Decaying World

Chapter 16 016 Body Tempering Part 2 (Thanks to Moon Knight and Moon Alliance Leader)

Lin Shunhe nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After dealing with Xu Dao and the other two, he closed and locked the door, turned around, and saw his wife standing in front of the inner room door, wearing a coat and looking at him.

"Ahe," Yao Shan called out worriedly.

"It's alright, I'm here. You can go back to sleep," Lin Shunhe waved his hand and said calmly.

Because of his previous connections, Xu Dao's attitude was relatively mild, and everything was done according to the rules. This was good; he wasn't afraid of having many rules, but rather of having no rules at all.

As for the profits, after managing an oil mill for so many years, falsifying accounts was just an easy and trivial matter for him.

The key point isn't actually that, but rather the support needed after the store is opened.

Connections diminish over time. Things are fine now, but as time goes on, the bonds will weaken.

By then, what will he have to guarantee his current life?
With this in mind, Lin Shunhe's mind raced as he pondered how to break the deadlock.

As soon as he entered the door, his wife Yao Shan couldn't help but whisper.

"Ahe, the Muhua Gang came once today, why are the Fu'an Gang here again?"

"Hmm? The Muhua Gang has also sent people?" Lin Shunhe keenly sensed something was wrong. This situation usually only occurs when two gangs start fighting for territory, but Xinyu Town has always been the territory of the Fu'an Gang.

“We’ll stay home these days and not go anywhere. We’ll talk about it after the two gangs have sorted things out,” he instructed.

"I'm afraid the Fu'an Gang won't be able to stop them. The Muhua Gang is very domineering; they took five thousand coins from us right away," Yao Shan said worriedly.

"It's alright. This just shows that the Muhua Gang doesn't intend to operate for long; it's just a one-off deal. They'll probably leave soon," Lin Shunhe reassured him.

Even so, he still sighed inwardly. This was the situation when he lost the protection of a benefactor and had no security. In the past, the managers of the Fu'an Gang would have been very polite to him and drink with him.

Unlike now, Lin Shunhe should be grateful that he was tactful and handled things properly when he was successful. Otherwise, if he had offended too many people, he would definitely have been kicked while he was down now that he has lost power.

Our current situation is similar to that of ordinary people, which is already a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

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December.

The weather is getting colder.

The area around Qingfeng Temple was already covered with fallen leaves, and the ground was covered with yellow petals.

A cold wind howled.

The disciples who went out formed small teams, like centipedes, and slowly patrolled around the Taoist temple, driving away wild animals.

Lin Hui silently gripped his sword, standing in a somewhat empty corner of the training ground, next to the wooden weapon rack, slowly immersing himself in the insights gained from the final move, the Seven-Section Quick Sword.

Just a moment ago, the final move, the Seven-Section Quick Sword, finally evolved successfully.

Instead, a flood of memories of his understanding of the swift sword rushed into his mind.

The wooden sword in his hand became increasingly familiar, as if it were part of his flesh and blood. At this moment, Lin Hui's eyes were cloudy, and his pupils contracted and expanded rapidly as if he were being electrocuted.

About half a minute later, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He picked up his sword again and pondered for a moment.

laugh.

Suddenly, he slashed forward diagonally, executing a seven-section sword strike with practiced ease.

Move after move, each of these sword techniques seemed to sprout a certain vitality in his hands at this moment, becoming agile and graceful.

At this moment, he seemed to have transformed into a brown phantom, enveloped by the shadow of a brown wooden sword.

There were seven moves in total, with more than fifty points of force exertion, all of which were executed flawlessly in his hands, and he completed the entire sequence in just half a minute.

brush.

Lin Hui finished his stance, stood still, held the sword vertically along the center of his body, and closed his eyes without moving.

A cool, refreshing current of air rose rapidly from his feet as he remained still, traveling up his calves, thighs, waist, and abdomen, straight to the top of his head.

