Thoughts II

After Xiao Hu and Little Fat came over to offer their greetings, they left as well.

Only then did Lin Hui tighten his grip on his longsword, close his eyes, and prepare to test the power of Boundless Wind Direction.

The first move had originally been called Formless Wind Direction. Now that it had evolved into Boundless Wind Direction, its power was surely greater. What he needed to see now was just how much greater.

Swish!

In an instant, with his right hand gripping the sword, more than a dozen afterimages of the blade fanned out like an opened fan before swiftly folding together, forming a large silver flower bud hanging upside down.

The next moment, the flower bud abruptly burst open.

With a pfft, a point of cold light shot from its center and viciously stabbed into the ground.

A sword hole half a meter deep appeared in the ground, as narrow as the blade itself.

It looked as though a sword had been thrust diagonally into the earth.

"Doesn't seem any different from before...?" Lin Hui frowned slightly, crouching down to inspect it closely.

He touched the edge of the sword hole in the ground. It was smooth and warm.

"Maybe the effect shows itself elsewhere. I'll see after the whole set evolves."

Without hesitation, he had the blood seal evolve the second move of the Clear Sword Technique.

It would still take five days.

After closing the blood seal, Lin Hui gripped his sword again, intending to practice a while longer before going to eat.

But less than two minutes after he started, a hurried figure came in through the back gate of the temple.

It was Wei Wei!

"Junior Brother, Father wants you over there!" Wei Wei's expression was normal, but a thread of poorly concealed anxiety showed between her brows.

"All right!"

Lin Hui saw that something was wrong, and his heart tightened. He swiftly followed her out of the temple and headed for Mingde's small courtyard.

They entered the courtyard and pushed open the door to the main hall, but there was no sign of his master.

"This way." Wei Wei turned and actually went straight through the door to the inner room.

Lin Hui hurried after her. The moment they entered, they saw Daoist Mingde half-reclining on the bed.

His face was pale. His right shoulder and arm were wrapped in thick white cotton cloth, with faint bloodstains still visible in places.

"Master! What happened to you!?" Lin Hui's heart sank. He rushed over in several strides, half-kneeling beside the bed to check on him.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Mingde waved him off, refusing the examination. "Don't let your Senior Sister frighten you. It's only a flesh wound. The other side didn't fare much better than I did."

As he said this, a trace of smugness actually appeared on his face.

But it was quickly replaced by worry.

"I called you here mainly to tell you that the trip in a few days has been canceled. You don't need to go for now."

"Father, has the trouble on your side been resolved?" Wei Wei immediately revealed a look of delight.

"Hey! What did I tell you? Have you forgotten already?" Seeing his daughter speak without restraint, Mingde immediately rebuked her.

"Yes..." Wei Wei glanced at Lin Hui beside her, realizing she had misspoken, and quickly lowered her head.

Ever since Qingfeng Temple had collapsed, she had become much more restrained than before and was no longer so arrogant.

"All right, Wei Wei, go out first. I have something to say to Lin Hui alone," Mingde said.

"All right..." Wei Wei looked at Lin Hui, then helplessly turned and walked out, gently pulling the door shut behind her.

At once, only master and disciple remained in the inner room.

After the footsteps gradually faded away, Mingde lowered his head and coughed several times.

"A-Hui... this time, I truly have you to thank for perfecting the Nine Section Fast Sword. If I had still fought with my previous level of skill, I'm afraid I really wouldn't have made it back."

He sighed. His old enemy Liu Sitao had brought people seeking revenge, but it had not been just one group—there had also been others who had secretly followed behind.

This time had truly been fraught with peril. Fortunately, the other side had misjudged his strength and given him the chance to fully unleash his speed. Otherwise...

"Unfortunately, I still lost." A trace of desolation appeared on Mingde's face. "Even with the improved and perfected sword technique, I still lost."

"What did Master lose to?" Lin Hui was not disappointed. He simply asked calmly.

He had long heard rumors that people had come seeking revenge, so he was not surprised by his master's earlier decision.

What made him curious was that even after obtaining the perfected Nine Section Fast Sword and raising his strength by a notch, his master had still lost. That meant the opponent's strength clearly surpassed Qingfeng Temple's by a great margin.

"This actually has nothing to do with you. You have already done well enough. It is an innate limitation of our sect's sword arts... The Clear Sword itself is inferior to theirs in Body Tempering and power, so the quality of the internal force cultivated is inferior too. This is a complete, all-around gap. It has nothing to do with you... I accept my defeat wholeheartedly as well." Mingde sighed.

"Then, Master, where exactly do Qingfeng Temple's martial arts fall short? Have you gained any insight?" Lin Hui frowned.

"We lack a weapon forceful enough to break through an opponent's defenses. Our sword techniques place too much emphasis on nimbleness and speed, while neglecting tangible killing power such as weight and impact. The Clear Sword's Body Tempering effect on the body is also relatively outdated; it has long failed to keep up with the times and was utterly outclassed by the experts from Xingdao."

Mingde shifted himself upward on the bed.

"The limit of the Clear Sword is where I stand. Senior Brother Bao He is only slightly better than I am now in experience and swordsmanship. In truth, we are at the same level."

As Mingde spoke, his gaze involuntarily fell on Lin Hui.

His feelings toward Lin Hui were actually quite complicated. This disciple's aptitude was astonishingly exaggerated—merely practicing swordsmanship on his own had allowed him to refine the Nine Section Fast Sword. Perhaps one day, he might even take the Clear Sword Technique to a higher level.

