Chapter 57: Identity I

After calming down for a while, Lin Hui carefully sensed the state of the internal force within his body.

He was extremely curious about this peculiar power that could not only provide defense and enhancement but also elevate one’s overall physique.

Extending his hand, he stared intently at his palm, circulating a sliver of internal force into his fingertips.

Under the morning light, a faint white glow slowly lit up at the tips of his fingers.

The white light was very weak and faint, yet clear as mist, clinging tightly to his fingertips.

Lin Hui touched it with his other hand. The sensation was soft yet tough, with a warm feeling. Pressing down hard, no matter what, he couldn’t touch the fingertip underneath the layer.

‘Like a type of extremely high-strength gel…‘ The thought flashed through his mind.

Then, he flicked his hand forward, attempting to project the internal force outward. However, there was no reaction; the internal force stuck to his hand like glue.

Retracting the internal force, Lin Hui glanced at Xiaohu, who had started teaching the elderly folks again on the distant training ground.

“Xiaohu, I’m going inside to rest for a bit. Come find me in the main hall study later if there’s anything.”

“Okay, Master,” Xiaohu responded from afar.

He and Little Fatty had formally become Lin Hui’s disciples, counted as registered disciples.

To be honest, in this Clear Wind Sword Sect with only a few kittens left, the fact that Xiaohu and the other could firmly follow Lin Hui without running away showed great character.

The reason they were registered disciples was mainly because Lin Hui himself was worried about delaying others. Before confirming that the Perfected Clear Wind Sword Style could truly allow ordinary people to significantly improve their strength, he wouldn’t accept any true disciples.

This way, if Xiaohu really couldn’t make it later, he could quickly switch to another sect.

Instead of being suspected and rejected by other sects because of the status of a true disciple.

Currently, Xiaohu was still practicing the Seven-Section Quick Sword and undergoing primary Body Tempering. With the aid of medicine, he had arduously tempered his body to the Second Rank.

Little Fatty was at the First Rank.

After giving instructions, Lin Hui entered the main hall and walked into the small study on the right, searching through rows of bookshelves.

These books were various miscellaneous books accumulated by the Clear Wind Taoist Temple over many years. Those involving martial arts or having some value had been packed up and sold or taken away by Minchen and Minxiu. What remained was unwanted.

Lin Hui entered because not long ago, before Mingde left, he had placed a booklet he wrote about internal force here.

This was basic knowledge for Lin Hui to read after breaking through to the Internal Force Realm. Originally, Mingde planned to wait a few years before writing it, since breaking through to the Internal Force Realm would take a long time, at least two or three years.

But he never expected that Lin Hui would break through to Internal Force so quickly in just the second month. Without needing secondary Body Tempering to reach the limit, simply circulating the sword technique generated it rapidly, effortlessly.

Lighting an oil lamp, Lin Hui rustled through the bookshelves for a while. Soon, he pulled out a gray-white scroll, untied the thin string binding it, and gently unrolled it.

Lines of small characters from his master Mingde appeared.

Internal Force Realm: Because the quality and strength of internal force cultivated by various martial arts differ vastly, the gap in strength at this realm can widen rapidly. Remember, never judge strength solely by the Internal Force Realm level. Sometimes, someone newly entering Internal Force can exhibit practical combat effects of the late stage. Do not be careless.

Above was a passage left by Mingde.

Below was the specific classification of the Internal Force Realm.

The Internal Force Realm is collectively known externally as the Internal Family. Unlike the Ninth Rank Body Tempering of the External Family, the Internal Family is divided into six layers, from one to six. Each layer is more robust and powerful than the last, with the internal force gap between each layer being at least double. This is a comprehensive gap in quality. Also, due to differences in constitution and External Weave, the internal force each person can accommodate varies. Therefore, the Internal Force Realm level is only effective for oneself and can only serve as a rough positioning to measure one’s own internal development. In actual combat, judgment must be based on battle records.

After the Sixth Layer of Internal Force, a few geniuses can step into the Cosmic Circulation Realm before their bodies decline at sixty. If the Sixth Layer of Internal Force corresponds to the lower-middle tier of Summoners, then the Cosmic Circulation Realm corresponds to the High-tier Summoner level. The strength of a High-tier Summoner can be considered a powerhouse in both the Inner and Outer Cities. And this is the limit of my Clear Wind Sword.

The highest realm achieved by the founding ancestor back then was the Cosmic Circulation Realm. It is impossible for me, your master, to touch that level. But you, Ah Hui, if your luck is good and you can enter the Internal Force Realm before twenty, perhaps you will have a chance to touch the Cosmic Circulation Realm before sixty… By then…

Mingde didn’t finish writing the rest, only trailing off into a long ink streak.

Lin Hui sighed lightly. Feeling the threads of cold internal force in his body, he understood. No wonder the Perfected Clear Wind Sword had no special effects; the emotion was that this ultra-fast internal force generation effect already surpassed any special effect.

Further down, the scroll recorded the distinguishing characteristics of each level of the six layers of Internal Force.

Specifically, internal force would start from only being usable in the limbs, gradually covering the whole body, then extending to weapons and equipment, until finally reaching the limit of the body and weave at the Sixth Layer.

When internal force completely filled the body and weave, unable to absorb any more, that was the Sixth Layer of the Internal Family.

Lin Hui carefully memorized the content of each layer, then carefully put the scroll back in its original place.

Walking out of the study, he came to the center of the main hall, looked at the nameless statue missing most of its body, and sighed.

Actually, ever since entering the Inner City, he had fallen into an unusual confusion.

