The Decaying World-Chapter 68 - 63: Probing 3

Black Dragon Sect Headquarters.

Song Zhanlong’s brow was furrowed as he walked slowly along the corridor from the central courtyard back to his bedchamber.

The New Martial Alliance had imitated the old Martial Alliance by hosting ranking tournaments. While this brought a wealth of opportunities and resources, it also drew out several Inner Power Realm masters who had once been old rivals. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Among them, Baihua Sect, Dragon Ring Spear, and Overlord Blade Sect were all old rivals who had once clashed with both him and Xingdiao.

Baihua Sect, in particular, had been expanding relentlessly, even encroaching on his territory. It was simply...

Song Zhanlong was fuming.

’If it weren’t for the fact that not a single Inner Sect Disciple was worth a damn, how would I have ended up in this predicament?!’

In the courtyard, the bamboo pipe of a water clock tapped rhythmically, producing crisp sounds.

A stream flowed around a bamboo grove. In a stone pavilion, two voluptuous concubines, dressed only in thin gauze, were laughing and teasing each other. As they chased one another, their bodies were tantalizingly revealed, causing a nameless rage to well up inside Song Zhanlong.

Ever since he had seized this entire estate, no outsiders were permitted inside. Only he could enter as he pleased.

This was because he had abducted more than ten beautiful young women and kept them in the residence. He forbade them from wearing much clothing, so they would be ready whenever he needed to have them and vent his inner pressure.

If any of the women became pregnant, that would be for the best. It was the fastest way for him to settle down here, continue his family line, and expand his clan.

In a single motion, Song Zhanlong vaulted over the corridor railing and strode toward the two young women, shrugging off his top as he walked.

Suddenly, his expression shifted. He looked to his right and stopped in his tracks.

"Who’s there!?"

SWOOSH!

There was no answer. Instead, the sound of rustling clothes came from that direction. The intruder was clearly trying to escape.

"Trying to run!?" Song Zhanlong took a few quick steps, rushed to the wall, and pushed off with his fingers, using the momentum to leap and flip over it.

The moment he landed, he saw a black figure up ahead, sprinting away into the distance.

He sneered. The figure was fast, but not so fast that he couldn’t give chase.

His Black Dragon Claw technique wasn’t known for speed, but that was only when compared to others in the Inner Power Realm. Against a petty thief like this, his Body Technique was more than enough!

He was already seething, and the interruption came just as he was about to vent his frustrations. To be spied upon, and to have his heavily guarded Inner Mansion infiltrated... His concubines were barely dressed. If someone had seen everything, it would be a tremendous loss for him!

Song Zhanlong immediately stamped his feet and gave chase.

One chasing the other, they covered several hundred meters in no time.

The distance between them grew shorter and shorter.

Finally, upon reaching a district of abandoned houses, the black figure ahead came to a stop.

He stood in an alley between the buildings, where a cold wind whistled through, carrying a faint, foul stench.

Only then did the figure’s appearance become clear.

In the dim twilight, his upper body was wrapped in black cloth, covering even his hair. He wore a child’s wooden mask that was clearly the wrong size.

The mask was deathly pale, resembling the plump, round-faced lucky children from New Year festivities.

It had bright red cheeks, smiling eyes, and long black eyelashes. On a normal day, it might have looked comical, but as dusk settled in this dark, deserted alley, it gave off an inexplicable, chilling aura.

Most unsettling was that, due to its improper size, the mask only covered the upper half of his face. It looked strange, as if it had been carelessly tied on, askew and ill-fitting, with no regard for whether it actually sat right.

Song Zhanlong now realized that the man had deliberately lured him here.

"Interesting. Did you lure me into an ambush? Come on out. Where are your accomplices?" His expression was ice-cold as he scanned the surroundings. The terrain here was narrow, with plenty of cover—a perfect place for an ambush.

"Before we begin, I need to confirm one thing," the man in the white mask said. His voice was oddly sharp and high-pitched, clearly disguised.

"You are Song Zhanlong, right?"

"Heh... Amusing. You don’t even know what I look like, yet you dare to come looking for trouble?" Song Zhanlong let out a mirthless laugh.

"I..." CLANG!

Before he could finish his sentence, the sharp ring of a longsword being drawn cut him off.

In the next instant, his vision blurred. A silver iron sword had appeared abruptly before his right eye, the tip only a finger’s breadth from his eyeball.

The sword was blocked by the white glow of his Inner Strength, but the shock still sent a tremor through Song Zhanlong’s body.

"What kind of demonic speed is this!?" He tried to roar and counterattack, but before his right hand could even complete half a strike, the iron sword vanished.

Immediately after, he felt the immense pressure of his Inner Strength being pierced from behind and to his side simultaneously.

He spun around hastily, executing a Black Dragon Probing Clouds, unleashing a wide arc of layered claw shadows.

But he was still too slow.

More than just a step behind.

Before his striking hand had even fully extended, the sword was gone again.

’Left!? Right!?’

Song Zhanlong spun frantically, trying to anticipate the next attack, but he couldn’t see the figure at all. He could only feel his Inner Strength barrier being wildly pierced from all sides, as if he were surrounded by enemies, by swords!

Such speed!

Among all the opponents he had ever faced, Daoist Baohe was in the fastest tier. But even he was more than a step slower than this man in the white mask.

He’s too fast!!

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!

In the alley.

Song Zhanlong’s body was enveloped in a shimmering white light as a constant shower of dense golden sparks erupted around him.

Those were sparks flying from the violent collisions between the iron sword and his Inner Strength barrier.

As he kept blocking, Song Zhanlong suddenly noticed something crucial.

’There’s no Inner Strength... Don’t tell me this guy isn’t even in the Inner Power Realm!?’

