Decaying World Chapter 231

Chapter 231

Black Cloud's Outer City was largely identical to Tuyue's, divided into fringe zones, urban townships, and suburban farmlands. The only difference lay in their proportions.

Farmland was scarce here. Heavy ox carts rolled through the streets in an endless stream, loaded with cuts of salt-baked and air-dried at.

After leveraging his father's connections to get his bearings, Lin Hui purchased a large courtyard compound from a housing broker. As the Dao Master of the Clear Wind Dao, he had left with considerable wealth—three hundred vials of Feather Blood among his assets alone. The courtyard cost only two vials, topped off with a modest sum in gold notes.

Even so, the price far exceeded Tuyue's real estate. Still, the compound was massive enough to accommodate their group of over a hundred with ease.

After settling in, the group scattered across the city for a few days to acquaint themselves with their new surroundings.

Lin Hui set out on foot to get a feel for the area.

They were lodged in Xinque Town. Despite being by the sea, there was no shortage of magpies. The birds darted back and forth through the Mist all day, though how they avoided the Night Mist remained a mystery.

Most of Xinque Town's residents were seafaring sailors, with a smaller portion made up of artisans who processed and traded in mariti goods. Outsiders who had settled here, like Lin Hui's group, were a tiny minority.

Just like Xinyu Town back in Tuyue, it sat flush against the white wall—a location Lin Hui had deliberately chosen for easy access to the Inner City.

After a few days of gathering intelligence, the mbers of the Clear Wind Dao convened to share their findings.

"It seems the situation here is far better than in Tuyue."

In the newly purchased courtyard, core disciples—Wang Hongshi among them—gathered around Lin Hui.

Su Yaping was the first to speak. Over the past few days, he seed to have fully assimilated. He had changed into an airy, pale-green sleeveless dress, cinching it with a sea beast leather belt and adding a deep-sea black pearl pendant at his neck.

"So n and won both wear dresses here," Wang Hongshi said with a helpless tug at his own black culottes.

"There's a distinction, though. The n's wear more closely resembles elongated robes, while the won's follow the usual cut—just looser and heavier. Underneath, most wear leather trousers or waterproof sea beast leather boots," Qiu Yiren added.

"That's not the point." Wang Hongshi shook his head. "The point is, I specifically looked into the food and housing situation. This place also has Myriad Blessings at, but people don't rely on it because there's no food shortage whatsoever. The Moon Tower here can purge toxins from the flesh and blood of Mist Zone monsters, and an entire industry has grown around that capability. They have more than enough to supply the city and still export massive quantities of dried at to other urban districts."

"The detoxifying Evil Energy—I've heard of it as well. It's part of what makes Black Cloud so prosperous," Su Yaping agreed.

Detoxifying Evil Energy... Lin Hui turned the thought over. Tuyue's Evil Energy absorbed lifespans, turning the Moon Tower nobles of Tuyue into outright man-eating demons. But the Trueblood Nobles here possessed a detoxifying Evil Energy. While it seed far less useful in combat than lifespan absorption, it had given rise to a society far more prosperous and powerful than Tuyue's.

There was sothing to be said for both; which application of Evil Energy was truly superior was impossible to say.

"I went to the Inner City yesterday to investigate," Su Yaping continued. "The Extre Desire Heaven in the Moon Tower here is just as uninhibited, but nowhere near as brazen or unruly as Tuyue's. That's because there isn't just one Mistborn here—there are three."

"Three?" Lin Hui looked up in surprise.

"Yes. The three Mistborn keep each other in check. Their three types of Evil Energy govern detoxification, nourishnt, and reproduction. These abilities complent each other perfectly, vastly expanding Black Cloud's population—which is also why this city produces an unending stream of exceptional talent." Su Yaping sighed. "That said, the three Mistborn generally dwell on three floating mountains in the Inner City, not in the Moon Tower."

