The Decaying World-Chapter 48 - 43: Clash (1)

After a short time, Lin Hui heard the sounds from the fog ahead gradually quiet down. The roars of the Barbarians had vanished.

He let out a soft breath.

’They’ve got some skill... taking out three mutated Four-armed Barbarians so easily.’

He hopped lightly from the tree branch and turned to walk away.

’Since they can handle so much...’

’...they can handle a few more rounds.’

SWISH. His figure vanished silently into the fog.

Even for him, without using his Special Effects, it would take a while to kill a mutated Four-armed Barbarian in a one-on-one fight. For those two to have dispatched three so easily, they were truly formidable opponents.

And his only advantage was his speed.

So.

CLANG!

Wan’Er, wielding two blades, instantly slid past the Four-armed Barbarian’s waist, opening a massive gash.

Blood splattered. The wound seemed to burst open like a blossoming flower, a clear sign it had been invaded by some kind of special force.

THUD.

This final Four-armed Barbarian let out one last wail and collapsed. It was dead.

Wan’Er was panting. She sheathed her blades, flicking the blood off, and looked toward her grandmother.

Over there, another Four-armed Barbarian was already dead on the ground. The grandmother, who was in the Inner Power Realm, had a grim expression as she scanned the surroundings.

"Grandmother?"

"Three mutated Barbarians appearing at once... either we stumbled into a small tribe, or someone is pulling strings behind the scenes!" the grandmother said, her face cold.

"You mean that kid from just now?" Wan’Er frowned.

"The Qingfeng Observation Technique is good. It’s possible he could have lured these Barbarians. But in theory, while the Qingfeng technique is fast, it’s not easy to outrun a Four-armed Barbarian. It’s not *that* fast. Luring so many in such a short time... it’s unrealistic..."

The grandmother calculated in her mind. That kid was young. No matter how strong his Body Technique was, he couldn’t be at the Inner Power Realm. Below the Inner Power Realm, there was a clear limit to one’s speed. She had watched the so-called strongest, Chen Sui, fight a disciple from the Black Dragon Sect a few days ago. He was nothing special.

"We might have really just run into a small tribe. Be careful," the grandmother said gravely. "If..."

ROAR!

Before she could finish, two more Four-armed Barbarians charged out, swinging massive clubs at them.

After fighting continuously, the two women were significantly drained. They wanted to escape, but Wan’Er’s Body Technique wasn’t fast enough to lose the Barbarians in a short amount of time.

"This is bad! We have to retreat now!" The grandmother’s palm lit up with a white glow as she slammed one last Barbarian to the ground. She turned her head only to see two Thousand-legged Eye Balls lunging at them.

These monsters were the most troublesome. If your Body Technique wasn’t fast enough, you’d be caught in their self-destruct explosion the moment you killed them.

She could protect herself with her Inner Strength, but Wan’Er couldn’t.

"Damn it!" This unusually dense wave of monster attacks made her realize someone was behind this. If it wasn’t the young kid, it was likely another master at the Inner Power Realm was playing games.

"Don’t let me find out who you are! Retreat!"

The grandmother grabbed the bag of collected materials, shouted, and quickly headed back in the direction of the Tuyue No-Fog Zone.

One after the other, they quickly outran the pursuing Thousand-legged Eye Balls. Their Body Technique was good; though not as good as the Qingfeng Temple’s, it was better than an ordinary Outer Strength practitioner’s. As they flew, flower-like footprints blossomed beneath their feet.

This was clearly another special Body Technique.

But they hadn’t gotten far.

When three three-meter-tall Unihorn Spiders, scuttling on their eight legs, burst from the fog and pounced on them.

These Unihorn Spiders were massive, and more importantly, they were the fastest monsters in the area. Their speed was nearly on par with the two women’s Body Techniques. They could also spit silk from a distance.

Now the pair had no choice but to slow down and fight them. They had to deal with the monsters before proceeding.

But after fighting continuously for so long, even the grandmother, an Inner Power Realm master, was panting and slightly exhausted.

