Chapter 331
331 The World 1
Chapter 331 The World's Number One
3808 years.
The Taisu Federal Parliament was dissolved, and its members left and disappeared.
The emperor of the Hongyin Empire abdicated, and the various vassal kings mysteriously disappeared. The country descended into chaos.
People were astonished to discover that the once high and mighty Fog People had left, disappeared, or even vanished mysteriously in just a few months.
The resulting power vacuum immediately triggered a fierce competition among many ambitious individuals.
Thus, the era of the Fog People's rule came to a complete end.
The Blood Ancestors ascended to the stage of the strongest.
Black Clouds and Qingfei Mountain.
Outside the Taoist temple, a handsome man in a long white robe with wide sleeves, his long hair tied up high, was being led by a member of the Qingfeng Taoist sect to the courtyard.
He looked up at the plaque hanging in the courtyard: "Wuxiang Courtyard".
"This is.?"
"It was written by the Dao Master himself, not long ago," the disciple leading the way said softly.
"When you meet the Daoist Master, be sure to be respectful. Answer his questions honestly and avoid speaking carelessly."
"Yes, I know, I know." The man nodded, his expression solemn.
The two pushed open the door one after the other and entered. Instead of going any further, they stood by the courtyard wall, looking at a burly figure sitting cross-legged under a pear tree.
His figure was tall and strong, and even a simple white robe could not conceal his powerful and majestic aura.
He simply sat cross-legged on the ground, with light blue light spots constantly swirling and dancing around him as he breathed, eventually quietly disappearing into his mouth and nose.
They seemed to have sensed their arrival.
The figure slowly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of calm, bright black pupils, just like an ordinary person's.
"Gongsun Wuhuan?"
"Yes, it is this junior." The man quickly stepped forward, knelt on both knees, and kowtowed earnestly. "I have no regrets in greeting to the Dao Master."
"Xinlian left too?" Although Lin Hui had some idea, he couldn't help but feel a little sad when a friend he was on good terms with also left.
“It was my ancestor who left yesterday evening,” Gongsun Wuhan quickly replied. “Before she left, she asked me to pass on a message to you, saying that all good things must come to an end, and she hoped you would take care.”
Lin Hui didn't speak.
Essentially, Xie Chang'an, Zhang Yao, and Gongsun Xinlian's departure from Black Cloud City meant they had already given up their last chance of survival.
No, perhaps they no longer have this connection. Because they have lived too long, and their lifespans have been too long.
Even if the decay was shared, the lifespan limit couldn't be overcome no matter what. If it weren't for the three people's fel energy complementing each other, they would probably have disappeared completely like the other Mist People long ago.
In just a few short months, three familiar friends have left us, and we may never see them again.
Lin Hui closed his eyes again and sighed inwardly.
At his level, there are very few people who can truly open up to him and have equal conversations.
The departure of the Third City Lord has made his number of friends even more pitiful.
Upon careful consideration, Lin Hui couldn't even think of anyone he could have a quiet chat with.
People around him either respected him or feared him.
"You are too old and your potential is limited. I will not accept you, and you should not have come here." Coming back to his senses, Lin Hui said softly, "From now on, if you have any major needs in dealing with the Black Cloud matter, you can seek the assistance of the Dao Academy."
"Yes! Thank you, Daoist Master." Gongsun Wuhan quickly kowtowed respectfully.
Although he was somewhat disappointed that he was not accepted into the Dao Academy, the direct support he received from the Dao Academy was enough to secure his position as the city lord of Black Cloud City.
Otherwise, even if he was just an ordinary blood ancestor with good aptitude and outstanding in the Gongsun family, he wouldn't be able to suppress so many restless blood ancestors from various families.
Gongsun Wuhan respectfully withdrew, and soon sent someone to deliver a large number of various gifts.
However, due to the limitations imposed by nature, many precious medicines have lost their former efficacy and degenerated into inferior medicines.
These drugs, while still remarkably effective for ordinary people and even highly effective for most martial arts practitioners, were meaningless to Lin Hui.
His formation evolution is now complete, and the precious medicines around him have been almost completely used up, with very few left.
The only thing I haven't used yet is that strange, sharp horn that the Duke of Purgatory gave me.
After everyone left, he slowly stood up and looked up at the sky.
Swish!
His figure vanished abruptly, traversing a vast distance and instantly appearing on the top floor of the Moon Tower, which was under the surveillance of the inner city.
This layer is now completely empty. The great array of the black clouds has deteriorated to the point that only a basic defensive array is still barely functioning.
The monitoring part of the formation has also deteriorated. According to Ouyang Yining, the most core energy crystal has deteriorated, and since no substitute could be found, most of the formation's monitoring functions had to be abandoned.
Thus, this moon tower gradually became a tall tower for ordinary residents.
The top floor hall was empty at this moment, and the three shimmering white crystal pillars still stood in their original positions.
That is the place where the three leaders of the Three Islands Alliance were sealed.
Lin Hui had been observing the changes in the three people to judge the changes in the current environment.
The last time they came was two weeks ago. At that time, although the three members of the Mishima Alliance could not move, they could still communicate with each other mentally. Whenever they came into contact, they would curse each other and their emotions fluctuated greatly.
But this time
Lin Hui walked to one of the crystal pillars and tapped its surface.
dong dong.
There was no movement.
He looked inside through the crystal.
