The Decaying World-Chapter 69 - 64: Probing 4

"Quick, go report it! Someone’s challenging the sect!"

"You just wait!"

The two of them turned and scrambled back, rushing into the Inner Sect.

Lin Hui, dressed in a white Daoist robe and holding his sword in one hand, glanced at the passing crowd. He smiled and clasped his hands in a salute to everyone.

"My apologies for the disturbance," he announced. "The Black Dragon Sect once challenged my Qingfeng Temple. Now, I, Lin Hui, have been fortunate enough to make a breakthrough and have come to return the favor. I hope you will forgive any commotion."

The Black Dragon Sect’s headquarters was situated right next to the main road leading to the town center. Carriages and horses passing by slowed down; some even pulled over to the side to watch the spectacle.

Other passersby watched from a distance. Those who knew a bit of the backstory even began sharing the history of the feud between Qingfeng Temple and the Black Dragon Sect.

Seeing Lin Hui’s mild demeanor, the crowd grew a little bolder and edged forward, forming a semicircle around the Black Dragon Sect’s entrance.

"Who are you?! Who dares challenge our Black Dragon Sect?!"

Just then, a group of Black Dragon Sect members in black uniforms surged out from the main gate.

The one in the lead was none other than their senior disciple, Wang Hongshi.

He had gone to Qingfeng Temple yesterday only to find it completely empty, save for an old, gap-toothed man guarding the gate. There wasn’t a single Qingfeng Sword Sect disciple in sight.

After inquiring, he learned that Qingfeng Temple had announced a holiday the day before, suspending activities to rest and reorganize for a while. They would resume in about a week.

With no other choice, he could only return to his sect and wait. But to his surprise, the Sect Leader had inexplicably announced he was entering secluded cultivation yesterday, leaving him and the second-in-command, Chen Yuan, in charge of teaching the disciples.

He tried to see his master but was turned away at the door; the Sect Leader wasn’t seeing anyone.

His intuition told him something might have happened, but since his master didn’t say anything, he didn’t dare ask.

He had just finished arranging the teaching assignments and sorting out the training plans when a challenger appeared at their door. It was as if this series of events had been orchestrated, one thing happening right after another.

"So, you’re the one challenging us?" Wang Hongshi was in a foul mood, and his gaze toward Lin Hui was hostile. But he also knew that anyone who dared to challenge the Black Dragon Sect must have some skill. They wouldn’t be weak, so he managed to suppress his anger somewhat.

But just because he suppressed his emotions didn’t mean his opponent would do the same.

"I am Lin Hui, the current Sect Leader of the Qingfeng Sword Sect. I have come to challenge the Black Dragon Sect Leader, Song Zhanlong," Lin Hui declared. "Back when Sect Leader Song came to my Qingfeng Temple for a sparring match, he defeated our Observatory Master, Daoist Baohe, in person. While I was observing the fight, I was deeply impressed by Sect Leader Song’s profound Martial Arts and powerful Hard Skills. Now that my own cultivation has improved, the first thing I thought of was to come to the Black Dragon Sect to seek a match. I hope Sect Leader Song will not be stingy with his guidance."

Lin Hui spoke very politely, but his courteous words clearly laid out the cause and effect of the situation.

"Where is Sect Leader Song?" he asked solemnly, clasping his hands.

"The Sect Leader is in seclusion today, he doesn’t have time for you! You’re just trash from Qingfeng Temple, I’ll deal with you!" A hot-tempered male disciple from the Black Dragon Sect couldn’t hold back any longer. He took a great leap forward from the crowd, swiping a claw at Lin Hui’s chest.

His claw cast multiple shadows, and his strike stirred up a vicious wind. It was clear at a glance that he was an expert who had reached a high level of Body Tempering.

If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have been confident enough to take the initiative and attack.

Seeing this, Wang Hongshi and Chen Yuan nodded inwardly.

This man’s name was Xie Kong, a disciple from the prominent Xie Family of the Outer City. Before joining the Black Dragon Sect, he had diligently trained in his family’s martial art, the Iron Hand Skill. His Body Tempering through Hard Skills had already reached its limit. Now, after more than a year in the sect, the Body Tempering Limit of his Iron Hand Skill was supplemented by the Fourth Grade Black Dragon Claw. His iron hands were impervious to blades and spears and possessed immense strength. He was currently ranked fifth in the Black Dragon Sect, second only to Zhao Jiang’an, who had come from Qingfeng Temple.