Not to mention Wan’Er, who had yet to reach the Inner Power Realm.

"Wan’Er, you go first! I’ll hold back these two monsters. Once I deal with them, I’ll find you up ahead!" The grandmother had no choice but to let her granddaughter leave the Fog Area first. Escaping the danger was the priority.

They weren’t far from the No-Fog Zone here. A sprint of just a few hundred meters would get them there.

"Grandmother, watch out for the person in the shadows!" Wan’Er knew that staying would only make her a burden. Both of them were exhausted; a choice had to be made. She immediately grabbed the bag of materials and ran.

"Hmph!" The grandmother flew forward and struck the back of a Unihorn Spider that was about to give chase, sending it staggering violently. Its carapace cracked, and milky-white blood oozed out.

HISS!

The Unihorn Spider furiously whipped its head around. Its aggro now fixed, it continued to lunge at her.

Its huge body was like a small ox cart as it charged forward.

’Blossoming Four Seasons!’ The grandmother’s hands lit up with a white glow as she suddenly ducked and slid underneath the Unihorn Spider.

In an instant, a large swath of illusory white petals flew from her palms, striking the charging Unihorn Spider.

BOOM!!

The large and small figures both froze for a moment as they collided.

Then, with a crash, the Unihorn Spider was hit by an immense force. All eight of its legs snapped at once with a CRACK. It kneeled to the ground, its body exploded, and it stopped breathing.

*Pant... pant...*

The grandmother had used too much Inner Strength. She took a moment to catch her breath, then turned to evade the other Unihorn Spider’s charge. Leaping into the air, she flipped over and struck its back with the same finishing move.

BAM!

The illusion of white petals exploded, and the second Unihorn Spider collapsed, dead. Its black carapace looked as if it had been stamped with countless fine petal marks.

Meanwhile, Wan’Er, who had already run some distance ahead, had come to a wary stop. She stared intently at a figure blocking the small mountain path in front of her.

"So you finally decided to show yourself! You despicable bastard!" Wan’Er’s eyes were ice-cold. She set down the bag of materials and flexed her hands, which were covered in special gloves.

The figure was still shrouded in fog, not yet clearly visible.

But anyone who could time it so precisely to intercept her had to be connected to the person who had been luring the monsters.

So...

"Did you really think we were so exhausted we had no choice but to split up and run?" As Wan’Er spoke, her panting body surprisingly calmed down, as if she had just finished a light warm-up.

"Too bad, I’m about to disappoint you. You probably don’t know what the Baihua Sect’s greatest strength is. It’s... Endurance!!"

Wan’Er suddenly charged forward, throwing a vicious palm strike at the figure in the fog.

The fog ahead quickly dissipated, and the figure’s form became clear.

WHOOSH!

A fierce wind howled as the figure was revealed.

A slim-fitting, grayish-white Daoist robe, a black Longsword at the waist, long hair tied up high, and a cold, detached face.

It was none other than the kid from Qingfeng Temple they had met earlier!

"It’s you!! Damn you! You’re finished! And Qingfeng Temple is finished too!!" A fierce anger flashed in Wan’Er’s eyes, and the Palm Force in her strike suddenly intensified.

The Hundred Flowers Palm was characterized by its Endurance and Armor Piercing capabilities, making it exceptionally powerful for breaking through defenses. Once in close quarters, even an elite from the Black Dragon Sect, with their vaunted defenses, wouldn’t dare to block two of her palm strikes head-on!

As the fourth-ranked Core Disciple of the Baihua Sect, Wan’Er was absolutely confident she could end the fight instantly once she got close.

The Qingfeng Observation Technique was fast, but once he entered a certain range, the Hundred Flowers Palm had plenty of ways to restrict his speed.

As a powerful Palm Technique that had fought its way to prominence from among countless Outer Strength styles, it had to have methods and experience for dealing with all sorts of Martial Arts. Otherwise, if its weaknesses were too obvious, it would inevitably be drowned out and eliminated by the competition among the many martial schools, disappearing completely.

