Free Web NovelChapter 225: Chapter 215: Invitation 1
Master Yunxia gave Han Xiaoyue a deep look, as if she understood something. Without another word, she flickered and vanished in an instant.
Behind her, the courtyard gate opened on its own. Inside, Lin Hui was manipulating his Inner Strength with one hand, reattaching the fallen camellia blossoms to the branches, one by one.
"A broken mirror cannot be mended, and spilled water cannot be gathered. How can a fallen flower return to its branch?" Han Xiaoyue said as she walked slowly into the courtyard, watching Lin Hui’s pointless actions. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"If you don’t try, how will you know the outcome?" Lin Hui used his Inner Strength to slice a small opening in each branch, then inserted the flower to secure it.
"Besides, it’s enough as long as it looks the part for now."
He turned his head to look at Han Xiaoyue.
"What did you mean just now?"
"Nothing much." Han Xiaoyue smiled. "You’ve changed a lot recently, even getting involved with the Nine Dreams Sect..."
"What do you want to hear? My secrets?" Lin Hui chuckled. "Don’t you have secrets of your own?"
"Regarding this incident, someone was in a hurry to find me and ask about you, so I got the news quickly and came to find you right away." Han Xiaoyue was also a little curious now.
She had few friends, but that didn’t mean she had none at all.
When the major event happened at Qingfeng Temple, her friend received the news immediately and rushed over to ask her about it.
And so, she was also the first to learn that a terrifyingly powerful person named Xia Si had emerged from Qingfeng Temple.
A clash between two Martial Artist sects, Qingfeng Temple and Carefree Pavilion, had actually exposed a Grand Priest-level expert like Xia Si.
That was a bit outrageous.
If Liu Xiao hadn’t been dragged into a factional struggle because of Liu Wu Jun’s situation, it would have been impossible to flush out such a big fish that Qingfeng Temple had hidden so deeply.
"Even I know Xia Si’s name now, so it must have already reached the Inner City Moon Tower. A Grand Priest genius at such a young age... The Three Greats must be paying close attention. What are your plans?" Han Xiaoyue continued.
Lin Hui was taken aback.
He had thought the likely outcome of this incident would be some of Qingfeng Temple’s secrets being exposed. He had anticipated this and was prepared to deal with it.
But now Han Xiaoyue had come running, telling him it was Xia Si who was exposed.
Everyone’s attention was on Xia Si, not on him, the Observatory Master who should have been the focus.
This gave him a strange sense of displacement.
Still, this was for the best.
He had instructed everyone beforehand to keep the teaching of the Seal Technique a secret. Although it would eventually leak out, it would be fine as long as it happened after he had moved out of the Outer City District.
In any case, after being assessed by the Blood Seal, those who could be taught the Seal Technique were all absolutely loyal.
As for the decision to relocate Qingfeng Temple, he planned to handle it completely within the next day or two.
"Xia Si... was born with ridiculously immense power. It’s normal for her to attract attention," Lin Hui replied after a moment of silence.
"That’s it?" Han Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow. "I’ve managed a major faction before. I know what a bright and boundless future awaits a supreme genius with such terrifying talent. Aren’t you worried she’ll be poached by other factions?"
Lin Hui smiled.
"If she can be poached, then that’s fate. Besides, for a peerless genius to reach her full potential, she is destined to have many teachers guiding and protecting her on her journey. It’s not so bad if I can be one of them."
"How magnanimous... Xia Si definitely can’t be kept here this time. The Three Greats, even the Moon Tower and the Federation, might send people. Her bone age can be determined at a glance—not even ten years old. A Grand Priest under the age of ten... That’s an incredibly rare top-tier prodigy, even in the Federation." Han Xiaoyue sighed. "I really don’t know where you dug her up."
"Just luck," Lin Hui said with a smile, but in reality, he suspected Xia Si might not be human.
Her talent would be terrifying for a human, but he didn’t believe his luck was so heaven-defying that he would stumble upon such an outrageous, top-tier genius right after leaving the Boundary Wall.
