Decaying World

Chapter 88 088 Sword Trial II

You should know that body tempering means being completely different from ordinary people.

Faster, stronger, and more powerful.

Even if Qingfeng Temple's martial arts primarily enhance speed, it will also slightly improve other attributes.

This has led to a series of changes.

Among the three lineages, four students from Qingfeng Temple have recently undergone body tempering and become formal disciples.

There was even an old man in his sixties who had previously attended a health regimen class, and he actually learned the perfect version of the Seven-Section Fast Sword and miraculously succeeded in tempering his body on the spot. It was simply a miracle.

"Chen Sui, Huang Shan, Qiu Yiren. You've all reached the limit of body tempering long ago, and now it's time for you to learn the Qingfeng Sword. Did your master teach you the complete set before?" Lin Hui asked.

"Yes, but the point of exertion is hard to grasp, and the body tempering process is slow. It's too difficult to generate internal energy," Chen Sui replied.

He seemed to have thought of something at that moment, his eyes brightened slightly as he looked at Lin Hui.

Lin Hui's talent as the abbot is among the best in the entire Qingfeng Temple. They have discussed it privately and even said that apart from the founding patriarch, Lin Hui is the strongest.

Based on the limited information circulated from the previous battle at the Hundred Flowers Sect, they unanimously agreed that Lin Hui had definitely broken through to the Inner Strength Realm. Otherwise, he couldn't have fought so fiercely against Xue Meng and so many Inner Strength experts from the Hundred Flowers Sect.

Lin Hui's purpose in bringing this up again now is self-evident.

On the other side, Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren's eyes also lit up.

I heard as soon as I got back that after Lin Hui took over as abbot, he perfected all three of the original martial arts of Qingfeng Sword.

Now they're preparing to hold a martial arts celebration.

Now that this matter is being brought up, perhaps it means they're finally planning to formally teach them their improved swordsmanship?

really.

Lin Hui stood up.

"Very well, the final step of internal energy cultivation is indeed very difficult, perhaps because your foundation is not stable. I will teach you the perfected Seven-Section Quick Sword and Nine-Section Quick Sword. After you have made up for your foundation, come to me to learn the perfect Qingfeng Sword."

"Remember, the better you build a foundation in these first two sword techniques, the faster you will develop internal strength through the Qingfeng Sword tempering. Don't be impatient for quick results; calm down and quietly experience the differences between them."

His internal energy had grown naturally and effortlessly, demonstrating that the perfect version of sword technique for tempering the body was far more helpful in breaking through to the internal energy realm than anyone could have imagined.

Now that the sect lacks an Inner Strength Realm expert to oversee things, he plans to cultivate his own Inner Strength Realm expert.

You can train them yourself, then recruit a few helpers from outside to form an alliance, and that should be enough.

It would be best to recruit those with idle internal energy realm skills. Otherwise, merging factions would be too troublesome and would attract the attention of the new martial arts alliance in the inner city.

"Also, has the news about the inner city allowing selectable individuals to participate in the inspirational training been publicized?" Lin Hui asked again.

"The word has already spread, and many surrounding families are very interested, sending people to inquire about the details." Wang Hongshi glanced enviously at Chen Sui and the others, suppressing his own desire to switch to cultivating the Qingfeng Sword, and answered respectfully.

"Let's recruit everyone first. After selection, they'll first enter Qingfeng Temple to assess their character. Once we've confirmed they're suitable, they'll be sent to the inner city. Recruitment slots are precious; we can't give them directly to outsiders. We must first select from our own people." Lin Hui pondered for a moment. "In this way, we'll establish a contribution system within the temple: one point for completing a regular task, two points for a medium-level task, and three points for a high-level task. The top three with the highest contribution scores will receive recruitment slots and enter the inner city for training."

"But wouldn't that mean only the strongest members of the sect can be selected, instead of those with good aptitude? Won't that affect their chances after entering the city?" Wang Hongshi asked doubtfully. "The other sects prioritize aptitude, and older members will likely have a very low chance of being successfully recruited."

"What use is it for me to train someone with such talent if they have no affiliation with Qingfeng Temple?" Lin Hui retorted. "If they are not our people, their talent is irrelevant to us."

“Understood.” Wang Hongshi nodded.

"Okay, in a bit you'll draft a contribution record plan for me. How to determine the difficulty of the task, who will record the contribution, these all need to be arranged separately. Some elderly people whose potential has been exhausted, but who have a strong sense of belonging to my Qingfeng Temple, can be selected," Lin Hui said.

"But Abbot, now that the three sects have merged, the people from before the Black Dragon Gate were just a temporary gathering. The Intent Blade Sect only has a few people, so they don't really have a sense of belonging. All the people from before the Qingfeng Temple have left. The older members with a strong sense of belonging are all standing here. You see, their contributions are extremely important. How to arrange, supervise, and record them is up to you, isn't it?"

Wang Hongshi looked troubled.

This is where the difficulty lies.

Lin Hui was also a bit stuck.

This matter involves the future development of the faction, and the investigation of the mission requires personal involvement, which takes a lot of time and energy. Recording also requires running around.

If we were to send Chen Sui and the other two, it would take up too much of their time and affect their cultivation.

Not worth the candle.

This requires a group of people who have a strong sense of belonging, plenty of time and energy, and are relatively fair to be in charge of the contribution level.

Suddenly, Xue Meng's old face flashed through Lin Hui's mind. This old man definitely had plenty of time, and his sense of belonging was fairly good. As long as he was alright, Xue Meng could retire comfortably, and the disciples could develop smoothly, then there shouldn't be any major problems.

Needless to say, his energy is exceptional. With his internal strength at the sixth level of perfection, he's a vigorous young man who could slap someone away with a single blow. He can wander around all day without worrying about getting sleepy.

