Chapter 82: Chapter 77: Gale 1

The entrance to Xinyu Town’s Inner City.

On the deserted street, the gate set between the white city walls slowly creaked open.

At dawn, an inconspicuous brown carriage slowly drove out.

The driver was shrouded in black, their head bowed as if to avoid showing their face. Even their hands were covered with thick gloves.

The sky was still dim as the fog began to dissipate, yet a crowd outside the gate had already spotted the carriage. They had been waiting for a long time.

The crowd surged forward, each person trying to squeeze up to the carriage to peek inside.

“Where’s Ah Xue? Is she there? Is she inside?!”

“Dongdong!? Answer if you’re in there!”

“What about Lin Shuang? Has Lin Shuang returned?”

The older folk swarmed the carriage before it even came to a complete stop.

Lin Shuntao was squeezed in the crowd, standing with members of the other great families. He was a bit unsteady on his feet, but he didn’t dare make a sound.

Everyone here was from the great families of various towns. The Lin Family, even at its peak, couldn’t compare to the others, let alone in its current state of decline.

He struggled to look back at his family’s patriarch, Lin Chaoyi, and the others waiting a short distance away.

Then he continued to push forward.

Finally.

The carriage door slowly opened.

One by one, slender young women tightly wrapped in black veils jumped down and were led away by their families.

They all kept their faces covered and heads bowed, not an inch of skin exposed.

The only way to identify them was by the corresponding bronze plaques they carried.

The plaques were inscribed with a name and number.

Soon, Lin Shuntao spotted his daughter’s number: 19.

“Ah Yu! Over here!” he exclaimed with excitement, waving his hands so vigorously that he accidentally hit a middle-aged woman to his right, earning a few curses from her.

But he was too anxious to care. He pushed his way to the carriage and reached out, steadying his daughter as she slowly disembarked.

“Father…” the woman, number 19, greeted in a low voice.

“Yes, as long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters!” Lin Shuntao said emotionally, gripping his daughter’s hand tightly.

“I can’t stay long this time. I have to leave again soon,” Lin Hongyu said, gently touching her abdomen.

“Rest assured, I haven’t let everyone down. I haven’t let you down, Father… and I haven’t let myself down…”

“You… what do you mean!?” Lin Shuntao pulled his daughter out of the crowd, leading her toward their waiting family members.

All the hopes of the Lin Family now rested on Lin Hongyu.

They had tried visiting Lin Shunhe several times and knew he was a lost cause. After being turned away at the door so many times, even the thick-skinned Lin Chaoyi couldn’t bring himself to go back.

“I applied for a mission with the Fog Area cleanup team,” Lin Hongyu answered. “I’ll be leaving in a few days for the Outer Fog Area.”

“What!?” Lin Shuntao was stunned.

’The Fog Area cleanup? Isn’t that a path only chosen by those who’ve offended powerful people and have nowhere else to turn!?’

’Why would Ah Yu choose such a dangerous path!?’

By the time the two of them returned to the Lin Family’s carriage, Lin Chaoyi and the others had also heard her. They were all stunned.

Even though the Fog Area cleanup teams were formed by the Three Greats of the Inner City, their death rate was extremely high. Barely half the members would return from each expedition.

’And Lin Hongyu is just a newcomer who’s only been practicing a main family’s Cultivation Technique for a few years. How could she be assigned to a team like that!?’

“Hongyu! Please, think about it again. You have talent. If you cultivate diligently in the city for a few more years, you can surely find an opportunity to settle in the Inner City… If worst comes to worst, the family can pool its resources to support you…” Lin Chaoyi’s heart pounded with dread as he looked at Lin Hongyu’s calm expression.

At the moment, Lin Hongyu was the entire Lin Family’s only hope regarding the Inner City.

The other one was completely out of reach. If something were to happen to Hongyu… he didn’t dare imagine how hard life in the Outer City would become for the Lin Family.

“Grandfather, I’m not young anymore…” Lin Hongyu looked up at Lin Chaoyi, her gaze far more mature than it had been on her previous visits.

She had failed to get pregnant on this trip and had suffered retaliation for it. It not only harmed her cousin, but she herself was also ostracized and suppressed. Every day in the Chen Family had felt like a year.

From her initial pride to the successive blows she had suffered, Lin Hongyu now understood completely that she could only rely on herself.

Only strength was the one true thing to depend on.

That was why she had volunteered to join the Fog Area cleanup team. Although the position was dangerous, the rewards were immense.

Many of the resources in the Fog Area were pristine, and very few people could harvest them.

Only the cleanup teams had the privilege of first contact.

And while the resources they obtained would be bought at a low price, the profits still far surpassed any job within the city.

Tales of getting rich overnight often circulated within the Chen Family.

“In two more years, if I still haven’t broken through to the Mental Realm, it’ll be too late. That’s why I have to do this now. After I join the cleanup team, if I can just find a Second-class Invasion Level material or get a rare relic from some ruins… I’ll still have a chance to exchange them for a Guiding Elixir! That kind of Elixir can only be obtained with the Chen Family’s internal Contribution Points; you can’t buy it with money on the outside.”

“But… didn’t they say that being selected by the Chen Family meant you’d have a chance to become as powerful as a Summoner!?” Lin Chaoyi asked, his voice trembling.

“I can’t wait that long, Grandfather!” Lin Hongyu’s voice grew louder. “If this continues, I will die!”

Her mood flared violently, jumping from her previous calm to a simmering rage that seemed to have been brewing for a long time. The shift was incredibly strange.

This drastic reaction startled the surrounding Lin Family Members.

Everyone instinctively took a step back to create some distance.

But they were all just ordinary people. Given Lin Hongyu’s current level at the peak of tempering her Heart and Spirit, none of them could stop her if she decided to attack.

