Decaying World Chapter 281

A few days later.

The incident with Lin Xiaoliu had cut the hot-spring trip short. Lin Hui and Liu Xiao returned after a single day, kept a discreet watch on her, and only relaxed once they were certain she was unhard.

As for Song Yunhui—Lin Hui agreed entirely with his eldest brother: the boy drew trouble the way iron drew lightning, and the wisest course was to stay well clear. So, at their father's firm insistence, Lin Xiaoliu was transferred to the martial academy where Lin Hui held a nominal post, placing as much distance between her and Song Yunhui as possible.

Life settled back into its ordinary rhythm. The surprise, then, was that while Lin Xiaoliu ca to no harm, trouble surfaced within the Clear Wind Dao itself.

"Sothing happened to Xia Si?"

Out on the Jade Sea, Lin Hui slowly lowered his Ruyi sword, surprise crossing his face.

Each day, he ca to this vast, uninhabited stretch of water to work on his swordsmanship and deepen his comprehension of the Sacred Form of Destruction. Everyone knew his routine; he was almost never interrupted. Today, however, Li Yuanyuan broke with that custom and reached out through the Wind Chi.

"Yes," Li Yuanyuan said quickly. "Senior Sister Xia was present last night, but during a gathering, she made remarks that bordered on open defiance. Senior Brother Su Yaping took her to task over it; the disagreent turned into a fight, Senior Brother Su ca away with minor injuries, and Senior Sister Xia left in a fury and hasn't returned. For soone of her caliber to go quiet for a period of seclusion wouldn't normally concern us—but an urgent matter arose today, and when we tried to reach her, we found her residence ransacked. There was blood at the scene, and she isn't answering the Wind Chi."

"..." Lin Hui extended his senses and checked Xia Si's mark. As sect master and the one who had granted the Bestowal Seal, he could determine whether the marks he had planted still existed—but nothing more; pinpointing a direction or location was beyond him.

He confird she was alive and dismissed the matter. "No need to worry. She's alive—just temporarily away from Black Cloud City."

"I see. This disciple understands. I will inform the rest of the sect," Li Yuanyuan replied quickly.

Lin Hui ended the connection and drifted above the water, gaze turned toward the horizon.

He had no concern whatsoever for Xia Si—if anything, the situation intrigued him. In his investigation of the vast, hidden power she carried, he had confird it as a polluting force called Ash: a terrifying, otherworldly energy in the sa category as Purgatory and Extre Cold. With that much power at her disposal, she was far beyond the reach of any ordinary mishap. Which raised the real question—if it wasn't an accident, why had her ho been wrecked and bloodied, and where had she gone?

Interesting. He had a faint sense of what must have happened. Work hard, grow stronger—don't disappoint . The more thoroughly he understood the power dwelling inside Xia Si, the more certain he was that his full comprehension and condensation of the Sacred Form of Destruction would co through her. Let her grow stronger—a little, then a little more. When the fruit was finally ripe, he would harvest it.

…

Tens of thousands of miles away.

A storm raged across the open sea. Wild winds scread; erald waves heaved and broke against one another, hurling walls of water into the air before crashing back down in sheets. In the heart of the squall, a pale golden figure hung high above the surface, black sword in hand, gaze directed downward. It was Xia Si. Her expression was carved from ice. Blood traced thin lines down the blade and dripped from its tip.

"You cling like shadows on a corpse. What does it matter that I killed a few worthless dogs? Rather than thanking for the service, you sent hunters after ? Is everyone in the Hexin Society this utterly without sha?"

Below, standing atop the churning waves, two tall n were clad in exquisite, filigreed erald armor. Their full-face horned helts gave them the look of idols; their eyes glead with the sa sickly green as the sea churning beneath them.

"Those three may have been worthless—it still wasn't your place to cut them down at your leisure," the man on the left said coldly. "You made the choice to kill them. You bear the consequences and face the organization's judgnt."

