Frustration I

Huang Shan's matter had only been an accidental little interlude, and it soon passed.

As time went by, another month flashed past in the blink of an eye.

This time, quite a few people had mastered the full set of sword techniques, and some had already completely grasped the eight points of force in the first move.

As for those who could not master it, Lin Hui personally watched the temple's Daoist boys notify them one by one to go home. They would not need to come again.

That included the skinny trainee who had previously bragged and bullshitted about having seen the world.

When the skinny man received the notice, the unease already on his face immediately collapsed into despair.

After returning, he would likely only be able to take the hardest and most bitter road—perhaps becoming the lowest-ranking Mist Zone explorer, perhaps doing the dirtiest and most exhausting labor, or even working the fields for others at the edge of the Mist Zone.

After three months together, everyone in the communal sleeping quarters had developed some degree of affection for one another.

Chen Zhishen and several others saw him off. Before leaving, they agreed that they would visit the skinny man if they had the chance in the future, but everyone understood that this future might well mean forever.

Lin Hui did not go. Apart from being close with Chen Zhishen, he was unfamiliar with the others. As usual, he went to his old spot and continued practicing his sword.

He had now figured out the function of the Blood Seal. As long as evolution was confirmed, and he spent energy and time, he could completely master the evolved ability.

All he needed to pay was a little energy each day, along with time.

It was as if he did not need to work hard or practice. As long as he lay flat, he could rapidly grow stronger with the passage of time.

But...

Lin Hui felt that while lying flat could make him stronger, the purpose of practicing the sword was not merely to learn sword techniques. It was also the process of forming muscle memory. Merely knowing evolved sword moves was not enough.

He also needed to turn gripping a sword into instinct. The links, transitions, and variations between sword moves all needed to be used flexibly. The Blood Seal might not be able to give him those things.

Furthermore, exercising every day could improve his stamina. Perhaps the reserve energy he would need to consume in the future would decrease as well. That was his conjecture.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and the evolution of the second move, Hundred Turns and Thousand Hearts, was also completely finished.

Just as Lin Hui was alone beneath the shade of a tree outside the Daoist temple, familiarizing himself with the points of force for the second move—

A trainee from his room suddenly ran over in a hurry.

"A-Hui, A-Shen is in trouble! Quick! Quick! Come help!"

"Hm?" Lin Hui frowned, recognizing the man. He immediately set down his wooden stick and ran into the temple with him.

"What happened?" he asked as they ran.

"It's Chen Chong! Chen Chong defiled Baihua..." The trainee was drenched in sweat as he gritted his teeth.

Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat. He knew this was bad.

The two hurried into the Daoist temple and headed straight for the plaza ahead.

Before they even reached it, they heard Chen Zhishen's furious roar. The extreme rage in his voice could be heard clearly even from dozens of meters away.

"I'll fucking kill you!!"

"Hold it in!! A-Shen!"

"Don't be reckless!!"

The others reached out and grabbed Chen Zhishen, holding him back and preventing him from charging toward the smug Chen Chong opposite him.

Chen Zhishen's face had turned purple-red, veins bulging as he charged wildly across the muddy ground like an enraged bull. Yet no matter what he did, he could not break free from the seemingly loose grips and embraces around him.

Not far away, Lu Baihua stood quietly in a corner. The shadow beneath the eaves covered the upper half of her face, leaving only her fair chin and lips visible.

Lin Hui slowed his steps. He watched Chen Chong sneer a few times and cast a glance in this direction, then walk over and put an arm around Lu Baihua before swaggering away with several trainee lackeys following him.

"What a bore. I thought he really dared to charge over, but this was all he had?"

That final remark struck Chen Zhishen like a bolt from the blue.

He froze at once. No one needed to hold him anymore, and he no longer struggled. He simply lay there, biting his lip hard, his clenched fists creaking.

Time passed second by second.

"Ah..." A trainee beside him sighed. After watching for a while, he turned and left.

It was as though this were a signal, and the others began leaving one after another as well.

Very soon, only Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen remained in the open space.

Raindrops began to fall, little by little, gradually growing larger and denser.

"Let's go. We're heading back." Lin Hui stepped forward and stood before him.

If Chen Zhishen had truly rushed forward, Lin Hui might have thought of a way to help him. But now...

Thud.

Chen Zhishen suddenly dropped to his knees, head lowered. Faint sobs seeped from his nose.

"A-Hui... am I... useless...?"

"You have parents too," Lin Hui said calmly.

Chen Zhishen choked back a sob and said no more.

He had truly wanted to rush over, but...

"Let's go. Before you have enough strength, any so-called revenge will only ruin yourself," Lin Hui said softly.

He stepped forward and helped him up. The two slowly returned to the communal sleeping quarters through the drizzle. Neither spoke again.

Lying in the communal sleeping quarters, Lin Hui silently pondered.

"Chen Zhishen is not an isolated case. This world has always been like this—the weak are meat for the strong. Before others notice you, perhaps you can remain safe, but that is only because you are lowly enough. If you possess even the slightest thing they find useful..."

"Tell me, why didn't A-Hua resist..." Chen Zhishen asked softly from beside him.

"Perhaps she saw things clearly, or perhaps she could not," Lin Hui answered.

"Then... what must I do... to protect the people I want to protect?" Chen Zhishen asked again. His voice trembled as he turned his face toward Lin Hui, tears streaming down soundlessly as if a string had snapped.

"Chen Chong isn't strong. Do you know the Martial Arts Realm?" Lin Hui asked in return. Without waiting for an answer, he continued.

