The Decaying World

Inside Liujiang City.

After the exchange conference ended, Lin Hui did not return to the sword hall right away. Instead, he stayed behind, waiting for the good show of The Three Greats Buddhist Temples fighting over the Heavenly Immortal seed.

This was the core purpose of his trip. From what the old monk of Red Sand Temple had told him, he had a general idea that a Heavenly Immortal trump card was the true foundation that allowed these major factions to dominate a region.

Earth Immortal masters were not easily moved and could only stabilize a single area. To truly dominate and run rampant, one still needed a Heavenly Immortal.

As for what level a Heavenly Immortal was exactly, even the old monk didn’t know. Lin Hui could only try to experience it for himself.

’But under normal circumstances, Heavenly Immortals are the trump cards of their respective sects. They would never reveal themselves and act so casually. So, there needs to be a sufficiently weighty reason...’

At this moment, in one of Liujiang City’s districts, a large crowd had gathered to watch a high platform in the center of a square, where an eminent monk from Iron Buddha Temple sat debating Buddhist doctrine with a monk from Yongning Temple.

The two sides had already been at it for a day and a night with no clear winner. It was a relay-style debate; if someone was defeated, a new eminent monk would immediately take the stage to replace them. Both sides were doing the same, clearly locked in a bitter struggle, intending to utterly refute the other on the scale of their entire temple’s knowledge.

Because it was a purely verbal debate, it attracted a large number of citizens who loved a good spectacle.

In this era, those who had the standing and leisure to watch the spectacle were clearly from families with some connections. These people were generous spenders, which in turn attracted many small merchants and peddlers. As a result, the surrounding area gradually formed what looked like a temporary commercial street.

Lin Hui, along with Wu Anning, Liu Xuezhen, and Xie Tieniu, had rented a few rooms nearby to watch the excitement for a while.

At this moment, they were sitting in a restaurant at the edge of the square, looking down on the entire scene from the fifth floor.

"This place is so much livelier than Xidong City. I’m so glad I came out to have some fun this time. Staying at home all the time is so boring," Liu Xuezhen said enthusiastically, cracking melon seeds while leaning out the window to look outside.

The melon seed shells were placed in a teacup she had moved to the outer windowsill.

"Iron Buddha Temple and Yongning Temple are both major powers around here. They have many martial monks, and it’s said they have extremely deep ties with the local great clans and prestigious families," Wu Anning added in a low, serious voice. "I’m afraid this is more than just a simple Buddhist debate. There are definitely deeper conflicts of interest behind it. We just can’t see the deeper layers."

Under Lin Hui’s personal tutelage, her insight and understanding had improved immensely.

Especially back when her parents passed away and her younger brother left overnight, taking all the family’s assets without leaving her a single cent. It was Lin Hui who gave her a new lease on life, promising to pay her if she worked for him at the sword hall.

From then on, Wu Anning began to see Lin Hui as a guide for her life, intentionally starting to imitate and learn from his every move.

Only occasionally would her slightly naive, youthful nature show through.

"I get that, too. I used to run a small business reselling snacks. With so many people and such a large venue, setting all this up costs a lot of money and time. They wouldn’t have deliberately made such a huge scene just to debate Buddhist doctrine," Xie Tieniu chimed in, nodding in agreement.

He was straightforward, but not stupid.

Seeing that the other two, besides Liu Xuezhen, had seen through the matter, Lin Hui didn’t explain further. The world of Cultivators was one hidden from reality, yet inextricably linked to it.

It seemed that no matter which faction, all of them were intentionally or unintentionally concealing and downplaying the presence of Cultivators in the mortal world.

This also led to many people not actually knowing how strong Cultivators truly were.

Furthermore, this place had those strange, purple, web-like tendrils. Any flow of pure energy would be subject to immense consumption and restriction.

This resulted in the power many Cultivators displayed publicly having no energy amplification whatsoever.

Just like when he had fought the old monk, if the power he had used was in the Fog People World, a single Technique could have instantly carved a rift hundreds of kilometers deep. But here, without enhancements from things like Star Power, Wind Calamity, and True Power, he could only rely on pure physical bursts and the channeling of his Swordsmanship. The power was naturally reduced by countless times.

"You’re all correct, but as outsiders, it’s enough for us to just watch the show. No need to pay too much attention to the rest." Lin Hui hadn’t just been watching the fun during this time; he had also secretly obtained a large amount of intelligence from Red Sand Temple. This was especially true because Red Sand Temple itself was a mid-tier Buddhist temple faction. Although the commotion from the previous great battle had led outsiders to suspect that some misfortune might have befallen Red Sand Temple.

But for the time being, there was no way to prove it, so no one dug any deeper. After all, the real core issue right now was still the outcome of the doctrinal debate between the two great Buddhist temples.

Fa Ming had more than once pleaded for Lin Hui to let him out.

Each time, Lin Hui would use various excuses to get some secret rumors out of him, and each time, he would say he’d pay back the promises he made later, all at once.

After this happened several times, the old monk also realized that Lin Hui had no intention of letting him go at all.

Lin Hui didn’t explain. This was purely because he couldn’t release him either... The Celestial Father Seal, once used, required one to budget for a hundred-thousand-year wait...

Snapping back to the present, he listened to the lively discussion of the three people beside him while pondering how he could force a Heavenly Immortal-level expert to make a move so he could see.

Judging from Fa Ming’s reaction, the gap between a Human Immortal and an Earth Immortal was greater than that between a human and a dog. They were purely two different species.

In that case, the Heavenly Immortal, as a Great Realm that could be classified as completely separate from the Earth Immortal Realm, likely represented an equally enormous leap in power.

