The Decaying World-Chapter 41 - 36: Change of Heart 4

"Don’t pretend this doesn’t concern you," Deng Mingchao said coldly.

"Heh..." Mu Qiaozhi chuckled. Her athletic frame, like that of a leopardess, moved closer one step at a time.

"You look angry?"

"Why shouldn’t I be angry? I’m facing a traitor..." Deng Mingchao’s face twisted in a sneer, but he was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Betrayed what?" Mu Qiaozhi laughed. "Honestly, Junior Brother Deng, isn’t your way of thinking a little laughable? Qingfeng Temple opens its doors to teach Martial Arts. We pay our money, we learn a skill. It’s just External Martial Arts, something you can learn anywhere. The rich do it for exercise, the poor do it to get by. Are you telling me you actually intend to practice this for the rest of your life?"

"..." Deng Mingchao opened his mouth to speak, but for a moment, he couldn’t find the words to argue back.

"Junior Brother Deng, these External Martial Arts Halls are nothing more than transient training centers. It’s a simple transaction: you hand over the money, they hand over the techniques. It’s not like they’re teaching anything particularly important or rare. If one hall fails, we just switch to another. Every now and then, halls of all kinds go under while others spring up. If everyone was as pedantic as you, would you just go down with the sinking ship?" Mu Qiaozhi continued, a smile playing on her lips.

"Then why have you come here, Senior Sister Mu?" Lin Hui couldn’t help but ask from behind them.

"I just want to pull you over to the Black Dragon Sect as well. Qingfeng Temple’s Martial Arts are too weak. Its Body Technique might have a slight advantage, but the overall weakness is a massive gap that can’t be overcome." Mu Qiaozhi smiled. "Have you forgotten why we practice Martial Arts?"

She stopped three meters away from the two of them.

"Wasn’t it to gain some strength to protect ourselves and our families after we failed the selection?"

With a sigh, she slowly raised a hand, flexing her black metal claws.

"If any of us had passed the selection and become a Summoner, who would bother with Martial Arts? Inner Martial Arts is one thing, but External Martial Arts has always had a low ceiling. We learn it for the sake of it, and the masters teach it just as half-heartedly. Everyone knows there’s a limit to how strong you can get with External Martial Arts. That’s just reality."

"What you say makes sense, Senior Sister, but..." Deng Mingchao started to say, his face grim.

"But what? Even your masters, the three from the Ming Generation, went through the same thing. They failed the selection, settled for trying to get into the Three Sects and Six Gangs of the Inner City, and failed at that too. In the end, they had no choice but to learn Outer Strength. If anyone had a choice, who would stay in the Outer City practicing these pathetic, second-rate Cultivation Techniques?" Mu Qiaozhi pressed on.

’So that’s how it is.’ Lin Hui was starting to understand. ’The External Martial Arts Halls in the Outer City are like training academies for the failures—young people who couldn’t pass the selection and couldn’t get into the Three Sects and Six Gangs.’

’These young people want to learn Martial Arts to protect themselves but have no other channels, which has created this massive market.’

’And this market, in turn, spawned the large number of External Martial Arts Halls in every town.’

’Because Outer Strength isn’t selective. Anyone can practice it, as long as they can pay.’

’And that must be the root of Mu Qiaozhi’s cynical outlook.’

"Haven’t you said enough, Mu Qiaozhi?" Deng Mingchao’s face was now livid.

"Draw your sword. Use your strongest move. For old times’ sake, I came here to show you just how much stronger the Black Dragon Sect’s Martial Arts are than Qingfeng Temple’s!" Mu Qiaozhi smiled again.

SHING!

At the sound of the blade, Deng Mingchao finally snapped. He drew his sword, its blur like a gust of wind—far faster than before, reaching Mu Qiaozhi in an instant.

The initial movements of the attack were intricate, but at the final moment of the thrust, the Sword Speed surged explosively. It was as if every prior motion had been compressing a spring, only to release it all at once.

’That Sword Speed!?’

From behind, Lin Hui recognized it instantly. ’This isn’t the Nine-Section Swift Sword, it’s the Qingfeng Swordsmanship!’

’The defining feature of Qingfeng Swordsmanship is speed! Sudden, explosive speed that catches an opponent completely off guard, leaving them no time to react.’

’That strike was almost as fast as my own Sword Speed with my Special Effects activated. Clearly, Senior Brother Deng has been hiding some of his strength.’