"That indirectly proves the environnt around Black Cloud is extrely harsh," Lin Hui said quietly. "Otherwise, three Mistborn wouldn't consolidate without cause."

"The Dao Master is absolutely right." Su Yaping nodded. "The greatest threat surrounding Black Cloud cos from the Mist Gods. They vary widely in power—the strongest can rival multiple Mistborn, while the weakest are only marginally stronger than a Blood Ancestor. There are quite a few in the area. The one that most frequently wars with this city is Minglan, the Ocean Wave God. I only managed to piece together the broad strokes; the details will require further investigation."

"That's enough. A general picture is fine. I'll be taking up my post at the martial academy tomorrow. Once I'm familiar with the situation, I'll open a study hall." Lin Hui nodded. "Anything else to add?"

"Dao Master, I've also inquired about the sea route back to Tuyue," Wang Hongshi said.

"Speak."

"The ships of the Hundred Seas rchant Alliance travel to the region near Tuyue and Xingdao once a year. They carry on extensive trade with the Rotting God Sect there."

"The Rotting God Sect?" Lin Hui glanced at Xia Si.

Xia Si looked equally puzzled. Weren't they just that pack of wild-eyed fanatics living next to her?

"Yes, though the specifics of the trade are unclear. The White Cloud rchant Alliance's fleet also travels to Tuyue once every two years to purchase local specialties—though since there's precious little worth buying, they occasionally skip the run."

"Well done, all of you." Lin Hui nodded. "Now that we've covered the situation in Black Cloud, does anyone have anything to add?"

"I do." Xia Si raised her hand. "Master, I don't want to run the study hall. I want to go to sea."

"Go to sea?"

"Yes. If you're lucky out there, the rewards are imnse. You can encounter sea beasts, Mist Gods, sights you'd never see on land—it sounds extraordinary!" Xia Si's eyes shone with barely contained excitent.

"As long as you've thought it through," Lin Hui said.

"Dao Master, I want to go to sea too."

" too. The pay from sailing is extraordinary here—far better than anything in Tuyue!"

"I want to go as well!"

With Xia Si leading the charge, the vast majority of the disciples sheepishly raised their hands.

Lin Hui surveyed the room. Of the dozen or so core disciples, only Qiu Yiren was willing to help him open the study hall. The rest all wanted to set sail.

He felt rather helpless. Since receiving their Law Seals, their strength had soared—and their confidence had swelled along with it. Even though most were only Internal Force martial artists, such practitioners were no weaklings in Black Cloud's Outer City. They cultivated the perfected version of the Clear Wind Sword Technique's Body Tempering, augnted by the Righteous Body Law Seal. In an actual fight, even Perfected Internal Force practitioners would struggle to match them—a cut above Perfected, though still shy of Circulation. No small level of strength.

After so discussion, Qiu Yiren remained with Lin Hui, while the Shadowhound Clan princess, Li Yuanyuan, was put in charge of managing the group's mariti goods and trade within the city. As for the study hall, without their own people to staff it, the matter was naturally shelved.

The seafaring contingent even dragged Su Yaping and Xia Si along, pooling their funds to buy a ship of their own.

Lin Hui hadn't quite understood the fervor at first. After making so inquiries, however, he heard the exaggerated rumors circulating throughout Black Cloud—tales of discovering rare dicines at sea and rocketing from commoner to High Divine Officer in a single bound. The rumors, astoundingly, could actually be verified, with several such cases arising every year. The most celebrated was Wang Chongjun, the Sea-Suppressing General commanding the Outer City's bay: a man who had gone to sea as an ordinary person, consud a Sea Dragon Pearl, and ascended in a single bound to Palace Master rank and Luminous Extre in just three short years.

The Jade Sea and Crystal Sea were boundless—brimming with mystery, danger, and opportunity—so much so that all of Black Cloud had been swept up in a seafaring craze. That explained the fervor well enough.

Lin Hui made no effort to dissuade them. Instead, following his father's arrangents, he made his way to the Taisu Martial Academy to register. After a brief assessnt, he was taken on as staff three days later.

