The Decaying World-Chapter 127 - 119: Investigation, Part 1

Tao Xuehai was defeated, but he didn’t leave. Unlike the other challengers who would lower their heads, too ashamed to show their faces, and turn to leave after a loss.

Instead, he was extremely interested in Lin Hui’s swordsmanship. After repeatedly asking if it was possible to learn such a powerful sword art just by signing up normally, he decisively stayed, paid the fee, and registered.

After that, he frantically took on missions and even joined the exploration team to quickly accumulate Contribution Points.

The exploration team, in particular, hadn’t returned to the Purple Crystal Ruins since their heavy losses. Instead, they had been dutifully mapping the surrounding areas.

What was impressive about Tao Xuehai was that he made a trip home and came back with an extremely detailed map of the surrounding Fog Area.

This saved the exploration team a great deal of time and effort. Some disciples were unhappy with him snatching up missions, but he easily placated them by throwing money around.

He had only been a member for three days, but he had already given lavish gifts to the top ten disciples, smoothing things over with all of them.

Even Xue Meng received a life-saving Healing Treasure Medicine, which silenced any objections.

But that wasn’t the most incredible part. What was truly formidable was that as soon as he got his hands on the freely taught Seven-Section Quick Sword and Nine-Section Swift Sword, he mastered them in just two days, with every point of force application executed flawlessly.

Although transitioning his Body Tempering would take time and accumulation, his learning speed was far beyond anyone’s imagination.

One had to remember that even Lin Hui himself had taken a year to fully master the Seven-Section Quick Sword and Nine-Section Swift Sword.

While Tao Xuehai was already at Inner Power Perfection with a solid foundation, Xue Meng, who was also at Inner Power Perfection, had taken two weeks to fully grasp both sets of swordsmanship.

This showed just how talented and perceptive he was.

Just as Lin Hui was deep in his arduous Body Tempering training, about to complete the Ninth Grade and cultivate its Special Effects...

A troop of people rushed out of the Inner City. They were all clad in Black Armor, with a pale gold eagle carved on their chests.

Their leader had white hair, white eyebrows, and white armor, making him stand out amongst all the Black Armor.

It was none other than Hong Ling, the chief investigator who had been tracking the major case.

He led his team out of the South Nine Gates and glanced around. His powerful presence made the surrounding people instinctively keep their distance; they didn’t even dare to raise their heads and look him in the eye.

Everyone knew that someone who came from the Inner City and dared to act with such an air must have an incredibly powerful background. At the very least, they were not people that common folk coming and going could afford to provoke.

"So this is Xinyu Town? Where that Lin Hui is located? Can you find out where he is now?" Hong Ling turned his head to look at a Black Armor soldier beside him.

This person was the only one in the group not wearing a helmet. Brilliant golden hair flowed in the wind, her features were delicate, her skin a light tan, and her eyes held a faint greenish-blue tint. She was a woman of the Cyan Eye Race.

"According to the access Jade Talisman provided by the Chen Family, we can pinpoint his location to a radius of less than ten li from here," the blonde, cyan-eyed woman answered solemnly.

"Can you be more specific?" Hong Ling frowned.

"It’s difficult. The data from the Jade Talisman was wiped beforehand. It’s clear this Lin Hui has connections to the Rain Palace," the woman replied.

"That’s normal. To be able to enter the Inner City and dare to run to Xuanya District alone, this Lin Hui must have a significant background. But no matter what his background is, no one dares to refuse cooperation with my Inspectorate’s investigation. Otherwise, I have the authority to directly disable his Jade Talisman’s function of isolating the night fog!" Hong Ling said coldly.

"So, what do we do now...?" the woman hesitated.

"Split up and ask around. The Outer City is only so big. In a town this size, just go to the Government Office and get the population registry," Hong Ling snorted.

"I’ll wait for you in this restaurant and review the intel. Find him and bring him here within two hours." Hong Ling casually scanned the surroundings, found a restaurant that looked well-decorated, and walked over, tossing the words behind him.

