement." It can evolve into branch 2.'

'1—Nine-section swift sword.'

'2—Gentle Breeze Sword Technique.'

Both the Nine-Section Quick Sword and the Qingfeng Sword Technique are legitimate martial arts of the Qingfeng Temple, and Lin Hui had heard of them. He never expected that he could evolve them using only the Seven-Section Quick Sword.

'This blood seal is truly heaven-defying. But what use would it be if it evolved directly? Does it mean I can learn it immediately after evolution?'

Lin Hui shook his head inwardly.

Clicking on the evolution branch, sure enough, it again showed the required time in years.

But suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

'Wait, since the evolution time is too long, why don't I just try one with a shorter evolution time?'

'Previously, the items I tried to evolve required years, but based on observation, smaller items require less time to evolve. If I continue to subdivide them...'

Thinking about this, Lin Hui, who had been clueless for so long, finally grasped an idea.

At this moment, he stared intently at the Taoist Mingxiu on the stage, while trying to concentrate on imagining the first move of the Seven-Section Quick Sword - Climbing the Mountain and Gazing into the Distance.

Yes, that was exactly what he planned: to break down the sword techniques into individual moves, using the Blood Seal to evolve them. And sure enough, a minute later, it happened.

A new line of blood-red text appeared below his field of vision.

'Seven-Section Quick Sword Technique, First Move: Ascending to a High Place and Gazing Afar. This move is the foundation of the Seven-Section Quick Sword. With repeated practice and mastery, one can quickly master the third move, "Winding Pine Trees." Evolutionary Branch 1.'

Lin Hui quickly clicked on the numbers of the evolution branch.

'1—Climb to a high place and look out over the mountains.'

Without pausing, he continued to click on the "Climbing High and Gazing at the Mountain" video.

'Has it evolved to climb high and look out over mountains?'

'Required resources: One wooden sword, sixty days of stamina reserves.'

Time required: Sixty days.

It only took sixty days, but it really works!
Lin Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he seemed to have finally found the correct way to activate the Blood Seal's power.

'Has it evolved to climb high and look out over mountains?'

At this moment, Bloodstain's question reappeared.

'Yes! '

This time, Lin Hui did not hesitate at all and immediately chose yes.

hiss.

Instantly, the bloodstain on the back of his hand flashed red light and changed from a rhombus to a circle.

Everything then fell silent.

At that moment, Lin Hui suddenly felt a numbness all over his body, and felt his strength slightly diminish.

It wasn't much, but it was quite obvious that something had suddenly devoured a portion of my strength.

At this moment, Daoist Mingxiu on the stage had finished demonstrating all the sword moves and was gesturing for the others to come forward and ask questions.

After the questioning ended, he stepped down from the stage and began to quickly adjust the way his disciples held their swords, as well as their footwork, on a one-on-one basis.

After observing for a while and confirming that the blood seal's absorption of energy had no effect on him, Lin Hui focused intently on Mingxiu's instructions and adjusted his posture.

He can't rely solely on the blood seal; he still has to work hard for many things himself, otherwise...
After the sword techniques were taught, life quickly returned to its previous monotonous and repetitive routine.

Two weeks have passed since Lin Hui arrived at Qingfeng Temple.

He successfully learned the Seven-Section Fast Sword from Mingxiu, but he only grasped the basics and was completely unaware of many details.

Since everyone was practicing in the same place, he observed, evaluated, and compared the techniques himself, based on his understanding and memory of the sword moves.

There were more than sixty students in Qingfeng Temple, and he was considered to be below average.

It took him a week to memorize a set of seven quick sword techniques, but some students memorized them completely in just two days.

This is purely a difference in talent.

But that's okay. He's not particularly talented, so there's nothing to worry about. As long as he studies hard and practices diligently, he can always make up for the gap.

So Lin Hui started training with Chen Zhishen every day, increasing the amount of training he did.

but.
"Junior Brother Lin, how's your mastery of the Seven-Section Fast Sword technique coming along?"

As evening fell, Lin Hui was practicing on his own in a corner of the field when Hui Shen, who had been guiding him, appeared beside him, smiling as he watched Lin Hui practice diligently.

"I've barely managed to memorize it. My aptitude isn't very good, so I can only make up for it by practicing more," Lin Hui said helplessly, putting down the twigs and sticks in his hand.

"Don't rush it. Martial arts skills cannot be mastered overnight. Your father is Steward Lin, so he won't need to use these lightness skills often in the future," Hui Shen said with a smile.

"What you say is true, but I just want to master it myself so I can feel at ease." Lin Hui shook his head, stretched his joints, and walked up to the other person.

"What brings you here today, senior brother?"

"Your father sent you a message. He said the troublemaker outside the city has been caught. He told you not to worry," Hui Shen said.

"The ghost that broke in has been caught?" Lin Hui was taken aback.

"Well, according to the investigation report, there weren't actually any gate-breaking ghosts. They were actually bodyguards from two major clans in the inner city who were investigating the whereabouts of a valuable item and committed several atrocities. I said before, we're close to the fog-free zone, it's not that easy for gate-breaking ghosts to get in here." Hui Shen's smile faded.

"And what was the result?" Lin Hui breathed a sigh of relief and pressed for an answer.

"The result? What result?" Hui Shen was also stunned.

“Those two powerful families,” Lin Hui added.

“They were warned, and they're not allowed to continue like this. They even compensated the affected portals with some money,” Hui Shen replied.

"That's it?" Lin Hui was stunned.

"Yes. What else do you want?" Hui Shen looked at him strangely.

Lin Hui had originally thought that the two major clans would receive even harsher punishments, but...
"By the way, Uncle Mingde asked me to ask you, have you ever eaten Wanfu meat since you were a child?" Huishen continued to ask.

"Nothing happened?" Lin Hui thought carefully and confirmed that he hadn't eaten.

“Then don’t eat it anymore. Although it’s effective, it’s addictive,” Hui Shen said in a low voice.

"Addicted." Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, and eating too much will affect your brain, and you'll be thinking about sleeping with other women all the time. Just be careful." Hui Shen said, then looked around and quickly left.

Lin Hui was left alone, his heart pounding with fear at the content of these words.

Wanfu Meat, there is such a secret?

(End of this chapter)