Having him test the newcomer was the most appropriate choice.

As Xie Kong’s claw strike came, the black afterimages fanned out toward his chest.

Lin Hui casually sidestepped, precisely avoiding all the claw shadows as he moved past him.

CLANG!

A flash of sword light.

Xie Kong stumbled. Not only did his attack hit empty air, but he also inexplicably lost his balance and staggered forward two steps.

THUD. He fell flat on the ground and couldn’t get back up.

"My feet! My feet!!" Xie Kong shrieked, his face turning deathly pale.

He reached down to grab his ankles, only to discover two bloody sword gashes on the sides of them that hadn’t been there a moment ago. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Blood slowly seeped from the gashes, but strangely, he felt no pain.

He tried desperately to move his feet, but found they wouldn’t budge at all!

"No!! My feet!!"

Xie Kong howled in misery. The pain was only now beginning to register in his senses, but far more terrifying than the pain of the wounds was the numbness and loss of control in his feet.

Because this meant his feet had been crippled.

"My apologies. I thought the experts of the Black Dragon Sect were all very strong, so I might have used just a tiny bit too much force," Lin Hui said with a smile, looking at Wang Hongshi and the group at the entrance.

At that moment, Wang Hongshi, Chen Yuan, and the others paid no attention to Xie Kong on the ground; their eyes were fixed on Lin Hui. Meanwhile, some of Xie Kong’s attendants rushed forward to help him away.

A cold wind blew. For a moment, neither side spoke.

The crowd of onlookers, however, was buzzing with excitement. More and more people were gathering; it seemed that after noticing Lin Hui’s pleasant attitude and his lack of objection to being watched, the number of spectators began to grow.

Gawking at a spectacle was truly human nature.

"Isn’t the Black Dragon Sect supposed to be so tough? Send out an expert! What are you all just standing there for??" a bold voice shouted from the crowd.

"Their ’expert’ is on the ground, taken out in one move. I think they’re scared," someone else, hidden in the crowd, added sarcastically.

"The almighty Black Dragon Sect, scared? They sure as hell weren’t scared a while back when they were smashing up that fruit stand in the street! What, can they only bully the old, weak, and sick? When they meet a real tough guy, they just freeze up in the middle of the street?!" another sarcastic voice chimed in.

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd erupted in jeers. Some couldn’t help but laugh, others clapped, and some even whistled from the sidelines.

The expressions on the faces of Wang Hongshi and the others at the main gate grew even uglier.

Just then, Mu Qiaozhi, who had lost an arm, slowly walked out, supported by Xie Li. Her face was pale as she watched the scene unfold.

After losing her arm, she had been marginalized and no longer enjoyed the status of the third-ranked disciple. Now, she could only stand on the periphery, peering at the scene outside through the gaps in the crowd.

Looking at Lin Hui standing at the gate with a faint smile, a flicker of terror once again crossed her eyes. Her grip on Xie Li’s hand tightened unconsciously.

"That idiot Xie Kong can’t even beat me, yet he dared to be the first to attack. He was just asking to die! Did he really think I was bluffing?" She didn’t even notice her own voice was trembling.

Ever since the battle where she lost her arm, she had secluded herself and thought long and hard, but no matter how she racked her brain, she couldn’t figure out how to counter Lin Hui’s move.

’It’s too fast...’

’Really, by the time I realized what was happening, my arm was already severed. I was crippled.’

’No reaction, no resistance whatsoever.’

’I was like a wooden post, just standing there stupidly, waiting for Lin Hui to walk up step by step, swing his sword casually, and cut off my arm.’

It was precisely because she couldn’t find a way to counter it that when Mu Qiaozhi saw Lin Hui again, the shadow in her heart expanded rapidly, growing to the point of terror.

Having already lost an arm, she understood even more clearly that she would probably never be his opponent in this lifetime.

"But no matter how strong he is, he’s not in the Inner Power Realm... Isn’t he afraid of the Sect Leader making a move...?" Xie Li also saw Lin Hui, her mind flashing back to that previous battle as she asked the question.

She was incredibly relieved that she hadn’t made a move back then. Otherwise... she was afraid she would have ended up like Senior Sister Mu, crippled with a severed arm.

"I don’t know..." Mu Qiaozhi shook her head slightly. "I’ve been recuperating and resting for the past two days and haven’t seen our master at all. Coupled with my fall in status, I was worried about the changes I would face when I returned home. It never occurred to me that Lin Hui would actually dare to show up at our door!"