"By the society's laws, attacking a fellow mber without a trial before the Sea King Court carries the death penalty." The other man swung a two-ter battle halberd down from his back.

"Laws?" Xia Si's lip curled. "I couldn't care less about my own Dao Master's rules—why in the world would I lose sleep over the codes of cowards skulking in shadow? My life is right here." She swept her black sword through the air. "If you have the skill, co and take it."

"Arrogant!"

Both n's eyes sharpened. Their figures blurred as they launched skyward. In an instant, gale and sea collided, gold and erald swallowing each other in a churning roar.

The destructive power unleashed—Blood Ancestor-level, unmistakably—ripped through everything within a hundred-mile radius.

When the wind and waves subsided, Xia Si rose higher into the sky, drenched in blood, and vanished over the horizon.

Not long after, several more figures in dark green armor materialized over the sea.

"This has spiraled into a disaster. Two Bluebloods couldn't capture her—and they're dead."

"We have no choice. Report this to the three Sea King General guest elders."

"Based on the residual energy from last ti, she hadn't co close to this level. How has she jumped this far in such a short span? The difference is at least twofold. Just who is this Xia Si?" A green-armored woman gripped a disc-shaped instrunt, her expression growing grimr as she watched the numbers shift across its surface. "Her rate of growth is terrifying."

"Don't delay. Report it now."

The group reached quick agreent; their figures flickered and they were gone.

…

Clear Wind Dao Academy.

"Madam has no serious underlying condition. She appears to have sustained excessive physical strain over a prolonged period, resulting in a severe depletion of her vitality. A nutritious diet, adequate rest, and reduced exertion should restore her quickly."

Lin Hui listened and nodded as the distinguished Inner City dical apothecary concluded his assessnt.

"Many thanks. Yuanyuan, please see our guest out and settle the consultation fee."

Li Yuanyuan, standing behind him, nodded and stepped forward, guiding the elderly physician out of the courtyard.

Lin Hui turned to Liu Xiao. "This is ultimately my fault," he said with a sigh.

"I told you I was fine," Liu Xiao laughed. "Honestly, when it cos down to it, it's exactly what Sister Gongsun said—my constitution is simply too frail. You're too fast, and your endurance is without end. I can't keep up, and there's nothing I can do about that."

Lin Hui said nothing. Whenever he and Liu Xiao were intimate, the mismatch in their physical tolerances was absolute. Liu Xiao would reach her limit hundreds of tis over before he was close to finished—and with his constitution having climbed to the heights it had in recent months, the toll on her had only grown more severe.

"We'd better bring Yuanyuan in next ti," Liu Xiao said helplessly, pressing her back against the trunk of a pear tree. "At this rate, I might genuinely not survive." She paused, then shook her head. "No—even with Yuanyuan, it won't be enough. We may need to draw Sister Gongsun into this as well..."

"Enough of that," Lin Hui said flatly. He had little appetite for excess; Liu Xiao was more than sufficient for him.

"All right, all right. But Sister Gongsun doesn't seem to bear you any resentnt—the chances are actually quite decent. Are you genuinely not going to consider it?" A wicked smile crossed Liu Xiao's face.

"Keep talking, and I'll take you straight back to bed." Lin Hui lifted a hand in mock threat.

That was enough. Liu Xiao turned and bolted.

"Just you wait!" she called back, already putting distance between them. "Have your fun while it lasts—sooner or later I'll find soone who can match you!"

Lin Hui stood alone in the courtyard as her footsteps faded, the smile leaving his face by degrees.

A short while later, Li Yuanyuan returned.

"Dao Master, there has been a new developnt on Lin Xiaoliu's end. According to fresh intelligence, Song Yunhui tracked her down despite the distance between them and asked for her help assessing a Relic. The two were ambushed at their eting point, and the protector we had stationed there was knocked unconscious. Strangely, when he ca to, he found both Lin Xiaoliu and Song Yunhui completely unhard."

