Free Web NovelChapter 183: Chapter 173: Mission 1
Inside the Fog Area.
Lin Hui stood at the spot where his disciple had said the medicine was buried.
Large patches of the surrounding earth and stone had all been pulverized into fine gravel.
This black gravel covered the entire nearby area.
’This is from when I used my Swordsmanship...’ Lin Hui recalled the situation during the fight, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
The Treasure Medicine that Tao Xuehai had worked so hard to find had likely been churned up with the stones and trees, then ground into dry gravel.
"It’s all right... it’s nothing, Teacher." Behind him, Tao Xuehai was also a bit speechless but quickly recovered.
"I can get more of that medicine. I redeemed it from the Profound Eagle Sect. Their Sect Leader has a profound background and vast abilities. Who knows where he got such a massive amount of resources, but it’s how he was able to establish the Profound Eagle Sect and fight the Qinghe Sect to a standstill in such a short time."
He paused, continuously popping healing Elixirs into his mouth. It seemed Martial Artists who had fused with the replica Insect Scripture required specially customized medicine; the Elixirs Lin Hui had given him had no effect at all.
Clearly, their bodies were no longer within the bounds of ordinary people.
’It makes sense. What kind of normal person can shatter their body and turn into a huge swarm of insects?’
"When I come next time, I’ll exchange for some more of that medicine. Teacher, you don’t need to worry," Tao Xuehai said earnestly.
He looked much better now. In just over an hour, he seemed to be mostly recovered.
This gave Lin Hui a new understanding of the regenerative abilities of Martial Artists fused with the Insect Scripture.
"It’s fine. Just make sure you stay safe," Lin Hui sighed. "Your Gale Sword has now embarked on its own path. Its future, the heights it will reach—that’s all up to you. I look forward to you bringing me more surprises next time you visit... You should know, your insights might even give me new inspiration."
He openly admitted that his disciple’s progress could inspire him in return, which made Tao Xuehai admire him even more.
’My Teacher is truly worthy of his title. Learning is a boundless journey. He can cast aside all pride and ego to learn from his own disciple. No wonder he was able to create a Martial Art as exceptional and powerful as the Gale Sword at such a young age... He is not ashamed to learn from his juniors. It seems I should follow my Teacher’s example. Ability comes first. I must strengthen myself at every moment, no matter the cost.’
Hearing this, an even deeper respect filled Tao Xuehai’s eyes.
He clasped his fist in a salute.
"Thank you for your help this time, Teacher. I will dedicate myself to arduous training and bring my Gale Sword Body Tempering to its peak as soon as possible."
"Good. When the time comes, return here. I’ll be waiting for you at Qingfeng Temple." Lin Hui turned and casually tossed a sword.
Tao Xuehai caught the sword, bowed, and turned to leave.
Watching his figure disappear into the mist, Lin Hui was struck by the peculiar feeling of a seed being sown, one that would grow into its own great tree.
’I should also continue on my own path...’ He smiled faintly and vanished into the fog.
The evolution of the Blood Seal had only given him a trove of training memories, forcing him to master the Swordsmanship. However, his understanding of the Swordsmanship was truly his own. The deeper his understanding, the faster his Body Tempering in Swordsmanship became.
The same Gale Sword, but with different levels of understanding, would result in different effects and combat power when executed.
With the help of the Blood Seal, he had only crossed the initial threshold more easily. The rest, just like his disciple, required slow and steady cultivation.
’The world is fraught with great peril. Perhaps I can first use the Blood Seal to evolve a conceptual aggregate, then combine it with the concept of a sect... to increase the cultivation speed of myself and those around me.’ The idea flashed through Lin Hui’s mind.
Of course, for now, he still had to wait for the Blood Seal to finish evolving the Star Breath Sword Manual. His preparations for a long journey were also nearly complete.
It was time to head to Yunbian Town to rendezvous. It was a remote, marginal town quite far from Xinyu Town. The journey was several thousand kilometers, and if he traveled slowly by horse-drawn or ox-drawn cart, it would take far too long.
But Lin Hui’s current Body Technique was extremely fast. Even if he wasn’t familiar with the route, he could make minor adjustments and still arrive within a single day.
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Yunbian Town.
This was a much smaller and more desolate town than Xinyu Town.
Unlike Xinyu Town, it wasn’t close to the Inner City, nestled right against its walls as one of the hubs for entering and exiting.
Instead, it was situated in a stretch of wasteland beyond the hub towns.
It got its name from its proximity to the Yunbian River, which flowed out of the Fog Area.
The town was built right on the riverbank.
Lin Hui wore four white masks, arranged to completely conceal his head.
He stood outside the town on a high cliff by the river, overlooking the entire settlement.
Birds circled overhead. In the dark-looking town below, box-like houses stood one after another, all built from a special kind of black rock.
The entire town had only four streets, two running horizontally and two vertically in a grid pattern. At its very center stood a ten-story black stone spire that exuded an ancient, weathered aura. Its surface was smooth, worn down by wind and sand.
The spire was Yunbian Town’s biggest landmark, and all the various houses had been built around it.
The sky was bright and the air was fresh. Not far from the tower, the Yunbian River flowed with clear water. Large, one-to-two-meter-long silver fish swam about, occasionally leaping from the surface.