He swung a wave of claw shadows to the side. Though it hit nothing but air, it at least restricted his opponent’s room to attack.

But just as this thought formed, in the next instant, Song Zhanlong felt something was wrong.

’No, it must be that he hasn’t reached the stage of the Inner Power Realm where he can extend his Inner Strength to his weapon! To have this kind of speed just after entering the Inner Power Realm... What kind of goddamn freak is he, and where did he come from!!?’

He retreated as he fought, trying to get out of the alley quickly.

There were too many obstacles here, hindering his evasions. Several of his attacks had their power greatly diminished by the surrounding walls; he accomplished nothing besides smashing a few crumbling partitions.

But just as he retreated a dozen or so meters, the sword strikes suddenly stopped.

Everything fell silent. Before Song Zhanlong could adjust, he felt a sudden sense of dread.

A sharp, hair-raising sense of threat surged toward him from directly behind.

He whipped his head around and saw that the man in the white mask was, at some point, already standing behind him.

The man held his sword horizontally before him. In a daze, Song Zhanlong saw the lips under the black cloth move, as if saying something.

The next moment, a brilliant silver light exploded.

For an instant, Song Zhanlong’s vision was completely filled with pure silver.

Fast!

Too fast!!

The speed in this moment was a whole tier faster than before!

Song Zhanlong had never seen anyone move with such speed.

He could only see the weapon, not the person wielding it.

He had only heard of such masters in rumors. Now, he was witnessing it firsthand.

SHLICK!!!

CLANG!!!

The iron sword shattered, breaking into more than ten pieces that flew apart and embedded themselves in the walls on either side.

The impact from the immense speed sent Song Zhanlong stumbling back more than ten steps. He stepped into a mud puddle and fell to one knee.

"AHHH!!!"

He screamed, clutching his face with his left hand. Scarlet blood slowly trickled out from between his fingers.

"GET AWAY!! LEAVE!!"

An overwhelming sense of danger made him wildly swing his clawed right hand, expending a massive amount of Inner Strength to form a screen of claw shadows in front of him to prevent the enemy from pressing the attack.

Just a moment ago, his Inner Strength barrier had actually been broken through by sheer force.

Normally, such a breach could be repaired in half a second. The problem was, the breach had been over his eyes.

And the result was that his eyes had been precisely slashed by the sharp sword fragments, cutting them to ribbons.

"AHHH!!!" Song Zhanlong swung his claw shadows wildly in all directions. But now blind, he couldn’t see that the person who had wounded him was standing just over ten meters away, holding a bare sword hilt, watching him quietly.

Silently, Lin Hui glanced off to the right, sensing a master approaching rapidly from the distance. Only then did he turn and vanish into the shadows in an instant.

It was getting dark, and the fog would soon arrive. He needed to leave some time to get back.

As for Song Zhanlong... he could count himself lucky.

’His skin is so thick, he’s really hard to kill...’ Having left the alley completely, Lin Hui replayed the fight in his mind.

He had even used Feathering, combining it with the killing blow from his perfect Qingfeng Swordsmanship—the Sword Break technique—to barely breach a bit of Song Zhanlong’s defense and blind him.

’So this is the strength of an Inner Power Realm master specializing in Hard Skills?’

Lin Hui had truly seen it for himself this time. It was only because he had the Feathering Special Effect, which massively boosted his speed, plus the speed bonuses from his perfect Quenching Body Seven-Section Quick Sword and perfect Qingfeng Swordsmanship, that he stood a chance. Otherwise, if he had practiced the normal Qingfeng Swordsmanship to the Inner Power Realm, even to its peak, he probably wouldn’t have been able to do anything to Song Zhanlong.

Lin Hui estimated that even if one mastered Qingfeng Swordsmanship to its peak, the Sixth Layer of Inner Strength, their speed might not match his own.

Executing his Body Technique, he was back home in just ten minutes.

In the small courtyard, Weiwei and Xiaohu were sparring with each other, practicing their swordsmanship.

Ding Ning stood by, awaiting instructions.

Lin Hui changed his clothes, equipped his Qinghe Sword again, and gave the three of them some pointers for a while until night fell.

After coming inside for dinner, they each returned to their rooms to rest.

Lin Hui reviewed the earlier fight. He had started by searching for a weakness to no avail, and ended with a precision strike to Song Zhanlong’s most vulnerable point—his eyes.

He hadn’t wasted a single opportunity or moment from start to finish.

’By the end, my Inner Strength consumption was considerable. Besides, Song Zhanlong’s only weak point was his eyes. After blinding him, unless I wore down his Inner Strength completely, I doubt I could have killed him in a short amount of time.’

’My killing power is still too weak. If my Inner Strength could extend to the tip of my sword... I would have definitely been able to kill him quickly this time. It wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t break his other defenses. As long as I pierced a few inches deeper into his eyes, he would have suffered a violent death.’

Lin Hui sat cross-legged on his bed, gazing at the gently swaying Jade Talisman in the window and the massive, monstrous shadows drifting outside, as he mentally summarized what he could improve from this battle.

As for his sealing ability, it required direct physical contact to activate. It was his final trump card, and he had no intention of revealing it unless he was absolutely certain he could kill his opponent.

The night passed peacefully.

Early the next morning.

Lin Hui left and headed straight for the Black Dragon Sect headquarters.

CRACK!

The huge black plaque was slashed down by a single sword strike, breaking in two as it crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of fine dust.

In front of the headquarters’ main gate, the two Black Dragon Sect disciples on guard hadn’t even processed what happened when they saw the broken plaque on the ground. Their faces instantly paled.

"You—you—you!!!"

The two of them stared at Lin Hui, recognizing the formal Daoist robe of Qingfeng Temple he was wearing.