"Yes, sir!"

*

*

*

「Bamboo Forest.」

Fallen leaves fluttered about, slanting like rain in the wind.

Lin Hui stood motionless with his eyes closed, holding his Dual Swords, sensing the extremely subtle fluctuations naturally emanating from the web outside his body.

This was the Body Tempering Method for practicing Gale Swordsmanship. It involved gaining complete control over every place his Inner Strength touched—inside his body, outside his body, and including the web—annihilating all uncontrollable, autonomous pulsations and precisely neutralizing them with counter-operations.

This method of Body Tempering was also a great help in refining one’s Heart and Spirit.

Because it required complete concentration to observe and sense the conditions both inside and outside the body.

Countless bamboo leaves danced and drifted past him from time to time.

But unlike before, now, whenever a bamboo leaf brushed past him, it was as if he were an ordinary person. Everything was normal; it had no effect on him.

Before long, Lin Hui’s eyes snapped open and he looked in a certain direction.

SWISH!

Three figures in Black Armor abruptly appeared there. The one in the middle, with flowing golden hair cascading over her shoulders and delicate features, was the Vice Commander of the Inspectorate team who had come with Hong Ling to investigate the case.

"Lin Hui of Qingfeng Temple?" The blonde woman’s sharp gaze fixed on Lin Hui, who was standing in the bamboo forest.

She unfolded a portrait in her hand, compared it to Lin Hui, confirmed it was him, and then tossed the portrait aside.

"We are the Black Armor Army of the Tuyue Inspectorate, under the jurisdiction of the Inner City Government Office. We are investigating the recent case of the missing caravan in Xuanya District. Clues indicate that you passed through the crime scene and may have encountered the perpetrator. We need you to come with us and cooperate with the investigation."

"The missing caravan case?" Lin Hui frowned. ’I remember that. I did have a feeling there might be trouble and was afraid of getting involved, so I decided to get out of there quickly.’

’I didn’t expect the Inner City’s investigation to track me down so quickly.’

’They must have some special methods I’m not aware of to have found me so fast in an age without surveillance.’

"It seems you remember." The blonde woman noticed Lin Hui’s micro-expression. "Come with me to see Commander Hong. He’s at a restaurant near the South Nine Gates."

"I have indeed been to the Inner City’s Xuanya District once, but how can you prove that you are really from the Inner City Inspectorate?" Lin Hui said calmly.

A few people show up and demand he cooperate with an investigation at some location; of course he wouldn’t just believe whatever they said.

"What proof do you want?" The blonde woman smiled.

"Names, credentials, a guarantor?" Lin Hui said.

"Names? I am Dai Enran, Vice Commander of the Inspectorate. Credentials? What’s that? We didn’t bring anyone from the Government Office because it would have been too slow. This is my Inspectorate’s token. Can you recognize it?" The woman tossed out a pitch-black token.

Lin Hui caught it and glanced at it. The token felt cold, its material unknown. It was engraved with a dark gold eagle, and below it, a large character for "Inspectorate" was clearly visible.

He had never seen an Inspectorate token before, but since she gave it to him so readily, it was probably authentic.

"And a guarantor? Who can vouch that you are indeed from the Inner City Inspectorate?" he asked again.

"No guarantor is needed. Strength is the proof. If you refuse to come, we can easily take you by force." The blonde woman, Dai Enran, was growing impatient.

"Then you can try to take me by force," Lin Hui said calmly, tossing the token back.

HISS!

Before the words had even faded, a Black Armor soldier shot forward, reaching Lin Hui’s side in the blink of an eye and grabbing for his arm.

The grab was incredibly fast. A faint white glow of Inner Power Perfection even appeared on his black metal gauntlets. Apparently, this unremarkable subordinate, a Black Armor soldier, was actually a powerhouse at the Perfect Sixth Layer of Inner Strength.

Furthermore, his attack and Body Technique were no less inferior to Daoist Baohe from the old Qingfeng Temple.