“Is there a problem with your Heart and Spirit cultivation?” Lin Shuntao asked with concern, quickly grabbing his daughter’s other hand.

“No… I’m fine. The Heart Secret Technique was handed down by the Chen Family. It’s the most orthodox Dharma Gate, with very few side effects. I’m just… having trouble regulating my emotions…” Lin Hongyu sighed and fell silent.

“She must be tired. Let’s head back for now. After she gets some proper rest, we can discuss this in detail,” Lin Shunchong of the second branch said quickly, trying to smooth things over. He had a wide, messy network of contacts and numerous sources of information, so he naturally knew a little about the internal cultivation practices of the Inner City’s Three Greats.

Unlike the Martial Artists outside, the members of the Inner City’s Three Greats walked the true, orthodox path.

Summoning was the primary path. If one was unsuited for it, those with a superior Heart and Spirit would be selected. They could use an Acquired Secret Technique to temper their Heart and Spirit and cultivate their Inner Strength, all to eventually meet the qualifications for Summoning.

While tempering their Heart and Spirit, a Cultivator had to continuously consume elixirs and train in basic combat so they could be of immediate use after a successful Summoning.

Once Summoning was successful, one could choose to accelerate their Inner Strength cultivation and advance on both fronts. Alternatively, one could focus purely on Summoning and ascend directly to the rank of Priest.

It was obvious to him that Lin Hongyu had realized that Summoning was a hopeless prospect for her if she continued as she was, forcing her to resort to this desperate plan.

Lin Shunchong had figured out part of the situation, and his heart sank.

He wasn’t the only one. The wily, old Lin Chaoyi had also sensed that something was amiss. But what could he do? What else was there to be done?

Things had come to this; their only option was to support Lin Hongyu, their last remaining hope.

The group boarded their carriages and headed back toward the Lin Clan Territory in a small convoy.

「Inside the carriage.」

Lin Shuntao’s heart ached as he looked at his daughter’s pretty yet haggard and pale face. He hated that he couldn’t help her. More than anything, he hated his own incompetence, which forced his daughter to bear this burden all by herself.

“By the way, Father, do you know the real reason I came back this time?” Lin Hongyu suddenly spoke.

“What is it?” Lin Shuntao asked, startled.

“I recall Grandfather has a Stone Snake Gallbladder he picked up for a bargain in his youth, correct?”

“Yes… but your grandfather said it cannot be touched unless the family faces a crisis of life and death!” Lin Shuntao said, shaking his head.

“Isn’t this a crisis of life and death?” Lin Hongyu sneered. “I’m going to die, Father. Someone has openly declared they want me dead. I can’t stay in the Zong Family anymore. That place seems wonderful, but every year people either suffer cultivation deviation or are killed in spars and duels. If I die, the Lin Family will certainly be dragged down with me in retaliation!”

“…Who is it!?” Lin Shuntao asked, alarmed.

To this day, they still had no idea who was behind the scenes trying to harm them.

“There are several people… I’m not sure. I’ve offended quite a few…” Lin Hongyu’s voice faded.

“You…!” Lin Shuntao sighed and lowered his head, lost in thought. “The Stone Snake Gallbladder can only partially improve your constitution for Summoning; it won’t be much help for you in the Fog Area. Besides, you know your grandfather’s temper…”

“I know. That’s why there’s one more thing I came back for,” Lin Hongyu said gravely.

“What?”

“I heard from a newcomer recently chosen from the Outer City that Fourth Uncle’s branch is doing very well… They even established a connection with a big shot in the Rain Palace. If we could ask them to put in a good word for me, perhaps…”

This was the true purpose of Lin Hongyu’s return.

She was at the end of her rope. In the Chen Family, she had first gotten into bed with a disciple from the main clan, which led to her being targeted by his primary wife.

Afterward, to escape further danger, she seduced two other disciples who seemed to have potential, but this only resulted in her offending even more people.

Now, even if she wanted to offer herself to someone, no one in the Chen Family dared accept. In fact, no one was willing at all—they considered her tainted.

After all, to the people of the Chen Family, a resource like sex was readily available in the permissive environment of the Inner City.

This was a complete disaster for Lin Hongyu, who had little to offer besides her face and figure.

In the Inner City, everyone selected had similar aptitudes; some were even more talented than she was.

“You’re talking about Lin Hui’s father’s family… It’s no use. They severed all ties with us a long time ago,” Lin Shuntao said with a sigh of resignation.

“I’ll go and try anyway. At the end of the day, we’re still family. There has to be a way,” Lin Hongyu said seriously.

’I’m about to die anyway,’ she thought. ’What use is my pride now?’

*

*

*

「Inside Qingfeng Temple.」

Lin Hui sat cross-legged in the main hall, feeling a cool current endlessly gushing from his body. Like a fountain, it poured from his heart and spread throughout his limbs before quickly seeping into his flesh and vanishing.

This phenomenon continued for a good ten minutes before finally stopping.

He gazed at the crimson text of the Blood Seal at the bottom of his field of view.

The previous evolution progress bar for the Gale Swordsmanship had vanished completely. In its place was a brand-new description.

’Gale Swordsmanship: An evolution from a perfected version of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship. Its sword strikes can summon a fierce gale. The swordsmanship comprises three forms and nine techniques. It primarily uses the high-speed flow of Inner Strength to pull on an external web, creating wind pressure to disrupt the opponent.

After successfully mastering all techniques, repeated practice will allow for the gradual completion of the Third-Time Body Tempering, ultimately granting the Special Effect: Wind of Surrounding.

Note: This evolution is a comprehensive adaptation based on the user’s constitution, Heart and Spirit, and current environment. Available evolution branches: 3.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep