Decaying World

Chapter 110

However... the freezing air had only sprayed halfway when Chen Hushan suddenly realized he couldn't locate Chen Sui anymore!

The sparks on his body ceased instantly.

Yet, that lurking sense of crisis did not diminish;

instead, it intensified.

Wait!

Suddenly, Chen Hushan whipped his head around.

He was just in time to see a brilliant silver light flare up.

Chi!

The silver light arrived at high speed, instantly breaking through the Internal Force barrier and tearing a hideous, bloody gash across Chen Hushan's chest.

"Wait! We admit defeat!" Chen Hushan was horrified and shouted hurriedly.

Chi!A silver longsword hovered precisely before his forehead. The wielder was none other than Chen Sui.

Sweat beaded on Chen Sui's forehead, and his expression was solemn, yet his eyes revealed a trace of irrepressible surprise.

"We admit defeat! We accept the loss!" Chen Hushan stepped back a few paces. Seeing that the rest of his team had also been forced back, he didn't dare utter a single harsh word.

"Go! Everyone, go!"

He scrambled backward, and seeing that Chen Sui had no intention of pursuing to kill, he turned and fled in a sorry state.

Watching the wretched, receding figures, Chen Sui heaved a fierce sigh of relief, loosening his right hand. He had gripped the hilt so tightly that the web of his thumb had cracked slightly.

"Even the old version of the Clear Wind Sword, when combined with the secret art Lightness, is actually this strong...!" He took a deep breath, his scalp tingling.

Having truly applied what he learned in actual combat, only now did he understand just how strong the current Clear Wind Temple martial arts were.

In the past, let alone facing the Red Rice Association—one of the Three Sects and Six Associations—the old Clear Wind Temple wouldn't even dare claim they could secure a win against the Hundred Flowers Sect or the Flying Cloud Fist at the same level.

But now, using the secret art, he had defeated an Internal Force expert from the Inner City's Three Sects and Six Associations—and one with cultivation higher than his own, at that!

This signified that Clear Wind Temple's martial arts were absolutely far superior to the Red Rice Association's at the same level.

Chen Sui came back to his senses and saw the expressions of disbelief on his team members' faces. Clearly, no one had expected their current strength to be this formidable.

Although they had won often in the Outer City before, the contrast had never been this stark.

But this time, the opponent was the Red Rice Association, one of the Inner City's Three Sects and Six Associations!

To win against such an opponent in a direct encounter—that was almost unbelievable.

"Interesting."

A gentle male voice sounded in everyone's ears.

The dozen or so people trembled, turning their heads to follow the sound.

A red-robed figure had appeared in the dense forest not far away.

The newcomer's face was peaceful and ordinary, yet he possessed a commanding aura—sharp and upright.

More critically, the character "Crimson" was clearly embroidered on the cuff of his outer robe.

An expert of the Red Rice Association!

Chen Sui's pupils shrank as he recognized that signature character.

"Hall Master Yuan! You've finally come! They robbed the Purple Crystal we worked so hard to find in the ruins, and they threatened us, saying this is Clear Wind Temple's territory! If we dared report to the officials, they wouldn't let us leave alive!"

Chen Hushan, who hadn't gone far, immediately began to shout. His expression was exaggerated, his voice shrill.

"'Purple Crystal?'" The red-robed man's gaze fell upon the bag of Purple Crystal guarded behind Chen Sui and the others.

The Purple Crystals, each the size of a large date, glowed with a faint fluorescence under the light. They were quite beautiful.

"Interesting. A mere Outer City sect dares to utter threats against my Red Rice Association exploration team... It seems the Three Sects and Six Associations haven't made a move in the Outer City for a long time. Everyone has forgotten what Extreme Martial Arts are, and what the Three Sects and Six Associations represent!"

The red-robed figure flashed, flying forward as lightly as a fallen leaf to close the distance. He landed more than ten meters in front of Chen Sui and the others.

"Senior, wait!"

Huang Shan, standing beside Chen Sui, saw that the situation was dire and suddenly shouted.

