Chapter 58: Identity II

“Data collection is sufficient. We can end this.”

“Then I’ll go clean up the traces.”

“Be cautious.”

“Don’t worry.”

One of them responded, took a step forward, and suddenly dissolved silently into a pool of gray liquid, flying toward the figures still fighting inside the temple.

Getting close, the liquid rapidly dispersed into countless sand-like gray insects, densely pouncing on the Black Winged Tiger and the three Internal Force Realm martial artists.

Accompanied by a few terrified screams.

Everything returned to calm.

The gray insects flew back to the original spot and re-aggregated into a tall human figure, bowing slightly to the other person.

“Cleaned up thoroughly. The new product tastes good.”

“That’s good. Let’s go.”

The other person glanced carelessly in a certain direction in the distance, then turned around. His body suddenly decomposed into countless black sands, falling to the ground and disappearing.

The remaining person also glanced in that distant direction, then decomposed into gray sand and melted into the earth.

After the two left, a gloomy-looking middle-aged man walked out from a large pile of ruins.

“It’s them again… Clear River Sect…! They were the ones snatching the imitation Wheel of Longevity before. What exactly do these people want to do? Are they crazy?”

---

The Red Yeast Temple vanished. It was said to have been completely destroyed by monsters rushing in from the Mist Zone. Furthermore, to besiege that Mist Zone monster, the town magistrate reportedly joined forces with the Martial Alliance and dispatched several Pavilion Master-level experts. In the end, they paid the price of three dead and one injured to kill it.

Lin Mansion.

At noon, in the central garden of the mansion.

Lin Shunhe stood respectfully, bowing before a white-haired figure wearing a pitch-black mask.

“The basic layout has been spread out. Your business acumen is very good. I thought this operation would incur significant losses, but unexpectedly, these funds could play so many tricks in your hands. Very good,” the black-masked white-haired person praised, his voice old.

“It all relies on the Lord’s trust. Otherwise, no matter how capable Lin is, without funds, I would be powerless to perform,” Lin Shunhe said humbly.

“Hehe… Credit is credit, yours is yours. Rest assured, I have that much tolerance. Being able to successfully avoid Rain Palace’s search this time is a great merit of yours. Speak, what do you want?” the black-masked person asked gently.

“This subordinate…” Lin Shunhe paused. “This subordinate wants a Summoning quota for my son, Lin Hui.”

“That is impossible,” the black-masked person shook his head slightly. “You can have a Summoning quota; your merit this time is sufficient. But the quota cannot be given to your son; only you can use it personally. This is a rigid rule within the sect.”

“May I ask…”

“Direct relatives might also leak secrets. He is not you, understand?” the black-masked person hinted.

Lin Shunhe fell silent. But if he became a Summoner himself, at this age, it would be too conspicuous. Moreover, with his aptitude, the probability of passing was truly too low.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again.

“Then, may I ask the Lord, is there any way for this subordinate to obtain sufficient power for self-protection? Recently, some forces from the Inner City have started experimenting and capturing people in the Outer City again. If I am carelessly selected, I fear it will delay the important tasks assigned by the organization.”

The black-masked person pondered.

“At your age, to obtain sufficient power for self-protection… Unless you obtain an imitation Evil Weapon or an imitation Insect Codex, which might let you ascend to the heavens in a single step, otherwise, you can only rely on external objects.”

“Imitation Evil Weapon? Imitation Insect Codex? What are those?” Lin Hui’s father asked in surprise.

“Do you know the origin of the Mist People?” the black-masked person asked in a deep voice.

“I do not… There are no records of this in the outside world,” Lin Shunhe shook his head.

“Yes, no records dare to involve them,” the black-masked person sighed. “Because Mist People never came from cultivation. Not step-by-step effort, nor arduous study, research, and self-improvement leading to final achievement. They… all ascended to the heavens in a single step. After touching an Evil Weapon or Insect Codex and surviving the initial fusion, they became invincible, undying Mist People.”

“The Origin Blood Nobles spawned by the Mist People are the same. They are born powerful, born noble, nearly immortal. Such innate abilities make countless people tremble, and countless people jealous and covetous.”

“Thus, the imitation of Evil Weapons and Insect Codices began. Peerless geniuses found the reason for the initial formation of Evil Weapons and Insect Codices from the deepest parts of the Mist Zone, then imitated them, finally arduously finding the method to manufacture imitations.” The black-masked person paused and continued. “Our Tuyue produced an imitation a while ago—the Imitation Wheel of Longevity. It attracted many forces to fight for it at the time. The aftershocks of some people fighting for it in the Inner City spread out, even causing the rumors of the ‘Door-闯ing Ghost’ here at your place before.”

“So, saying so much, in such detail, means?” Lin Shunhe was somewhat hesitant, unsure of his guess.

“Yes, as you guessed, within the organization, imitation Evil Weapons do exist. But because their materials are extremely rare and production difficulty is extremely high, you need to achieve more merits to obtain one,” the black-masked person answered.

Lin Shunhe’s eyes trembled, and hope rose in his heart.

He knew very well that the Lord before him had recruited him into the organization during his lowest point. From acquaintance until now, the other party had never spoken a single untrue word.

If the other party said it could be exchanged, then it definitely could be.

“Then what kind of merit is needed to…?”

