Decaying World-Chapter 22

This was not a boring way to pass the time. In the split second before his finger flicked out, Lin Hui instantly activated the Lightness effect. Then, the moment his finger extended, he deactivated it.
This was his practice, his test. Since Lightness consumed a significant amount of physical stamina, why not chop it up into many instantaneous micro-bursts?
Use it only when needed, for a split second—just enough to be effective at the critical moment.
This was Lin Hui's theory. And this was exactly what he had been doing, achieving tangible results over these past few days.
According to his detailed testing, if he kept the Lightness effect continuously active, it would last about one
shichen
before his stamina was completely exhausted. And this was assuming he wasn't engaging in full-force sword combat.
If he were fighting with all his might, the stamina consumption would be far greater—the duration would likely be cut in half, if not more.
However, using his modified method of control, Lin Hui pushed his limits and managed to fragment the Lightness effect into countless tiny segments. Each segment could last between half a second to one second. This was the maximum duration needed for a single move.
As long as he rested for three seconds after each segment, his stamina would recover rapidly, allowing him to cycle the process indefinitely.
Theoretically, with proper spacing, he could use the Lightness effect infinitely. This meant he could maintain a burst speed in movement and swordplay comparable to the Eldest Senior Brother, continuously and intermittently.
Of course, in actual combat, no enemy would let him hit once and then rest for three seconds. So, practical application still required specific testing.
Ultimately, Lin Hui felt that a battle wouldn't drag on for too long, regardless. Even if matched evenly, it would end in ten minutes or so at most.
And for a duration of ten-plus minutes, the Lightness effect could absolutely support him from start to finish.
….
The next morning, as expected, the Eldest Senior Brother did not show up. The four of them formed teams at the rest point's tea shed and headed toward their respective patrol streets.
The morning sky was not yet bright. The mist had just dispersed, and even the vegetable farmers from the surrounding areas hadn't arrived yet. The streets were deserted and cold.
Chen Chong took the lead, yawning as he walked. The wind blowing off him carried the distinct scent of cosmetic powder—clearly, he had gone off somewhere to fool around again last night.
He had nothing to say to Lin Hui, merely scanning the passing shops left and right.
"Senior Brother Chen, why don't we split up? It saves you the trouble of looking at me and getting annoyed, and I won't feel uncomfortable either. It's better for both of us." Lin Hui approached with a gentle expression and proposed.
"Heh... fine. I wanted to wander alone anyway; you're just in the way." Chen Chong glanced at him and spoke with sarcastic intonation.
"Then let's separate here." Lin Hui pointed to the fork in the road ahead.
"Good."
The two spoke no more. After walking a short distance, they naturally parted ways at the fork.
After separating, Lin Hui continued to study the mechanics of Lightness.
He bought a meat-stuffed flatbread from a roadside breakfast stall, eating and thinking as he walked.
'Before activating Lightness, my body perception is normal, and weight tests show no change. But once activated, my weight drops by a small half. This isn't a sensory illusion, but a tangible reduction in mass.'
‘At the same time, movement speed, attack speed, and even dynamic visual acuity are all enhanced. According to my tests, the overall acceleration is about sixty percent above the baseline. However, because these aspects overlap and amplify one another, a full burst results in an increase of more than double.’
Movement speed combined with sword speed—when both are amplified and stacked for a burst, the result isn't just a simple sum.
'So how exactly does this sudden weight reduction work?'
Lin Hui pondered.
He activated Lightness again, feeling it carefully.
The sensation was wondrous, as if the flesh and bone composing his body had suddenly become hollow, temporarily replaced by some material far lighter.
'It's not the removal of matter. It's more like the augmentation of a force field. Like an external force helping to lift some of my body weight.'
He carefully sensed the subtle differences.
Just as he was deep in thought—
Suddenly, a scream rang out from a nearby block, cutting through the air.
His brow furrowed. He turned sharply and hurried toward the source of the sound. In less than a minute, he arrived at the location.
It was a relatively remote, small house. The building was gray-black, its outer walls stained with soot. A simple bamboo fence circled the perimeter to form a small courtyard.