"My Clear Wind Temple Master, Lin Hui, has deep ties with the Inner City's Liu family, and the Wang family also has a share in many of the temple's properties. If the Red Rice Association wishes to purchase Purple Crystal, you can discuss it in detail with the Wang and Liu families in the Inner City!"

Seeing things going south, she immediately used powerful connections to intimidate him.

"Wang family? Liu family? Do you have tokens from the two families?" The red-robed man narrowed his eyes.

"This..." Huang Shan choked. The tokens were all in the Temple Master's hands;

as subordinates, how could they carry them?

"You dare deceive me?!"

The red-robed man's expression shifted. He immediately grabbed with his right hand.

Across a distance of more than ten meters, a transparent tiger claw formed out of thin air, pressing down toward Chen Sui and the others.

The claw was detailed down to the finest hair, with visible tiger stripes on its surface. It was fully five meters long and four meters wide—like a transparent giant tiger raising its paw to smash Chen Sui's group.

But unexpectedly, the strike hit no one.

The group from Clear Wind Temple instantly deployed their movement techniques. Moving with extreme speed, they scattered like birds and beasts in the blink of an eye, vanishing from their original spots along with the Purple Crystal.

Bang!

The tiger claw smashed ruthlessly into the ground, gouging a trapezoidal pit more than four meters wide.

"'Such speed?'"

The red-robed man, Hall Master Yuan, was caught off guard.

He knew very little about the Outer City;

usually, he would just pick up the exploration team and return. He had no interest in such a barren place.

He had encountered Outer City bandits attempting to rob mist zone relics before, but he had crushed them with a casual move.

But this time, it was different.

"It appears this Clear Wind Temple's martial arts have some substance."

Wang family, Liu family...

If he previously thought the other party was bluffing, now he somewhat believed it.

Ordinary martial arts halls in the Outer City wouldn't possess such movement technique speed.

Mind racing, he looked at Chen Sui and the others regrouping. He didn't speak further;

caution gained the upper hand.

He shot a look toward Chen Hushan's exploration team.

"Withdraw," he transmitted via sound.

"But Hall Master... that Purple Crystal is good stuff..."

"I said withdraw. Do you not understand?!" Hall Master Yuan's eyes turned cold, and layers of white Internal Force light rose around his right hand.

"...Yes."

Chen Hushan was unwilling, but he could only lower his head and lead the team to retreat.

Hall Master Yuan exhaled, turned, and deployed his movement technique.

"!!"

Suddenly, a human face appeared directly in front of him—less than two meters away!

This was a dangerously close range.

One only had to raise a hand to make contact. For an Internal Force martial artist, this was practically face-to-face!

"Since you've come, why the rush to leave?"

The newcomer looked up slightly, revealing a pale, ordinary face that nevertheless possessed an indescribably harmonious quality.

Hall Master Yuan retreated at extreme speed, pulling open the distance. But the shock of that sudden encounter was deeply etched in his mind, making his heart race and his Qi and blood circulate wildly. A trace of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Who... are you?!"

He knew that with his perception, it should have been impossible for someone to get that close without him noticing.

Since the other party could get this close, they were certainly not simple to deal with.

"You're already making a move against the exploration team under my command, yet you still don't know who I am?"

The newcomer slowly drew his sword, and invisible ripples of wind began to undulate around him.

"Temple Master!"

"Temple Master is here!"

"It's the Temple Master! You're dead! Haha!"

Chen Sui's exploration team instantly recognized the newcomer.

Ever since the battle with the Hundred Flowers Sect, everyone in Clear Wind Temple had a clear understanding of the strength of Lin Hui, their successor Temple Master.

His combat strength far exceeded that of a Perfected Internal Force martial artist.

The subsequent battle with the Flying Stone Sect had confirmed this.

Seeing Lin Hui appear, everyone, including Chen Sui, heaved a fierce sigh of relief.

They knew that as long as the Temple Master was here, nothing was a problem.

"Clear Wind Temple Master?" Hall Master Yuan focused on sizing up the opponent, trying to gauge his strength.