“Fully utilize your talents. If you can extend the industry to most of the towns in the Outer City, or even connect with the Three Great Powers of the Inner City… When the organization can obtain enough support funds from you, your merit will be about enough,” the black-masked person laughed. “After all, this is equivalent to you using only a sum of money to build a vast, highly profitable, high-quality industry out of thin air in the Outer City.”

“This subordinate understands,” Lin Shunhe nodded.

“That’s good. However, your reminder is also correct. These are troubled times; take this for self-defense first.” The black-masked person raised his hand and threw a dark round ball.

Engraved on the surface of the round ball was a dark purple narcissus flower pattern.

“This is a Confusion Sphere. Throw it when encountering danger. It will automatically explode two meters away from you, releasing a large amount of hallucinogenic confusion smoke. Non-High-tier Summoners cannot rely on immunity. Additionally, this item is a signature product of the organization. Once exposed, the Three Great Powers will target and pursue it. You must use it carefully,” the black-masked person warned.

“Thank you, Lord!”

---

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, another half month went by.

The progress of Lin Hui’s internal force far exceeded his imagination. Almost every day, he could clearly feel several additional threads of internal force in his body.

At this rate, in less than two months, he might break through the First Layer of the Internal Force Realm, accumulating enough internal force to cover his limbs.

And for this step, according to Master Mingde’s records, he and his fellow disciples of the Ming generation took four years back then.

Internal force developed rapidly, and the Clear Wind Sword Sect on the other side also developed well.

More and more elderly people joined, reaching over twenty by now. First, their fees were cheap; second, word of mouth spread. Although the slow-motion version of the Perfected Seven-Section Quick Sword couldn’t temper the body, its exercise effect was many times faster than other methods.

Some old men who saw results clearly felt their bodies lighter and walked with wind, so they went back and advertised it vigorously.

Consequently, more and more people were attracted. If not for the vicious incident at the nearby Red Yeast Temple, even more people might have come.

Quite a few elderly folks even moved directly into the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. With Vivi and the other three guarding it, it was safer than their own homes. Xiaohu also brought his parents over to help with chores, and Vivi paid them a monthly salary, benefiting the whole family.

Lin Hui wasn’t idle either. He went to the Shiqiao Town Mist Zone again. After entering the Internal Force Realm, he started hunting Tree Scorpions once more.

He didn’t plan to expose his entry into the Internal Force Realm for the time being. Because his speed was far too fast. Others basically took three years to break through; he succeeded in two months.

If word got out, it would attract too much attention.

So he planned to drag it out for two years before showing it. Although not three years, it would still be considered within a reasonable range.

Shiqiao Town Mist Zone.

The massive four-meter-tall Tree Scorpion, still clad in black armor, looked down condescendingly at Lin Hui before it.

Hiss!

It waved its pincers, its small black eyes constantly turning, staring intently at the sword in Lin Hui’s hand.

From that sword, it faintly sensed a slight danger.

“Although I can’t cover the sword, covering my hands—approaching the First Layer—is enough…”

Lin Hui slowly raised his sword.

This was the first time the Perfected Clear Wind Sword would see true combat enhanced by internal force speed.

“Theoretically, the faster the speed, the stronger the cutting and piercing power. When speed reaches a sufficient level, nothing in the world cannot be pierced.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, strands of internal force from his abdomen flowing continuously into his hands.

“Wind.”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Lin Hui shook the longsword in his hand. Centered on him, a breeze curled up out of thin air beside him, blowing toward the Tree Scorpion.

Hiss!

Just then, the Tree Scorpion smashed its right pincer fiercely toward him. It seemed to sense something wrong and determined not to let the opponent complete the sword move.

The giant black pincer smashed down. Such a pounce should have brought up a large gust of wind.

But weirdly, the airflow at this moment was actually blowing in reverse toward the Tree Scorpion.

The airflow blew stronger and stronger. Lin Hui clearly stood still without any movement, not swinging his sword, not moving a step, just standing there.

Yet that invisible airflow kept strengthening, constantly blowing and surging toward the Tree Scorpion.

The black giant pincer smashed down ferociously, pushing against the strong wind, smashing toward Lin Hui’s forehead.

However, the interference and obstruction of the strong wind still reduced the Tree Scorpion’s original strength by thirty percent.

Watching the black giant pincer get closer and closer, larger and larger, right before his eyes.

‘Featherweight.‘

Lin Hui suddenly bowed, his arms lighting up with white light for an instant.

Clang!

A silver flash.

A clear silver line, from left to right, slashed straight across the Tree Scorpion’s massive body.

Everything went still.

The Tree Scorpion’s huge body stiffened and fell heavily to the ground, dead.

On the side of its body, on the originally hard black carapace, was a clear, deep bloody gash, constantly oozing black-red blood.

Behind it, Lin Hui gently flicked the blood off his sword. Running his hand along the blade, he felt a tiny chip.

‘After internal force significantly boosts sword speed, adding the Featherweight boost, the effect is indeed terrifying. But without internal force protecting the blade, a lesser weapon would probably shatter in one move.‘

Sighing, he looked back at the Tree Scorpion’s corpse and walked straight toward that huge scorpion tail.

Regardless, from today on, his strength comprehensively surpassed his teacher, perhaps even surpassing Daoist Baohe, reaching the true peak of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple.

Next, every step forward would be creating new history for the Clear Wind Taoist Temple.

(End of Chapter)