"True Person Ming Xiu said that our Qingfeng Temple mainly cultivates the Clear Sword Technique. The Seven Section Fast Sword lays the foundation, the Nine Section Fast Sword is for actual combat, and once the Clear Sword Technique is mastered, one can be considered an expert throughout Tuyue—apart from the few hundred people at the middle level and above among the Three Greats."

Yes, this was a real world. There was no such thing as equal realms meaning equal strength. Lin Hui had learned about this in detail over the past days.

For forces like Qingfeng Temple, their internal divisions of strength were all based on the Martial Arts Realm of their own sect's martial arts.

As for what level one would be outside after mastering their sect's martial arts, that was mainly judged by the battle records of their seniors and teachers.

Daoist Baohe, the temple master and strongest person in the sect, had once used a killing move from the Clear Sword Technique—Three Points of Wind Control—to defeat several masters of martial halls in the Inner City. Although he was ultimately defeated by the master of Feiyun Hall and others, his Light Body skill was so superb that he still managed to retreat unscathed with ease.

Of course, those were the battle records publicized to outsiders. Naturally, most of what was advertised were victories. No one had the face to spread news of their defeats.

"If I master the Clear Sword, can I suppress Chen Chong?" Chen Zhishen asked in a low voice.

"Perhaps. Chen Chong is merely some distant branch of the Chen Family, so far removed no one knows where it leads. There are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people like him in the city. If you can rise to the position of a senior of the Ming generation, you should be able to suppress him. After all, he is respectful toward the Ming-generation seniors in daily life as well," Lin Hui replied.

"At the end, he looked at you. I know it was because of you that he spared me. I'll remember this favor," Chen Zhishen said haltingly.

"Why?" Lin Hui asked in confusion. "There shouldn't be anything about me worth fearing, right?"

"You come from the Lin Family. Three people from the Lin Family entered the Three Greats of the Inner City, one of them even entered the Chen Family Main Clan, and your eldest sister received an Invocation some time ago and officially became a Yugong believer. She's one of Shayue's elite followers... You may not have noticed these connections yourself, but we outsiders remember them clearly. We would not dare ignore them," Chen Zhishen said. His emotions seemed to have settled somewhat, and he lowered his voice. "This is the power of a lineage..."

Lin Hui fell silent.

He thought of the old clan chief—his grandfather, Lin Chaoyi.

He spoke no more. His feelings were simply complicated as he lay on his back in bed, everything that had happened over these past days flashing repeatedly through his mind.

Before he knew it, he slowly fell asleep.

The next day.

The moment the mist dispersed, waves of clamor and laughter arose within the Daoist temple.

The trainees in the communal sleeping quarters got up one after another, happily packing their things and preparing to leave.

"We can go home today. Did your family come to pick you up?" Chen Zhishen was packing as well, his expression calm, showing no trace of his previous rage and pain.

But Lin Hui knew that he had merely buried everything deep inside.

"I don't know. I'll find out when I go outside," he replied.

"A-Hui, we're on the same route home. Want to go together?"

Someone from the communal sleeping quarters asked warmly.

"Thanks, but no. You go ahead," Lin Hui politely declined.

He packed simply: the dirty clothes he had not yet washed, slightly damaged boots, socks, a chipped porcelain cup, and the wooden stick that never left his hand and had nearly developed a polished patina from his grip.

When he pushed open the door, two logistics Daoists outside the temple were maintaining order, arranging for disciples and trainees to be checked before leaving one by one.

They only let people leave after confirming that someone from their family had arrived.

As soon as Lin Hui walked up, several people took the initiative to greet him.

Among those greeting him were even several trainees from Huang Shan's little circle. That was a circle with some connections. After Chen Chong's affair yesterday, everyone had asked around and learned of the Lin Family's recent changes.

Three people entering the Inner City's Three Greats, with one of them receiving an Invocation and officially becoming an elite believer—those implications were entirely different.

For a time, Lin Hui seemed to transform from an unnoticed nobody into a talent like Huang Shan, drawing everyone's attention.

Not far away, Qiu Yiren, a genius as famous as Huang Shan, followed behind senior sister Mu Qiao Zhi. She watched the scene from afar, somewhat puzzled.

"Senior Sister, is an Invocation from the Sha Yue Sect really that formidable? Even a distant Chen Family relative like Chen Chong has to show respect?"

"The Sha Yue Sect's Invocations generally value talent greatly. In the entire sect, there are only around a thousand people qualified to receive one. Once an Invocation succeeds, sooner or later they can be sent out to serve as a steward. Their status and strength would be no worse than our Qingfeng Temple master's. What do you think?" Mu Qiao Zhi replied calmly.

"An Invocation is a fish leaping through the dragon gate, ascending to heaven in a single day—skin like copper, bones like iron, with one's lifespan greatly extended. And I hear that Lin Hui is close to Lin Hongzhen. If Chen Chong refused to show respect, he would be reprimanded when he returned. That brat looks impressive outside, but in the Chen Family he is merely an outcast. He only dares vent his temper on outsiders," Mu Qiao Zhi said coldly.

She stood calmly at the very back of the trainees, watching the shifting human relations before her with utter indifference in her pale blue eyes.

Compared with Qiu Yiren beside her, she was not beautiful. Yet because she had practiced martial arts and swordsmanship year-round, her upper body was exceptionally strong, her chest full, her legs long and well-proportioned. Her fitted pale blue robe made her resemble a female leopard—agile and powerful, brimming with the beauty of life.

"Then, are there any others in our temple whose families have similar influential figures? Could Senior Sister perhaps clear Yiren's doubts?" Qiu Yiren asked softly.