The Decaying World

Blue-black seawater split into four enormous waterfalls high overhead, descending from the sky and sliding down the massive, colorful protective barrier atop Black Cloud before flowing into the surrounding Jade Sea.

The rumbling water formed an incredibly steady white noise, making one’s ears ring and head spin, inducing an unconscious drowsiness.

SLAP.

In a cellar beneath a collapsed house in the Outer City.

A little girl fiercely slapped the little boy beside her across the face.

"Don’t sleep! If you fall asleep now, you’ll be contaminated, just like Mom and Dad!"

"Plug your ears! You can’t keep listening to the water!" The little girl was filthy from head to toe, two wads of torn cloth stuffed in her ears to muffle the faint sounds from outside.

The boy, who had been slapped, came to his senses, gave himself a shake, and looked up at his older sister.

"Sis... I’m hungry..."

"There... should still be some food in the house. I’ll go look. You just hold on, and whatever you do, don’t fall asleep again!" The little girl gritted her teeth and pushed herself up. Stumbling, she steadied herself on an overturned wardrobe and headed toward the kitchen.

The Outer City had endured two massive assaults, and not many people remained alive.

They had only survived by hiding in the cellar after their parents lured away the monsters that had undergone a deep-sea Haiming transformation.

But while they were alive, their food and water were almost gone.

The little girl painfully dragged her injured leg to the kitchen. She rummaged around for a while but only found a final, small amount of brown rice mixed with sand and dust...

Gazing at the last small handful of brown rice, the little girl paused. Her throat bobbed a few times, but she still carefully packed it into the small pouch at her waist.

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her arm, she turned and struggled back toward the bedroom where her brother was.

SWOOSH!

Suddenly, as she stepped out of the kitchen, a fleeting silhouette of white light streaked across the sky overhead.

Immediately after, a gentle breeze swept by, carrying a soft, elegant fragrance.

The little girl watched the white figure rapidly disappearing high in the sky. She knew that anyone who could fly that high had to be a great figure from the Inner City.

Ever since that disgusting, blue-black seawater had spread, even the great figures from the Inner City rarely dared to fly so recklessly at such high altitudes.

She didn’t know why, but right now, she and her brother were about to die. ’If only...’

As if struck by a thought, the little girl rushed into the courtyard and waved desperately at the distant white figure.

"Great one who can fly! Please, save us!!"

She shouted with all her might.

It wasn’t just her.

At that moment, all the other survivors in the Outer City who saw the white-clad figure flying past rushed out frantically, screaming at the sky.

Having lived through two major calamities, they all knew that one more would likely leave no living thing in the entire Outer City.

High in the sky, Lin Hui looked down on the ruined district below and saw the few survivors who had rushed out to plead for help.

He was silent.

Although he wanted to save them, there were too many. ’Even if I act now, I can’t save very many...’

’The only solution is to expand Qingfei Mountain’s capacity and accommodate as many worthy people as possible.’

’In this world, when the great tides turn, it’s always the common people who suffer...’ He recalled when he was just an ordinary External Martial Artist. Wasn’t he just like the survivors shouting below, powerless to do anything but be swept along by the currents of fate?

For a moment, the desire to change everything surged within him, but the thought of his family and friends made him push it back down.

’Unless I can truly guarantee the safety of my friends and family, then...’

Suppressing the thought, Lin Hui looked away from the scene below and accelerated toward Qingfei Mountain.

*

*

*

「Inner City, top floor of the central surveillance Moon Tower.」

Zhang Yao, Gongsun Xinlian, and three Fog People who had temporarily sided with them were all gathered here.

Opposite them were the three Alliance Leaders of the Three Islands Alliance, flanked by six powerful Fog People.

After spearheading the creation of the fifth floating mountain, the Three Islands Alliance had been on the verge of fighting for power when they were hit by two waves of Haiming pollution.

A large amount of contaminated seawater surged forth, causing the surrounding sea monsters to undergo deep-sea transformations. Moreover, a large number of deep-sea Haiming creatures emerged from the Haiming seawater itself.

If it were just this, it wouldn’t have been a real issue for the Blood Progenitor-rank Fog People. The key problem was that some Blood Progenitors and Palace Master-level experts, who were on the verge of decay, had actively accepted the deep-sea contamination to avoid death and the complete loss of their sanity.

Because decaying and completely losing one’s sanity was even more terrifying than undergoing the deep-sea transformation.

After the deep-sea transformation, one could at least retain a sliver of reason and self.

This was the fundamental reason why the Bright Heart Association Leader had been willing to accept the Haiming pollution.

But now, for this very reason, many Blood Progenitors who could no longer bear the pressure, along with Wild Fog People and others on the verge of decay, had thrown themselves into the arms of the Haiming. Driven by the Supreme Sea Abyss, they were now hunting the living.

It was an asymmetrical war of attrition.

At this moment, among the three Alliance Leaders of the Three Islands Alliance, the First Alliance Leader, the dwarf-like Shen Zhaoming, sat cross-legged on the back of an old, white-bearded turtle with an emerald shell. His gaze was fixed on Second City Lord Zhang Yao across from him.

"Now that things have come to this, with Haiming contamination even appearing in the Inner City... The more commoners are contaminated, the heavier the burden of decay we must bear. What are you two City Lords still hesitating for?"

He pointed, and a translucent white screen of light instantly materialized in the air between the two groups.

On the screen, a map clearly showed the current contamination status of Black Cloud City and the surrounding area.

Large swathes of the once-pristine city were now overcome by the blue-black Sea Roar Power.

