Patrol IV (Thanks to Alliance Leader Qianzai Nan Fengli)

This was not a pointless way to pass the time. In the instant before his curled finger flicked out, Lin Hui would activate the light-body effect, then deactivate it the instant after the flick.

This was his practice and testing. Since lightness consumed too much of his stamina, why not split it into countless tiny, instantaneous skills?

He only needed to use it for a moment when necessary. As long as it took effect at a critical moment, that was enough.

That was Lin Hui's idea, and it was what he had done. These past days had indeed yielded some results.

According to his detailed tests, if he kept the light-body effect continuously active, he could use it for roughly one shichen before his stamina ran dry—and that was without fighting at full strength with his sword.

If he fought at full strength, the stamina drain would be even greater. The duration would likely be cut by more than half.

But with his improved method, pushed to the limit of his control, Lin Hui could divide the light-body effect into countless small segments, each lasting 0.5 to 1 second. That was the longest duration he could use for a single move.

As long as he waited three seconds after using a segment, his stamina would quickly recover, allowing him to repeat the cycle endlessly.

In theory, with proper intervals, he could use the light-body effect indefinitely. That meant he could maintain, without interruption, intermittent bursts of Eldest Senior Brother's level of sword speed and movement speed.

But actual combat would not let him strike once and rest once, so its practical application still required further testing.

In the end, Lin Hui felt that no battle could possibly drag on for too long. Even if the opponents were evenly matched, it would end within ten-odd minutes at most.

Over ten-odd minutes, the light-body effect could absolutely support him from beginning to end.

Early the next morning.

As expected, Eldest Senior Brother did not come. The four of them split into teams at the tea stall serving as their rest point, then each headed toward the streets they were assigned to patrol.

As agreed, Lin Hui was teamed with Chen Chong.

The sky was still dim in the early morning, and the mist had only just dispersed. Even the vegetable farmers from the surrounding villages had yet to arrive, leaving the streets desolate and sparsely populated.

Chen Chong took the lead, walking ahead while yawning. The wind continually carried faint traces of scented powder from his body; clearly, he had gone off to fool around somewhere again last night.

He had nothing to say to Lin Hui, merely scanning the shops they passed on either side.

"Senior Brother Chen, how about we split up and act separately? That way, you won't have to look at me and feel annoyed, and I won't feel comfortable looking at you either. Nobody will be happy," Lin Hui proposed with a mild expression as he stepped forward.

"Heh... sure. I've wanted to wander around alone for a while now. You're a bit of a nuisance at my side," Chen Chong said with a sidelong glance, his tone dripping with mockery.

"Then let's part ways here." Lin Hui pointed at the fork ahead.

"Fine."

Neither spoke again. After walking forward for a while, they naturally separated at the fork.

After parting from him, Lin Hui continued studying the mechanics of lightness.

He bought a meat-stuffed flatbread from a breakfast stall by the street, eating as he walked and thought.

"Before activating lightness, I can clearly sense no abnormalities in my body, and my weight does not change when tested. But once it is activated, my weight drops by nearly a third. This isn't some imagined sensation—it is a real, tangible reduction in weight."

"At the same time, my movement speed, attack speed, and even my ability to track motion with my eyes are accelerated. According to the tests, the overall acceleration effect is sixty percent of my original ability. But because every aspect stacks together, the effect of a full burst becomes a tremendous increase of more than double."

Once both his movement speed and sword-drawing speed were amplified, their combined burst was not as simple as merely adding the two effects together.

"Then how exactly does this sudden reduction in weight work?"

Lin Hui pondered.

At that moment, he activated lightness once more and carefully felt the changes.

The sensation was exceedingly strange, as if the flesh, blood, and bones composing his body had all suddenly become hollow, as though they had been temporarily replaced with some other, far lighter material.

"It isn't matter being removed. It feels more like the blessing of some kind of force field—like an additional force helping lift part of my body's weight."

He carefully sensed the subtle differences.

Just as he was deep in thought—

A scream suddenly rang out from a nearby street.

His brows drew together. He quickly turned around and hurried toward the sound. In less than a minute, he reached its source.