Fishermen were casting their nets along the bank, regularly hauling in good catches. But what puzzled Lin Hui was that he saw all the fishermen catching only the small fish, ignoring the large ones that were jumping about so energetically.
"Strange, isn’t it?" a gentle male voice came from behind him.
"The fishermen here aren’t foolish. Those large fish are actually a humanoid race called the Wuxi Race. They have an agreement with them. The Wuxi drive safe schools of fish toward the town, and in return, the Yunbian Town Government Office allows them to live in the nearby No-Fog Zone. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. You can only see such a strange sight here."
A burly man in a pale yellow robe, wearing a white ox-head mask, slowly walked up to Lin Hui’s right side and stopped. He also looked toward the Yunbian River, seeming somewhat moved by the sight.
"Captain Huang Niu?" Lin Hui said the man’s codename.
"That’s me. Four-Face, your reputation has already reached our branch here. Everyone is saying you’re probably the most talented Martial Artist in the last thirty years. I hope we can cooperate well this time," Captain Huang Niu nodded.
"Captain, my talent isn’t bad either. Why is Four-Face the only one who gets to be famous?" With a rush of wind, another petite figure appeared.
The figure was only about 1.5 meters tall with a very prominent chest, clearly a woman. Her long, jet-black hair was tied into two long braids that hung by her sides. To be honest, the braids were a bit too long, nearly matching her height and almost touching the ground.
The girl wore a white fox mask. The sliver of skin visible at the mask’s edge was exceptionally fair. She wore a simple, light red, form-fitting attire, and over it, a set of black, hard vitals armor.
This so-called vitals armor was a piece of equipment Lin Hui had only recently learned about.
For those of the Summoning and some Martial Artists, most of their bodies were not afraid of injury. Only their vital spots, their weak points, were a cause for concern.
Although the vital spots were just as durable, an injury there was a major one, unlike injuries to other parts of the body.
Thus, the need for protecting these vitals slowly arose, and vitals armor came into being.
Male vitals armor generally protected the heart, lower body, head, and neck.
Female vitals armor had an added chest plate. The reasoning was that larger breasts would move violently during combat and had to be secured with hard armor to prevent strain or injury.
Right now, this fox-masked girl was wearing a set of external, hard black vitals armor, protecting her overly large chest.
"Nice to meet you, Four-Face. I’m Fox. Just call me Ah Li," the fox-masked girl greeted Lin Hui in a friendly manner.
"Alright. I look forward to working with you," Lin Hui nodded. freeweɓnøvel.com
"It’ll be the three of us this time. Luckily, I’ve been to the Xingdiao District many times, so I’m quite familiar with it. You guys can just follow my lead," Fox said with a laugh.
"Alright then, we’ll be counting on you, Miss Fox," Huang Niu chuckled. "Now that we’re all here, which way do we go?"
"This isn’t the most direct route to Xingdiao, but it’s the safest," Fox said. "I’ve arranged for a Moth Car from here. We’ll fly over."
’Moth Car?’
Lin Hui’s heart skipped a beat. He instantly knew that this woman, Fox, must have a high status. She had to be from the Core Area of the Inner City at the very least; otherwise, she couldn’t have arranged for a Moth Car so easily.
"Well, isn’t that great! Looks like we’re basking in your glory, Miss Fox." Huang Niu seemed to know a bit about Fox and didn’t sound surprised at all.
"Of course. Why else would the higher-ups put me on a team with you two?" Fox laughed.
"True. When do we leave?" Huang Niu asked.
"Now that we’re all here, I’ve already sent word. It should be about ten more minutes." Fox raised her hand to look at a black watch on her wrist.
This made Lin Hui narrow his eyes slightly.
It was the first time he had seen someone in Tuyue with a watch. In the Outer City, even clocks were a rare sight; they were expensive items only found in the Inner City.
He hadn’t expected to see such a pricey gadget on Fox.
"Excellent, excellent. I can’t even remember the last time I rode a Moth Car. I’m almost nostalgic. Thank you, Miss Fox," Huang Niu said with a cupped-fist salute.
"Don’t mention it." Fox waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, follow me."
She turned and headed straight away from Yunbian Town, making a beeline for the Fog Area’s Fog Wall.
The other two followed close behind.
The three of them soon entered the mist. After running for a short while, the terrain ahead began to gradually rise.
Soon, Fox stopped at the edge of a black cliff and snapped her fingers.
SNAP.
FWOOSH. FWOOSH.
Suddenly, the loud sound of beating wings came from above.
The sound approached rapidly, and then a giant gray moth burst out of the fog.
The moth was basically a super-sized version of an ordinary moth. It was over ten meters long, covered in gray fur, and its pair of round, black eyes shone like black gems, particularly eye-catching in the fog.
The moth’s wings were arrow-shaped, with a concave area in the middle of its back forming a wide, elliptical hollow.
With a final FWOOSH of its beating wings, the moth landed in the open space to Fox’s right. It folded its wings, lay on the ground, and became motionless.
Its pair of long, slender antennae twitched slightly, as if transmitting some kind of message.
Fox went forward, reached out to stroke the moth’s head, and then fed it something.
"Let’s go! Get on!" She turned her head, waved her arm, and shouted.
Then she leaped up first, landing precisely in the hollow on its back.
Huang Niu and Lin Hui also leaped up lightly, landing in the hollow.
