The Decaying World

"Daoist Master Lin... what is the meaning of this?" Leiming’s tone carried a hint of accusation.

"What do you mean by that, Great One Leiming?" Lin Hui’s expression remained unchanged, a faint smile still on his lips.

"I made it very clear from the beginning that this Secret Technique requires one to sincerely accept, deep in their heart, that they are a disciple of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect for it to remain effective."

"So, you’re saying," Huangque asked, "that the Fog Spirits causing trouble outside no longer consider themselves Qingfeng Daoist Disciples deep in their hearts?"

"That is precisely the case, I imagine." Lin Hui nodded.

At these words, all the gods present fell silent.

They had previously assumed Lin Hui was just spouting nonsense. After all, the technique had already been transmitted. They were the great Fog Spirits; how could a mere Secret Technique, with its negligible transmission power, possibly spy on the depths of their hearts at any time?

So, they all believed that as long as they passed the initial assessment, they could just bluff their way through the rest.

Having never joined any school or sect before, they had no intention of backing out right after joining. Thus, they passed the initial verification smoothly.

But now, some of the Fog Spirits felt they had already reaped the benefits. They believed that being an ordinary Qingfeng Daoist Disciple was beneath their divine status and decided to leave the Sect.

And so, the consequences appeared.

On the surface, it simply looked like the previously explained restriction of the Secret Technique taking effect. But the core issue remained.

’Can the Qingfeng Daoist Sect’s Secret Technique truly spy on their innermost thoughts at any time, in any place!?’

This was what the four Great Ones and the elder, Fan Yuntian of the White Deer, were worried about.

The requirement to sincerely accept being a person of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect—a restriction they had initially dismissed as child’s play—had now become a heavy weight pressing on their hearts.

’If the restriction is real, doesn’t that mean we’ll be bound by the Qingfeng Daoist Sect’s rules from now on?’

Violating the rules of the Qingfeng Daoist Sect, after all, was grounds for expulsion by Lin Hui.

For the Fog Spirits, accustomed to freedom and dominance, this was undoubtedly like placing a shackle directly over their heads.

"Daoist Master Lin, is there a way to bypass this restriction?" Huangque narrowed her eyes, gazing intently at Lin Hui.

"Bypass?" Lin Hui laughed.

He rose from his seat, his gaze sweeping over the others.

Leiming, Bailu, Cloud Cleansing, and Divine Sound all remained silent, clearly sharing the same thought.

No one wanted to suddenly have a new power suppressing them. But they also didn’t want to give up the immense strength they had already obtained.

So, they now sought a solution from him, the source of their power.

"Everyone," Lin Hui said, the smile in his eyes slowly turning to ice, "are you planning on taking the benefits without paying the price?"

"Daoist Master Lin, we are grateful for the grace you’ve shown in teaching us this technique, but..." Leiming began. "There are so many Fog Spirits and their divine scions gathered here. All the gods have their eyes on you, all of them constrained by your so-called sect rules. If you don’t provide a solution... well, if trouble breaks out, even I won’t be able to help you."

Lin Hui nodded.

"Excellent. I suspected a day like this would come. I’ve been waiting for it."

’To reap great rewards, one must be prepared to endure the corresponding backlash.’

"Since you can’t help..." His eyes shifted, tilting slightly upward as if he were looking down upon the four gods from a great height.

"Then don’t force it."

"Daoist Master, what do you mean by that...?" Cloud Cleansing asked, his voice low. He had been the one to bring the others here; in other words, he was the source of all this. Therefore, he was the first to rise and demand an answer.

"Everyone." Lin Hui slowly walked away from his seat, heading straight for the highest seat, where Leiming sat.

"In this world, for every gain, there must be a loss."

"The Secret Technique has greatly enhanced your power..." An unusually serene smile graced his face.

"And you didn’t think all of this was free, did you?"

"In other words, Daoist Master, you are determined to use this technique to control us?" Huangque’s voice grew cold.

Lin Hui didn’t answer, merely continuing his slow walk until he stood before Leiming.

"Brother Leiming, it suddenly occurs to me that your seat might be more comfortable."

BANG!

Leiming’s eyes turned to ice. He shot to his feet, his right arm erupting in a blinding purple electrical light as he clawed for Lin Hui’s neck with lightning speed.

In that instant, his palm expanded at an incredible speed, seemingly covering every possible angle Lin Hui could use to evade.

It came crashing down like a mountain range.

The immense, current-like Divine Power tyrannically shoved aside all other forms of energy for several meters around.

The sheer terror of this attack perfectly showcased his current, supreme strength. He had forcibly compressed a strike equivalent to the full-power blow of a greater god into that single lightning-wreathed palm. All that power was highly concentrated in a tiny space, so much so that faint motes of purple-black light began to appear around it.

This was the annihilation effect, created by a massive amount of Divine Power being forcibly compressed into a miniature state.

But...

WHOOSH!

In that same instant, Lin Hui’s figure moved forward, brushing past Leiming as he dodged.

’It... It missed!?!’

At that moment, Huangque, Divine Sound, Bailu, and Cloud Cleansing all froze on the spot.

’A mere member of the Human Race!? Not even one of the Fog People, just a regular human!?’

’How is this possible!?’

This was the thought that echoed in all their minds.

Even if the Secret Technique was incredibly powerful, even if his comprehension was that of a once-in-a-lifetime genius...

...the fundamental essence of his life had not undergone a qualitative change, had not ascended.

’For a mere mortal to face Great One Leiming’s sneak attack—an attack at a terrifying speed far beyond that of sound—and for it to actually... miss!?!’

Just imagining themselves in his place sent a chill through their hearts.

Not a single one of them was confident they could have escaped that sneak attack unscathed.

And yet...

Lin Hui had done it!

Just as the four gods hesitated, unsure of their next move, the scene that unfolded before them sent the shock in their hearts soaring to its absolute peak.

ROAR!!

His attack having missed, Leiming spun around. His body swelled madly, climbing to a height of several dozen meters in the blink of an eye, transforming into a monstrous black giant with a humanoid body and three bull heads.

Purple lightning surged across its body as it simultaneously clawed at Lin Hui with both its left and right hands.

At the same time, a seven-colored, rainbow-like halo rippled into existence in the air behind him. From within the light, the sound of countless believers singing hymns of praise could be heard.

An immense amount of Divine Power was compressed and unleashed, forming a terrifying, invisible crushing force several times stronger than before, which bore down ruthlessly on Lin Hui.

At this, the other four gods were so alarmed they shot to their feet, releasing their own Divine Power to shield their bodies.

If the power of this attack were to leak, even they would be unable to withstand the aftershocks with their divine bodies alone.

It was powerful enough to instantly annihilate all life in the surrounding seas for tens of thousands of miles.

This meant that Great One Leiming was actually attacking with his full power!

He was treating Lin Hui as an absolute equal, a powerful foe deserving of his full strength!!

But just then...

The four gods watched in horror as Lin Hui neither dodged nor retreated.

He simply raised his hand.

And extended a single index finger.

CLANG!!!

A terrifying, ear-piercing shockwave exploded outward in that instant.

That seemingly ordinary index finger completely blocked all the terrifying, crushing Divine Power.

No matter how Leiming roared, no matter how much more power he furiously channeled into his attack, he could not move that finger one iota.

It was as if an invisible, unyielding current of air surrounded the finger, blocking every bit of power he unleashed.

All the electrical currents, all the halos of divine light, were stopped by an invisible barrier in front of Lin Hui, unable to advance a single step.

And he had done it without even drawing his sword, merely by extending a single index finger.

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