’And I’ve already reached Sixth Grade Body Tempering, and I’m nearing the Seventh Grade.’

’At my current foundation, activating my Special Effects puts my Sword Speed far beyond what First Senior Brother’s was at his peak.’

’For Senior Brother Deng to even come close to that speed... it’s obvious he hasn’t just been learning the Martial Arts of Qingfeng Temple. He must be using other arts to enhance his power.’

In a flash, the wind-like blur of the sword shot toward Mu Qiaozhi’s chest, poised to strike.

But a black metal claw shot out to meet it, swinging forward with lightning speed and unleashing a blur of dark slashes.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Four rapid chimes echoed as the Qingfeng Sword and the black claw clashed and disengaged.

The immense force of the black claw knocked the sword off course, then reversed direction to strike at Deng Mingchao’s chest, turning his own attack against him.

WHOOSH!

The black claw hovered perfectly still just inches from Deng Mingchao’s chest.

The force of the air pressure plastered his uniform to his chest.

He gasped for breath, his face a mask of disbelief.

He knew he was weaker than Mu Qiaozhi, but she hadn’t used the Qingfeng Swordsmanship at all. From start to finish, she had used the Martial Arts of the Black Dragon Sect.

’How long has it been since she defected? And she’s already this strong...?!’

"Do you see?" Mu Qiaozhi retracted her claw. "This is the gap between our Martial Arts. Junior Brother Deng, Junior Brother Lin, when you’re on a path that’s a dead end, the smart thing to do is to turn around and find a longer one as soon as possible. Don’t waste your time, or you’ll regret it when you’re old."

With that, she turned and walked back into the dark alley she came from, quickly vanishing from sight.

Deng Mingchao and Lin Hui remained, standing in silence. A torrent of thoughts flooded their minds.

They stood there for several minutes.

"Senior Brother Deng?" Lin Hui finally broke the silence. He saw that Deng Mingchao seemed lost in thought. His face was grim, and he could faintly see a look of inner conflict.

At that moment, Lin Hui understood. ’Senior Brother Deng’s resolve is shaken.’

’If the gap between the Black Dragon Sect and Qingfeng Temple were small, I’m sure he wouldn’t be so easily swayed. After all, there’s the sunk cost to consider. Plus, with Master Mingde looking out for him at the temple, he receives special treatment. The choice would have been a no-brainer.’

’The problem is, judging from Mu Qiaozhi’s demonstration, the gap between the two schools’ Martial Arts is immense...’

’I’m different from the others,’ Lin Hui thought. ’I had other options, but I chose Qingfeng Temple for its speed. The others joined because they had no other choice.’

’They want to learn Martial Arts to get stronger. That’s their primary goal. My goal is different. I’m learning so I can escape—my priority is survival.’

That’s why he wasn’t swayed by the Black Dragon Sect, even after seeing the huge power gap Mu Qiaozhi demonstrated. ’No matter how strong they are in a frontal assault, their techniques aren’t as good for running away as Qingfeng Temple’s.’

’If Daoist Baohe hadn’t been so concerned with saving face back then, if he’d just turned and fled instead of fighting head-on, he would never have been injured.’

Seeing the look on Deng Mingchao’s face, Lin Hui sighed to himself. ’It won’t be long now,’ he thought, ’before I lose another senior brother.’

’As for what will become of Qingfeng Temple... I can’t say for sure anymore.’

"Let’s go," Deng Mingchao said, exhaling. He schooled his expression and resumed leading the way.

The two of them dealt with two more Blood-Eyes and one Blood-Body, but Deng Mingchao remained completely silent.

Lin Hui dispatched a Blood-Eye himself. Soon, it was time to head back, so the two made their way out of the Black House district.

Most of the squad members were already back at the rendezvous point.

First Senior Brother Chen Sui, Huang Shanqiu Yiren, Zhao Jiang’an from the Black Dragon Sect, Mu Qiaozhi, and the others were all present.

But when Lin Hui saw his First Senior Brother, his expression faltered. He noticed a small, split wound on the web of Chen Sui’s right hand—his sword hand.

Moreover, Chen Sui’s expression was almost identical to the one Deng Mingchao had worn just moments ago.

His eyes kept drifting unconsciously toward Zhao Jiang’an, who had once been their Second Senior Brother.

Seeing this, Lin Hui had a sinking feeling he knew what had happened. Deng Mingchao, standing beside him, was no fool either. He also noticed the signs, and his face grew even darker.