It wasn’t realistic.
He didn’t believe that no experts from the Moon Tower had ever been to Miyin Village, right on the edge of the Boundary Wall.
If Xia Si were truly a member of the Human Race with such terrifying talent, she would have been taken away long ago.
In fact, if one considered the possibility that Xia Si wasn’t from the Human Race, but rather one of the fog monsters commonly found in the Outer Fog Area, then her Grand Priest-level strength became much more acceptable.
This was because among the monsters that ran rampant in the Outer Fog Area, even the weakest possessed the physique, speed, and power of a Grand Priest.
If her power wasn’t equivalent, it would have been impossible for Xia Si to survive there for so long.
Therefore, a humanoid Outer Fog Area monster was the most likely possibility Lin Hui could surmise for Xia Si’s identity.
Of course, everything would become clear once Xia Si returned and he performed an assessment with the Blood Seal.
As long as Xia Si had no hidden issues, Lin Hui himself was a little excited thinking about how much her strength would skyrocket after he conferred the seal.
"Qingfeng Temple is famous now. What are your plans for the future? Getting caught in the vortex of the Inner City’s struggles is not a good thing," Han Xiaoyue asked.
"I plan to relocate," Lin Hui answered. This was something he couldn’t hide; where he lived and cultivated would become obvious sooner or later. It was better to be upfront about it than to conceal it.
"Relocate?" Han Xiaoyue was puzzled. "To where? Are you abandoning all your businesses here?"
"I’ll just leave a branch here. We’re moving to a ruin I know of in the Fog Area outside," Lin Hui replied.
"...Are you... insane? Using a ruin in the Fog Area as a base? How will you live? How will you operate? Where will you get food and drink? You’ll be surrounded by the Fog Area, where are you going to buy food and water? Would you dare to drink water from the Fog Area?" Han Xiaoyue asked in astonishment.
"I will solve each of those problems," Lin Hui said nonchalantly. ’All I need is for the Blood Seal to evolve a few cyclical cultivation systems.’
His confidence was based on this very point.
Any other faction’s base located in a Fog Area ruin could only support a very small number of people.
This was because providing for basic necessities was difficult; they could only rely on stockpiles transported in. They couldn’t be self-sufficient.
But he was different.
The almighty Blood Seal could even evolve a conceptual sect title. A few cyclical systems shouldn’t be a problem.
Even if the Blood Seal couldn’t do it, he could try to use some basic knowledge from his past life, combining it with the various strange phenomena of this place to create a cyclical system from scratch.
At worst, he could just build a small, stockpile-based outpost, just big enough for his close friends, family, and Core Disciples. With enough supplies, a single run could last for several years.
Seeing he had made up his mind, Han Xiaoyue said no more. She wasn’t a talkative person by nature, and saying so much at once was already unprecedented for her.
It was mainly because she had been surprised by Mingxia’s earlier attitude and the major incident Lin Hui had caused.
She wasn’t a Tuyue native—her so-called local Original Blood identity was just a fake disguise—so she knew very well how rare a genius like Xia Si was.
The impact of this incident was huge. Qingfeng Temple would inevitably be thrust into the spotlight and come under the scrutiny of the higher-ups in the Inner City Moon Tower.
Trying to live a so-called peaceful life in the future would be truly difficult...
When you’re in the ocean, even if you stand still, the waves will crash against you from all directions.
"I must remind you, once you leave the city districts and establish a base in the Fog Area on your own, you’ll have to guard against all sorts of powerful individuals who could appear at any time."
"I understand what you mean." Lin Hui nodded. "The Fog Area is indeed outside the city’s surveillance, but that also means it’s beyond the Moon Tower’s deterrence, making security even more important. After all, within the city, any major disturbance would attract the attention of the Inner City Moon Tower. But in the Fog Area, you can cause any kind of incident, any kind of commotion, without any pressure."
"As long as you know." Han Xiaoyue nodded.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Lin Hui said.
"No." Han Xiaoyue shook her head. "Let’s cultivate."
"Mm, alright."
