On the martial drill grounds, the disciples looked at each other in blank dismay. There was none of the collective outrage Lin Hui had anticipated.
On most of the young faces, instead of anger, there was indifference. Perhaps they were waiting, waiting for someone else to stick their neck out.
It makes sense, Lin Hui thought, realizing the truth. The Black Dragon Gate had expanded so rapidly in such a short time that almost all of its internal disciples had been poached from elsewhere. With this model, no matter how large it grew, there couldn't possibly be any sense of belonging or cohesion.
Standing at the main gate, he looked around. Seeing no one respond, he turned his gaze toward Chen Yuan and the others.
Chen Yuan's face turned pale, and he involuntarily took a step back. He didn't dare to face off against Lin Hui; even Wang Hongshi had been defeated in an instant. If he went up, nothing would happen except him getting thrashed.
"Things have reached this point, yet the Black Dragon Sect Master still won't come out?" Lin Hui stared at Chen Yuan. "Why don't you go and invite Sect Master Song out? How about that?"
Chen Yuan's lips trembled. He looked left and right for help, only to find that his fellow disciples had already quietly put some distance between themselves and him.
"I'll go right now!"
He scrambled toward Song Zhanlong's residence at the rear of the headquarters as if fleeing for his life, quickly disappearing from view.
Evidently, between the Black Dragon Gate and Lin Hui, they had chosen to be bystanders.
After all, the Lin Manor had gained immense fame in the surrounding towns recently. The reputation of the Shanhe United Supermarket was extraordinarily loud.
At this moment, Lin Hui also spotted Mu Qiaozhi and Xie Li hiding on the periphery. Mu Qiaozhi’s arm hadn’t been reattached; after so much time, it was likely hopeless.
Meeting his gaze, Mu Qiaozhi shook with fright, hurriedly lowering her head, daring not to make eye contact.
Beside her, Xie Li’s face was even paler. She followed suit, bowing her head, afraid to move a muscle.
She recalled the Lin Hui she used to know—that Clear Wind Sword Sect disciple who treated Chen Zhishen very well. The Lin Hui of that time was merely a bit aloof, without any other hobbies, devoting almost all his time to practicing the sword.
Looking at him now, facing a siege of over a hundred people alone, yet speaking with fervor and assurance, his expression composed.
The difference between then and now was like two different people.
Recalling the comments she and Senior Sister Mu had made about Lin Hui back then, Xie Li’s cheeks felt as if they were burning. She didn't know how to describe her current mood.
She only felt that her past self and Senior Sister Mu were like clowns. It was just that their conversation back then hadn't been overheard by him; that was the only shred of self-consolation she had left.
Withdrawing his gaze, Lin Hui quietly waited for Chen Yuan to bring back a result. He wasn't sure if the blinded Song Zhanlong would still dare to fight, but what he wanted was for the opponent not to dare. As long as he avoided the battle, regardless of the reason, given that Lin Hui had already fought his way into the interior of their martial hall, the Black Dragon Gate's reputation would be completely ruined from this day forth.
However, just standing on the martial drill grounds waiting was fine for a short while, but it would get a bit awkward if it dragged on.
Lin Hui looked left and right, then walked straight toward the high platform of the grounds, to a red sandalwood throne obviously reserved for important figures.
Turning around, he sat down, leaned his sword against his leg, reclined against the chair, and actually closed his eyes to rest.
He didn't have to wait long. Just a few seconds after he sat down...
"Someone come! Bad news!!"
"Something's happened!!"
Shouts rang out from the Song Manor behind the headquarters.
The cries carried thick panic and confusion, as if they had encountered something extremely terrifying.
The many Black Dragon Gate disciples on the martial drill grounds couldn't help but stir. They looked at Lin Hui, and seeing he didn't object, someone led a few attendants to rush to the Song Manor at the back to check the situation.
"Let's go take a look together," Lin Hui said, standing up immediately, judging that the screams didn't sound fake.
Swish.
