"Greetings, Senior Brother Lin and Senior Brother Chen," Xie Li said, cupping her fists expertly. Despite being only fifteen or sixteen, she carried herself with a maturity beyond her years.
The two returned the cupped-fist salute.
Xie Li smiled and continued.
"In actual combat, the Qingfeng Swordsmanship is much stronger than the Nine-Section Swift Sword, and its complexity is far greater. When you use it, your personal speed and your sword speed both increase dramatically. Your opponent will only feel a gentle breeze brush past their face, and they'll lose before they even realize what's happened."
"So just by mastering Qingfeng Swordsmanship, your strength will shoot up?" Chen Zhishen couldn't help but ask.
"Exactly. In fact, it's like that for many things on the path of Martial Arts. The truly powerful techniques are the pinnacle Martial Arts, but those aren't something an ordinary person can master. Once you do, however, it creates an enormous gap between you and those who practice Ordinary Martial Arts," Xie Li explained.
"But don't Upper Martial Arts place a greater burden on the body when you use them?" Lin Hui asked, frowning.
"Upper Martial Arts come with their own Superior Body Tempering Methods, which are far more effective than others. How could they be more burdensome?" Xie Li, who was clearly very knowledgeable, explained with a smile. "On the contrary, once you master an Upper Martial Art, your body becomes extremely tempered. If you then go back to using a lesser technique, you'll be able to unleash far more power than any ordinary Martial Artist."
"Thank you for the explanation," Lin Hui said with a cupped-fist salute. "So it sounds like not everyone can master the Qingfeng Swordsmanship?"
"That's right. To be taught the swordsmanship, you not only need the trust of your elders, but you also need extremely high talent," Xie Li nodded. "That's why the Observatory Master is here in person."
"In other words, Huang Shan and the others... they might be noticed by the Observatory Master and taken on as true Inner Disciples?" A trace of unconcealable envy was in Chen Zhishen's voice.
"Precisely. They're geniuses, after all..." Xie Li didn't elaborate, but her tone also carried an unusual note.
'From the way she spoke, it was clear she came from a family with a deep martial tradition. But even so, when it comes to a pure contest of talent, background is useless. Either you have what it takes, or you don't.'
A new round of duels between the Core Disciples had begun on the open ground. A disciple named Wucheng, who had mastered several moves of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship, would effortlessly defeat his opponents by using them at critical moments.
He quickly became the center of attention, with the surrounding crowd focusing more and more on him.
'Watching the triumphant Wucheng in the arena, Lin Hui fell into deep thought. 'If strength was determined entirely by the Martial Arts one mastered, as Xie Li claimed, then control over the Upper Martial Arts would undoubtedly keep the path to advancement firmly locked in the hands of the older generation.'
'In situations like this, where the difference in talent isn't overwhelming, perhaps connections are what truly matter.'
After Wucheng's display of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship, other disciples took the stage and also demonstrated that they had learned it. However, their proficiency was no match for his, and they were similarly defeated.
At Qingfeng Temple, simply being able to use the Qingfeng Swordsmanship created a massive gulf between you and everyone else.
The subsequent matches proved this point. Of the twenty disciples, the top five senior brothers and sisters who fought in the final rounds had all mastered the Qingfeng Swordsmanship.
The first and second senior brothers and the first senior sister had even mastered the entire Qingfeng Sword style. However, as Lin Hui watched closely, he noticed that even though they had all mastered the same swordsmanship, the aura and feeling they projected when using it were completely different.
'Clearly, even with the same Qingfeng Sword, there were still vast differences in their level of mastery.'
In less than an hour, the small tournament was more or less over. The rankings of the top five hadn't changed much; the first senior brother was still the strongest in first place, with the others ranked in order behind him.
From sixth place onward, however, the rankings were different.
Wucheng had shot up to sixth place. Behind him were Qiu Yiren and Huang Shan, two new geniuses who had pushed out the former seventh and eighth-ranked disciples to become the hot new topic of conversation.
When the tournament ended and the crowd dispersed, the spectating Outer Disciples were buzzing with excitement. They continued to discuss the skills and accomplishments of the twenty Core Disciples long after it was over.
Lin Hui, however, was perfectly calm. He returned to his quarters and resumed practicing the Seven-Section Quick Sword, as if the tournament had had no effect on him whatsoever.
In the following days, Xie Li dragged Chen Zhishen along to invite him out to hunt game for a barbecue, hoping to grow closer, but he politely declined.
The two could only go by themselves.
It was clear Xie Li was trying to get close to him and was just using Chen Zhishen as a pretext.
But Lin Hui had no interest in meaningless socializing. His greatest interest now was staring at his Blood Seal each day and counting down the days until its next evolution.
The ability to get stronger just by lying low was undoubtedly powerful. The only thing that frustrated Lin Hui was how slow the process was.
So it went. Every few days, Xie Li would bring Chen Zhishen along to invite Lin Hui out. After several failed attempts, they simply started hunting game and bringing it to Lin Hui's home to cook and eat together.
Lin Hui didn't mind. Someone was delivering food to his door and even cooking it for him; he was more than happy to enjoy the better meals.
As time passed, the three of them gradually formed their own little circle within the Daoist Temple.
Under Xie Li's influence, Chen Zhishen seemed to be slowly moving past his heartache over Lu Baihua. A new, peculiar dynamic was developing between the two of them.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Hui's fourth move finished evolving, and then his fifth.
As he neared Great Success in the Seven-Section Quick Sword, a flicker of anticipation grew in Lin Hui's heart.
