Chapter 31: Change I

The snow was getting heavier…

Inside Mingde’s room, the man himself was absent. Only his daughter, Vivi, and his three disciples were gathered together.

The four of them remained silent; none had expected such a sudden turn of events.

“What should we do now?” Wang Yun asked in a low voice, her brow furrowed.

“Let’s wait for Teacher to return. For such a major matter, everything depends on the Abbot’s condition,” Deng Mingchao replied softly.

“If the Abbot…” Wang Yun trailed off, but everyone understood her meaning.

“…” Lin Hui said nothing. He simply walked to a corner and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

A matter of this magnitude was not for them to decide. As disciples, the only thing they could do was wait.

Soon, half an hour passed, and the sky outside began to grow dark.

Daoist Mingde’s figure finally appeared outside the house. He looked exhausted, his Taoist robe stained with spots of blood in several places, and he seemed somewhat distracted.

Entering the courtyard, Mingde kicked aside two old hens that had scurried to his feet and pushed the door open.

“The Abbot is in critical condition and won’t be regaining consciousness anytime soon. From now on, the affairs of the temple will be jointly presided over by the three of us. However, there are significant differences in opinion between me and the other two…”

“So, what’s the situation now, Dad?” Vivi asked directly.

“The talks collapsed. We had a fight. Everyone has their own ideas, so we’ve decided to go our separate ways,” Mingde shook his head, looking helpless.

“What? The Abbot just fell into a coma and you’re already splitting up?” Vivi was shocked. This was moving too fast.

The other three also changed expression. At this speed, this so-called “going separate ways” was likely pre-planned. Otherwise, the other two wouldn’t have made such a decision so quickly.

“I completely misjudged Minxiu and Minchen—ungrateful ingrates!” Mingde gritted his teeth and slapped the wall, leaving a deep palm print.

“Then Teacher, next, we…” Wang Yun asked.

“Observe the changes. we will continue with our previous rhythm and meet all changes by remaining unchanged,” Mingde said solemnly.

With the Abbot seriously injured and unconscious, the many troubles he had warded off in the past would take this opportunity to come looking for trouble.

Therefore, the coming period might be the most dangerous for the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. Fortunately, almost all the martial arts factions in the entire Outer City had been challenged and defeated, so everyone was starting from the same baseline; no one was better off than the others.

After determining their response, the group had to disperse as the sky grew dark.

In the following days, Lin Hui continued his diligent practice of the Nine-Section Quick Sword according to his original plan. He constantly sought guidance from Mingde and occasionally sparred with his fellow disciples.

Thus, his proficiency grew faster and faster.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

Ever since Daoist Baohe was heavily injured, reports began to spread that the main forces of all the major external martial arts halls in the Outer City had been crushed by experts from other districts.

Following this, new martial arts halls with styles from other urban areas began to spring up like mushrooms in every town.

They didn’t just cripple the top masters of the original halls; they also snatched various cooperation projects with the Yamen, securing high profits.

This further worsened the survival environment for the local martial arts halls and was simultaneously digging at their very foundations.

At the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, some disciples learned that the challenger, Song Zhanlong, had opened a martial arts sect called the Black Dragon Gate. Some of the newer disciples began to quietly quit and transfer to the Black Dragon Gate.

Time passed day by day.

More and more disciples left the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. Many had originally come to study the temple’s movement techniques to improve their speed, but now that they saw the stronger Song Zhanlong completely countered those techniques, they saw no point in continuing.

After all, even the strongest Daoist Baohe was not a match for Song Zhanlong for more than a few rounds. This meant that the future of martial arts at the Clear Wind Taoist Temple was far inferior to that of the Black Dragon Gate.

Everyone practiced martial arts in pursuit of becoming stronger. Now that they saw no hope, the loss of disciples accelerated.

In just over a month, a full third of the disciples had left, transferring to martial arts sects founded by martial artists from the Xingdao urban area.

Lin Hui felt somewhat shaken, but Daoist Mingde had been nothing but good to him. Even if he felt uncertain, he had no intention of defecting.

As for the martial arts themselves, he wasn’t worried about future development. After all, his goal from the start wasn’t to be the strongest, but to be the fastest. Otherwise, he could have just gone to the Flying Cloud Pavilion.

---

March.

The Clear Wind Taoist Temple was sparsely populated, and the grounds were desolate.

Lin Hui followed Daoist Mingde, walking quietly along the edge of the front courtyard training ground, treading on somewhat thick snow. Both were silent.

“Zhao Jiangan and Mu Qiaozhi have left,” Mingde finally spoke, his voice rasping. “They joined the stronger Black Dragon Gate and took Song Zhanlong as their master.”

“Teacher, you don’t need to worry about me. No matter what happens, I will not betray your trust,” Lin Hui promised sincerely.

“There’s no need for that. Don’t let your sense of gratitude affect your future. If things really stop working out here, you should choose the best option for yourself and join another sect. There’s no need to hang yourself from a single tree; you’re still young,” Mingde sighed.

“This disciple understands,” Lin Hui replied, but he had absolutely no intention of leaving.

“Alas… by now, you’ve basically mastered the Nine-Section Quick Sword, haven’t you?” Mingde asked.

He stopped and turned to look at Lin Hui.

“Yes,” Lin Hui nodded respectfully.

“It’s about time. I called you out today because I plan to take you on a real Mist Hunt,” Mingde said. “The other two under my tutelage have each been taken on a solo Mist Hunt by me. Since we are surrounded by the mist, we naturally cannot stay away from it.”

