Decaying World-Chapter 38

Watching Weiwei leave, Lin Hui's face remained expressionless. He pocketed the letter and returned to his room.
He hadn't lied just now; his parents' business really was on the right track. His father was truly skilled at commerce, and the profits were much higher than before. They had even opened a branch store.
And on his end, although Clear Wind Temple's reputation had plummeted, he, Lin Hui, wasn't dead yet. His martial strength remained.
He might not be able to beat the Black Dragon Gate, but handling other small-time thugs was still a piece of cake. Safety was guaranteed.
Financially, it simply meant he could no longer subsidize his family. That was all.
Returning to his room, he sat cross-legged on the cushion, his gaze naturally falling on the Blood Seal information bar at the bottom of his vision.
[Nine-Section Swift Sword Evolution Complete.]
A line of small characters had already been floating there for several minutes.
Looking at this line of text, Lin Hui focused his consciousness, gently shifting it to reveal the data information of the Nine-Section Swift Sword.
[Nine-Section Swift Sword: Mastery Level - Perfect. Clear Wind Temple Basic Sword Technique. Upon achieving Perfect Mastery, obtain Special Effect: Ethereal Agility.]
[Special Effect 'Lightness' can be merged with 'Ethereal Agility'. Merge?]
The Blood Seal's prompt surfaced rapidly as the Nine-Section Swift Sword information opened.
'Merge.' Lin Hui confirmed without hesitation.
Merging two special effects might yield a stronger result. He felt that since the Blood Seal prompted it, the merger wouldn't make things worse.
The next second, the blood-colored writing at the bottom of his vision melted quickly, converging into a new line of text.
[Merge Complete. Obtained Special Effect: Featherweight Ascension.]
[Special Effect 'Featherweight Ascension' — Consumption significantly reduced. Upon activation, body weight is halved, and basic sword speed increases threefold.]
Threefold?!
Lin Hui was startled. Before, he had vaguely felt that the boost from the Lightness effect should be more than double. Now, the merged Featherweight Ascension effect clarified the sword speed increase as three times the original, along with the weight reduction effect, confirming his guess.
'Consumption significantly reduced... does this mean the special effect can be sustained for a long time?'
Lin Hui took a deep breath.
'This is the true Perfected Nine-Section Swift Sword!'
Once this special effect was activated, his sword speed and movement technique would instantly eclipse the previous First Senior Brother by a wide margin.
He might even rival the three 'Ming' generation masters of the Internal Force Realm!
Lin Hui's heart surged with excitement. He had cultivated bitterly for so long, waited for so long, and everything had finally paid off.
Nine-Section Swift Sword...
He closed his eyes. Countless perfect techniques regarding the Nine-Section Swift Sword surged madly in his mind, fusing with his previous cultivation memories.
The entire basic martial arts of Clear Wind Temple were, at this moment, rapidly mastered and integrated within his mind.
A subtle warm current flowed quietly from his mind, permeating every part of his body.
The warm current continuously transformed Lin Hui's constitution, fine-tuning it toward a lighter and more agile state.
This transformation lasted for fully ten minutes before slowly ending.
Lin Hui sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly opening his eyes.
Feeling the indescribable changes throughout his body, he extended his hand and gently clenched it.
Instantly, a massive amount of muscle memory regarding gripping the sword for the Swift Sword surged into his heart.
'The Blood Seal hadn't adjusted my body for the Seven-Section Swift Sword, yet it did for the Nine-Section. Does this mean that only relatively advanced martial arts will prompt the Blood Seal to adjust the body after evolution?'
At this moment, he didn't know how strong he was. After the evolution was complete, he had no specific reference for what level his strength and the Perfected Nine-Section Swift Sword could reach.
Standing up, Lin Hui adapted to his current body. After his boiling blood cooled down a bit, he began to ponder his current state.
'This is what I wanted. For superlative speed, only the final item is missing—the Clear Wind Sword Technique...'
His initial goal in coming here had been to learn movement techniques and speed. Now, that goal was half achieved. The urgency in his heart diminished significantly.
'Then next, the goal is to learn the Clear Wind Sword Technique first, then think of a way to improve environmental safety for myself and my parents.'
How to improve environmental safety? Now it seemed the only choice was to enter the Inner City.
'To enter the Inner City, there are only a few channels.
First: Selection into the three major powers.
Second: Spending a fortune to purchase a vacant property in the Inner City.
Third: Serving in official positions in the outer towns, earning gradual promotions, and transferring into the Inner City.'
'Among these, the second is the easiest for me to achieve now. Many wealthy people in the Outer City have their main family members living in the Inner City—earning money in the Outer City to spend in the Inner City. This is also a major source of new Inner City residents.'
Lin Hui calculated silently.
'But the current Clear Wind Temple makes earning money somewhat troublesome... And even if it were Clear Wind Temple at its peak, serving in this or that position, there would be no way to earn enough wealth for my entire family to enter the Inner City. So, I still have to find another path...'
Lin Hui pondered hard. But many lucrative industries in the Outer City had Called Ones and numerous major powers behind them. If he wanted to intervene, his current strength was far from enough.
In such circles, the Internal Force Realm was merely the baseline; it was almost exclusively a competition between Called Ones.
Thinking it over and over, he sighed lightly.
"It seems my strength is still not enough..."
He didn't want to leave Master Mingde and lose his moral integrity, but he also wanted to earn big money to move into the Inner City. To achieve both... the only way.
It was to enhance the strength of the current Clear Wind Temple, restoring the sect to greatness!