He was eager to see how the Body Tempering and Light Body effects of his perfect, flawless version of the Seven-Section Quick Sword would differ from those of the other disciples.
「Several more days passed in the blink of an eye.」
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Lin Hui had started his sword practice at the crack of dawn. He hadn't gone through his forms more than twice when he heard urgent knocking at his gate.
He lived in a single room that opened into a small courtyard used for drying clothes and enjoying the sun. The courtyard had its own gate.
The knocking was coming from that dark brown gate.
"Who is it?"
Lin Hui called out.
"It's me, Junior Brother Lin!" Huishen's urgent voice called from outside. "Open the gate, quick! There's trouble at your home!"
'Trouble at home?!'
Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat. He immediately dropped his wooden sword, dashed to the gate, and threw it open.
Huishen stood outside, his brow beaded with sweat and his expression grave. He had obviously run all the way here. The moment he saw Lin Hui, he quickly lowered his voice.
"A servant from your house came with a message! They said something's happened to your father! A bunch of people showed up and practically cleaned out your entire house!"
"Cover for me!" Without another word, Lin Hui rushed out of the courtyard and headed for the Daoist Temple's exit.
Though he hadn't yet achieved Body Tempering, his long-term training had made him much fitter than before.
Just as he ran out the main gate, he saw Sister Luo, a servant from his household, standing outside. Her face was pale, and she was being blocked from entering by two Daoist Children on guard duty.
Lin Hui rushed over in a few steps.
"What exactly is going on!?" he demanded.
"The Master told me to come get you before he left! He said not to worry, and that he'd be back soon!" Sister Luo said quickly.
"Come on, we'll talk once we're back home!" Lin Hui's face was grim as he began to run toward his home.
A little over an hour later, Lin Hui arrived at his front gate.
The main gate to the courtyard was wide open, as were the doors to the house. Several burly men were carrying things out.
"What are you doing!?" Lin Hui demanded, stepping forward as he tried to catch his breath.
"This family owes a huge debt. The boss sent us to collect their things as payment. And you are, brother?" The man in the lead walked over, chewing on a strip of what looked like brown beef jerky.
"You must have the wrong place!" Lin Hui strode through the gate and into the house, only to find it had been nearly emptied. His mother, Yao Shan, emerged slowly, her eyes red and swollen. It seemed she had heard his arrival.
"Mom!" Lin Hui rushed forward to support her.
"Ah Hui... your father..." Yao Shan hurried forward, grabbing Lin Hui's arm, her voice choked with sobs. "I told him not to take the risk, but he just wouldn't listen... now... now..."
"Don't panic! How is Dad now? Where is he!?" Lin Hui asked quickly.
"His benefactor, considering his many years of loyal service, spared him... He's fine. He's... he's gone to another town to take stock of our family's remaining assets," Yao Shan sobbed.
Lin Hui finally let out a breath of relief. Looking around at the nearly empty house, he felt less anxious than before.
His worst fears had been confirmed. Now that it had actually happened, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest.
"It's okay, Mom. It's okay. I'm starting to earn money now, too. We can just start over. It'll be fine," he comforted his mother gently.
"I'm fine, it's just... this is so hard on you, Ah Hui..." Yao Shan gazed at their home, which had only recently started to recover, now empty once again. The blow—this second, devastating blow—had nearly broken her spirit.
All she could do was grip her son's arm, her whole body trembling. In an instant, her face seemed to have aged by many years.
Lin Hui silently watched the men haul their belongings away. The man who had spoken to him earlier came back inside. Seeing the scene, he realized Lin Hui was the son of the owner and gave him an apologetic smile.
The men didn't finish until afternoon. Only then did his father, Lin Shunhe, finally arrive.
His face was haggard and his clothes were disheveled. He walked through the gate and saw his wife and son. Without a word, he lowered his head and went into the house.
Lin Hui said nothing. He knew his father was suffering enough. Losing their wealth was one thing, but completely losing their benefactor's protection was the greatest loss of all.
From now on, cut off from the Lin Family, they could only rely on themselves.
*
*
*
「The Lin Family Estate.」
Lin Chaoyi once again summoned the representatives of the various branches for a temporary family meeting.
Surveying the somber atmosphere, he removed the pipe from his mouth and tapped it lightly on the small table beside him.
TAP TAP.
The sharp sound drew everyone's gaze.
"You all know about what happened to Shunhe's family, right?" he said in a clear voice.
After a moment of silence, the assembled family members nodded one by one.
"Good. For those of you who were close to him, none of you are to lift a finger to help. No assistance, and absolutely no lending money—not a single coin!" Lin Chaoyi's words set a stern tone for the meeting.
Noticing the uneasy expression on the face of the head of the first branch, he softened his tone and explained.
"It's not that I'm being heartless. First of all, that Old Si of ours already declared he was severing ties with the family. Second, he's stirred up serious trouble this time and angered his benefactor. This is no small matter. If we step in to help and are seen as being involved, it will be too late for regrets!"
He sighed again.
"Don't blame me for being ruthless. I'm doing this for the entire Lin Family. You've all felt it recently. Ever since Hongzhen of the first branch succeeded in her Summoning, our family's prestige, momentum, and influence have grown. People respect us now. Even the town officials treat us with far more deference."
"The Lin Family is on the rise, and we absolutely cannot let Old Si drag us back down! This is a great opportunity we have waited years for. Once the first branch establishes a foothold in the Inner City, there's no reason our Lin Family can't become a great clan like the Zhong and Mu Families in the neighboring towns."
"But, Father... isn't this a bit too..." Lin Shunjiang, Lin Hongzhen's father from the first branch, couldn't help but interject.