The Hundred Flowers Palm was no different. Once he was within two meters of her and she unleashed her Flying Flower and Falling Leaves Body Technique, it would be impossible for him to escape the Palm Technique’s restrictions and leave unscathed.

Besides, she and her grandmother had split up intentionally to lure out the troublemaker. So...

She still had a trump card on her, a powerful weapon of last resort. Once he was close enough, even someone at the Inner Power Realm would...

In an instant, the distance between them closed rapidly. Ten meters, eight, five, four, three!!

SHING!

At last, a sword rang out.

In front of Wan’Er, the Daoist figure suddenly drew his sword. The blade left behind layers of afterimages as it thrust fluidly toward her chest.

’You’re courting death!’ Wan’Er’s eyes lit up. He clearly didn’t know that the gloves she wore were as light as gossamer wings but incredibly tough, capable of crushing metal and snapping iron without harming her in the slightest. As soon as they truly clashed and she touched his blade, she could disarm him in a single move!

Back in Xingdiao, the Hundred Flowers Palm was a famous Martial Art known for disarming opponents bare-handed. Against a mere kid from Qingfeng Temple, as long as she made contact...

As the distance closed.

The Longsword and her palm met at high speed, about to collide...

POOF.

Wan’Er’s hand suddenly grabbed at empty air!

The Longsword was about to touch her hand, but in the blink of an eye, it had actually retracted!?

Retracted!??

Her hand having missed, Wan’Er made a split-second decision and unleashed a Hundred Flowers Palm Technique designed to restrict movement.

’Flower Shadow, Traceless!’

She shouted inwardly as her hands trembled, and two tough steel wires shot from mechanisms on her wrists, flying toward the figure ahead.

These steel wires were fired from a mechanism, their speed far exceeding the norm. Within three meters, even with the speed of the Qingfeng Observation Technique, it should be impossible to dodge them!

But...

After two whooshes, both steel wires missed.

"Impossible!!" Wan’Er’s expression changed drastically. "The Qingfeng Temple technique can’t be this fast!! Who the hell are you!?"

"I am from Qingfeng Temple. Do you want me to prove it to you?" Lin Hui slowly emerged from an empty space to the side. The figure from before dissipated into an afterimage.

He thought to himself that the more she suspected him, the more he should insist he was who he claimed to be. It would surely have the opposite effect.

After his Body Tempering, when he used the perfect Nine-Section Swift Sword, his Body Technique’s speed had become abnormally fast.

Judging by her reaction, his current self wasn’t weak. As for his exact level, he would need more comparisons.

’Again!’ He wanted to test it further, so he immediately executed the Nine-Section Swift Sword again.

His figure instantly left a trail of afterimages as the tip of his sword stabbed toward her abdomen.

SWISH!

But just as the sword tip was half a meter away from her, it suddenly retracted.

He pulled it back again.

WHOOSH!

Across from him, Wan’Er’s palm strike hit nothing but air again. Her face paled; she had strained her shoulder from putting too much force into the missed strikes.

Before she could recover, a new sword shadow took advantage of the moment she was injured and lunged again, this time aiming for her neck.

This move was vicious and deadly, its timing perfectly precise. There was no time to block.

The sword shadow was almost at her neck, just a dozen centimeters away. Her skin could feel the chilling cold radiating from its tip.

"Ah!"

Wan’Er suddenly threw something from her right hand.

The object exploded the moment it left her hand, unleashing a large, incredibly tough white silk net that spread out to envelop the area in front of her.

But just then, Lin Hui’s figure retracted again!

And he had started to pull back a moment *before* she had even thrown the object.

It was obvious—that last sword strike was also a feint!!!

BAM!!

The white silk net exploded, covering the area in front of her, but caught nothing.

Just like that, under Lin Hui’s probing attacks, her trump card had been wasted.

"Fuck!!" Wan’Er lost her composure. She flew forward in a furious lunge, unleashing a killing move from the Hundred Flowers Palm with both hands.

But Lin Hui was still just testing her.