Decaying World
The sky was dim, and fine snow was scattered across the land.
On the Wild Wind Plains, Lin Hui silently watched Wang Yueheng standing opposite him.
This man clearly embodied the abnormal mental state typical of Inner City martial artists and Called Ones: one moment calm and peaceful, the next wearing an expression as if he wanted to eat someone alive.
However, a Called One... this is a fresh opponent. My first time fighting one... I hope to gather plenty of information.
He narrowed his eyes, gently drew the Clear River Sword, and tossed the scabbard aside.
"Brother Wang, please," Lin Hui said calmly.
He had never witnessed the fighting method of a Called One, so he decided to yield the first move. He would use his speed to dodge and observe before formulating a counter.
Otherwise, who knew what would happen after he struck? What if the opponent possessed some bizarre ability to reflect attacks back at the source?
"That works." Wang Yueheng smiled, the gloom on his face dissipating rapidly. "The combat styles of the Inner City and Outer City actually differ greatly. We Called Ones, in particular, possess extremely strong physiques, so we often prefer rougher, more direct methods of offense and defense. Later, if you feel you can't hold on, remember to call for a stop."
He extended his hands and flexed his ten fingers.
"I will show mercy..."
"Then I thank Brother Wang in advance," Lin Hui said calmly.
"No need." Wang Yueheng smiled and took a step forward.
Chi!
In an instant, he vanished from his spot, abruptly reappearing at Lin Hui's side and punching toward his chin.
The gale whistled; only then did the air explode with a crisp crack.
Immense, dull pressure squeezed the skin of Lin Hui's chin inward.
Shua.
The fist hit nothing but air, punching through the afterimage Lin Hui had left behind.
Wang Yueheng was not surprised. He spun around with extreme speed, slamming an elbow toward Lin Hui, who had flashed behind him.
Clang!
The two collided with lightning speed.
A vortex of air exploded between the elbow and the sword edge.
Wang Yueheng remained unharmed, still smiling as he lunged forward like a bolt of lightning. His hands opened in a grappling stance, reaching to embrace Lin Hui's shoulders.
Shua shua shua!
The two exchanged blows in a continuous blur of lightning speed, each leaving behind afterimages that slowly faded.
But it was obvious that Lin Hui was faster. No matter what attack Wang Yueheng launched, Lin Hui could dodge a moment in advance.
This resulted in Wang Yueheng launching a frenzied offensive of over a hundred moves without touching a single hair.
"Aren't we supposed to be fighting? Why are you dodging all the time?" Wang Yueheng sneered.
"Brother Wang should think about how to catch up to me first. If you can't even touch the corner of my clothes, this so-called spar is nothing but a joke," Lin Hui retorted.
They spoke as they fought, piercing through layer after layer of afterimages that vanished and reappeared.
Seemingly provoked by these words, the metallic silver sheen on Wang Yueheng's skin grew thicker. His speed also increased as his explosive power grew greater.
It wasn't so much that he was naturally fast, but rather that his immense strength allowed for short bursts of accelerated movement.
Amidst loud bangs, basin-sized craters were constantly smashed into the surrounding earth by his colossal force. Only by relying on constant bursts of brute strength could he keep up with Lin Hui's terrifying speed.
Clang!
Another collision. The two retreated like lightning, opening a distance of over ten meters before standing still.
Lin Hui gazed at his opponent, his breathing unchanged. This speed was merely the lowest gear for him, but for his opponent, it didn't seem quite so effortless.
Of course, the massive Internal Force transmitted from the opponent during their collisions made one thing clear: Wang Yueheng was absolutely a powerhouse with Internal Force at its peak.
The hardness of that Internal Force covering his whole body was a headache just to think about.
Another turtle shell... A Called One with copper skin and iron bones is hard enough to wound... He finally understood the trouble of dealing with Called Ones.
This defense was maxed out. To hurt him, one had to break the Internal Force barrier first and then break through the Called One's physical durability.
At this rate, even if he were faster and activated his special effects, he probably wouldn't be able to breach the opponent's defense.
"Brother Wang, since you can't catch me and I can't move you, how about we call it a draw?" Lin Hui suggested.
"Heh..." Wang Yueheng laughed. "Indeed, my speed is not as fast as yours. But to say I can't catch you? That's not quite true."
A trace of pure mockery surfaced on his face.
"It is true that an Internal Force martial artist cannot pursue speed like yours, which far exceeds common logic. That speed naturally places you in an invincible position. But since the methods of an Internal Force martial artist won't work, don't blame me for using the true means of a Called One."
"Could it be that Brother Wang hasn't used them yet?" Lin Hui's heart tightened.
"What do you think?" Wang Yueheng slowly extended his right hand, palm facing up. "Come to think of it, without seeing it with their own eyes, the vast majority of people in the Outer City might never have the chance to witness the greatest difference between a high-tier Called One and all levels below them."
Seemingly to let Lin Hui see more clearly, Wang Yueheng slowed his movements down to a crawl.
His hand grasped slightly at empty air.
Hum.
In the air a few centimeters above his palm, the light twisted out of nowhere.
A transparent, distorted vortex about the size of a basketball appeared above his hand for no apparent reason.
"You should be proud," Wang Yueheng said with a look of arrogance. "To force me to use the Void Force unique to the high tier... it means that below the Circulation Realm, you are invincible."
"...Void Force!"
Faced with this unknown entity, Lin Hui's vigilance instantly spiked to the extreme.
What kind of power was this? How was it activated? What was its speed? Its range? Its attack method? Its intensity?
