"Little Li, what exactly is the situation at Clear Wind Temple? Who’s left running the class there?"
Mu Qiaozhi didn't know much about the situation over there. She had spent this time arduously switching her cultivation to the Black Dragon Claw technique, shifting her focus from speed-based Body Tempering to defense and Hard-Body Discipline. There weren't many shortcuts she could take during this transition.
Aside from her Body Tempering jumping directly to the 3rd Rank at the start, she had to progress step-by-step, just like any ordinary Black Dragon Gate disciple. Even now, she had only tempered her body to the 6th Rank. But there were benefits; were it not for the speed advantage she gained from her previous Clear Wind Temple training, she wouldn't be able to stand firm in the third position she held today.
"Little Li" was Xie Li, the former disciple who had defected from Clear Wind Temple alongside her. Xie Li hadn't even entered the Front Courtyard of Clear Wind Temple back then, so after coming to the Black Dragon Gate, her status was no different from an ordinary disciple. She had no choice but to continue clinging to Mu Qiaozhi's thigh.
Hearing the question, she recalled the news she had heard recently. "The ones left are Mingde’s daughter, Weiwei, and the newly promoted Front Courtyard disciple, Lin Hui. Weiwei should have been among the top ten in the Front Courtyard when we left, but her specific realm is unknown. As for Lin Hui... I'm not sure either, but he shouldn't exceed the 7th Rank, calculating based on normal Body Tempering progress."
She didn't actually know Lin Hui's progress; she was just making a rough estimate based on when she and Mu Qiaozhi had left, adding the progress speed of that period.
"Useless persistence." Mu Qiaozhi gently shifted the sword she used to wield behind her back. "Let's go. Since Master has spoken, we'll go directly to sever their hope. Even Baohe is dead, and the 'Ming' generation has all run off—what are two people holding on for? Laughable."
She pushed the door open and stepped out, her voice cold.
Behind her, Xie Li sighed, secretly rejoicing in her heart. Fortunately, she had followed the Eldest Senior Sister and defected back then. Otherwise... Look at Weiwei and Lin Hui now; they weren't even allowed to run a Wellness Class after giving up the martial hall business.
Just like back then, just like now.
….
Inside Clear Wind Temple.
Lin Hui stood alone in the Front Courtyard, listening to the sounds of sword practice drifting from the back, looking up at the courtyard wall. He was pondering how his master had so easily jumped onto the roof back then.
To be honest, although his speed had increased with training, he had never really tried high jumping. After a thought, he accelerated forward, took three rushing steps, and leaped up.
Pu.
With a tap of his toe against the wall, he borrowed the force to shoot up several meters. The wind whistled in his ears. Lin Hui turned his body lightly in mid-air, feeling a sensation he had never experienced before.
Light and airy, as if flying through the void. It was wondrous.
Seconds later, he landed gently. Then, he sprinted a second time, stepped on the wall, and leaped with borrowed force.
With a push, this time he gauged the position perfectly and stepped effortlessly onto the pointed corner of the Daoist temple's second-story eaves. Stabilizing his body and adjusting, he simply sat down on the edge of the eaves, more than six meters high, taking in the scenery he had never experienced before.
Looking out from here, a lush, verdant mountain forest stretched into the distance outside the Daoist temple. Amidst the sea of dark green trees, a curved gray mud road appeared indistinctly. That was the only carriage road leading to the town.
It was fine when the weather was good, but once it rained, it became a splatter of rotten mud—quite disgusting. Anyone entering or leaving the Daoist temple would end up with more or less gray mud on them. To wash it off, they had to run to the small stream deep in the woods, which was very troublesome.
Lin Hui sat on the eaves, quietly gazing at the distant scenery. Internal Force rotated and surged endlessly within his body, having now formed a clear, thick vortex. From time to time, threads would separate from the vortex and flow into his legs, impacting the blood vessels and meridians there.
