The ocean waves were swiftly pacified under Gongsun Xinlian’s control.

Although she had acted quickly, the rapidly expanding aftershocks of the battle still caught some approaching merchant ships. A fleet of twelve sank as a result.

Gongsun Xinlian ordered her subordinates to handle the aftermath, then joined her older brother in inviting Lin Hui to their private residence in the Inner City.

"This residence is called the Jade Palace. It’s where my siblings and I entertain our guests. We have all manner of food, drink, and entertainment. If you’re ever free, Brother Lin, feel free to come and enjoy yourself. I’ve even captured plenty of slaves from various races and put them here to be used," Great City Lord Xie Chang’an said, sitting in the host’s seat in the residence’s small hall, smiling cheerfully at Lin Hui.

Across from Lin Hui sat his younger sister, Gongsun Xinlian.

Now that she knew her older brother had driven away that bitch Tuyue, her mood had improved considerably, and her expression was no longer as stern and rigid as before.

"Thank you, Brother Xie. I rarely relax, and I’ve never really known what it’s like to enjoy myself. This world is far too dangerous. I don’t dare to let my guard down," Lin Hui lamented.

"Alas, you have a point. We Fog People were just a bit luckier, that’s all. Honestly, if I had to train as hard as you have, day in and day out for years, I couldn’t do it," Xie Chang’an sighed.

"You’re too modest, Brother Xie. If becoming a Fog Person were truly as simple as you say, then everyone would be one." Lin Hui didn’t buy his nonsense about it all being down to luck.

As long as Xie Chang’an wasn’t the very first Fog Person, then every subsequent opportunity to become one must have been contested in a brutal bloodbath.

Anyone who could emerge from such a vicious environment and successfully become a Fog Person was, by nature, anything but simple.

Their strength, or at least one aspect of it, had to be at the absolute pinnacle of their era.

"It’s true. Back then, countless people died in the fight for that opportunity... My family, my friends, even strangers who merely spoke a few extra words to me—they all died because of it..." A hint of reminiscence briefly flashed in Xie Chang’an’s eyes.

"Alright, let’s not dwell on the past. Let’s drink!" Gongsun Xinlian interrupted, raising her cup. A flicker of pain showed in her eyes.

She knew everything her older brother had gone through back then.

"To the drink," Lin Hui said, quickly raising his cup, realizing he had misspoken.

The three of them raised their cups to each other from across the room and drained them in one gulp.

Lin Hui discreetly used his Wind Calamity power to filter the wine in his mouth. The liquid instantly disintegrated, meaning he was effectively drinking nothing but air.

’It’s a bit disingenuous, but I can’t afford to take the risk. I’ve only just met these two from Black Cloud City and I don’t know them. If I don’t take precautions, I could end up dead without ever knowing why.’

Soft, crisp music echoed through the small hall. After they had a drink, Gongsun Xinlian was the first to speak.

"Brother Lin, since you’ve accepted my older brother as your own, we’ll address you as such. I’ve checked on that sister of yours. She’s fine. Her Heart and Spirit were merely bewitched and altered by Tuyue, but I’ve helped her recover. Rest assured. As long as you are in Black Cloud City, we will protect you, your family, and your friends from harm."

"Thank you, City Lord Gongsun!" Lin Hui stood up and gave a solemn bow.

"From now on, you can just call me Sister Gongsun. No need to be so formal. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to help Black Cloud City in the future," Gongsun Xinlian said with a smile.

She was nothing like the stiff, cold person she had been before. Clearly, she only returned to her normal self after Tuyue’s departure.

"Understood. Then thank you, Sister Gongsun." Lin Hui went with the flow and accepted the new form of address.

"Good, very good! Today, Black Cloud City gains a powerful new ally. This is truly a joyous occasion!" Xie Chang’an laughed and raised his cup again. "This calls for a toast!"

A nearby attendant swiftly stepped forward to refill their cups, and the three drank together once more.

After a few more drinks and some idle chatter, Gongsun Xinlian finally got to the point.

"Speaking of which, there’s one more thing... that legacy of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect you mentioned to me..."