He knew absolutely nothing about any of it.
And this power—this was basically a magic, right?
Was this even the same genre as martial arts?
At this moment, his entire body tensed up, ready to flee instantly.
"Is it only high-tier Called Ones who possess such Void Force?" he asked again.
"Trying to stall for time?" Wang Yueheng laughed. "Sharp of you to notice that Void Force consumes a great deal of energy. But it doesn't matter... victory only requires an instant."
As soon as the words fell, he suddenly flipped his palm and struck toward Lin Hui from over ten meters away.
Even though they were separated by more than ten meters, his movement looked as if they were face-to-face, within arm's reach!
With this palm strike, the invisible Void Force underwent a violent change simultaneously.
Invisible and intangible, Lin Hui could only judge the activation speed, shape, and form of the Void Force through the subtle distortion of light.
But because the speed was too fast, even with his full concentration, he couldn't see the trajectory of the Void Force clearly.
Instinctively, he retreated at extreme speed, activating his special effects.
Chi! Bang!
In an instant, Lin Hui retreated more than ten meters, vanishing from his spot. Meanwhile, the ground where he had just stood was blasted as if hit by a heavy hammer, creating a square pit over a meter deep.
The soil vanished. The stones vanished. It was as if they had simply ceased to exist.
A perfect cubic hole had been bitten out of the ground!
"Eh?" Wang Yueheng exclaimed softly after missing his strike. "You still had hidden speed?" His expression turned ugly.
This Lin Hui was even more troublesome than he had imagined. This speed had far exceeded the scope of any Internal Force martial artist he had ever seen.
It was highly abnormal!
What is with this guy?
Thoughts raced through his mind, but his hands didn't slow down in the slightest. Once Void Force was activated, the consumption was immense.
At his current level, he was far inferior to someone at the peak of the high tier, like You Ying. If he didn't take this man down within ten minutes, his own spirit would be exhausted first.
Immediately, he waved his palms repeatedly.
Bang bang bang!
One square pit after another appeared constantly beside Lin Hui.
This storm-like offensive forced Lin Hui to flash his movement technique frantically, daring not to pause for even a split second.
After all, waving a palm was much more convenient than moving one's entire body at full speed.
Coupled with the fact that Wang Yueheng's own speed wasn't bad, even Lin Hui felt a hint of strain under this continuous barrage.
Is this the power of a high-tier Called One? Lin Hui could feel his body energy depleting rapidly. This wasn't due to the special effect, but rather the intense consumption caused by the nervous judgment and estimation of danger, keeping him in a highly tense state at all times.
Bang!
After dodging another cubic blast of Void Force, the thought of retreating and calling a truce rose in his mind.
He had experienced enough of the Called One's power. With his current strength, he couldn't break their defense at all unless he used the Wild Wind Sword Technique. But this was just a probe; there was no need to play his trump cards directly.
So, he planned to speak up and concede.
The opponent was from a major Inner City family. Leaving aside whether he could win if he went all out, even if he did win, he couldn't really kill the guy. Even injuring him would be bad, as it would easily invite disaster. So, after sparring and demonstrating their respective strengths, knowing where they stood was enough.
"Brother Wang's strength is superb, I concede—"
As Lin Hui dodged at extreme speed, his sentence was cut short. He suddenly saw the corners of Wang Yueheng's pale, exquisite mouth curve up slightly. A sense of foreboding struck his heart.
Retreat!
He retreated at full speed like lightning.
In his current Featherweight Ascension state, a single instant covered more than forty meters, enough to instantly escape the opponent's Void Force range.
He had tested it just now; the range of the opponent's Void Force was only about twenty meters.
So at this moment...
Lin Hui's figure retreated abruptly. The tip of his foot tapped the ground, his body leaning back as he prepared to shoot rearward.
But in that very instant, the invisible Void Force, which had been a simple cube like a stamp, underwent a sudden, massive change.
Its cubic form melted in the blink of an eye, transforming into a rapidly rotating invisible vortex.
The vortex released a massive, unseen gravitational force, instantly enveloping a range of fifty meters.
Strangely, everything else within this fifty-meter range remained unaffected. Only Lin Hui.
He was like an insect fixed in amber, motionless, completely frozen.
"This is the Azure Egret Divine Method!" Wang Yueheng laughed loudly, aiming one hand remotely at Lin Hui.
"Not easy. To think that dealing with you would force me to use the Floating Light Three Forms, the ultimate technique of my Azure Egret Art. Originally, only a fellow high-tier Called One would be qualified to force me to use this move. I didn't expect that you, a mere Internal Force martial artist... one who hasn't even reached Circulation, could actually..."
He held Lin Hui in place with one hand while reaching into a leather pouch at his back with the other, pulling out a pale gold pill.
Inside this pill was the Heart-Controlling Insect. As long as he released it and it drilled into the opponent's nostril, he could easily control their life and death with no resistance.
Although the insect gnawing on the brain would ruin their potential, a mere Internal Force martial artist—especially one on the dead-end path of external-to-internal transition—would max out at the Sixth Layer anyway. It didn't matter if he was ruined.
But this speed... once controlled, would be absolutely useful for handling tasks.
Looking at the immobile Lin Hui, Wang Yueheng gave a contemptuous smile and prepared to crush the pill.
Pu-chi!
Suddenly, a soft sound rang out.
In the distance, the frozen Lin Hui's figure began to tremble slightly.
An inexplicable power began to tear at the Void Force, dispersing it.
This power came from nowhere; it did not originate from within Lin Hui's body, but seemed to surge naturally from the air around him.