Frustration I

The matter of Huang Shan was merely an incidental episode, and it passed quickly.

As time marched on, another month flashed by in the blink of an eye.

This time, many people had mastered the full set of sword techniques, and some had already completely grasped the eight points of force application for the first move.

As for those who could not master it, Lin Hui watched with his own eyes as the young acolytes of the temple notified them one by one to return home, as they would no longer be needed.

This included the thin student who had previously boasted about his extensive experience and knowledge.

Upon receiving the notice, the thin student's expression, already somewhat anxious, collapsed instantly.

He knew that after returning home, he would likely have to take the hardest and most bitter path—perhaps becoming a low-level fog zone explorer, taking on the most grueling and filthiest labor, or even farming at the edge of the fog zones.

After three months of living together, everyone in the large communal dormitory had developed some level of attachment.

Chen Zhishen and the others saw him off together. Before he left, they agreed to visit him if they ever had the chance, but everyone knew that this "future" might well be forever.

Lin Hui did not go; aside from his good relationship with Chen Zhishen, he was not close to the others. At this moment, he went to his usual spot to continue practicing his sword as he always did.

He had already figured out the function of the Blood Seal. As long as he confirmed an evolution and consumed the necessary energy and time, he could completely master the evolved ability.

All he had to pay for this was a bit of energy and time every day.

It was as if he didn't need to work hard or practice; he could just lie flat and grow rapidly stronger as time passed.

But...

Lin Hui believed that while lying flat could make him stronger, the purpose of practicing swordplay wasn't just to learn techniques, but to develop muscle memory. Merely having evolved sword moves was not enough.

He still needed to make holding the sword an instinct, and the connections, transitions, and variations between moves all required flexible application. These were things the Blood Seal might not be able to provide him.

Furthermore, exercising his body daily could increase his physical fitness, and perhaps the amount of reserve energy he needed to consume in the future would decrease accordingly. This was his hypothesis.

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

Just as Lin Hui was alone under the shade of the trees outside the temple, familiarizing himself with the force application points of the second move.

Suddenly, a student from his room ran over in a hurry.

"A-Hui, something happened to A-Shen! Quick! Hurry! Come help!"

"Hmm?" Lin Hui frowned, recognizing the person. He immediately put down his wooden stick and followed him, running back toward the temple.

"What happened!?" he asked while running.

"It's Chen Chong! Chen Chong defiled Lu Baihua..." The student was drenched in sweat, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

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

The two of them hurried into the temple and headed straight for the plaza in front.

Before they even arrived, they heard a roar from Chen Zhishen, the intense fury behind it audible from dozens of meters away.

"I'll kill you!!"

"Hold it!! A-Shen!"

"Don't be impulsive!!"

The others were reaching out to grab Chen Zhishen, holding him back to prevent him from charging at the smug-looking Chen Chong across the way.

Chen Zhishen's face was purple with rage, his veins bulging. He charged forward on the muddy ground like a crazed bull, yet he could not break through the seemingly loose grip of the people around him.

Not far away, Lu Baihua stood quietly in a corner. The upper half of her face was obscured by the shadow of the eaves, revealing only her fair chin and lips.

Lin Hui slowed his pace. He watched as Chen Chong sneered, glanced toward them, then walked up to put his arm around Lu Baihua and strode away with his entourage of followers.

"Boring. I thought he'd actually dare to charge over, but this is it?"

That parting remark hit Chen Zhishen like a thunderbolt.

He froze instantly. He didn't need anyone to hold him anymore, nor did he move; he just slumped where he stood, biting his lip hard, his fists clenched until they creaked.

Seconds and minutes ticked by.

"Sigh..." A student nearby sighed, watched for a moment, and then turned to leave.

This seemed to act as a signal, causing the others to follow suit and leave one after another.

Soon, only Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen remained in the plaza.

Raindrops began to fall, slowly growing larger and denser.

"Let's go. Time to head back," Lin Hui said, stepping forward to stand in front of him.

If Chen Zhishen had actually charged, he might have thought of a way to help him, but now...

Thump.

Chen Zhishen fell to his knees, his head lowered, faint sobs leaking from his nose.

"A-Hui... am I... really that useless...!?"

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

Chen Zhishen choked back a sob and said nothing more.

He really wanted to rush forward, but...

"Let's go. Without enough strength, any so-called revenge will only destroy yourself," Lin Hui said softly.

He stepped forward to help the other up, and the two walked slowly back toward the communal dormitory in the light rain. Neither of them spoke again.

Lying in the communal dormitory, Lin Hui pondered silently.

"Chen Zhishen is not an isolated case. This world is just like this—the weak are prey to the strong. Before others notice you, you might be safe, but that is only because you are insignificant enough. If you have even the slightest thing that could be useful to them..."

"Tell me, A-Hua, why didn't she fight back..." Chen Zhishen asked softly from the side.

"Perhaps she saw the reality of it, or perhaps she couldn't," Lin Hui replied.

"Then... what must one do to protect the people they want to protect?" Chen Zhishen asked again, his voice trembling. He turned his face to look at Lin Hui, tears streaming down silently like a broken string.

"Chen Chong isn't strong. Do you know the Martial Arts Realm of a Martial Artist?" Lin Hui countered. Without waiting for an answer, he continued.