"Only our protector was incapacitated?" Lin Hui asked.

"Yes."

"Interesting." Lin Hui was quiet for a mont. "Investigate what transpired while he was unconscious."

"Understood." Li Yuanyuan gave a slight nod and moved to withdraw.

"One more thing—are you on the verge of a breakthrough?" Lin Hui asked.

She paused. "Yes. This subordinate has reached Great Accomplishnt in the Clear Wind Sword Technique, and the Wild Wind Sword Technique has advanced to the mid-stage of Body Tempering. My constitution appears to have undergone a chain reaction as a result—particularly my innate racial talent."

"Racial talent? Tell about it." Lin Hui's curiosity sharpened. "You're Shadowhound Clan, yes?"

"I am. My original talent permitted brief intervals of shadow-transformation—three seconds at a ti, enough to slip a fatal blow. That alone was the longest duration on record within my clan." Li Yuanyuan's tone was asured and precise. "But recently, through the Body Tempering of the Wild Wind Sword Technique, the duration has extended to over two minutes. Beyond that, I can now briefly bring external objects into the shadow with ."

"What does it feel like when you transform?" Lin Hui asked.

"Like stepping into a cold, dark world where everything appears in black and white. In that place, a being's strength is determined entirely by the size of its shadow."

"When you have ti, would you be willing to bring along?" Lin Hui said.

"Of course. It would be my honor." Li Yuanyuan dipped her head.

Lin Hui was about to press further when sothing shifted in his expression. He turned, gaze locking onto a direction far in the distance. Soone out there was venting their aura without the slightest restraint—a presence surging skyward, setting the mist churning and rolling thousands of ters overhead.

"Another challenger. Have Su Yaping handle it."

"Understood." Li Yuanyuan turned and left the courtyard.

Lin Hui stood alone in the stillness. Then he turned, and his figure vanished.

…

One minute later, he appeared above the erald waters of the Jade Sea, tens of thousands of miles away.

This was the very stretch where Xia Si had clashed with her pursuers. He couldn't trace his law seals by direction, but his intelligence network was extensive—the shockwaves of that battle had been enormous, rattling passing rchant fleets, and word had found its way to him through the usual channels.

Hovering in midair, Lin Hui closed his eyes and turned his full attention to the lingering traces of Xia Si's aura. He traced how that golden power had reduced everything it touched to Ash, cross-referencing each impression against the cultivation mories embedded in his Star Breath Sword Canon.

Hiss...

Slowly, a blurred human silhouette began to separate from his back. Like the Sacred Form of Life, it took the shape of a white phantom—but where that form radiated vitality, this one breathed thick grey smoke shot through with the deep cold of death.

This was everything he had accumulated toward the Sacred Form of Destruction over the past few years. Catalyzed by his reading of Xia Si's aura, the form continued its gradual separation.

Hiss...

Amidst faint tearing sounds, the pale root-like threads binding the Sacred Form of Destruction to his back snapped one by one—barely a third of the way through its detachnt before, abruptly, the process stalled.

Lin Hui opened his eyes and exhaled slowly.

He was short by a fraction—but closing that final gap had proven harder than every step before it combined. He had always understood this from the cultivational mories woven into the Star Breath Sword Canon itself: this was a Divine Art that grew exponentially more demanding with each advance. Even so, confronting that wall of stagnation firsthand still stirred a quiet, unruly flicker of frustration.

More pressingly: if it were simply slow, he could endure that—ti was still on his side. The real problem was that the Disaster Energy drawn in by the Typhoon Sword Technique was continuously eroding and assimilating his mind-spirit and physical constitution, and the erosion was growing stronger. He needed the Star Breath Sword Canon to progress in order to hold it back.

Ever since the Blood Seal had surfaced, information concerning the Grandmaster of the Nine Skies Gate, Lin Hui had grown exceptionally careful about every nuance of the Disaster Energy and the Wind Disaster.