The inside was a blurry mess; it seemed like no one could be seen anymore.
Then, when I tried to focus my mind and connect with the individual, I still couldn't reach any other being.
A soft splash.
The crystal pillar that Lin Hui struck collapsed instantly, turning into countless shattered crystals that faded and disappeared.
He paused, then looked at the other two crystal pillars. Both were the same, silently and slowly collapsing, shattering, turning into specks of light, and disappearing completely.
"died?"
He withdrew his hand.
Looking at the empty hall, he turned around, flew out of the Moon Tower, and descended.
Piercing through the sea of clouds, the bustling scene of the Black Cloud Inner City was revealed below.
One after another, towering buildings rise up, interspersed with large buildings of various strange shapes.
Wide, winding streets and lanes intertwine to form a vast white network, connecting all the buildings.
On the streets, tiger people, lion people, lizard people, sparrow people, and elephant people communicate, live, and trade freely as if there were no barriers between them.
There were even enormous elephant-men and even larger giant toads, tens of meters tall, carrying large bags of goods, traveling on designated lanes reserved for these mega-corporations.
The number of moth-shaped vehicles in mid-air has decreased significantly, replaced by a dense swarm of Blood Ancestors and martial artists constantly traversing the sky.
Without the Mist People who suppressed everything, their bloodlines had also degenerated considerably, and the power gap between the Blood Ancestor and the Martial Artist had narrowed considerably.
This is directly reflected in the fact that there are now more martial artists moving around freely on the streets than before.
The number of Primal Blood has decreased.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Hui understood the reason.
Suddenly, his eyes flickered, and his figure flashed, disappearing into mid-air, avoiding several Moth Chariot Blood Ancestors who saw him and wanted to approach and pay their respects.
The next instant, he appeared directly in a somewhat dark alley.
Deep in the alley, two short figures were carefully rummaging through a trash can in the corner.
These square trash cans are all made of stone and are very heavy; ordinary people simply cannot move them. They are usually moved by dedicated martial arts practitioners responsible for maintaining the city's environment.
In Black Cloud City, martial arts training has permeated the deepest subconscious of almost every ordinary family.
Learning martial arts, taking entrance exams for martial arts academies, progressing level by level, and then becoming an apprentice to a powerful master—this is almost a well-established selection path.
Some martial artists with less talent also became cogs in the machine that kept the city running.
Some of them are fast and suitable for delivering messages or goods.
Some are strong enough to be used for moving heavy objects, unloading cargo, and building houses.
Some are tough and thick-skinned, making them suitable for hunting, training, and serving as human shields.
Some martial arts practitioners possess a special internal force and can also be incorporated into industries such as material production and fine processing.
Coming to his senses, Lin Hui looked at the two short figures rummaging through the trash can and sighed.
"Gauze leaf?"
He asked directly. He remembered that the two of them had come here together to practice swordsmanship before, so how did they end up here?
The shorter of the two figures suddenly shuddered and turned to run away.
But the next moment, he was fixed in place, and no matter how hard his legs ran, he couldn't move.
"I'm not her, I don't know any Sae!" Sae shouted.
Her face was filthy, and she was dressed in a gray cloth outfit covered in patches. The patches on her arms and legs couldn't hide the tears, revealing her fair and delicate skin underneath.
"Do you remember me?" Lin Hui walked closer and stood in front of her. "Many years ago, we were at the Tu Yueyue Tower, and you helped me back then."
Upon hearing this, Shaye paused and looked up to examine Lin Hui's face closely.
"It's you!" she recognized immediately. "Lin!"
But the next moment, another girl next to her covered her mouth.
"Keep your voice down! Don't let anyone hear you!"
"I know, I know. Waaah~~" Shaye struggled and cried out indistinctly.
His friend then let go of his hand and turned around to stare at Lin Hui warily.
"Although they look the same, there are too many people impersonating that person these days, so no one can be sure if it's the real one."
They had originally wanted to learn martial arts, but due to their desperate need for money, they were swindled out of all their possessions by a group of con artists, which led them to the point where they had to rummage through trash cans to survive.
"If I am real, would you be willing to go back with me?" Lin Hui looked at Sha Ye.
The little boy who once helped Tu Yue has long lost his innocence. His big, bright red eyes, once like lava, have now degenerated into ordinary black.
In retrospect, because of Tu Yue's fall, these original bloodlines that have degenerated are now adapting to the changes in their bodies earlier than the other original bloodlines, and are less affected. It's just that no one knows why they have fallen into such a state.
"Of course I'd!" Before her friend could even cover her mouth, Shaye quickly agreed. "No matter who you are! If you can provide me with three full meals a day, I promise I'll have your baby!"
"Shut up! You used this trick last time and someone saw through it, and we both got beaten up because of it!!" An Ling slapped her head hard, trying to stop her from speaking.
Lin Hui smiled and it seemed that although the two of them lived a hard life, their physical and mental condition was not bad.
He offered no further explanation, and with a wave of his hand, a gentle breeze lifted the two of them into the air.
Back to Qingfei Mountain.
She handed the two over to Li Yuanyuan for a check-up. She hadn't expected them to have some basic aptitude, having practiced Qingfeng Dao martial arts; she just didn't know why they had left in the first place.
He then had Li Yuanyuan personally guide him. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer acquaintances he used to meet. If he didn't run into them, he would let it go. But since he did, it was only right to lend a hand.
(End of this chapter)