At this moment, Wang Hongshi and Chen Yuan stared at Lin Hui before them.

Chen Yuan subconsciously put himself in Xie Kong’s shoes, simulating how he would face Lin Hui’s attack. But after several mental attempts, he had no confidence he could catch or lock down his opponent with his Claw Technique.

’His speed is too fast,’ he thought. ’My Body Tempering is only at the Eighth Grade. Although it covers my whole body and can block ordinary blades and swords, if he were to pierce me at that kind of speed...’

Chen Yuan didn’t think he could withstand it.

So, he turned his gaze to his senior brother, Wang Hongshi. With their master absent, Wang Hongshi was the strongest person in the Black Dragon Sect.

It wasn’t just him; all the other disciples now turned their eyes to Wang Hongshi.

At this moment, he, the strongest among them, had become everyone’s pillar of support.

Wang Hongshi knew he couldn’t back down. If he did, he would have no way to answer for it later—not for the Black Dragon Sect’s reputation, not to his fellow disciples, and certainly not to his master.

’Although I’m not confident I can handle Lin Hui’s speed, he probably can’t do anything about my defenses either, so...’

He walked forward step by step into the empty space before the gate to face Lin Hui.

"Wang Hongshi of the Black Dragon Sect. Please, enlighten me."

"Actually, I have some interest in the Black Dragon Sect," Lin Hui remarked. "The Black Dragon Claw truly is in a class of its own when it comes to Hard Skill defense. It’s quite good. It would be a wonderful thing if it could merge with my Qingfeng Temple, allowing us to complement each other’s strengths."

"Merge? Are you proposing to offer yourselves up for a United Sect?" Wang Hongshi said, narrowing his eyes.

"Since I’m the one proposing the merger, it would naturally be with my Qingfeng Sword Sect taking the lead," Lin Hui said with a smile. "Just think about it: my Qingfeng Temple’s Body Technique and speed, combined with the Black Dragon Claw’s Hard Skill defense. You wouldn’t even need swords anymore. You could use your hands as swords, becoming the ultimate weapons yourselves. It would be like giving a tiger wings!"

"In your dreams!"

WHOOSH! Wang Hongshi suddenly lunged forward in a surprise attack. Executing the move Dragon Embracing Tree, he grabbed at Lin Hui’s arms from both sides.

As he executed the move, the multiple claw shadows seemed to carry a faint pulling force, intended to slow Lin Hui’s evasion.

But he had greatly underestimated Lin Hui’s Sword Speed.

In an instant, a silver light flashed, completely dazzling his eyes. His arms closed on empty air, and nine sharp clinks rang out in quick succession from his chest.

Nine sparks flew, and the final strike sent a spray of blood.

Both men froze simultaneously.

Wang Hongshi’s arms were suspended in mid-air, caught in the act of launching his second move, a grab for his opponent’s shoulders.

But the move was only half-formed, and already meaningless.

A sword was gently pressed into his chest, piercing him slightly.

The icy tip of the blade was slowly being warmed by his hot blood. A trickle of red slowly began to stain the clothes over his heart.

"Weaker than I imagined..." Lin Hui slowly withdrew his sword, a look of disappointment on his face.

He walked forward, brushing past Wang Hongshi and heading toward the main gate of the Black Dragon Sect.

Nine strikes in a single point, all in less than a second. He had forcibly broken through Wang Hongshi’s Hard Skill defense.

The outcome was decided with astonishing speed.

PTUI!

Just then, the dazed Wang Hongshi shuddered, and a mouthful of blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He collapsed to his knees, unable to get back up.

The searing pain in his heart from the impact of the blade made it impossible for him to stand.

"Where is the Black Dragon Sect Leader?!" Lin Hui’s clear, resonant voice rang out from just behind him.

"If the Sect Leader doesn’t even dare to show his face for a formal challenge, then perhaps this Black Dragon Sect should just close its doors for good."

Lin Hui planted one foot on the sect’s broken plaque, a smile on his face as he gazed at the training ground inside, where at least a hundred people were gathered.

’Yes, of course I know that my Inner Power Realm strength has already blinded Song Zhanlong.’

’Otherwise, why would I have rushed over the very next day to kick him while he’s down?’

’After all, on the surface, I’m not yet in the Inner Power Realm. I still need to keep a low profile.’