The bamboo gate of the courtyard was open. The door to the small house inside was half-ajar. A back view that looked somewhat familiar to Lin Hui was inside, pinning down a fair-skinned, large-chested woman, tearing at her dress.
The woman struggled violently, but her strength was far inferior to the person pinning her down. She could only weep and scream.
"Senior Brother Chen." Lin Hui didn't consider himself a saint. If he hadn't seen it, fine. But now that he had witnessed it, he couldn't just watch and do nothing.
"Isn't this going a bit too far?"
Hearing the voice, Chen Chong looked back over his shoulder.
"Didn't Junior Brother Lin say we should split up? What? You fancy this girl, too? How about I let you have a go after I'm done?"
A strange grin hung on his face, but his eyes revealed a clear threat.
Lin Hui was silent.
He came from a respectable background. In this life, he was born into a notable clan—his father was successful, and they served under a Noble Patron. When he was young, others called him "Young Master."
Until now, he had only ever heard about the hardships faced by those at the very bottom of society; he had never truly experienced them himself. But now...
No wonder so many families couldn't survive and actively applied to eat the Myriad Blessings Meat. Looking at Chen Chong's unscrupulous expression, he suddenly understood somewhat.
"Senior Brother Chen." Lin Hui walked closer slowly. "Can you give me some face? Don't cause trouble while you're patrolling with me."
"Face?"
Chen Chong's movements paused. He stood up slowly and turned to face Lin Hui.
"Lin Hui... I've been annoyed with you for a fucking long time!!"
His hand unconsciously gripped his sword hilt.
"Did I give you face with the Chen Zhishen matter back then? I fucking retreated the moment I saw you come out! And you? Have you ever given me any face? Who the fuck do you think you are!? The Holy Son of Shayue?! Everyone has to give you face again and again!"
His 'good deed' interrupted, the blood rushing to his nether regions surged straight to his head, and he exploded instantly.
"Senior Brother Chen." Lin Hui gripped his own sword hilt. "Have you thought about this? You patrol with others, and nothing happens, but the moment you patrol with me, you cause trouble. How am I supposed to handle myself when I get questioned later?"
"I don't care how you handle yourself! Surname Lin, I'm counting to three. If you don't scram, don't blame me for being impolite!" Chen Chong drew his sword an inch, revealing a glint of steel, his voice hateful.
"Senior Brother, we're all out here to work. Can't we be harmonious—good for you, good for me, good for everyone?" Lin Hui sighed. "Why force things until everyone looks bad?"
"Are you scrambling or not!?" Chen Chong drew his sword abruptly, charging toward him with large strides.
"A piece of trash who hasn't even fully learned the Nine-Section Swift Sword dares to meddle in others' business! Today I'll fucking show you what it means to court death!!"
"Senior Brother, you're too irritable." Lin Hui calmed down.
"Irritable your mother!!" Chen Chong exploded completely.
Chi.
His sword blade turned into a gray line, slashing suddenly toward Lin Hui's waist.
This burst of speed was extremely fast—it was unmistakably the Nine-Section Swift Sword, which prioritized explosive power.
Clang.
Lin Hui also drew his sword to block. He intercepted the opponent's blade with precision.
The two fought speed with speed. Although Lin Hui's movements were slightly slower, he actually managed to keep up with Chen Chong's pace.
Although he still had only the speed of a Rank 2 Body Tempering, Lin Hui’s timing, force, and technique were on a completely different level compared to his earlier sparring matches—it was as if he had become a new person.
With his noticeably sharper movement and sword speed, he managed to hold Chen Chong at bay, stopping him from seizing the advantage.
This shook Chen Chong to his core. He hadn't expected this situation at all.
He felt that the same sword move, when used by him versus used by Lin Hui, produced two completely different effects.
"Senior Brother, that's enough. You're clearly not yourself right now—you can't keep up with me at all. Wine and women have weakened you; you’re barely managing half your usual strength," Lin Hui said, sighing as he fought.
Really?
Has my body really been hollowed out by wine and lust?
