Decaying World-Chapter 31

The snow fell harder and harder.
Inside Mingde’s quarters, Perfected Mingde was absent. Only his daughter, Weiwei, and his three other disciples were gathered together.
The four sat in silence. No one had expected such a sudden turn of events.
"What should we do now?" Wang Yun frowned deeply, asking in a low voice.
"Let’s wait for Master to return," Deng Mingchao answered softly. "For a matter this grave, we still need to see how the Temple Master is doing."
"If the Temple Master..." Wang Yun didn’t finish her sentence, but everyone knew what she meant.
"..." Lin Hui remained silent, merely walking to a corner to close his eyes and rest his spirit.
Such momentous events were not for them to decide. As disciples, the only thing they could do was wait.
Soon, more than half an hour had passed. Outside, the sky grew dark.
Daoist Mingde’s figure finally appeared outside the house. His face was exhausted, his Daoist robes stained with speckles of blood in places, and his expression seemed faintly distracted.
Entering the courtyard, Mingde kicked aside two old hens that scurried near his feet and pushed the door open to enter.
"The Temple Master is critical; he won’t be waking up anytime soon. From now on, the temple’s affairs will be managed jointly by the three of us. But my opinion diverges greatly from theirs..."
"So what’s the situation now, Dad?" Weiwei asked bluntly.
"Talks collapsed. We had a quarrel. Everyone has their own ideas, so we’re just going to do our own things," Mingde shook his head, speaking helplessly.
"What do you mean? The Temple Master just fell into a coma, and you’re already splitting up?" Weiwei was shocked. Wasn't this too fast?
It wasn't just her; the expressions of the other three changed slightly. With such speed, this so-called "splitting up" had likely been premeditated.
Otherwise, the other two wouldn't have made their decisions so quickly.
"I misjudged Mingxiu and Mingchen—those ungrateful wretches!" Mingde gritted his teeth and slapped the wall, leaving a deep palm print.
"Then Master, what about us..." Wang Yun asked aloud.
"We watch and wait. We continue with our previous rhythm—responding to ten thousand changes with constancy," Mingde said in a deep voice.
With the Temple Master gravely injured and comatose, the many troubles he had blocked before would seize this opportunity to come knocking.
Thus, what followed might be the Clear Wind Temple’s most dangerous period. Fortunately, almost all the martial hall forces in the entire Outer City had been picked off; everyone was standing on the same starting line. No one was better off than anyone else.
After confirming their future response, the group saw that it was getting late and had no choice but to disperse.
In the days that followed, Lin Hui continued his bitter practice of the Nine-Section Swift Sword, step by step. He constantly sought guidance from Mingde and occasionally sparred with his fellow disciples.
His proficiency grew faster and faster.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed.
Ever since Daoist Baohe was heavily injured, news spread among the major martial halls and External Style forces of the Outer City that their main combat power had been devastated by experts from the Xingdao District.
Immediately following this, new martial halls in the Xingdao style sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain in every town.
They not only crushed the masters of the original martial halls but also snatched various cooperative projects away from them, seizing high profits from the government.
This further deteriorated the survival soil of the local martial halls and dug away at their foundations.
As for the Clear Wind Temple, after some disciples learned that the challenger, Song Zhanlong, had also opened a martial sect called the Black Dragon Gate, a portion of the newly joined disciples began to quietly withdraw, transferring to the Black Dragon Gate.
Time passed day by day.
More and more disciples left Clear Wind Temple. Many had come originally to concurrently study the Clear Wind Temple’s movement techniques to improve their speed. Now, realizing that the stronger Song Zhanlong completely countered the movement techniques here, they lost the intent to continue training.
After all, even the strongest, Daoist Baohe, wasn't an enemy Song Zhanlong needed more than a few exchanges to defeat. This meant the development prospects of Clear Wind Temple’s martial arts were far inferior to the Black Dragon Gate.
Everyone practiced martial arts to become stronger. Now that they couldn't see hope, the loss of disciples began to accelerate.
In just over a month, a full third of the disciples had drained away, transferring to the martial sects founded by the martial artists from the Xingdao District.
Lin Hui’s heart wavered slightly as well, but Daoist Mingde had treated him impeccably. Even if he wavered, he had no intention of defecting elsewhere.
Regarding martial arts, he wasn't worried about future development. After all, his initial goal wasn't to be stronger, but to be faster. Otherwise, he could have gone directly to the Flying Cloud Hall.
….
March.
Clear Wind Temple was sparsely populated, the grounds desolate and cold.
Lin Hui followed Daoist Mingde, walking quietly along the edge of the Front Courtyard drill grounds. Stepping on the slightly thick accumulated snow, both remained silent.
"Zhao Jiang'an and Mu Qiaozhi have left," Mingde finally spoke after a long silence, his voice rasping. "They transferred to the Black Dragon Gate and took Song Zhanlong as their master."
"Master need not worry about this disciple. No matter what, this disciple will not betray trust and righteousness," Lin Hui guaranteed sincerely.
"No need for that. Don't let gratitude affect your future. If this place really goes under, you should choose the best option for yourself and transfer to another sect. There's no need to hang yourself on a single tree; you are still young," Mingde sighed.
"Disciple understands," Lin Hui responded, though he had not the slightest thought of transferring in his heart.
"Sigh... You have basically mastered the Nine-Section Swift Sword by now, right?" Mingde asked.
He stopped and turned to look at Lin Hui.
"Yes," Lin Hui nodded respectfully.
"It’s about time. I called you out today because I plan to take you on a true 'Mist Hunting, '" Mingde said. "Of the three under my tutelage, the others have each been taken by me for a solo Mist Hunt once. We live surrounded by mist; naturally, we cannot separate ourselves from it."