Life in the Inner City was safe and beautiful. Apart from Feather Blood, people didn’t need to worry about any trouble. As long as they didn’t actively cause trouble, Summoners and nobles wouldn’t kill people randomly. They mostly lived in the Middle Ring and Core Districts, separated from civilians. It was a completely different world from ordinary people.

And the lofty Origin Blood Nobles lived at the top of the thousand-story Moon Towers, almost never touching the ground.

‘The Outer City is just an abandoned dark corner…‘ Lin Hui lamented sincerely in his heart.

He walked to the window of the main hall and looked out at the training ground through the tall, narrow window.

On the training ground, Xiaohu was handing out hot towels to a group of elderly students to wipe their sweat, while Little Fatty beside him led a donkey cart, bringing a pile of various snacks and refreshments to replenish energy for everyone after exercise.

The service could be described as dedicated.

‘In the Outer City, life hangs by a thread, and one’s safety depends on others. If one day you provoke someone from the Inner City, your whole family might mysteriously disappear overnight.‘

‘In the Inner City, everyone must purchase enough Feather Blood, otherwise they can only work for the Three Great Powers, striving to obtain permits and identity proof. Before that, one must also spend a huge sum to buy a house…‘

Thinking of this, a wave of irritability naturally surged in Lin Hui’s heart.

He hated this kind of development where everything was planned by others. Entering the Three Great Powers in the Inner City or becoming a rich person buying massive amounts of Feather Blood—both were unavoidable paths.

But for now, there was no other way but to endure.

‘Must I really just follow the steps like this? Even if I reach the Internal Force Realm or Cosmic Circulation Realm, so what? Even High-tier Summoners are plentiful in the Inner City… What exactly is going on with this world?‘

ROAR!

Just then, a furious beast roar came faintly from the distance outside the Daoist temple.

The roar echoed continuously, from far to near, shaking the main hall of the temple slightly and causing dust to fall.

Lin Hui quickly rushed out of the main hall, leaped up, climbed a large tree at the edge of the training ground, and looked into the distance.

To the west of the temple, a thick column of black smoke was rising into the sky, and faint sounds of weapons clashing could be heard.

‘That direction should be where Yu Ying’s team went…‘ Lin Hui had been paying attention to this investigation team from the Inner City. After finding a guide, they had gone out via the North Wind Forest Road, returning to the city every few days.

At this moment, they must have clashed with some powerful monster in the Mist Zone.

The roaring lasted for several minutes before stopping.

The elderly folks on the training ground also looked panicked. They stopped practicing swords and ran out of the temple to check the situation.

Hearing the commotion subside, they breathed a sigh of relief and chattered, guessing and discussing the situation.

Xiaohu and Little Fatty came to Lin Hui.

“Master…”

“It’s fine. I’ll go check the situation. You wait here. Close the main gate and lock it. Wait for me to come back.”

Lin Hui ordered in a deep voice.

“Yes!”

“Ah Hui, should I go instead?” Vivi also came out from a corner.

“No need.” Lin Hui shook his head, pushed open the door quickly, and ran in the direction of the sound.

With the deepening of Body Tempering, his running speed now covered seven or eight meters in a single stride. In the blink of an eye, ten or twenty meters passed.

Leaving the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, passing through the surrounding woodland, and then vast stretches of lush paddy fields.

Square paddy fields stretched one after another to the end of his vision.

Lin Hui accelerated, running forward for half a minute.

Soon, a collapsed building ahead came into his view.

It was a dusty temple. Half a plaque reading Red Yeast Temple lay on the ground outside, black background with red characters, imposing.

Now only half remained.

‘Red Yeast Temple…‘ Lin Hui knew this newly opened martial arts hall was also established together with the Black Dragon Gate. The master was also an Internal Force expert. Unexpectedly…

From a distance, he could see pools of blood among the bricks and stones of the collapsed temple, as well as severed arms and legs scattered everywhere.

At the main hall deepest inside the temple, a massive black tiger with black wings was engaged in a fierce melee with three figures wielding long weapons.

The walls and ground of the main hall were constantly being struck, looking like they were about to shatter and collapse.

Lin Hui looked from afar and saw that the three were gradually gaining the upper hand, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from the dense white light covering the three figures, they were clearly all Internal Force experts.

‘In that case, I don’t need to act. having just broken through to Internal Force, even if I intervene, I won’t have much effect on the battle.‘

The internal force he had just generated could only cover his fingertips now; he couldn’t use it for full-body protection at all.

Without using his trump cards, he couldn’t even break the monster’s defense. He had tested this on the Tree Scorpion during his last trip to the Mist Zone.

Thinking of this, Lin Hui quickly retreated, returning in the direction of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple.

With three people besieging it over there, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

That monster had destroyed the entire Red Yeast Temple, showing its strength. Naturally, he wouldn’t take the initiative to risk his life for no reason.

Just as he left quickly.

On a slope in the other direction from the Red Yeast Temple, two tall figures draped in gray robes covering their heads were looking at the battle inside the temple.

“A little guy approached and then ran away,” one said softly. “Need to lure him over to join the test?”

“No need. Three Internal Force martial artists are enough. The Black Winged Tiger’s strength is roughly clear; three Internal Force martial artists are the limit,” the other said softly.

“But, won’t news leak?” the first person reminded.

“This Black Winged Tiger was a semi-finished product anyway, an experimental product destined to be abandoned. Clean it up thoroughly later; it won’t attract Chen Xunhai‘s attention,” the other said indifferently.

“Understood.”

(End of Chapter)