'It's a pity, if only my master and the others were here,' he sighed softly.

After some discussion, Lin Hui personally stepped onto the stage and demonstrated the perfect versions of the seven-section fast sword and the nine-section fast sword techniques.

As afterimages flashed and disappeared, the sword technique he demonstrated was so fast that the entire hall was filled with howling winds and surging air currents.

Upon witnessing this scene, most of the former disciples of the Black Dragon Gate, including Wang Hongshi, had slight changes in expression and felt a sense of unease.

With the Black Dragon Sect Master dead, no one dares to say whether the Black Dragon Claw, having reached the Inner Force Realm, can withstand the Qingfeng Sword's Inner Force Realm attack.

After all, Lin Hui and Song Zhanlong had never fought, but Bao He Daoist had fought Song Zhanlong, and Bao He was ultimately seriously injured and died. Song Zhanlong was unharmed.

If Song Zhanlong were still alive, they naturally wouldn't hesitate, but now there's no one left to guide the Black Dragon Claw's inner strength realm.
After hesitating for a few minutes, Wang Hongshi's expression hardened. He carefully observed Lin Hui's swordsmanship demonstration and decided to switch to this style.

He was exceptionally talented and had a high level of comprehension. He was also Song Zhanlong's most valued disciple.

Now that I've switched to swordsmanship, once I'm determined, I've memorized all seven sections of the fast sword technique after only watching it three times.

With his already limit-reaching strength, he only needs to slightly enhance his speed through body tempering to get past this step, directly learn the Nine-Section Fast Sword for killing, and then undergo a second body tempering using the Qingfeng Sword.

At that time, even if the Black Dragon Claw's body tempering limit and the speed of the Qingfeng Sword are wasted some time, what he will gain will be terrifying strength multiplied.

Of course, this is on the premise that he can learn it in a short period of time. Otherwise, he will waste time and energy, and as he gets older, the possibility of breaking through his internal energy barrier will decrease. It would be a losing proposition.

Following Wang Hongshi's decision, the other former disciples of the Black Dragon Gate also made up their minds and began to carefully study swordsmanship.

Lin Hui saw this and felt gratified. He had always been very satisfied with Wang Hongshi.

This person is a true genius. Not only is his talent for cultivation extraordinary, but he is also very good at managing affairs within the sect, leaving the other party with no worries whatsoever.

Perhaps this is also related to Song Zhanlong's previous approach. Song Zhanlong was also a lone wolf and didn't know how to manage things, so these tasks and miscellaneous duties naturally fell on Wang Hongshi's shoulders.

After repeatedly instructing everyone in the main hall, Lin Hui confirmed that everyone had mastered the basic sword moves. Then, he took out the fundamental diagram and showed it to everyone so they could reflect on it.

This is to prepare for the upcoming Qingfeng Sword event.

After all, the essence of Qingfeng Sword is actually a combination and fusion of the previous two sword techniques.

While Lin Hui was practicing his own swordsmanship inside the sect, he was also teaching the others how to practice.

Fu'an Town.

In front of the Black Dragon Pharmacy.

A dusty wooden carriage slowly came to a stop in the open space next to the pharmacy.

On the side of the gray carriage were two large black characters: Qing Yi.

This represents the lineage of Qingfeng Guanyi Knife.

The remaining Black Dragon Gates are Qing Dynasty Dragon Gates, to distinguish them.

The carriage slid open, and three strong, powerful men carrying knives jumped out.

Following the three was an elderly man with gray hair and a sorrowful expression, who walked down with his hands behind his back.

The old man wore a white robe that was sleek and fitted, his hair was tied up with a snakeskin headband, and a thick black dagger hung at his waist. The scabbard was jet black and had a large character "意" (meaning "intention") engraved on the side.

"Is this the shop where the accident happened?" The old man was Xue Meng, who had come all the way from the Black Dragon Gate, no, the headquarters of Qingfeng Temple.

"Yes, Elder Xue." The pharmacy owner, who had been waiting for a long time, finally ran out from the corner. Even as he came out, he held up a book and covered his face with his sleeve, as if afraid of being watched by someone.

"I am Wang Sanfu, the owner of this pharmacy. I returned immediately upon receiving the news."

Xue Meng glanced at the deserted pharmacy.

The wooden door of the shop was broken open, as if someone had smashed a heavy object through the middle, leaving a large hole.

Judging from the edge of the cave entrance, it should be human-shaped.

In an instant, Xue Meng conjured up an image in his mind of a person being heavily struck and sent flying backwards, crashing through a door panel.

Ignoring the shopkeeper, he went through the hole by himself.

Inside is a counter shaped like the Chinese character "回" (hui).

On the brown wooden counter, there are still cracks in the wood, broken by the palm of a hand.

The battle appears to be intense.

"Huang Haiyin was not defeated in one go. He fought this person for at least dozens of moves before finally being defeated. He was first struck in the chest with a palm strike, and then lost the ability to resist before his limbs were crushed."

Xue Meng carefully examined the traces and quickly came to a conclusion.

"Master, what should we do now? How can we find this group of people?" one of his disciples asked in a low voice.

“Now that we’re here, they’ll show up soon. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have deliberately provoked us by only injuring us and sending us to headquarters,” Xue Meng said.

"So we'll wait here?"

"Get a stool and go outside to wait. They'll come eventually," Xue Meng said calmly.

The four of them quickly found three stools and a chair, and placed them outside the pharmacy.

We gave the chair to the master, and the three of us sat on stools as a sign of respect.

Then wait quietly.

As the snow fell, a thin layer of white covered the group of people in no time.

(End of this chapter)