The two said no more. One began cultivating the Illusionary Performance Technique, while the other sat cross-legged and entered a state of profound contemplation.
This was how they spent most of their time together.
As evening approached, Han Xiaoyue left quietly. Before she went, she invited Lin Hui to cultivate at her place next time.
She was always the one coming here to cultivate; Lin Hui had never been to her place. Figuring it didn’t matter where they were, Lin Hui agreed.
Just before dusk, he finished processing the latest summary of applications reported by Wang Hongshi, stamping it with his personal seal.
Then he executed his Body Technique and returned to the Lin Mansion.
The conflict between Qingfeng Temple and Carefree Pavilion had exposed a monstrously talented genius like Xia Si. This event was bound to cause a huge stir.
Back then, a single genius with the aptitude of an Upper-Tier Summoner in Xinyu Town had been enough to cause a stir and draw everyone’s envy.
To say nothing of someone as outrageous as Xia Si.
So, there were some things that had to be explained.
The sky was growing dim.
The Lin Mansion was brightly lit, with retractable awnings pulled shut everywhere.
These awnings were a recent invention from the Inner City, a kind of foldable, leather canopy.
They were similar to the convertible car tops Lin Hui had seen in his past life; they could be folded up and pulled open when not in use.
When in use, you just had to pull them shut and press the seams tight to create an airtight seal.
With these awnings installed everywhere, sealing off the Outer City District from the night fog became much easier.
This new product was expensive and not easy to make, but the Lin Mansion didn’t lack money, so they naturally put it to use immediately.
"They all say the Inner City doesn’t care about the Outer City, but if they truly didn’t care, why would they produce a specialized product like this, clearly designed only for the Outer City’s night fog?"
In the Lin Mansion’s largest central garden, a massive awning completely covered the sky above the entire grounds.
Inside, more than ten thick metal poles had been set up on the ground to serve as support points for the awning.
In this way, the basketball-court-sized garden became a completely enclosed and quite safe environment at night.
The family was gathered together, eating dinner.
The large round table was packed with more than a dozen different dishes. Each was served in a large bowl, steaming hot and fragrant.
Lin Hui sat around the table with his parents, his second mother, his older brother and sister, and his younger sister.
The one speaking now was his older brother, Liu Wu Jun.
He had just returned from outside the city and had come home at the first opportunity.
This had never happened before; previously, he would always report back to the Rain Palace first.
But this time, he came to the Lin Mansion first.
The atmosphere was a bit tense.
His father, Lin Shunhe, and his mother, Yao Shan, both wore grave expressions. His older sister, Liu Xiao, sat ramrod straight, staring intently at the dishes on the table as if in a daze.
Lin Xiaoliu was fidgeting, her hands clasped together and her head lowered. She kept stealing glances at her mother, Liu Shenglan, and then peeking at Lin Hui.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Liu Wu Jun sighed, knowing he would have to be the one to start. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
He glanced sideways at the calm-faced Lin Hui.
"With what’s happened, Third Brother, what are your plans?"
"Whatever you want to say, Big Brother, just say it directly." Lin Hui actually had a good guess what the other would say next, but he still offered a polite, noncommittal phrase.
"Second Sister was attacked this time, and it was all thanks to Miss Xia from your Qingfeng Temple that she was saved. I acknowledge this debt. So, no matter what Miss Xia chooses to do next, I will do my best to support her from behind the scenes. What I can do is help her secure more and better benefits."
Liu Wu Jun said in a low voice.
In his eyes—no, perhaps in everyone’s eyes—it was inevitable that Xia Si would leave Qingfeng Temple. A mere Qingfeng Temple could not possibly accommodate the future growth of a Grand Priest genius.
Only The Three Greats, only the Moon Tower or even the Federation, could provide Xia Si with all the resources and opportunities needed for her growth and development.
As for the sounds of a huge battle that followed in the Fog Area, Liu Wu Jun guessed it was likely experts clashing over the right to decide Xia Si’s future. This sort of thing had happened before.
"I will relay that to her," Lin Hui nodded.