"I am willing to share the legacy, but it comes with a very specific condition," Lin Hui said, his expression troubled.

"Oh? Do tell." Xie Chang’an, who had clearly heard about it from his younger sister, asked with curiosity.

Before, he might not have cared about the so-called legacy of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect. But after watching Lin Hui fight Tuyue, his opinion had changed.

Although neither of them was on his level, Lin Hui’s power was equivalent to having an additional, standard Fog Person on the battlefield, if only for a short time.

An enemy Fog Person couldn’t afford to ignore an expert of this caliber. While not as strong as a true Fog Person, he was vastly superior to anyone below that level. Failing to dispatch a Fog Person to deal with him would spell disaster on the battlefield, yet doing so felt like a waste of a valuable asset.

So, he was already considered a strategic-level asset.

Lin Hui then explained the key restriction of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect.

When they heard that one must, from the depths of their heart, consider themself a member of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect, Xie Chang’an and Gongsun Xinlian’s expressions remained neutral.

But when they heard that Lin Hui, as the Daoist Master, could not step down and held the sole authority to bestow the Dharma Seal, the two Fog People frowned slightly.

If the Dharma Seal was truly effective, they wouldn’t mind joining the Qingfeng Daoist Sect to increase their power.

But while they were willing to join, the fact that neither of them would be the Daoist Master was rather unsettling.

It could mean that in the future, Lin Hui could use the Qingfeng Daoist Sect to indirectly influence their decisions.

"We will need to consider this," Xie Chang’an said, stalling rather than refusing outright.

"Of course. Brother Xie, you can feel free to observe the other Qingfeng Daoist Disciples and see their current state. You can decide for yourself after that," Lin Hui reminded him with a smile.

He had no intention of controlling anyone. As long as they didn’t pose a threat to him or his loved ones, he truly didn’t care about the rest.

Afterward, Xie Chang’an went on to describe the hostile forces outside Black Cloud City.

Their greatest enemy was a pantheon of Fog Spirits known as Minglan, the Tidal Gods. This faction was composed almost entirely of Tidal Fog Spirits from the ocean.

"Speaking of Fog Spirits, what you know might be inaccurate. These beings are powerful life forms born naturally in this world. They are born with innate control over a portion of nature’s authority. Their power is astonishing and their destructive capability is terrifying—they are even stronger than we are. But the reason they are currently at a disadvantage and cannot defeat us is that their rate of recovery is far, far slower than ours," Xie Chang’an explained.

"Our Cursed Fog bodies are immortal and indestructible. While they can wear down our True Cursed Fog, the process is extremely slow. On the other hand, if we manage to injure them, the wound will rapidly spread and magnify if left unattended, eventually causing their bodies to collapse. That’s why the pantheon generally has to fight us at a two- or three-to-one advantage. They need a combination of offense, control, and healing—a trinity where not one element can be missing. One-on-one, they can only last for the initial phase of a battle. If the fight drags on, they are doomed to die."

"I see..." Lin Hui murmured, now having a clearer concept of what Fog Spirits were.

"Moreover, because most Fog Spirits are extremely chaotic, barbaric, and primal, the lands and creatures under their rule suffer immensely. Yet, many Fog Spirits require large populations to help them find resources, maintain their domains, and patrol their borders. So when they run out of their own people to use, they often raid our major cities to plunder the populace. This is one of the primary reasons for the war between us," Xie Chang’an continued.

Lin Hui nodded and took the opportunity to ask about some of the questions that had been weighing on his mind.

For example, how large was the Outer Fog Area, and what lay beyond the Federation.

"I don’t know how vast it is beyond the Boundary Wall of the Outer Fog Area. I once tried to explore it, traveling past the Federation and several neighboring kingdoms into a great wilderness. That place is called the Sunken Wasteland. There’s nothing there but desolate yellow rock. The sky is yellow, the earth is yellow, the air is unbreathable and cannot sustain life, and the temperature is perpetually above one thousand rings. Aside from a certain type of special rock, ninety-nine percent of everything else that enters that place melts almost instantly," Xie Chang’an recalled.

’One thousand rings!?’