His figure suddenly trailed a blur of afterimages, leaping over the wall between the Black Dragon Gate headquarters and the Song Manor, landing lightly in front of the Song Manor's main gate.
There was an alley-like isolation passage in front of the gate, perfectly dividing the Song Manor from the Black Dragon Gate headquarters.
At this moment, a crowd was squeezed into this passage, looking toward the Song Manor in terror.
Inside the open gates of the Song Manor, about ten meters in, a corpse that had long gone stiff was swaying as it hung from a roof beam. A puddle of dark red blood had dripped beneath the body; clearly, he had been dead for some time.
As soon as Lin Hui arrived, he recognized the identity of the corpse.
Song Zhanlong!
His expression quickly turned grave.
He remembered very clearly that yesterday he had only blinded the man's eyes. When he left, Song Zhanlong still had plenty of Internal Force in his body. Killing him would have required a grinding battle of attrition.
But he could see at a glance that the fatal wound on the corpse before him was not the head, but the heart.
The chest area over the heart had collapsed heavily, struck by some unknown object. One didn't need an autopsy to judge that the heart inside must have already been smashed into a pulp of meat.
"Master!!" Chen Yuan's eyes reddened, and he fell to his knees before the corpse, wailing.
His acting was somewhat exaggerated. As a local who had apprenticed midway, how much master-disciple affection could he possibly have developed with Song Zhanlong?
This was nothing more than a performance.
It wasn't just him; the many other disciples who arrived were also stunned by the sight.
Some pretended to kneel and weep along with him, while others silently backed away, preparing to flee. Even more were at a loss, not knowing what to do next.
Mu Qiaozhi and Xie Li, along with the supported Eldest Senior Brother Wang Hongshi and the other top ten elite disciples, also arrived and witnessed this scene.
Song Zhanlong was dead?
With such powerful Hard-Body Discipline, stacked with Internal Force, he was practically impeccable. Who could kill such a Song Zhanlong?
Standing before the Song Manor gate, Lin Hui scrutinized the fatal wound on the corpse.
Several disciples rushed up, carefully supporting the body and lowering it down.
Someone on the periphery had already gone to report to the authorities, but the patrol squad watching the excitement outside arrived first.
The scene was quickly cordoned off.
Following this, the people of the Black Dragon Gate lost their backbone. Eldest Senior Brother Wang Hongshi had also been injured by Lin Hui. In a moment, quite a few people quietly slipped away, stripping off their Black Dragon Gate uniforms on the outskirts before turning and running.
No one held a vigil for Song Zhanlong. The entire Black Dragon Gate was like a sandcastle on a beach, collapsing the moment the seawater washed over it.
No one paid attention to Lin Hui anymore; the Black Dragon Gate members were all busy shedding their disciple identities.
A few bold young women even entered the Song Manor and began secretly looting valuables.
Seeing this, Lin Hui was left speechless. He simply found an acquaintance to lead him into the Song Manor.
Since others were already throwing stones at the man down the well, his own efforts to "loot the well" couldn't lag behind.
Amidst the chaos, in just short of an hour.
Lin Hui blocked the entrance and exit of the Song Manor and, from the hands of disciples attempting to flee, obtained Song Zhanlong's most essential possession—the Black Dragon Claw Hard-Body Discipline secret manual.
"May I ask, what is the matter for which you summoned us?"
Mu Qiaozhi stood before ten or so Black Dragon Gate members, looking cautiously at Lin Hui.
Among these dozen people, the top ten, including Wang Hongshi and Chen Yuan, were impressively present.
They had wanted to leave earlier, but were gathered by Lin Hui's men.
When Song Zhanlong was still around, they at least dared to gather and resist a little. Now that their master was gone...
Senior Brother Wang had fallen in just two moves against this opponent. Under such circumstances, the group was terrified that Lin Hui would settle scores later, so they dared not disobey.