It was a relatively secluded little house, grayish-black, its outer walls covered in soot-stained scorch marks. A small yard enclosed by a simple ring of bamboo lay outside it.

At that moment, the bamboo gate to the yard stood open. The door of the little house was half shut, and a figure Lin Hui found somewhat familiar was inside, pinning down a fair-skinned, large-breasted woman and tearing at her dress.

The woman struggled violently, but she was far weaker than the person pressing her down and could only cry and scream.

"Senior Brother Chen." Lin Hui did not consider himself a good person. If he had not seen this, then so be it—but now that he had... he truly could not stomach it.

"You've gone a little too far, haven't you?"

Hearing him, Chen Chong turned and glanced at him.

"Didn't Junior Brother Lin say we should split up? What, you've got your eye on this girl too? How about you wait until I'm done, then you can have some fun as well?"

There was a strange smirk on his face, but his eyes plainly carried a threat.

Lin Hui was speechless.

He had been born into a decent family. From the moment he entered this world, he had belonged to a great clan. On top of that, Old Man knew how to make money and followed influential people, so when Lin Hui was young, everyone called him Young Master.

So in the past, he had only heard how bitterly the people at the very bottom lived, never truly experienced it himself. But now...

No wonder so many families, unable to survive, voluntarily applied to eat Wanfu Meat. Looking at Chen Chong's utterly unrestrained expression, he suddenly understood a little.

"Senior Brother Chen." Lin Hui slowly stepped closer. "Could you do me a favor and not cause trouble while you and I are patrolling together?"

"Face?"

Chen Chong paused, then slowly rose to his feet and turned to face Lin Hui.

"Lin Hui, I've been fucking sick of you for a long damn time!!"

His hand unconsciously closed around his sword hilt.

"Back when Chen Zhishen's matter happened, did I give you face or not? The moment I saw you coming, I backed off! What about you? Did you give me any face? Who the fuck do you think you are!? Shayue's Holy Son?! Does everyone have to give you face again and again and again?!"

With his good time interrupted, the blood rushed from below straight to his head, and he exploded on the spot.

"Senior Brother Chen." Lin Hui gripped his sword hilt. "Have you considered this? Nothing ever happened when you patrolled with others, yet the moment you patrol with me, something goes wrong. When I'm called to account afterward, how am I supposed to conduct myself?"

"Why the fuck should I care how you conduct yourself?! Lin, I'll count to three. If you don't get lost by then, don't blame me for getting rough!" Chen Chong snapped his sword partly from its sheath, gritting out the words.

"Senior Brother, we're all out here doing our duties. Can't we just keep things harmonious—good for you, good for me, good for everyone?" Lin Hui sighed. "Why force things until no one can save face?"

"Are you getting lost or not!?" Chen Chong yanked out his sword and charged over in long strides.

"A piece of trash who hasn't even mastered the Nine Section Fast Sword dares meddle in other people's business! Today, I'll fucking show you what it means to court death!?"

"Senior Brother, you're too hot-tempered." Lin Hui grew calm.

"Hot-tempered my mother!!" Chen Chong completely erupted.

With a sharp hiss, his blade turned into a gray streak and slashed abruptly at Lin Hui's waist.

That burst of speed was incredibly fast. It was clearly the Nine Section Fast Sword, centered on explosive force.

Clang.

Lin Hui drew his sword and parried as well, precisely intercepting the other man's blade.

The two exchanged rapid strikes. Though Lin Hui's movements were slightly slower, he somehow barely kept up with Chen Chong's speed.

His speed was clearly only at second-grade Body Tempering, yet the timing of every strike, the force he applied, and the shifts between moves were worlds apart from their previous spar. It was as if he were an entirely different person.

On top of that, his footwork and sword speed were much faster than before. For a time, he actually held Chen Chong off, leaving him unable to gain the upper hand at all.

Chen Chong's heart shook. He had never expected things to turn out this way.

He felt that even when they used the same sword move, the effect was utterly different in his hands and in Lin Hui's.

"Senior Brother, stop. You aren't performing normally right now—you're no match for me at all. Wine and women have ravaged your body, leaving you unable to bring out even fifty percent of your strength." Lin Hui sighed as he fought, earnestly trying to persuade him.