It seemed that besides Inner Strength, there was another faint power assisting his attack.

’Based on my observations, he’s very likely an Inner Power Martial Artist who also cultivates as a Summoner!’

’Just a subordinate soldier is a master who cultivates as both a Summoner and an Inner Power Martial Artist. Although I can see from the skin around his eyes under his faceplate that he isn’t young—he even has fine crow’s feet.’

’But it also shows that the overall average strength of this Inspectorate organization is very high!’

Faced with this grab, Lin Hui took a small step back, precisely dodging his opponent.

He then shifted again, once more evading the man’s follow-up attack.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

In an instant, the Black Armor soldier attacked more than ten times in a row, yet he couldn’t even touch the corner of Lin Hui’s clothes.

"A little interesting!" A flicker of interest appeared in Vice Commander Dai Enran’s eyes. "I thought a mere Inner Power Realm Martial Artist from the Outer City, one who transitioned from external to internal at that, would have a very low ceiling. I didn’t expect you to have forcibly broken through to Inner Power Perfection, and your Body Technique is quite remarkable. I really didn’t expect..."

She took a step forward.

"Tang Zhong, stand down. I’ll handle this myself!"

The attacking Black Armor soldier had launched a series of moves without being able to touch Lin Hui. He was growing anxious and was just about to use a Secret Technique, but upon hearing the command, he immediately withdrew without the slightest hesitation.

The moment he pulled back, Dai Enran’s figure left a trail of afterimages, flashing in front of Lin Hui.

CLANG!

A saber flew from its sheath like a lightning bolt, illuminating the bamboo forest with a flash of silver.

It was as if a blinding silver light had erupted in her hand.

In that instant, everything around them was washed in a silver sheen.

Her strike was several degrees faster than the Black Armor soldier named Tang Zhong.

Around the blade of her saber, there was not only Inner Strength but also an indescribable, subtle distortion. The distortion was formless and transparent, yet it carried an extremely familiar sense of danger.

’Void Power!?’

Lin Hui instantly recognized the technique she was using.

He had just fought another battle with the Upper-Tier Summoner, Wang Yueheng. Humiliated and enraged, she had used Void Power again, but due to the vast difference in speed, she had ended up beaten to a pulp.

Because she had overused her Void Power, Lin Hui had gotten a good, close look at this unique power belonging to Upper-Rank Summoners. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

This stuff was formless and intangible. Only at the moment of contact with an enemy would it unleash its force, dissolving everything.

According to Wang Yueheng, Void Power could dissolve a great many things. Even the most powerful Divine Weapon couldn’t stand against it.

Only a Circulation could use a massive amount of Inner Strength to forcibly wear down Void Power, but that also required a significant amount of time.

To use a real-world analogy, Void Power was like a Divine Weapon that could break through anything, while Inner Strength was like a large quantity of fine sand. A small amount of sand certainly couldn’t stop the Void Power, but a massive volume could be used to wash over it, forcibly stagnating it, increasing its consumption and making it extremely strenuous to use until the wielder could no longer sustain it.

Watching the saber rapidly approach.

A crack silently appeared on the scabbard in Lin Hui’s hand.

But in the next instant, he still turned into an afterimage and dodged the strike without drawing his sword.

SWISH!

The saber struck the ground, sinking deep as if cutting through tofu, easily carving a black gash several meters long and of unknown depth.

Dai Enran sheathed her saber and stood in place, looking at Lin Hui, who was slowly materializing several meters away. Her expression was no longer as composed as before.

"What an incredible Body Technique!"

This was the first time she had ever seen such an exaggeratedly fast Body Technique on someone in the Inner Power Realm.

She had just used all of her speed short of a Secret Technique, putting her full power into that strike. Her goal was to use the Void Power around the blade to automatically expand upon contact, restraining and capturing Lin Hui.

But she hadn’t expected to fail.

’If even that speed isn’t enough to catch him,’ she thought, ’it seems the only way... is.’