“How did Senior Sister Wang, Senior Brother Deng, and Sister Vivi perform?” Lin Hui asked curiously.

“Vivi was so scared she had nightmares for a week. Wang Yun and Deng Mingchao performed passably; they struggled with two ordinary Mist Beasts for a long time. Though they didn’t manage to kill them, it was acceptable,” Mingde paused. “The purpose of taking you on a solo hunt is primarily to familiarize you with the procedures and precautions for entering and exiting the mist. That way, if you are ever forced to enter the Mist Zone, your safety will be maximized.”

“This disciple understands,” Lin Hui nodded.

The two walked halfway around the temple and reached the rear. They passed through a small grove and followed a path inward.

Before long, they arrived at the boundary of the Mist Zone.

Mingde gripped his longsword, the silver blade sliding out softly and pointing diagonally at the ground.

“Mist Beasts are divided into five grades: Harmless, Nuisance, Dangerous, High-Risk, and Destruction.”

“The names make them easy to judge,” Lin Hui said thoughtfully.

“Yes. Most of what we encounter at the edge of the Mist Zone are actually Harmless grade. They look physically large, but they can only threaten ordinary people. To us, they are completely harmless.” Mingde stood before the gray wall of mist, slowly taking out a piece of amber Tranquility Incense and lighting a corner with a flint.

Holding the incense in one hand and his sword in the other, he slowly approached the Mist Zone.

“Keep up.”

Lin Hui quickly followed.

He looked around curiously. The moment the Tranquility Incense touched the mist, it miraculously pushed back a spherical space about ten meters in diameter.

Within this space, all the mist was forcibly squeezed out by an invisible force.

The two of them moved forward as if inside a transparent sphere.

Beneath their feet was barren black soil, rugged and uneven.

Tall black shadows, at least three meters high, constantly flashed through the surrounding mist.

Hoo.

A humanoid black shadow swept past right over Lin Hui’s head, making his hair stand on end. He couldn’t help but stop.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a Harmless-grade Half-Giant,” Mingde said calmly from ahead.

“Yes.”

Lin Hui nodded.

They continued for a short while until a small wooden hut appeared in front of Mingde.

The hut was entirely gray-black, surrounded by a small white-thorn fence.

Mingde approached, opened the gate, and walked in skillfully.

“This is a temporary rest point I established in the Mist Zone. If you get tired during your hunt and training, you can come here to restock, rest, and catch your breath. Inside hangs a jade talisman from the Rain Palace Cult; Nuisance-grade monsters and below won’t dare approach.”

“Alright,” Lin Hui nodded.

“Next, find a Mist Beast to practice on.” After taking Lin Hui inside for a quick look, Mingde stepped back out to begin the formal training.

“Go on. I’ll wait for you here. Within fifteen minutes, find a Mist Beast, attempt to kill it, and bring back a part of its body. Then you will have successfully passed the training.” Mingde handed the Tranquility Incense to Lin Hui and pushed the door to the hut open.

“I’ll be waiting for you here.”

“…Yes.” Lin Hui fell silent, watching his teacher enter, lock the door, and then wave from the window.

He collected himself, looked at the Tranquility Incense in his hand, and carefully tucked it into his waist pouch.

The incense was miraculous; it had no visible flame when lit, but it continuously emitted white smoke.

After confirming that the incense was working properly, Lin Hui drew his Clear River sword, stuck the scabbard into the soil within the hut’s fence, and stepped cautiously toward the Mist Zone.

The gray mist, representing all that was unknown, soon enveloped him from all sides.

Lin Hui glanced at the blood-red status prompt in his field of vision.

‘Nine-Section Quick Sword: Evolution remaining time—May 19th.’

Over three months had passed, and the nine-month evolution time didn’t seem to have been reduced at all.

This left Lin Hui somewhat disappointed, but he quickly composed himself and focused his attention on his surroundings, remaining vigilant.

Time passed bit by bit.

Before long.

Wu…

A strange wail drifted from the left, faint and fleeting.

The sound gradually drew closer, getting nearer and nearer.

Puff!

In an instant, a gray shadow pounced down from behind!

It was a slender humanoid monster, its skin smooth and an eerie gray-white.

Its head had no features, only a single sharp black horn protruding from the top.

This sudden pounce immediately triggered Lin Hui’s already taut nerves.

He raised his hand and struck with his sword, executing an upward slash toward the rear, his entire strength exploding outward instinctively.

Chii!

The sharp blade sliced across the humanoid monster’s chest first, sending out a trail of sparks.

I can’t damage it??!

Lin Hui’s heart tightened, and he quickly dodged to the side, precisely avoiding the creature’s pounce.

“This monster is called a Faceless Man. Its skin is as hard as iron. To deal with it, you must find its ‘weak spot’ (罩门),” Teacher Mingde’s voice drifted from afar.

“A Faceless Man’s weak spot is generally the single horn on its head. Cutting off the horn will kill it completely. Be careful; its claws contain a numbing toxin. If you are injured, your movement agility will decrease rapidly,” Mingde continued. “You’re lucky; the Faceless Man is at the upper end of the Harmless grade. It’s a Mist Beast that truly tests movement and visual precision. Generally, in our sect, only those at Sixth-Rank Body Tempering or above can handle it. You can try it as a test.”

(End of Chapter)