"Xie Chang'an... This Princess was rely taking a casual stroll through Black Cloud City to see how it has developed in recent years. Why are you so nervous?"
"Let's be direct. If the Fourth Highness is here for the Clear Wind Dao Master, you must promise not to resort to force," Xie Chang'an replied evenly.
"Oh? You didn't say that about the previous genius," Song Feishi said, raising an eyebrow.
"Because this ti is different." Xie Chang'an chuckled. "Let's just say that among all the princes and princesses, you're considered the reasonable one—otherwise I'd have been far less accommodating."
He looked her up and down, a faint, enigmatic smile crossing his face.
"Though if it's you... perhaps there truly is a possibility."
Song Feishi's brow furrowed, her temper rising—but with a sudden blur of motion, he was gone.
Hovering in the air, she turned the exchange over in her mind. Her original plan—seize the target and vanish—was obviously dead now that Xie Chang'an had spotted her. But his attitude suggested he wasn't actually forbidding her from making contact with this Lin Hui.
I'd like to see for myself just what makes this Clear Wind Dao Master so remarkable.
She shot forward in a blur, flying straight toward Black Cloud City below, where it sat beneath a sea of Mist.
Knowing Xie Chang'an would be watching her closely, she didn't try any tricks. Instead, she found a secluded spot to shed anything that might betray her identity before making straight for the Clear Wind Dao Academy.
…
Three days later.
Inside the Dao Academy, pear blossoms drifted on a gentle, warm breeze.
Lin Hui stood in the courtyard, quietly directing the airflow to shape the falling petals into a flowing ribbon that spiraled around him.
The rest of the Dao Academy had gathered for their periodic assembly, but no one dared step into the courtyard and disturb his practice.
Aside from Lin Hui, Su Yaping and Xia Si were currently the two strongest pillars of the Dao Academy.
Su Yaping had obtained both the Righteous Body and Righteous Virtue Law Seals. Compared to when he first arrived in Black Cloud, his growth had been imnse. Originally at the Palace Master level, he had long since reached the martial arts limit of the Luminous Extre. Now, with the Wild Wind Sword Technique and both great Law Seals to his na, his strength had climbed to an unfathomable level.
Xia Si had previously stood at the High Divine Officer level. Since then, she had broken through again, perfected her Body Tempering through the Wild Wind Sword Technique, and claid both great Law Seals—the true extent of her power now unknown to anyone. Recently, others had even begun to detect a dangerous aura faintly emanating from her, one with an unsettling resemblance to the Dao Master's.
This sobered a number of academy mbers who had grown complacent in Black Cloud's peaceful climate.
…
In the banquet hall adjoining Lin Hui's courtyard, a relaxed welco gathering was underway for the new disciples.
The Clear Wind Dao had rarely recruited newcors in the past, but since earning the approval of the three City Lords, Lin Hui had loosened the entry requirents—primarily to accelerate their integration into Black Cloud. Since all three great Trueblood families had sent representatives to put in a good word, Lin Hui saw fit to return the courtesy. Besides, the Law Seal's mind-intent test would handle itself: anyone with ulterior motives would never pass.
Nearby, Wang Hongshi, Su Yaping, and Li Yuanyuan moved among the newcors, introducing them to the sect's rules and current standing.
Among the dozen-odd new arrivals was a beautiful woman in a dark red dress, long legs sheathed in glossy black stockings. This was none other than the Fourth Princess, Song Feishi—disguised as an ordinary Trueblood to infiltrate the Clear Wind Dao and take stock of it from the inside.
She had tacitly accepted Xie Chang'an's condition against using force, resolving to get close first and understand for herself what made the Clear Wind Dao different.
Unlike Tuyue, Black Cloud harbored a vast population of fringe Truebloods—itinerant rchants whose far-flung travels had produced countless descendants over the generations. In truth, no one could be entirely certain whether any given person genuinely belonged to the three great bloodlines, and that ambiguity gave her the perfect loophole to exploit.
As attendants moved through the hall bearing dishes, wine, and refreshnts, Xia Si, Su Yaping, and Wang Hongshi each gathered a small cluster of newcors to explain the sect's rules and expectations.
Song Feishi was tempted to go straight to Lin Hui rather than idling here, but she worried Xie Chang'an might misconstrue it as a breach of their agreent. She resigned herself to finding a quiet corner and biding her ti until a natural opening presented itself.
She had barely taken a few steps when she caught Wang Hongshi answering a newcor's question about what set the Clear Wind Dao apart from other martial sects.
"Well, the biggest difference between our Clear Wind Dao and other sects doesn't actually lie in the martial arts themselves. Techniques like the Clear Wind Sword Technique and the Wild Wind Sword Technique are extraordinarily powerful, yes—but other sects have arts of comparable caliber, so that alone isn't what sets us apart."
Wang Hongshi sat cross-legged on the carpet, and a ring of new academy mbers gathered around him.
"Then what is the biggest difference? To be honest, Senior Brother Wang, my family forced
to join—I genuinely don't know what makes our sect better than the others," said a young girl with twin tails, her expression helpless.
"If you were forced, why aren't you leaving?" Wang Hongshi glanced at her.
"I..." The girl choked, montarily at a loss.