Really?

Had wine and women truly hollowed out his body?

Hearing those words, Chen Chong unconsciously believed him. Otherwise, how could he explain how a veteran front courtyard disciple who had trained for years could not even defeat a newly promoted disciple?

Just then, a flash of silver suddenly flickered through Chen Chong's eyes. The sword light that had clearly been in front of him an instant ago abruptly appeared at his right side, where he was defenseless.

The change came so quickly that he had no chance to react.

Pfft.

With a soft sound, the blade stabbed steadily into Chen Chong's waist, cutting a fairly deep bloody gash.

"Senior Brother, look at you—you're seeing things again. You've grown so weak that you can't even see my sword shadows clearly. If this continues, perhaps you won't even be able to beat the students of the rear courtyard." Lin Hui sighed.

Chen Chong fell backward and landed on the ground, drenched in cold sweat. That sword strike had frightened him speechless.

"Have my eyes... gotten this bad?"

"The sword light was clearly in front of me just now, then with one blur, it was suddenly at my side..."

A chill crept into Chen Chong's heart. He knew very well that Lin Hui was only a junior brother who had just been promoted, an ordinary student who had spent over a year merely practicing the Seven Section Fast Sword.

It was impossible for him to possess the speed to shift positions in that instant. Even Eldest Senior Brother could only barely achieve such speed if he went all out.

There was no way an ordinary disciple like Lin Hui could do it.

With every other possibility ruled out, the only explanation was that... his eyes really had been playing tricks on him...

Had wine and women truly harmed him this badly?

Being wounded was a small matter to Chen Chong. He knew Lin Hui was someone who followed the rules; he would never truly do anything to him, just as Chen Chong himself had not dared truly do anything to Chen Zhishen before.

What truly chilled his heart was the terrible state of his failing vision and deteriorating sword speed.

"Have I... already grown this weak?"

Chen Chong's burning desire was like a fire doused over the head with icy water, instantly extinguished by more than half.

"I... I...!" His lips trembled, but he could not force out a single word.

"Senior Brother, I simply can't bear to watch you grow so weak. Don't make mistake after mistake. Wine and women are poison that pierces the gut..." Lin Hui earnestly advised.

By now, Chen Chong had basically become convinced that he was severely weakened. He did not even dare respond, cold sweat pouring over his body. He climbed to his feet, clutched his waist, and staggered away.

He had to find a doctor immediately!

Lin Hui was left behind with the scantily clad woman. He did not even look at her, merely waved to signal that she should close the door, then turned and slowly left.

As for whether Chen Chong would become convinced that he was weak, Lin Hui felt there was a high chance he would.

Because that sword cut had gone a little deep. With the amount of blood Chen Chong was losing now, it would definitely be enough to make him feel very weak.

The earlier dizziness had naturally been caused by him instantly activating the Lightness special effect.

Combined with his usual honest behavior, he had successfully fooled Chen Chong's simple, rotten brain.

After leaving the courtyard, Lin Hui did not continue his patrol. Instead, he returned to the resting point and quietly waited for the others to come back.

He needed to sound the others out about this first.

As he waited, he carefully replayed their brief exchange in his mind.

From beginning to end, Chen Chong's rhythm had been entirely within his grasp.

When he had been First Grade, activating the Lightness special effect had already allowed him to reach a burst speed comparable to Eldest Senior Brother and the others. Now that he was Second Grade, with the effect activated, he personally felt that his burst speed had surpassed their limits.

In other words, his only shortcoming now was swordsmanship.

He was not familiar enough with the Nine Section Fast Sword, and the Clear Sword had not even been taught to him yet.

These two sword arts grew more powerful the faster one was, perfectly suited to bringing speed fully into play.

Lin Hui had considered it before. The Lightness special effect was, from what he had observed, a unique secret technique enhancement that no one else possessed. The key was that he had no way to explain its origin, so it was inconvenient to pass it on for now.

Whenever he used it, he had to be extremely careful not to let anyone see through it. Once his swordsmanship became formidable in the future, he could publicly claim that he had created a secret art himself and use it openly and aboveboard.