They were different from the ordinary members; they had all shown their faces in front of Lin Hui, and they had families and backgrounds behind them. The monk may run, but the temple remains.
So when the call went out, all the ranked disciples in the top fifteen obediently came over.
On one hand, it was because Lin Hui's actions were ruthless and his style decisive; on the other hand, the group also harbored some intention of meeting with Lin Hui to settle grievances.
"Sect Master Lin, now that our Master Song of the Black Dragon Gate has died unexpectedly, before the people from the Yamen arrive to investigate thoroughly, I'm afraid we have no time or energy to entertain you..." Wang Hongshi, having taken medicine and regulated his breath for a while, had recovered somewhat. He stood at the front, cupping his fists.
His Hard-Body Body Tempering was already at the limit, only a step away from entering the Internal Force Realm. The shockwave carried by the sword had merely concussed his heart; after a brief relief, he was fine.
Among this group, he was probably the only one who genuinely considered himself a member of the Black Dragon Gate.
After all, he was the disciple Song Zhanlong had favored the most when he was alive—bar none.
"What do you think I called you over for?" Lin Hui held the Black Dragon Claw secret manual in his hand, flipped through a few pages, then put it away naturally, a trace of melancholy on his face.
"My Clear Wind Sword Sect is not the sort to kick someone when they are down. The Black Dragon Gate is now at its lowest valley. With Sect Master Song's unexpected demise, it is a time of precarious instability. Although my Clear Wind Sword Sect had some minor conflicts with Sect Master Song, my sect has always acted upright and aboveboard. How could we sit idly by at such a critical juncture?"
"..." Wang Hongshi fell silent for a moment, seemingly trying hard to adapt to Lin Hui's disgusting style. "Then, what is Sect Master Lin's meaning?"
"The situation of the Black Dragon Gate is critical now. After Sect Master Song's accident, the industries under its jurisdiction have likely reached a point where you are powerless to tend to them. Therefore, regarding this matter of merging sects..." Lin Hui sighed, his gaze falling on the dozen people opposite him, sweeping over them one by one.
Wang Hongshi's face turned pale. With his master dead, since he had no family and only a few recently taken concubines—who, in this era, were not qualified to inherit property—the only one somewhat qualified was him, the disciple Song Zhanlong had favored most.
But he also knew clearly that the assets had been snatched by his master through force and trickery. Now that the man was gone, enemies would inevitably return in a swarm. Relying just on a few of them, they couldn't possibly out-compete those people.
"Sect Master Lin is... most righteous..." Feeling that gaze, sharp as a sword, sweeping across his face, Wang Hongshi squeezed out a sentence with difficulty.
"I, Wang, am willing to represent the Black Dragon Gate in merging into the Clear Wind Sword Sect."
"Sigh... with Sect Master Song's death, you are all good men. Being willing to stay and prop up the framework of the Black Dragon Gate... anyone who came would have to praise you." Lin Hui looked at the dozen elite disciples before him, his expression quickly shifting to sincerity.
"Where is the Fundamental Diagram of the Black Dragon Claw secret manual? With Sect Master Song having just passed, I am worried that villains might take the opportunity to seize property. I should keep it safe for his family," he inquired again.
"...I know where it is." Wang Hongshi's face twitched as he nodded.
The group followed him into the depths of the Song Manor. Soon, in a small study, they found the Black Dragon Claw Fundamental Diagram hidden in a secret compartment in the wall. This was the essential foundation required to step into the Internal Force Realm.
A total of fifteen people. Excluding Mu Qiaozhi, everyone pledged on the spot to join the Clear Wind Sword Sect and become members of the Black Dragon Branch.
Two shameless disciples even attempted to bow to Lin Hui as their master on the spot, but Lin politely refused.
He took Chen Yuan and Wang Hongshi along to regather the remaining members and announced this decision.
Then, he dealt with the bailiffs who came to investigate, stuffing them with plenty of valuables to settle the matter.
Thus, the merger of the two sects became a formal affair, formally registered at the town Yamen.