"I'm not joking. In all seriousness—if you're unwilling to join, you can leave right now," Wang Hongshi said. "The mind-intent test the sect conducts reads your true intention. If you aren't genuinely willing, you'll fail regardless."
"There's actually a cultivation thod that can do that?"
"Unheard of!"
"Is it the effect of a Relic?"
The newcors erupted in astonishnt. A few skeptics quietly rolled their eyes, writing it off as boasting.
"You'll all find out in a mont. If you pass the test, you'll eventually have the opportunity to obtain three Law Seals." He briefly introduced the Righteous Body Law Seal, which drew another wave of doubt from the crowd.
Then soone asked about the sect's martial arts.
"Speaking of martial arts—while the Clear Wind Dao's techniques may not be the absolute strongest, they are unquestionably the safest," Wang Hongshi continued. "Because compared to every other art out there, ours carries zero side effects."
"If they have no side effects, doesn't that just make them Ordinary Martial Arts? Those are generally weak," soone objected.
"Whether they're weak or not, you'll judge for yourselves soon enough. What I can tell you is that our sect's arts are imnsely difficult to master, and their peak output far exceeds what Ordinary Martial Arts can achieve. Even a peerless genius shouldn't expect an easy ti."
Those words instantly ignited the crowd's competitive instincts. Even Song Feishi, listening from nearby—once hailed as the empire's unrivaled number one genius—felt her interest sharpen despite herself.
…
At that mont, Lin Hui finished his sword practice and walked slowly through the door. Everyone bowed at once. He wore a quiet smile, showing no trace of arrogance, and returned each bow with a nod.
"By joining the sect today, those who pass the test will be eligible to receive our Righteous Body Law Seal. It will directly enhance your physique in all respects, providing a boost equivalent to nearly half a tier of strength—and with absolutely no side effects. Whether you carry hidden ailnts or were born with a frail constitution, the Righteous Body will correct and cure them."
Lin Hui's voice drifted into every ear on the breeze—not loud, but remarkably clear and soothing.
Song Feishi's eyes brightened. That delivery had carried no power fluctuations whatsoever—no Internal Force, True Force, Void Force, not even a flicker of mind-spirit energy. It had been entirely natural.
Interesting. She could faintly sense that Lin Hui truly was different from the geniuses she had encountered before.
If those past figures had all pioneered new heights within the frawork of Extre Martial Arts and the Call System, then what the Clear Wind Dao Academy displayed appeared to belong to a completely different system altogether.
"Everyone, please settle down. I'll explain the origins and background of the Clear Wind Dao myself." In the next instant, Lin Hui appeared at the head seat reserved for him, turned, and settled into it with a serene expression.
He was well aware that the people present were Trueblood disciples sent by the Three Great Powers. Though they appeared to be ordinary fringe Truebloods, he couldn't rule out a few exceptional talents concealed among them.
Accepting disciples from the three great Trueblood families was also a gesture of sincerity toward the three City Lords. In truth, he hoped as many of these recruits as possible would pass the test.
As the room settled, Lin Hui smiled inwardly. A good start.
Discipline and receptiveness were the most fundantal prerequisites for cultivation. A cohort of purely arrogant, unruly scions would have no hope of passing the Law Seal test.
"In truth, the martial arts of the Clear Wind Dao and the Law Seal system are two entirely separate things. While the martial arts arose from my own enlightennt, the Law Seal system originates from an ancient sect known as the Nine Skies Gate."
Lin Hui drew conveniently on the dense history of the Nine Skies Gate that the Blood Seal had previously packed into his mory.
"As you all know, the Night Mist frequently connects to unknown regions and worlds beyond our own. Purgatory and the Extre Cold Heaven first linked to our realm in precisely this manner, triggering the initial pollution. The Nine Skies Gate is a legacy I ca across entirely by chance during a perilous expedition into the Mist." He sighed softly. Seeing the crowd lean forward at the ntion of the Night Mist, he knew he had them.
After all, no one in this world wasn't deeply curious about the Night Mist. Steering the conversation in that direction was a surefire move.
In its pri, the Nine Skies Gate had experts as nurous as the clouds. Its elders and masters could sever sun and moon with a wave of the hand and command Yin and Yang with a single shout. The Nine Skies Divine Wind thod they cultivated was incomparably powerful—capable of drawing on terrifying, unknown forces to annihilate everything in its path…
"Hold on—isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Even the Federation's most powerful Mistborn couldn't reach those heights," Song Feishi finally cut in.
If the man she had crossed a million li to find turned out to be nothing more than a braggart, her opinion of him would plumt.
"It is the truth." Lin Hui smiled, glancing at her. "I know you all co from powerful Mistborn bloodline families and are Truebloods of imnse aptitude. So of you have even awakened Evil Energy at an early age. But the power you command is simply not of the sa system as the power the seniors of the Nine Skies Gate possessed."
"Don't be hasty—let
explain." He pressed one hand gently downward.
Instantly, the soft breeze beca a wall of wind pressure that swept down over the crowd.
And still, there were no power fluctuations—as though the wind itself answered to his will without being asked.
That effortless display—free of any perceptible exertion—made Song Feishi's heart clench. She swallowed her prepared rebuttal, deciding it was better to hear out whatever Lin Hui was weaving before attempting to dismantle it all at once.
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