Lin Hui’s heart trembled. ’A quick conversion... isn’t that over four thousand degrees!? What kind of hellish environment is that!?’

’That Fog People can survive for extended periods in such an environment... I never would have imagined it. Their life force is truly terrifying!’

"A senior Fog Person once explored the place my brother went to, pushing to the very limit," Gongsun Xinlian continued. "The Sunken Wasteland is boundless; it’s impossible to fly to its end. Extreme heat, unbreathable air, barren earth, no water, only rock—no life can possibly survive there. That senior flew for over a hundred years and still couldn’t find a way out. In the end, he left a marker at what appeared to be the ruins of a colossal, dried-up waterfall, and then he returned. That is the famous Mark of Yan Chongwei."

"The ruins of a colossal waterfall?" Lin Hui repeated softly.

"Yes. The waterfall was enormous, over ten thousand kilometers wide. Its height was impossible to measure, as it stretched down into a bottomless subterranean abyss," Gongsun Xinlian explained.

"..." Lin Hui couldn’t begin to imagine such an outlandish sight.

’A hundred years without encountering a single living thing. A lonely journey, a solitary flight... If I had been that explorer, I’d probably have lost my mind in under a decade. Only these Fog People, whose minds are already twisted, would persist in flying on like that.’

"In a place like that, there are no Fog Spirits, nothing at all... just a desolate wasteland shrouded in mist..."

After that, the conversation turned to the inherited swordsmanship of Lin Hui’s Qingfeng Daoist Sect. Not one to be secretive, Lin Hui stood up and demonstrated it on the spot. The perfect version of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship was certainly impressive enough to show the two Fog People.

It immediately piqued their interest, and they both stood up to practice along with him.

The result was...

Lin Hui’s eyelids twitched as he watched the two stiff, contorting figures. There was much he wanted to say, but he held his tongue, worried they would become hostile.

Perhaps it was because he’d only been presented with geniuses before, but his standards were now much, much higher.

Take these two, for instance. They couldn’t sense even a shred of the perfect artistic intent behind the Qingfeng Swordsmanship. Their flawless replication of the templated techniques was utterly meaningless.

At this rate, they could practice for a hundred years and never even touch the hem of the perfect version.

It required genuine insight.

Seeing Lin Hui’s silence, Xie Chang’an and Gongsun Xinlian realized they truly had no talent for it and had no choice but to give up.

With an awkward laugh, the three returned to their seats. They chatted for a little while longer about some interesting tidbits regarding Black Cloud City and the future arrangements for the Lin Family, and then the banquet concluded.

「Meanwhile, at the Qingfeng Daoist Sect’s courtyard.」

The disciples had all gathered and had been waiting for Lin Hui for some time.

SHHH.

The courtyard gate was pushed open without a sound. With a flash, Lin Hui appeared inside, his gaze sweeping over the more than sixty disciples present.

"Daoist Master!"

"Daoist Master!? Are you alright!?"

"Daoist Master, what happened!? Just now..."

A chorus of voices reached him through their Wind Chimes.

"Everything is fine. The three City Lords of Black Cloud City helped me handle the accusations from the City Lord of Tuyue. They’ve also agreed to let our Qingfeng Daoist Sect settle here in Black Cloud and live in peace," Lin Hui stated the outcome directly.

The crowd instantly fell silent.

’City Lord!?’

Everyone present knew exactly what that title represented.

They were the pinnacle of existence in this world, the strongest group of beings known as Fog People.

And now, their Daoist Master had actually persuaded the three City Lords of Black Cloud City to stand against Tuyue and agree to shelter the Qingfeng Daoist Sect!

This meant that the Qingfeng Daoist Sect could now rapidly grow and expand in Black Cloud City, a place far more prosperous than Tuyue City!

For every single Disciple of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect, this was a monumental piece of good news.

After all, the conditions in Black Cloud City were far superior to those in Tuyue City in every respect.

Amid her happiness, Su Yaping also quietly sent him a few whispered words via voice transmission.

Lin Hui paused for a moment, then calmed the excited crowd. With a flash, he turned, passed through a corridor, and entered the rear courtyard.