The Decaying World

Without anyone realizing it, Lin Hui’s status in Black Cloud had already soared far beyond what it once was.

This brilliant, sun-like genius had begun to release his dazzling light, illuminating all around him.

Even powerhouses like them could faintly sense a gentle, reassuring feeling within that radiance.

Gongsun Xinlian’s sharp senses detected a faint fragrance spreading through the air as Lin Hui approached.

The airflow here was extremely fast; any other scent would have been instantly scattered by the high-speed currents.

Yet this fragrance seemed unaffected, stubbornly clinging to the spacious hall atop the Moon Tower.

The three Fog People behind Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian were starting to waver, but upon seeing Lin Hui appear, the three exchanged messages via their Heart and Spirit and temporarily settled down, deciding to wait and see.

They were also very curious why Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian were willing to offend so many Fog People from the Three Islands Alliance just to protect Vice City Lord Lin’s Qingfei Mountain.

In fact, if it were them, they would have long since compromised and stepped aside, and might even have joined the Three Islands Alliance to occupy Qingfei Mountain and share its formation.

But Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian’s posture made it clear they were unwilling to infringe upon Lin Hui’s interests in the slightest.

The three from the Three Islands Alliance on the other side now also saw Lin Hui slowly approaching.

Shen Zhaoming’s gaze was dark and cold as he quietly sized up Lin Hui.

He had previously gathered intelligence on Daoist Master Lin Hui. Not a Fog Person, but he surpassed them.

His battle record was stunning; he had defeated several Fog People in a row, and his strength could not be underestimated. He was, by all accounts, a top Martial Dao genius with a widespread reputation.

’But that alone wouldn’t be enough for two City Lords to protect him to the death. There must be some other connection, some inside story we don’t know.’

’Of course, since we’ve already made a move on Qingfei Mountain, we were prepared for a direct confrontation with Lin Hui.’

’After all, the gap between Fog People can be huge... With the combined strength of us three brothers, we could even face Xie Chang’an head-on.’

’And now that Xie Chang’an is tied up and can’t return, no matter how strong Lin Hui is, he can’t possibly compare. At most, he’ll just cause us a little extra trouble.’

A glint flashed in Shen Zhaoming’s eyes as he slowly spoke.

"You must be the master of Qingfei Mountain? Vice City Lord Lin?"

"I am." Lin Hui walked into the hall, his gaze sweeping over the standoff on both sides, and he seemed to understand something.

He glanced at Gongsun Xinlian, and the two communicated rapidly with their Heart and Spirit. Within two seconds, she had explained the entire situation.

"The Three Islands Alliance wants to arrange for their own kin to enter Qingfei Mountain?" He turned his gaze to the people from the Three Islands Alliance.

"That’s not impossible."

"Oh? Is Daoist Master Lin willing to hand over the Qingfei Mountain formation? Such a precious Dharma Gate, capable of resisting the Haiming pollution, should have been shared with everyone long ago. If you keep it for your private use and push everyone into a corner, things will get ugly for all of us."

Shen Zhaoming smiled and raised an eyebrow. Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to think the other party would just back down. This tone clearly indicated he was about to state his conditions.

Lin Hui scanned the three of them, and the six Fog People behind them. He smiled faintly.

"What you say is reasonable."

He paused, then continued.

"However, Qingfei Mountain has limited capacity. Under such dire circumstances, the more important and useful people must be allowed in first. Only then can we rebuild quickly after the war."

"And what qualifies as a useful person?" The smile on Shen Zhaoming’s face faded.

"That would naturally be..." Lin Hui broke into a smile. "People who are useful to me..."

"Daoist Master Lin, are you toying with us?" Shen Zhaoming’s smile vanished completely.

"If you’re not satisfied," Lin Hui said with a grin, "you can try to resist."

"Arrogant!!"

CLANG!

The next instant, Shen Zhaoming’s face turned icy. He thrust his right hand forward, and the third eye in the center of his forehead erupted with a blinding, colorful light.

A dazzling golden flame ignited in his palm. The flame burned the surroundings, causing space itself to rapidly twist and tremble.

This was his Evil Energy—Burnout.

It didn’t just burn. Once it made contact, it would incinerate its target completely and could not be extinguished by any normal means.

Only someone whose total Evil Energy surpassed his own could rely on a sudden burst of power to suppress it, temporarily isolating it before retreating.

But even then, it could not be extinguished.

The lunge was too fast. At this distance, even the godlike speed of a Fog Person was not enough to react.

But... just as the attack was about to touch the corner of Lin Hui’s clothes.

VMMMMM!!!

Everything around them seemed to slow to a crawl in an instant.

Shen Zhaoming shuddered and snapped his head up.

Before him, Lin Hui’s figure had, for some reason, suddenly become incomparably immense.

Along with his now-massive figure was the Ruyi Longsword in his hand, descending in a horizontal sweep.

The sword seemed to instantly lengthen and widen, crashing down like a mountain.

The sharp, silver blade seemed to transform in that moment into a dazzling curtain of light that filled everyone’s vision.

BOOM!!!

The blade engulfed Shen Zhaoming, and everything else.

The brilliant white sword light blasted through the ceiling of the Moon Tower, becoming a blinding pillar of light that shot into the distant sky.

Lin Hui sheathed Ruyi again. Before him, Shen Zhaoming had completely vanished.

All that remained was a deep, slanted sword gash that extended out into the sky.

The surroundings fell deathly silent. No one even dared to breathe.

At that moment, every gaze was fixed on the sword in Lin Hui’s hand.

"Are... Are you kidding me!?" The Shark-man took several steps back, his face filled with disbelief.

"Big Brother... is gone!?" An unprecedented fear appeared in his eyes.

Even when facing an encirclement by a sky full of Fog Spirits or the charge of countless mutated Haiming monsters, he had never been this terrified.

But now, the big brother he had always revered and worshipped had been obliterated by a sword in a single instant.

’He, who had never known fear, was actually... afraid!?’

It wasn’t just him. Even the Fog People on Gongsun Xinlian and Zhang Yao’s side felt a chilling shock.

Because if Lin Hui could finish Shen Zhaoming with one blow, he could also finish them.

This was an extremely rare occurrence in the history of the Fog People. Ninety-nine percent of wars between Fog People were contests of regeneration—battles of attrition and endurance. But Lin Hui’s single strike had just turned it into a battle of instant kills.

"No! Big Brother isn’t dead! I can feel his Heart and Spirit! He just used some kind of technique to move and temporarily trap Big Brother!" The second brother of the Three Islands Alliance, the juggler-like Fog Person Hu Wucheng, stared intently at Lin Hui, his body tense.

At these words, the Shark-man and the few Fog People behind him breathed a sigh of relief. Even Zhang Yao and the others inexplicably felt a slight sense of relief themselves.

After all, the idea that a Fog Person could be killed instantly was just too outrageous.

Even someone as powerful as the Bright Heart Association Leader had only been able to temporarily defeat Zhang Yao, not kill him instantly.

If Lin Hui had killed Shen Zhaoming in an instant, wouldn’t that mean he might be even stronger than the Bright Heart Association Leader was back then!?

That was completely impossible.

Seeing everyone relax, Lin Hui smiled faintly.

"It is as you say. I have only trapped him temporarily, in a place he cannot leave for the time being."

He wasn’t lying.

Ever since obtaining the Celestial Father Seal, he had immediately sworn an oath to himself to never again take a life.

Of course, this only included intentional killing, not unintentional collateral damage.

After making the vow, he hadn’t felt any specific changes. Even after the Celestial Father Seal finished evolving, his body seemed unaffected, just like before.

But just now, facing Shen Zhaoming’s sudden attack, he had merely swung his sword casually.

Yet he clearly felt a huge difference from before.

The moment he struck, he clearly felt a vast, pure, and terrifying power bizarrely appear beside him, unleashing itself along with his Ruyi.

That power was incomparably peaceful, righteous, and noble, without the slightest hint of evil aura.

No matter how one perceived it, one would only feel an upright, honorable, and terrifying power crashing down like a tsunami.

And the result was...

That dwarf Fog Person instantly vanished.

In truth, he hadn’t vanished.

Lin Hui’s speed naturally allowed him to see the entire process clearly.

The moment Shen Zhaoming made contact with Ruyi, a mass of transparent tentacles shot out, entangled him, trapped him, and forcefully dragged him into a blurry, transparent disc.

It was just that the speed was too great, and the light from Ruyi was too bright, so no one besides him saw what happened in that instant.

"You think you’ve won!?" the Shark-man roared. "Attack together!!"

WHOOSH!

In the next instant, a massive, transparent disc suddenly appeared behind him.

A mass of thick, semi-transparent tentacles surged from the disc, gripping him tightly from behind and beginning to drag him in.

If they listened carefully, everyone could faintly hear a cacophony of chaotic groans lingering in the surrounding air.

"Repent... repent..."

"Please, let me out!"

"I surrender!!"

"Hahahaha! Kill me if you have the guts!!"

"Death is eternal release!!"

The Shark-man struggled with all his might, only to find in despair that the tentacles on him didn’t budge an inch. He couldn’t break free at all.

"Let me go!! You coward!! Face me in a real fight if you dare!!"

"Several days ago, I was taught by a senior and made a vow to never again take a life."

Lin Hui watched as he was slowly dragged into the disc and spoke softly.

"But though I do not kill, living beings will die because of dangerous Fog People like you..."

"You bastard!!" the Shark-man grit his teeth. By now, his body was already halfway into the disc behind him.

At his side, the second brother of the Three Islands Alliance instantly retreated, transforming into a streak of red light and flying into the distance.

But before he could fly out of the Moon Tower, he was ensnared by another disc that abruptly appeared in mid-air.

Countless tentacles surged out, wrapping around him and locking him down completely.

"I surrender! I’m willing to surrender! Spare me!!" the man roared.

"Don’t be afraid..." A smile appeared on Lin Hui’s face. "When you have truly repented, the seal will release you."

Slowly, the two were pulled by a multitude of invisible tentacles, sinking into the discs and vanishing.

Everything fell silent.

The three Alliance Leaders of the Three Islands Alliance had been completely suppressed and had vanished in less than half a minute.

This outcome made even Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian, who had already held a high estimation of Lin Hui, wonder if they were hallucinating...

They could understand him winning against the Wild Fog People. They could accept him winning against the Fog People from the Bright Heart Association. But now...

The combined strength of the three Alliance Leaders of the Three Islands Alliance was no less than that of their big brother, Xie Chang’an.

But they hadn’t even had a chance to join forces before they were locked down and trapped one by one.

"Trapping all three Alliance Leaders at once... Daoist Master Lin, you probably... can’t maintain that for long, can you?" Zhang Yao took a deep breath to calm the shock in his heart and asked in a low voice.

"Correct. This is just a temporary delay," Lin Hui nodded.

"Then... how long can you delay them?" Gongsun Xinlian couldn’t help but ask.

"I don’t know."

"..."

"..."

Gongsun Xinlian and Zhang Yao fell silent.

’What do you mean, you don’t know??’

Looking at Lin Hui’s smiling face, Zhang Yao suddenly had an ominous premonition.

"Look!"

Someone suddenly exclaimed in a low voice from the side.

"The three Alliance Leaders are out!"

Everyone was startled and quickly looked toward the location where the three had been sealed.

Sure enough, all three were indeed out.

Only, it wasn’t just the Alliance Leaders of the Three Islands Alliance who had come out, but also three crystal pillars, transparent as ice.

In the spot where the three Alliance Leaders had been, three pristine, crystalline pillars, each over two meters tall, had appeared at some unknown time.

Through the pillars, one could clearly see the three men inside, frantically attacking the inner walls in a state of agitation.

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