"Master Ming Xiu once said that our Qingfeng Temple specializes in the Clear Sword Technique. The sword technique uses the Seven Section Fast Sword for foundation, the Nine Section Fast Sword for actual combat, and finally, once the Clear Sword Technique is mastered, one can be considered an expert in all of Tuyue, excluding the few hundred people in the middle ranks and above of the Three Greats."

Yes, this was a real world; there was no such thing as a direct correlation between realms and strength. Lin Hui had learned this in detail over these past few days.

For a faction like Qingfeng Temple, internal strength rankings were all determined by their own internal martial arts levels.

As for what level one reached in the outside world after mastering their own sect's martial arts, it was mainly judged by the combat records of their masters.

The strongest in the sect, Daoist Baohe, the temple master, had once used a finishing move of the Clear Sword Technique—Three Points of Wind Control—to defeat several martial arts hall masters in the inner city multiple times. Although he was eventually defeated by the master of Feiyun Hall and others, he was able to retreat easily due to his exceptional light-body skills.

Of course, these were the records publicized to the outside world, and naturally, they mostly publicized the wins. No one had the face to actively spread news of their losses.

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

"Perhaps. Chen Chong is just a distant relative of the Chen Family from some unknown branch. There are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, like him in the city. If you could reach the status of a master of the Ming generation, you should be able to suppress him. After all, you see how he treats the Ming generation masters with such respect on a daily basis," Lin Hui replied.

"In the end, he glanced at you. I know he let me go because of you. I will remember this favor," Chen Zhishen said intermittently.

"Why?" Lin Hui asked, puzzled. "I shouldn't have anything that would make him wary, should I?"

"You come from the Lin Family. Three people from the Lin Family have entered the Three Greats of the inner city, and one of them even entered the main branch of the Chen Family. Plus, your eldest sister was recently called upon and officially became a follower of the Yugong. Those are the elite followers of the Sha Yue Sect... You haven't paid attention to these backgrounds yourself, but we outsiders remember them clearly and dare not ignore them." Chen Zhishen seemed to have calmed down a bit and lowered his voice. "This is the power of a family..."

Lin Hui fell silent.

He thought of the old patriarch, his grandfather, Lin Chaoyi.

He stopped talking, his mood somewhat complex, lying on his back on the bed, the events of these past few days flashing repeatedly through his mind.

Without realizing it, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next day.

As soon as the fog cleared, bursts of noise and laughter echoed through the temple.

The students in the communal dormitory rose one after another, packing their things in high spirits, preparing to head out.

"We can go home today. Is your family coming to pick you up?" Chen Zhishen was also packing, his expression calm, as if the anger and pain from before had completely vanished.

But Lin Hui knew he had simply buried everything deep inside.

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

"A-Hui, you're on the way to where I'm going. Do you want to go together?"

A person in the communal dormitory asked enthusiastically.

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

He packed simply: dirty clothes that hadn't been washed yet, boots and socks that were somewhat damaged, a porcelain cup with a chipped rim, and the wooden stick he had held so much it was almost polished smooth.

Pushing the door open, two logistics Daoists from the temple were maintaining order, arranging for the disciples and students to be checked one by one before leaving.

They only let people go after confirming that their families had arrived.

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

Among those greeting him were even a few students from Huang Shan's small circle—a group with some background. After yesterday's incident with Chen Chong, everyone had been asking around and had learned of the recent changes in the Lin Family.

Being able to get three people into the inner city, and into the Three Greats at that, with one of them even receiving a calling and becoming an elite follower—that meant something different.

For a moment, it was as if Lin Hui had transformed from a background character into a genius like Huang Shan, attracting everyone's attention.

Not far away, the genius Qiu Yiren, who was as famous as Huang Shan, stood behind the senior sister Mu Qiao Zhi, watching this scene from afar, somewhat puzzled.

"Senior Sister, is that calling from the Sha Yue Sect really that powerful? Even a distant relative of the Chen Family like Chen Chong has to give them face?"

"The Sha Yue Sect's calling usually depends heavily on talent. Within the entire sect, only about a thousand people are qualified to be called. Basically, after a successful calling, they will sooner or later be sent out to be a manager, and their status and strength will be no worse than our Qingfeng Temple's master. What do you think?" Mu Qiao Zhi said calmly.

"A calling is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—rising to the heavens in a single day, gaining copper skin and iron bones, and greatly extending one's lifespan. Plus, I heard that Lin Hui and Lin Hongzhen have a good relationship. If Chen Chong doesn't give him face, he'll be reprimanded when he goes back to the Chen Family. That kid is flashy on the outside, but in the Chen Family, he's just someone who gets pushed around, only daring to vent his temper on outsiders," Mu Qiao Zhi said coldly.

She stood calmly at the very back of the students, watching the shifting human dynamics, her light blue eyes indifferent.

Compared to Qiu Yiren, she was not as pretty, but because she had practiced martial arts and swordplay for years, her upper body was extremely strong, her chest was imposing, and her legs were long and well-proportioned. Clad in a form-fitting light blue long robe, she looked like a female leopard—vigorous, powerful, and full of the beauty of vitality.

"Looking at it this way, are there any other people in our temple with similar family backgrounds? I wonder if Senior Sister could enlighten me?" Qiu Yiren asked softly.