Once broken through, it would be the moment he entered the First Layer. And that step would likely happen in the next two days...
Just as he was quietly admiring the view and resting temporarily, a white carriage slowly pulled to a stop at the side door of the Daoist temple. Brown floral patterns representing the Mu family were carved onto the carriage compartment.
The carriage door slid open, and a tall, strong figure leaped down, landing steadily. The arrival wore a loose black robe draped with a pale red leather vest, carrying a longsword on their back. Pale blue eyes paired with jet-black shoulder-length hair gave off a neutral, heroic air that made it hard to distinguish male from female.
This person was none other than Mu Qiaozhi, who had just rushed over from the Black Dragon Gate.
"This place... haven't been back in a long time..." She looked with some emotion at the wooden plaque hanging above the side door. One could see the plaque was frequently wiped clean; clearly, this place still had human presence.
"Senior Sister, should we announce ourselves or just smash the plaque directly?" Xie Li followed off the carriage from behind, asking softly.
She wore a blue-black combat outfit with a pair of black claws tied at her waist. Her skin tone was darker than before, and the skin on her hands was noticeably much rougher.
"No rush, go in and take a look first. Once we act, it must be with the speed of thunder, covering ears—directly disable the key staff responsible for teaching. Only then can we force Lin Hui and Weiwei to fight me head-on." Mu Qiaozhi knew well that her master's goal was to completely crush the Clear Wind Temple and then let her occupy this newly developed market.
So she had to crush everyone in Clear Wind Temple thoroughly at once, from top to bottom, leaving not a single person capable of teaching or opening a class. With her strength at the limit of Body Tempering in the Seven-Section Swift Sword plus the 6th Rank in the Black Dragon Claw, achieving this wasn't difficult.
Hearing this, a trace of pity flashed in Xie Li's eyes. This was the nature of being weak. Lin Hui, who was once so much stronger than her, would now end up thoroughly crushed and fallen to the bottom of the valley, simply because of one wrong choice.
Barring any accidents, Senior Sister likely wouldn't show mercy, but planned to completely cripple Weiwei and Lin Hui. What a pity... If Lin Hui had been like her back then, not so isolated, perhaps now...
"Let's go." Mu Qiaozhi stepped forward first, crossing the threshold.
The side door of the Daoist temple wasn't locked, merely left ajar. The faint sounds of wooden swords slicing through the air drifted from inside.
Walking a few steps in, they saw the rear courtyard drill grounds. A long-haired woman with a hot figure—curves protruding in all the right places—was holding a long tree branch, walking among a group of old men and women, constantly correcting their sword stances.
The woman's figure was excellent, her appearance charming, occasionally drawing stolen glances from some dishonest old men. On the other side, two half-grown boys were directing people to clean up and wash sweaty towels. Further away by the wall stood a few old men who seemed to be visiting, hands behind their backs, whispering to each other.
Seeming to notice the two entering, Weiwei turned her head to look and recognized Mu Qiaozhi instantly. After all, this former Eldest Senior Sister had always held the highest position in the hearts of many Clear Wind Temple disciples.
The result...
"Mu Qiaozhi? What are you doing here? Didn't you betray the sect and go to the Black Dragon Gate?" She turned and walked through the crowd, blocking the path of Mu Qiaozhi and Xie Li, her voice cold.
"You must be Weiwei? It looks like you're doing quite well here." Mu Qiaozhi chuckled with hands behind her back, her gaze sweeping casually around the surroundings.
"None of your business! You aren't welcome here, please leave!" Weiwei had zero goodwill toward these fence-sitters who betrayed the sect at the drop of a hat.
"Leaving is impossible. We came here specifically for you," Mu Qiaozhi laughed.
"What do you mean?" Weiwei unconsciously tightened her grip on her sword hilt, sensing something was amiss.