'First, negotiate the profit split with Master. True, the revenue from the medicinal fields behind the Daoist temple is currently held by Daoist Mingchen. The other two branches that split off also need to be reclaimed and re-merged. Like this, expanding the scale of students, plus increasing the sphere of influence—imitating the Muhua Gang to collect hidden taxes on industries—the income should meet the requirements very quickly!'
'However, I still need to inquire first about the specific requirements for buying a house and relocating to the Inner City.'
Thinking to this point, Lin Hui took a deep breath and stood up. His mind flashed through the people he knew who would know about these things.
Faces flashed by rapidly, soon stopping on a man's face he was quite familiar with.
'Sure enough, it's still more appropriate to go home and find Dad.'
Among the people he knew, the one who understood this aspect best was actually his own father.
Speechless, Lin Hui immediately got up. Too lazy to pack his things, he carried his sword, opened the door, and left.
As soon as he stepped out, he felt a trace of difference.
After perfecting the Nine-Section Swift Sword, his body seemed to have undergone subtle changes. In every movement, he felt inexplicably lighter than before.
Leaving Clear Wind Temple and accelerating back along the mud path, the scenery on both sides moved much faster than before.
Specifically, because there was no object for comparison, Lin Hui couldn't know exactly how fast he was now.
'It seems I need to buy a portable timer to facilitate calculating time and speed...'
Tuyue wasn't developed in the mechanical field, but for basic timekeeping, there were items similar to clocks and watches. It was just that these were all Inner City goods, and purchasing one was relatively expensive.
Maintaining his speed, Lin Hui didn't go home directly but headed straight for the small shop opened by his parents.
Before long, houses on both sides increased, and the flow of people became denser. Upon reaching the street, the flow of people, carriages, and horses was even livelier, with farmers and vendors setting up stalls everywhere to sell goods.
Crossing two streets, he finally arrived at his father's small shop—Shanhe General Store.
The shop was a bit larger than before. Aside from general goods, fresh fruits, vegetables, and dried goods were displayed at the entrance.
His dad was half-lying behind the wooden counter, holding an illustrated booklet in his hand, reading with relish.
"Dad!" Lin Hui walked in quickly. "Not busy? Got a moment? Let's chat?"
"Why are you back again, kid?" Lin Shunhe sat up with a start. Looking back and seeing it was actually his son, he blurted out immediately.
"Chat about what? You thought it through? Planning to transfer to the Black Dragon Gate?"
"Transfer where? Let's go into the back room first." Lin Hui pulled his father into the room where goods were stored.
"Dad, do you know how much money it takes to buy the cheapest house in the Inner City?" He lowered his voice.
"Buy? The price went up again recently. Probably a small house for a single person costs about four million coins. That's the cheapest. Why do you ask?" Lin Shunhe replied, looking puzzled.
"Nothing, just asking." Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat. Four million coins—if he honestly worked for wages, how long would he have to save?
"You aren't thinking of going to the Inner City, are you?" Lin Shunhe saw through his son's thoughts at a glance. "Entering the Inner City for long-term residence requires not only money but also proof of identity. It's very troublesome."
"What proof?"
"It's the Inner City Residency Permit issued by the Inner City. This thing requires you to pass a certain assessment, proving that you indeed have sufficient value to the Inner City, before you can get your hands on it. Simply put, those with only money and no ability are not allowed to settle inside. However..." Lin Shunhe paused. "As long as it's a system, there will always be cracks. I do have channels to spend a bit more money to get the permit through the back door."
"Someone like me shouldn't have to worry about failing the assessment, right?" Lin Hui hesitated.
"Hard to say. The problem now is that the issuance of Inner City Residency Permits isn't truly fair and open. Most of it is controlled by the subordinate forces of the three major powers. To enter the city, unless you are a high-level talent the Inner City urgently lacks, you have no choice but to pay the extra money honestly." Lin Shunhe shook his head.
He looked at his thoughtful son.
"Why the sudden interest? Did you strike gold?"
"My strength had a breakthrough, didn't it? Naturally, my ambitions grew a little." Lin Hui said helplessly.
"You're still at Clear Wind Temple now; a breakthrough in strength doesn't mean much. If it were the Clear Wind Temple of the past, the top ten elites might indeed have passed the assessment. But now that martial artists from the outer districts have come over, sweeping through the martial hall industry, this matter has spread everywhere. The martial hall standards of the entire Tuyue Outer City have been forcibly raised by a large margin. Now, even if the Clear Wind Temple's sword techniques are practiced to a very high level, who can you beat? The market no longer acknowledges it," Lin Shunhe sighed.
"Indeed, the original brand effect has been beaten out of it..." Lin Hui sighed.
"What's a 'brand'?"
"Never mind." Lin Hui thought for a moment. "Then, Dad, if I can re-establish the reputation of Clear Wind Temple's martial arts, would it increase the chances of passing the ability assessment?"
"There is that possibility. But the general trend is set; what can you do alone?" Lin Shunhe shook his head.
"Indeed..." Lin Hui also sighed.
Of course, while he said this, he naturally wouldn't tell his dad what he was thinking in his heart.
Since Song Zhanlong of the Black Dragon Gate could come knocking and crush Clear Wind Temple's industrial reputation with the strength of one person back then, why couldn't he?
With the Blood Seal in hand, after learning the Clear Wind Sword next and evolving it to the Perfected Version, reaching the strength of the 'Ming' generation wouldn't be a big problem. Reaching the level of Daoist Baohe eventually was only a matter of time.
How old was he? Achieving the goal before twenty would be sufficient.