"How did Senior Sister Wang, Senior Brother Deng, and Sister Weiwei perform?" Lin Hui asked curiously.
"Weiwei was so scared she went home and had nightmares for a week. Wang Yun and Deng Mingchao performed adequately; they tangled with two ordinary Mist Beasts for a long time. Although they didn't succeed in killing them, it counts as acceptable."
Mingde paused. "The purpose of taking you on a solo hunt is mainly to familiarize you with the procedures and precautions for entering and exiting the mist. In the future, when you are forced to enter or exit the mist zone, your safety can be maximized."
"Disciple understands," Lin Hui nodded.
The two walked more than halfway around the Daoist temple, arrived at the rear, passed through a small grove, and followed a path inward.
Before long, they arrived at the boundary line of the mist zone.
Mingde gripped his longsword. The silver blade was gently drawn, pointing obliquely at the ground.
"Mist Beasts in the mist zone are divided into five grades: Harmless, Intrusive, Dangerous, High-Threat, and Destructive."
"Judging by the names, they seem easy to judge," Lin Hui mused.
"Yes. Most of what we encounter on the edge of the mist zone are actually Harmless level. They look physically massive, but they can only threaten ordinary people. To us, they are completely harmless."
Standing before the gray wall formed by the mist, Mingde slowly took out a piece of amber-colored Tranquil Incense. He used a fire starter to gently ignite a corner of the incense.
Then, holding the Tranquil Incense in one hand and his sword in the other, he slowly walked into the mist zone.
"Keep up."
Hearing this, Lin Hui hurried to follow closely.
He looked around curiously. The moment the Tranquil Incense touched the mist, it magically propped open a spherical space more than ten meters in diameter.
Inside this space, all the mist was forcefully squeezed out by an invisible force.
It was as if the two of them were inside a transparent sphere, rolling forward step by step.
Beneath their feet was rugged black soil where not a blade of grass grew.
In the surrounding mist, towering black shadows, at least three meters high, flashed past continuously.
Whoosh.
A humanoid black shadow swept over Lin Hui's head, making his hair stand on end. He couldn't help but stop.
"Don't worry. It's just a Harmless-level half-giant," Mingde said calmly from the front.
"Yes."
Lin Hui nodded.
The two continued forward for a short while. Finally, a not-too-large wooden hut appeared in front of Mingde.
The hut was entirely gray-black, surrounded by a ring of small white bramble fencing.
Mingde approached, opened the fence, and walked in familiarly.
"This is a temporary rest point I established in the mist zone. When you are tired from hunting and training, you can come here to replenish temporary supplies, rest, and catch your breath. Inside hangs a jade talisman sought from the Rain Palace; generally, Intrusive-level monsters and below dare not approach."
"Understood," Lin Hui nodded.
"Next, find a Mist Beast to practice on." Mingde led Lin Hui inside, circled once, then walked out again to begin the formal training.
"Go. I'll wait for you here. Within fifteen minutes, find a Mist Beast, attempt to hunt it, and bring back a part of its body tissue. That will count as passing the training." Mingde handed the Tranquil Incense to Lin Hui, while he pushed the door and entered the hut.
"I will wait for you here."
"...Yes." Lin Hui fell silent. He watched his mentor enter the door and lock it, then stand at the window waving to him.
He steadied his mind, looked at the Tranquil Incense in his hand, and carefully tucked it into his waist pouch.
This Tranquil Incense was very magical. Once ignited, there was no open flame, yet it continuously emitted white smoke.
After confirming that the effect of the Tranquil Incense was unaffected, Lin Hui drew the Clear River (Qinghe) Sword. He planted the scabbard into the soil inside the hut's fence, then focused his mind and walked slowly toward the mist zone outside.
The gray, hazy mist seemed to represent the unknown of everything. It quickly enveloped and submerged him from all sides.
Lin Hui glanced at the Blood Seal information prompt at the bottom of his vision.
[Nine-Section Swift Sword: Evolution Remaining Time — May 19th.]
More than three months had passed. The total evolution time of nine months seemed not to have decreased by a single day.
This disappointed Lin Hui slightly, but he quickly withdrew his mind, focusing his attention on scanning the surroundings, staying vigilant at all times.
Time passed bit by bit.
Not long after.
Woo...
A bizarre whimpering sound drifted from the left, indistinct and faint.
The sound approached gradually, getting closer and closer.
Pu!
In an instant, a gray shadow lunged down from behind!
It was a slender humanoid monster. Its skin was smooth all over, presenting a bizarre gray-white color.
Its head had no facial features, only a sharp, black horn on the crown.
The monster's lunge instantly triggered Lin Hui's already taut nerves.
He raised his hand and struck out with his sword, slashing upward and backward, the strength of his entire body exploding out unconsciously.
Chi!
The sharp blade sliced across the humanoid monster's chest a step ahead, drawing a string of sparks.
Can't cut it?!
Lin Hui’s heart went cold. He hurriedly dodged sideways, precisely evading the opponent's pounce.
"This kind of monster is called a Faceless One. Its skin is as hard as iron over its entire body. To deal with it, you need to find its Fatal Gate," Master Mingde's voice drifted over from a distance.
"The Faceless One's Fatal Gate is usually the single horn on its head. Cutting off the horn will kill it completely. Be careful of its four limbs; the sharp claws contain a paralytic toxin. Once injured, your movement agility will drop rapidly," Mingde continued.
"Your luck is not bad. The Faceless One ranks in the upper tier of the Harmless level. It's a Mist Beast that significantly tests movement techniques and precision of vision. Generally, in our martial hall, only those above the 6th Rank of Body Tempering can handle it. You can treat it as a test and give it a try."