But with such talent, was it truly worth letting him remain here and waste away under his tutelage?

After all, no matter how much the Clear Sword Technique was refined, its power had a limit. At best, it could reach the superior level among external martial arts. Rising from middling to superior was already remarkable, but compared to the internal-force martial arts of the Inner City, the gap remained immense.

If he could send him into the Three Sects and Six Clans... with his talent, perhaps he really could soar into the heavens in a single bound?

"Master?" Seeing his teacher staring blankly at him, Lin Hui called out softly a few times.

"It's nothing." Mingde came back to himself. Unfortunately, given his current condition and connections, his ties in the Inner City were no longer of any use.

The times and fate were against him; there was nothing to be done.

"A-Hui, what are your plans for the future?" he asked quietly.

"No particular plans. I just want to practice my swordsmanship properly," Lin Hui answered honestly.

He himself did not know which road he should take in the future. For now, he would just rely on the Blood Seal to keep evolving.

"Do you still want to enter the Inner City?" Mingde asked.

"Not really anymore..." Lin Hui told him about Feather Blood.

"That... the Inner City has always been more competitive than outside. Those living there are not necessarily happier than those outside. It may be safer, but the pressure is greater too." Mingde smiled. "That's why some people simply choose to leave and head for other city districts."

"Master, are the other city districts different from ours?" Lin Hui asked.

"I don't know. I've never been there either." Mingde shook his head. "Take Black Cloud City, for instance. To get there, you must first reach Xingdao, then board a ship from there for four days to Moen Pier. After that, you need to change to a carriage at the pier and travel for another week before arriving. They say Black Cloud City is an extremely peaceful place, where everything is stable. It is the most prosperous and powerful city district in the entire northern region of Taisu."

"That's too far..." Lin Hui frowned.

"Yes, far too far. There are countless dangers along the way. Ordinary people cannot afford the journey, while the wealthy do not dare to make it. Only the very few with both money and strength—and no fear of death—would dare go." Mingde smiled. "So, for our whole lives, we should just honestly stay in Tuyue. The Inner City is too cutthroat; we can make a safe zone for ourselves in the Outer City. As long as our own strength reaches a certain level, we can still live quite well..."

As he said this, Mingde's gaze on Lin Hui grew increasingly gentle.

He thought that Wei Wei was no longer young. Although she was a little older than A-Hui, an older woman was better at taking care of people. With A-Hui's talent and comprehension, if he and Wei Wei had several more children, perhaps their branch could rebuild Qingfeng Temple in the future and restore it to the height of its former glory.

The more Mingde thought about it, the more pleasing Lin Hui looked to him.

Talented, capable, and deeply loyal. His appearance was a little ordinary, but that was unimportant. Strength was a kind of charm too.

As long as he persuaded Wei Wei to be more proactive, this little fellow Lin Hui, who had never tasted meat, would probably be easily pinned down for marriage...

Mingde was not a man with great ambitions. Being able to live peacefully in the Outer City, safe and at ease, was enough for him. If Lin Hui and Wei Wei could marry smoothly and have a whole brood of chubby sons, that would be even better...

"A-Hui, what do you think of Wei Wei?" Suddenly, the question slipped from Mingde's mouth.

"Uh..." Lin Hui's mind flashed to Wei Wei's full figure—her large breasts, pert butt, long legs, and pretty face. She was no worse than the internet influencer images he had seen online in his previous life.

The key point was that her figure was all real. Not a bit of it had been photoshopped.

"Senior Sister has changed a lot. She's quite good," he thought for a moment before answering seriously.

"That's good." Mingde revealed a benevolent smile. He had already entertained the thought of pairing his daughter with Lin Hui before, and now that the greatest crisis had been lifted, that thought grew even stronger.

With A-Hui's talent and Wei Wei's looks, once his descendants steadily multiplied in the future, they might well establish a new great clan in the Outer City.

"Alright, go on. Send your senior sister in to see me," Mingde said.

"Yes, Master. Get plenty of rest and take care of your health." Lin Hui nodded. After reminding him, he turned and left.

Not long afterward, Wei Wei was called in. She closed the door and looked at her Old Man in confusion.

"What is it, Dad?"

"Come here. Let me ask you... what do you think of that young man A-Hui?" Mingde lowered his voice.

"Huh?" Looking at the familiar expression on her Old Man's face, Wei Wei remembered that this was the exact same expression he wore whenever he introduced her to a potential match.

Wei Wei understood in an instant.

"There's such a big age gap between A-Hui and me. We're not suitable, are we? I'm already twenty-three! He's only eighteen, right?"

"What's there to fear? Be more proactive. Treat him like a little brother and look after him for a few years; he'll mature," Mingde said unconcernedly.

"But..." Lin Hui's face flashed through Wei Wei's mind, and she looked troubled. "But he really isn't good-looking..." She liked men who were handsome and sunny. Lin Hui was not only unattractive, but his temperament was also slightly gloomy. He truly was not her type. It could even be said that the difference was rather great.

"What use is a good-looking face? A good character and good talent are enough!" Mingde said sternly.

"No, I can't. When I think about having to look at that face every day for decades to come, I just... can't get over that hurdle. I dress up every day and work out to maintain my figure because I want to find someone good-looking. Otherwise, wouldn't all that dressing up have been for nothing?" Wei Wei argued with perfect conviction.

"You...?!" Mingde felt a tightness in his chest and was unable to speak for a moment.

"Alright, Dad, get some proper rest. I'm heading back first." Seeing this, Wei Wei hurriedly slipped away.