For a moment, Lin Hui felt as if he were immersed in cool spring water, but he did not feel cold at all.

A strange sense of relaxation and comfort welled up inside me.

"It's done!" He opened his eyes, a huge weight finally lifted from his heart.

More than a year of hard work has finally paid off.

The chilling current that tempered his body was so clear that he almost mistook it for something else.

After all, he had previously asked Chen Zhishen in the letter that the cold current that appears during body tempering should normally be a very weak trace, and one needs to carefully and calmly feel it to detect it.

But that current just now was truly exaggerated. That cold current, which almost completely occupied the blood vessels and muscles of the calf, was not just a trace; it was probably more than ten times stronger.

After sensing his body's condition for a moment, Lin Hui put down his sword again and began a new round of body tempering.

The Seven-Section Quick Sword can be used for body tempering an unlimited number of times per day. However, it consumes the body's energy reserves. Therefore, a person can temper their body a maximum of ten times per day.

Of course, under normal circumstances, even geniuses like Huang Shan and her group could not achieve this even after ten body tempering sessions.

Because there are over fifty points of leverage, if you make a mistake in even one, you have to start all over again. Moreover, in the later stages of training, it becomes difficult to maintain full concentration, making it even easier to make mistakes.

So, according to what Chen Zhishen had inquired about, a strong person who could temper their body six or seven times a day was considered very powerful.

Ordinary disciples receive four or five visits, while less skilled ones receive one or two. This is the hierarchy among the formal disciples of Qingfeng Temple.

"This body tempering is a fundamental skill that needs to be done every day. If you do it several times a day, over time, the gap will truly accumulate and become an insurmountable chasm."

Only now did Lin Hui realize the enormous gap in talent at this moment, a terrifying gap that ordinary people were powerless to catch up with.

After completing the body tempering, he practiced the fast sword technique for seven more times, making it ten times in total, before slowly stopping.

It wasn't that he didn't want to continue, but rather that he felt a slight, sharp pain in his chest, indicating that he had overexerted himself.

After they stopped, the students who had gone out on patrol also returned to the Taoist temple.

Lin Hui immediately picked up his wooden sword, found the direction of the main hall ahead, and walked quickly towards it.

Once you've completed the body tempering, it's time to register and change your identity. There are many benefits to being a formal disciple. Besides improved living conditions, there's tuition, which isn't as high each month, and your name will be recorded in Qingfeng Temple's annual list of recommended disciples, making you a valuable asset for various factions seeking to hire you.

Tu Yue's martial arts school and sect had long been quite adept at this approach.

Passing through the main hall, Lin Hui soon saw the old Taoist Mingchen, the duty manager, who was watching his disciples practice swordsmanship in the front yard.

I met him once before at the intersection in the foggy area, and we met several more times after he took on the role of transmitting skills.

Lin Hui recognized him at a glance.

At this moment, Mingchen was stroking his goatee, his eyes scanning over the disciples below.

If someone is not paying attention, they might be stunned by his otherworldly demeanor and feel a sense of awe.

But Lin Hui, a disciple who had been in the Taoist temple for more than a year, knew that this person's gaze must be fixed on the hot female disciple below.

"Disciple Lin Hui greets True Person Mingchen." Without wasting words, Lin Hui stepped forward and bowed.

"Hmm, is something the matter?" Mingchen had clearly forgotten about the boy he had met alone before. He snapped back to reality and glanced at him.

"This disciple has officially completed the first body tempering today and has come to change the identity list," Lin Hui said frankly.

"Body tempering? Not bad." Mingchen nodded casually. "How long did it take to temper your body?"

"A little over a year."

"Not bad, Huineng, take him to the name registry." Mingchen pointed to a half-grown Taoist priest standing nearby and gave him instructions.

"Yes."