But no matter how he looked, he couldn't see traces of the Circulation Realm.

Nor was there the special aura of a Called One.

"You want to fight me?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Are you Circulation?" Lin Hui didn't answer, but asked in return.

"I'm close..." Hall Master Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Why do you ask? With my current progress, I will step into it in three years at most!"

"Yes, you still have a glimmer of survival. Instead of..."

Clang!

A brilliant silver light drew a line through the air, flashing past in a split second.

Lin Hui's figure appeared behind Hall Master Yuan, slowly sheathing his sword.

"Then what qualification do you have to speak to me?"

Behind him, a massive gash split the center of Hall Master Yuan's chest.

Fresh blood sprayed wildly, dyeing the ground red.

A mass of internal organs spilled from the wound;

he clutched them with both hands and forcefully stuffed them back in.

Without a word, he turned and sprinted wildly into the distance.

This sword hadn't killed him, but it had cut through his Internal Force, shattered his Qi and blood, and injured at least eighty percent of his internal organs.

Without several years of recuperation, he shouldn't even think about returning to normal. Even if he recovered, it was unknown whether his Internal Force cultivation could ever return to its current breakthrough point.

Seeing this scene, both exploration teams fell silent.

But a second later, the Clear Wind Temple side erupted in cheers. Everyone roared, venting the oppression and fear in their hearts.

The members of the Red Rice Association's exploration team turned the color of the earth. Without a sound, they followed Chen Hushan, turning to run.

But before they could run far, their path was blocked by three white-haired old men.

Xue Meng, leading two martial hall elders, blocked them.

As an expert at the Internal Force Sixth Layer, now that he had good food, drink, and pills, his condition was notches better than when he first joined.

Without wasting words, he glanced at Lin Hui and saw a trace of killing intent.

He immediately waved his hand.

"Clean the field, brothers."

The three acted together. Against these exhausted exploration team members, it was one move, one kill.

Only Team Leader Chen Hushan could resist a bit, but he lasted only half a minute under Xue Meng's hands before his right leg was chopped off, leaving him unable to rise.

"You're crazy! We are the Red Rice Association! The Red Rice Association's exploration team! You dare kill me?! Aren't you afraid of being hunted down by my association?!"

To the end, he held onto a fantasy regarding the influence of the Three Sects and Six Associations.

"It is precisely because you are from the Red Rice Association that we must handle this cleanly... idiot."

Xue Meng's blade accelerated, viciously chopping off Chen Hushan's head. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.

"Is this really okay?" He turned to look at the approaching Lin Hui.

"No problem. The Red Rice Association won't fall out with me over a few ordinary Internal Force martial artists." Lin Hui smiled. "Although I don't like it, I have to say: many times, background is a very useful thing."

His eldest sister was a newly appointed Divine Officer, his eldest brother was a veteran Divine Officer, and behind them stood the great Wang family.

Although the Red Rice Association was large, it was merely in the same tier as the Wang and Liu families.

They couldn't possibly come into conflict with Divine Officer-level powers over a few Internal Force martial artists.

If that were the case, the Three Sects and Six Associations wouldn't have remained standing for so long.

Any conflict brought damage. If conflicts happened often, their foundation would eventually be exhausted.

"So you didn't kill that Hall Master Yuan? You just heavily injured him?" Xue Meng nodded.

"Correct. A martial artist about to reach Circulation still has value. So I spared him. At the same time, I need someone to carry Clear Wind Temple's name into the Inner City. Otherwise, if everyone comes looking for trouble, wouldn't I be busy to death?" Lin Hui laughed.

Turning around, he looked at Chen Sui and the others approaching.

"Now, everything is fine."

A harmonious smile appeared on his face, and he opened his arms.

"Welcome back. No matter what you experienced before, now, you are safe."

Upon hearing these words, Chen Sui and the others were almost teary-eyed.

It wasn't from being moved;

it was from lingering fear.

If Lin Hui had arrived even a little later, he would have only been able to collect their corpses.

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