"Team reports," Chief Constable Xu Ansheng ordered, his voice low.

"Nine Blood-Eyes, one Blood-Body here."

"Six Blood-Eyes, two Blood-Bodies."

"Five Blood-Eyes, two Blood-Bodies..."

"Four Blood-Eyes, two Blood-Bodies."

Each team reported the number of "patients" they had slain.

"Not bad. Let’s wrap it up. Good work today, everyone. We’ll continue tomorrow," Xu Ansheng nodded. The total number of rampant patients had been estimated between twenty and thirty. They’d eliminated the majority in a single sweep—very efficient.

Soon, the group was heading back the way they came.

Deng Mingchao didn’t utter another word the entire way back. Even when he and Lin Hui parted ways, he simply vanished into the silence.

Upon returning to Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui immediately went to tell Master Mingde what had happened.

「At Daoist Mingde’s Home.」

"Sigh..."

Daoist Mingde held a cup of freshly brewed medicinal tea, a desolate look on his face.

"You can’t blame him. Even I’m tempted to switch allegiances after hearing about a gap like that, to say nothing of a young man..."

He set the teacup down on the windowsill and pulled the cotton coat draped over his shoulders a little tighter.

"And what about you? Are you tempted? The Black Dragon Sect is looking for core elites right now. If you went, you would certainly be put in a position of importance."

Lin Hui shook his head.

"The Martial Arts of the Black Dragon Sect are not what I seek."

"The truth, or are you just trying to make me feel better?"

"It’s the truth. Under the current circumstances, there would be no point in deceiving you," Lin Hui said calmly.

"That’s true..." Mingde managed a bitter smile. "I never imagined... I never imagined that the moment Senior Brother Baohe fell, the great Qingfeng Temple would crumble so quickly..."

"Don’t worry, Master. If we lower the tuition, someone will always come to learn," Lin Hui suggested. "We just won’t compete directly with the Black Dragon Sect."

"You have a point. Qingfeng Temple is only being propped up by the three of us from the Ming Generation, and even we have split into three separate branches, each going its own way. Its decline is inevitable. We really should lower the tuition," Mingde agreed with a nod.

"It’s just..." He hesitated, but in the end, said nothing more. With a long sigh, he fell silent.

Lowering the tuition fee meant that Qingfeng Temple would fall to the lowest rung of the External Martial Arts Halls. It would sink from a mid-tier hall to the lowest of the low.

Low-tier halls accepted nearly anyone who applied, and their tuition was typically less than half that of a mid-tier hall. They could barely scrape by, let alone support an operation of any significant size.

But given the current situation, Mingde had no room for hesitation.

And so, the day after taking Lin Hui’s advice, he decisively posted a public notice. It announced that the tuition for anyone who came to study Martial Arts under him would be only a third of the previous price.

A few days after the notice went up, a number of potential students began showing up to ask questions.

Lin Hui and Weiwei were responsible for greeting them and explaining the curriculum. They cordoned off a section of the Qingfeng Temple grounds to serve as the new training area.

「Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.」

The original grounds of Qingfeng Temple had been divided into three sections, controlled by Mingchen, Mingxiu, and Mingde.

Both Mingchen and Mingxiu had abandoned the Qingfeng Temple name, founding the Quick Sword Sect and the Wind Sword Sect, and began recruiting their own students.

Only Mingde, still sentimental about the past, continued to operate under the Qingfeng Temple name.

Additionally, Deng Mingchao had finally left, quietly and without a word. He left a letter behind, explaining that he had joined another sect—not the Black Dragon Sect, but a different one founded by masters from the Outer City District.

That left only Lin Hui, Weiwei, and Wang Yun as Mingde’s disciples.

The quality of the new students was also far worse than before. Some were just there to mess around. Others were looking for cheap, professional physical conditioning and didn’t care whether the Swordsmanship was any good, so long as the price was right. One person had even joined to pursue Weiwei, drawn by her beauty...

In an instant, Mingde’s branch of Qingfeng Temple seemed to have transformed into one of the generic training centers so common in Lin Hui’s past life.

During sword practice, everyone chatted and laughed in the backyard, the former atmosphere of strict solemnity completely gone.

Disheartened, Mingde couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. After teaching one round of the introductory Seven-Section Quick Sword, he would retreat to his room to rest, leaving Weiwei and Lin Hui to maintain order.