The young Taoist was only thirteen or fourteen years old and much shorter than Lin Hui. However, these kinds of young Taoists were the closest people to the True People, so he did not dare to underestimate them and immediately greeted them respectfully.

The young Taoist smiled and led Lin Hui to a small private room on one side of the main hall. He then retrieved the register and carefully registered Lin Hui's name.

“My senior brother has a contract with the temple, so he doesn’t need to be on the recommendation list. That saves trouble,” the young Taoist said with a smile.

“Indeed,” Lin Hui nodded and smiled.

"Next, you can go to the front courtyard to practice on weekdays. The front courtyard is the area where we formal disciples practice. We mainly practice the Nine-Section Fast Sword and the Qingfeng Sword, so each person is assigned a large area. The space is limited, so you have to wait for others to finish practicing before you can go. Of course, you can also go out and find a place to practice swordsmanship nearby. After entering the front courtyard, many senior brothers and sisters choose to leave the Taoist temple and go home to practice on their own, and then come to the gathering on the day of the transmission of skills to seek guidance."

The young Taoist explained a few words.

"In short, once you enter the front courtyard, you'll be much freer than before. Some powerful senior brothers and sisters can even hold positions in small gangs and earn gold, living a very comfortable life. So if you encounter members of small gangs in the city, ask about their background before you make a move. Of course, they will usually ask first, and once they know our background, those with some connection will give us face and go around us."

"Thank you for your guidance, junior brother." Lin Hui clasped his hands in a thoughtful gesture.

"Not at all, I just know a little bit from listening to everyone talk about it," the young Taoist said with a smile.

After changing his name, Lin Hui received a new black hardwood waist tag with the simple characters "Qingfeng" carved on it, representing his current status as a formal disciple of the front courtyard.

“You have three days off now, and it’s up to you how you spend them,” the young Taoist priest continued.

"I'll go home for a bit; it's been a long time since I've been back," Lin Hui replied.

After completing the name change, he turned and walked towards the backyard. As he walked out of the main hall and passed the entrance to the dining hall, he encountered a group of disciples who were heading to the dining hall for a meal.

Several of the girls who were traveling together happened to see him walk out of the side room of the name change register.

Among the girls, the one on the left with the long braid was none other than Xie Li, who had previously been in the same circle as Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen.

Looking at Lin Hui, whose posture and movements were noticeably more upright, she guessed that he must have also undergone body tempering.

"He's broken through too. I guess he'll be able to go into open play soon, just like Chen Zhishen?"

She herself had already undergone body tempering last month and knew the situation in the front courtyard. There was a reason why the front courtyard had maintained a number of about twenty disciples.

On the one hand, many disciples' goal is to temper their bodies, and once they achieve it, they immediately leave to make money.

Another aspect is that there is also a competitive mechanism in the front yard. Only those ranked at the top are eligible to enjoy the benefits of the feedback, while those at the bottom still have to spend a lot of money to buy resources for cultivation. This leads to a deficit, and few can sustain it.

"That's Lin Hui, right? He's finally tempered his body. Actually, he's pretty fast," his friend said casually with a smile. "So, Xie Li, are you having any regrets? Maybe he's a little genius after all?"

"It's nothing serious. The cultivation after body tempering is more difficult and longer, and that's the real situation we need to face. With his aptitude and talent, he can't cause any trouble," Xie Li said calmly. "Now I'm following Senior Sister, and we're both in the body tempering stage. I can enjoy superior benefits in the Mu family, and my body tempering speed far exceeds that of ordinary front courtyard disciples. If I'm still like before, then it will truly be too late to regret it."

"That's true, Senior Sister is a kind and good-hearted person, you're quite lucky." Her friend joked with a smile.

"Let's go. It won't be long before he realizes how important resources are to those of us who aren't geniuses." Xie Li said no more. She was now on a completely different level from Lin Hui, whose family had fallen on hard times.

Within a year at most, the gap between them will widen to a point that will drive them to despair.

(End of this chapter)