"After multiple verifications, we have confirmed that there is currently only one place capable of resisting the Haiming pollution’s corrosion."

He pointed again, and a small dot lit up on the map, in a corner of the Inner City near the white wall.

"It’s here. The floating island, Qingfei Mountain."

"Any of you who are even slightly informed should know," the dwarf Shen Zhaoming said gravely, "that this Qingfei Mountain was located in the Outer City before. It only moved into the Inner City after withstanding two Haiming assaults. What’s most surprising is its protective formation. It can somehow block the Haiming pollution to an incredible degree, resulting in almost no signs of Haiming transformation among the ordinary people within!"

This wasn’t the first time he had said this. But he repeated it again now, for the benefit of the newly joined Fog People behind him, and, one might say, for the Fog People standing behind his opponents.

"Therefore, my proposal is already quite generous to Vice City Lord Lin. He isn’t here, but if he were—and if he truly had Black Cloud’s interests at heart—I’m certain he would agree."

"That’s right," the Third Alliance Leader of the Three Islands Alliance, the Shark-man Peng Shanchi, boomed. "Qingfei Mountain has only one choice: open up its roster and hand over the deployment method for its anti-contamination formation!"

"Impossible!" Gongsun Xinlian couldn’t help but snap, her lovely face icy. "Vice City Lord Lin built the formations inside Qingfei Mountain with his own resources! You want to seize his property with just a few words? You’re shameless!!"

"Seize his property?" the dwarf Shen Zhaoming sneered. "We are merely borrowing it for a time. Besides, is Lin Hui not a member of Black Cloud? In the face of catastrophe, we temporarily borrow his formation to shelter our kin. Once this crisis passes, we will naturally reward him handsomely. It’s a simple exchange. What’s wrong with that?"

"I’ve been wondering," he continued, "during the Haiming assault, so many Deputy City Lords took action. Yet Vice City Lord Lin only looked after his own territory, shutting the gates on our kin and causing our families and friends to suffer devastating losses. What kind of reasoning is that? Is he or is he not a member of Black Cloud!?"

"You...!!" Gongsun Xinlian turned pale with anger. "Qingfei Mountain has limited capacity! It’s already packed to the brim! How can you be so shameless!?"

’Qingfei Mountain had already accepted a huge number of people, including the blood relatives of herself, Zhang Yao, and Big Brother Xie. It was so full that not one more person could be squeezed inside.’

’The Three Islands Alliance were latecomers, and Qingfei Mountain had no relationship with them. It was perfectly understandable they wouldn’t accept their people. This was no reason to try and force them!’

"HAHAHAHA!!" The dwarf Shen Zhaoming roared with laughter. "Frankly, if it weren’t for our respect for City Lord Xie Chang’an, what right would the two of you have to run your mouths in front of us?"

His words immediately tore away any remaining pretense of civility between the two sides.

The expressions of Zhang Yao, Gongsun Xinlian, and the Fog People behind them shifted. They had witnessed their opponents’ strength during the earlier chaotic battles. It was only after joining the Qingfeng Dao and obtaining the Dharma Seal and the Eye of Life that their own power had come close to matching the other side’s.

In fact, after gathering intelligence, Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian had learned that the three current Alliance Leaders of the Three Islands Alliance were not the original ones. They were the three strongest who had fought their way to the top through successive rounds of internal struggle.

Compared to the other city factions, the Three Islands Alliance was far more aggressive.

Pausing, Zhang Yao suppressed his anger.

"Regardless, if you make a move on Qingfei Mountain, you are making a move on Black Cloud City! Think carefully about the consequences!"

"Consequences?" Shen Zhaoming sneered, extending a hand as a wisp of blue-green smoke materialized in his palm. "You’re the ones hogging a safe haven for yourselves. Have *you* thought about the consequences of that?!"

"Why are we wasting our breath on them? Let’s just go take the place. You really think they’re going to fight us over some guy named Lin?" the Shark-man Peng Shanchi said dismissively.

"You dare?!" Gongsun Xinlian shouted, stepping forward.

"You want to start something? I’ve been waiting for this!" the Shark-man boomed, laughing as he advanced.

A colorful third eye appeared between Gongsun Xinlian’s brows, and a vast power—a mix of Evil Energy and Divine Power—began to surge around her.

"Xinlian!!" Zhang Yao’s expression changed as he started to shout. But then his eyes widened, and he suddenly snapped his head toward the open-air platform on the side of the Moon Tower.

That was the takeoff and landing platform for the Moth Cars.

But no Moth Car was landing. Instead, a long-haired man in white, a sword at his side, drifted down slowly. He landed, stood firm, and raised his head to look in their direction.

The man was tall and perfectly proportioned. The musculature of his upper body formed a majestic, inverted triangle, powerful without being bulky. His legs were long and strong, and his face, while flawless, held no trace of effeminacy.

His long, unbound hair cascaded down his back, drifting in the breeze.

"Lin Hui!" Zhang Yao let out a huge sigh of relief. ’You’re finally back!’

Looking at Lin Hui, Zhang Yao felt an inexplicable sense of discord.

’Normally,’ he thought, ’long hair, flawless features, and white robes would create a somewhat effeminate impression.’

’But Lin Hui was different. He gave off the strange impression that his long hair was not an adornment, but the mane of an apex predator—a symbol of battle and slaughter.’

He wasn’t the only one; Gongsun Xinlian also sensed this subtle contradiction.

"Ah Hui... Daoist Master!" she began, quickly correcting herself. The tension in her face relaxed slightly.

’She and her Second Brother had been under so much pressure lately. Now, at last, Lin Hui was back.’

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