"The meaning is, starting today, you are not allowed to run training classes anymore. You and Lin Hui couldn't even reach the top five of the Front Courtyard back then. Teaching people swordplay is just misleading the students. Aren't you afraid of causing problems with your teaching?" Mu Qiaozhi smiled.
"You!!?" Weiwei's heart stifled, and a rush of anger surged up. "We've already withdrawn from the martial hall world, what more do you want!?"
"It's simple. Teaching requires real talent and learning." Mu Qiaozhi glanced at the old men and women secretly watching the commotion around them and deliberately raised her voice. "Your cultivation isn't up to standard; teaching is a waste of effort with extremely poor results. Instead of cheating money under the banner of fooling people, it's better for me to thoroughly correct you, lest you two ruin the reputation of Clear Wind Temple!"
"You traitorous bastard who switched cultivation, what right do you have to dictate things here!!" Weiwei finally couldn't hold back her temper. She roared in anger, drawing her sword with a clang. The Clear Wind Sword Technique flashed abruptly, stabbing toward Mu Qiaozhi.
Clang.
The sword tip was caught by a black claw.
"Body Tempering sword speed at roughly the 7th or 8th Rank—is this your confidence?" The corner of Mu Qiaozhi's mouth hooked up in disdain. Her hand shook, erupting with massive power, violently knocking the longsword aside. "I reached the limit three years ago..."
She lunged forward abruptly, her body bringing out a string of afterimages, the sharp claw dotting toward Weiwei's chest. This burst of speed was leagues faster than Weiwei's.
Ding ding ding!!
In an instant, the two women exchanged over a dozen lightning-fast blows. Dots of yellow sparks connected into a line, retreating rapidly deeper into the Daoist temple in everyone's vision. It was Mu Qiaozhi suppressing Weiwei as she fought.
Bang!
Finally, the two crashed into the surrounding wall together, knocking over and scattering a pile of firewood stacked there.
"Clear Wind Sword · Converging Cloud Swallow!"
Weiwei's furious roar exploded. Silver sword light abruptly lit up a residual image, slicing toward Mu Qiaozhi from the side like a crescent moon. This was one of the killing moves in the Clear Wind Sword Technique.
But shockingly, Mu Qiaozhi struck later yet arrived first, using the exact same move. An opposing black fan shape emerged out of thin air—it was the Converging Cloud Swallow executed with claws instead of a sword.
Identical Converging Cloud Swallows, one silver and one black, intersected and collided instantly.
Clang!!
The blade flew spinning through the air, knocked from Weiwei's hand, and sliced ruthlessly into a wooden pillar not far away. She was thrown heavily outward, sliding out a trail. Her back and shoulders were completely scraped raw, and she couldn't stand up for a moment.
Mu Qiaozhi rolled her wrists, exercising her claws, and walked toward Weiwei step by step.
"Do you see? The sword techniques of Clear Wind Temple have fallen too far behind..." She stood before Weiwei, looking down from above. "Speed inferior to mine, strength inferior to mine, Hard-Body defense even more inferior to mine... what do you have to fight me with?"
She exhaled lightly, her expression calm. "Cripple you, then resolve that Lin Hui, and you shouldn't be able to stir up any waves."
She raised her sharp claw. Suddenly, she sensed something and turned her head, seeing a figure slowly walking out from the steps of the main hall in the rear.
"Let her go." Lin Hui glanced at Weiwei on the ground, then returned his gaze to Mu Qiaozhi.
"Heh?" Mu Qiaozhi smirked savagely. Her right claw smashed down abruptly, aiming for Weiwei's right knee.
Whoosh!
The sharp claw stopped abruptly, freezing tight against the pants at the knee, immobile.
Mu Qiaozhi's expression changed slightly. She turned her face slightly to look behind her.
"Who do you say is faster, you or me?"
A sword tip was hovering at the back of her head, unbeknownst to her. The sword blade was silver-bright like water, unmoved by the wind.
The person holding the sword was Lin Hui.