’To force a Heavenly Immortal to act, there’s probably only one scenario: the faction is driven into a corner, on the verge of total annihilation if they don’t step in. These three major factions are all vying for supremacy, checking and balancing each other. Without a major external force, it would be difficult for such a situation to arise.’

"Extra! Extra! Oslan defeats Sidi to become the number one power on the Western Continent!"

"Large-scale armed brawls erupt among the populace of Fu Province in the south! The nation of Eschen dispatches troops to maintain the safety of its citizens, crushing the Huailiang garrison in one hour, occupying the fortress, and forcing the southern government to negotiate and concede!"

"New gasoline-powered car technology completely revolutionized! Vehicle speeds expected to triple! A new era is coming!"

On the periphery of the debate, young boys in worn but clean clothes ran about, waving newspapers in their hands. The freshly printed papers, still smelling of ink, were quickly bought up by the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle.

"Get me a newspaper," Lin Hui instructed Tieniu.

Tieniu nodded quickly, turned to find a restaurant waiter, and soon the waiter brought up a copy of the latest Liujiang Morning Post.

"These restaurants always buy all the major newspapers first thing, just to accommodate their customers’ needs," Tieniu explained simply.

"That’s quite nice. No need to run out and fight with people to buy one," Wu Anning nodded.

Lin Hui picked up a newspaper. The first thing he saw was an old-fashioned black-and-white photograph, blurry yet real.

On the front page was a tall foreign officer holding a long rifle, standing behind a row of captured soldiers of the Republic kneeling on the ground.

Beside them were two bodies that had already been cut down, blood pooling on the ground.

A line of large, bolded characters at the top clearly marked the headline—"The Huailiang Incident: Eschen’s Ambition Invades."

"What kind of country is this Eschen?" he asked with a frown. The situation here couldn’t help but remind him of the Huaxia Republic of his past.

The culture was similar, and the situation was similar.

In fact, almost all the small countries surrounding Huaxia back then had gone through a similar phase. It was only because Huaxia was vast and had great strategic depth that it was the last to suffer invasion.

"Eschen is an island nation between us and the Western Continent. Its territory is small, but its national power is very strong. It’s said to have over a hundred islands, rich in resources, but its one problem is that it has to face tsunamis and floods year after year," Liu Xuezhen knew much more about these things.

As a young lady who had been groomed as an heiress since childhood, international affairs was a required course for her.

"Looks like they want to take a bite out of our country now, too?" Xie Tieniu said with a frown.

"I’m just worried about whether it will affect us here," Wu Anning said in a low voice.

"Huailiang is on the southern coast; it’s a seaside fortress. Don’t worry, even if it does have an effect, it won’t be our turn for a long time," Liu Xuezhen reassured her.

"Sigh... In these times, I really don’t know what the future holds..." Xie Tieniu sighed.

"I believe in my father. He told me that if we want to change all this, we must reshape the country and the world. I believe he can do it!" Liu Xuezhen, however, was full of confidence. She had grown up listening to her father’s heroic deeds.

Rising from humble origins to become a regional hegemon—you couldn’t find more than a few people with such a legendary life in the entire Republic.

"Under Commander Liu’s governance, there have indeed been fewer disasters than before. Your father is truly a good official... It’s just a pity... there are too few good officials like him," Wu Anning said helplessly.

"Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. It looks like the atmosphere below is getting more and more tense," Lin Hui interrupted them, looking down at the square.

On the stage, the ones in yellow monk robes were from Iron Buddha Temple, and the ones in grayish-white robes were from Yongning Temple.

The two sides had already clashed for four rounds. One of Iron Buddha Temple’s old monks had even been so enraged that he coughed up blood on the spot, fainted, and was carried away.

This instantly made the tension much thicker.

At this moment, however, Lin Hui scanned the area with his Heart and Spirit and discovered something interesting.

Although the many monks in this debate were seemingly concentrating on their doctrinal battle, in reality, the minds of many of them were faintly drifting toward a nearby viewing stand.

Only someone with a powerful Mental Power and keen observation like Lin Hui could discern such a subtle commonality in such a chaotic scene.

He focused his gaze in that direction and saw a group of men, women, old, and young dressed like traditional scholars sitting there.

This group numbered about a dozen people, and they were all sitting in a circle around a boy of about ten years old in the center.

The boy had black eyebrows that slanted up toward his temples, his eyes were bright and full of spirit, his face was full, and his skin was smooth and fair. A single glance told you he was a young master from a prominent family who did no farm work and rarely traveled.

Lin Hui understood at once, guessing that the boy was likely the source of the conflict between The Three Greats Buddhist Temples.

The supreme genius with the talent for reaching the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

Now that he had confirmed that these factions were unable to contact the Upper Realm, Lin Hui’s apprehension had lessened considerably, and he could act with fewer scruples and constraints.

After a brief calculation in his mind, he came up with a simple idea. But this idea could only be implemented after a clear investigation of the specific situation.

It was a pity his brainwashing technique was ineffective against Earth Immortals. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need to be so roundabout; he could have just controlled his way through from the start.

Looking at the ordinary people on the outskirts below, a strong sense of dissonance suddenly rose in Lin Hui’s heart.

’Since my worries are gone, I might as well get this over with quickly... Also, the Celestial Court of this country cannot be contacted, so why can those foreign Holy Spirits respond from their celestial realm? Could it be that the region they’re in isn’t on the same level as the Celestial Court?’

These were questions that perhaps could only be answered by capturing someone who truly knew the inside story.

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