He beca a martial arts teacher at the Inner City's Taisu Martial Academy.

…

Fifth Branch of the Taisu Martial Academy.

Near the edge of the Black Cloud Inner City wall, amid a broad expanse of palm trees, white stone buildings were arranged throughout the grounds, enclosed by a high circular wall. Inside, the shouts of martial practice rang out at intervals, occasionally undercut by the crack of a whip and sharp scolding.

Beside a training ground the size of a football field, a curvaceous, purple-haired female teacher—dressed in the academy's standard black corseted uniform—guided Lin Hui on a tour of the grounds with an easy smile.

"The primary student base for our Fifth Branch is commoner children from the thirty towns surrounding the Outer City. A small portion, of course, consists of elite youths from the nearby Sea Clan, along with so Inner City aristocratic youths who followed their teachers here. You must rember these distinctions. If you accidentally offend an Inner City aristocrat, you'll find yourself in serious trouble."

She communicated directly via Internal Force sound transmission. The minimum requirent to beco a teacher at the martial academy was reaching the Circulation Realm—so despite her glamorous looks and alluring figure, she was, in reality, a hundred-year-old crone.

"Thank you for the reminder, Teacher Song. I'll keep that in mind," Lin Hui said with a polite nod.

"Don't rely keep it in mind—engrave it in your bones," Teacher Song, the purple-haired woman, said, turning her head with a stern look. "The hierarchy here isn't absolute. Talented students whose strength climbs rapidly have been known to challenge and defeat their teachers. Conversely, many teachers severely injure or even kill students every year. When dealing with aristocratic youths, even as a teacher, you must tread carefully at every turn. A single misstep could be fatal."

"Understood," Lin Hui said, considerably more serious this ti.

Only then did she nod in satisfaction and continue leading the way.

Song Xinyan had no love for administrative chores, but she had no choice—formal teaching was an even worse prospect.

"You'll be in charge of Class Four, which is relatively safe. It's almost entirely commoner children; the dynamic is solid and the students are well-behaved. There are only two boys from pirate backgrounds who can be a bit prickly, but nothing severe. As class teacher, the primary curriculum is the academy's standard Seven Smoke-Cloud Freehand Forms—the finest foundational martial art available, suited for children between the ages of six and sixteen. Practiced to its limit, it allows a smooth breakthrough to Internal Force and advancent to a higher class," Teacher Song explained as she walked.

"Advancent to a higher class? So we aren't responsible for seeing them through to graduation?" Lin Hui asked.

He had assud it would work like the schools of his past life, with a horoom teacher guiding a cohort from start to finish.

"Of course not. Internal Force martial artists have higher-level teachers for that. Though if there's a student you think highly of, you may take them on as a personal disciple. When the ti cos, the student simply needs to pass the academy's assessnt—as long as their scores are sufficient, the academy doesn't concern itself with how they were taught," Teacher Song said.

"Understood."

"The strength you displayed during your assessnt was Perfected Internal Force, elevated to the Circulation Realm through secret arts. Therefore, you'll primarily be responsible for teaching foundational sword arts. Although students major in the Seven Smoke-Cloud Freehand Forms, they are also expected to have a working knowledge of various other weapons—not mastery, but enough to counter them. That is your task."

"Understood."

After the tour, Song Xinyan brought Lin Hui to his private office, and with that, his posting was settled.

One class in the morning, one in the afternoon, each lasting two hours. Lin Hui's duties were to teach basic sword arts and spar with students to drill sword counters. The work was genuinely relaxed, and the pay was decent—seventy thousand qian a month. No intrigue, no scheming; life was refreshingly simple.

It suited Lin Hui's purposes perfectly: a quiet cover while he gathered intelligence on Black Cloud's true situation. Once his work and daily routine had settled into place, he turned his attention to determining the next evolutionary target for the Blood Seal.