Hearing these words, Chen Chong unconsciously believed the explanation. How else could one explain that he, a veteran Front Courtyard disciple who had cultivated for years, couldn't even take down a newly promoted disciple?
Just then, a speck of silver light suddenly flashed in Chen Chong's eyes. The sword light he had just seen in front of him instantly appeared at his right side, in his blind spot.
This change happened too fast—so fast he couldn't react at all.
Pu.
A soft sound. The blade stabbed steadily into Chen Chong's waist, carving a not-shallow bloody gash.
"Senior Brother, look, your eyes are blurring again. You've become so weak that you can't even see my sword shadow clearly. If this goes on, perhaps you won't even be able to defeat the students in the rear courtyard," Lin Hui sighed.
Chen Chong fell backward, landing on his buttocks on the ground, covered in cold sweat. He was terrified into speechlessness by that sword strike.
Am I... really seeing things to this extent?
The sword light was clearly in front just now, then suddenly it blurred to the side...
Chills rose in Chen Chong's heart. He knew very well that Lin Hui was just a newly promoted Junior Brother—an ordinary student who had practiced the Seven-Section Swift Sword for little more than a year.
He shouldn’t have been capable of such instantaneous positional shifts. That kind of speed—only the Eldest Senior Brother, when going all out, might barely achieve it.
Lin Hui, an ordinary disciple, absolutely couldn't do it.
Eliminating other options, the only possibility left was... he really was seeing things...
Has the influence of wine and lust really reached this terrible state?
Being wounded was a minor matter for Chen Chong. He knew Lin Hui was a stickler for rules and wouldn't actually do anything to him—just as he hadn't dared to do anything to Chen Zhishen back then.
What truly chilled his heart was the blurry vision and the degradation of his sword speed.
Have I really become this weak?
Chen Chong's originally burning lust was instantly doused as if by a bucket of ice water, extinguished almost completely.
"I... I...!" His lips trembled, but he couldn't speak a word.
"Senior Brother, I just couldn't watch you keep going down this path. You shouldn't keep making the same mistakes. Wine and lust will only rot you from the inside out," Lin Hui said earnestly.
Chen Chong was now basically convinced that he was severely weakened. He didn't even dare to reply. Terrified and sweating profusely, he scrambled up, clutched his kidney, and ran out, stumbling.
He had to find a doctor immediately!
Left behind were Lin Hui and the woman with her clothes half-open. Lin Hui didn't look at the woman. He simply waved his hand, signaling her to close the door, then turned and walked away slowly.
As to whether Chen Chong would be convinced he was weak, Lin Hui felt the probability was high.
Because that sword cut was a bit deep. The amount of blood flowing now was definitely enough to make Chen Chong feel very 'weak.'
As for the blurry vision and such, that was naturally caused by his momentary activation of the Lightness effect.
Combined with his usual honest demeanor, he successfully deceived Chen Chong's simple, rotting brain.
Walking out of the courtyard, Lin Hui didn't continue patrolling. Instead, he returned to the rest point, waiting quietly for the others to return.
He had to coordinate stories with someone first.
While waiting, he carefully recalled the brief exchange just now.
From start to finish, Chen Chong's rhythm had been under his control.
When he was Rank 1, adding the Lightness effect allowed him to match the burst speed of the Eldest Senior Brother and his peers. Now that he was Rank 2, the special effect made him feel that his own burst speed had fully surpassed their limits.
In other words, his only weakness now was swordsmanship.
He still wasn’t familiar enough with the Nine-Section Swift Sword, and he hadn't yet learned the Clear Wind Sword Technique. Both were sets where increased speed multiplied their power—sword arts that could truly unleash the fullest potential of speed.
Lin Hui had given this some thought. Based on his observations, the Lightness effect was a unique secret technique—one that no one else possessed. The problem was that he couldn't disclose its origin, making it inconvenient to reveal to outsiders for now.
Whenever he used it, he had to be careful not to let others see through him. Once his swordsmanship became formidable, he could simply claim to have developed a secret technique himself; then, he could use it openly with a clear conscience.