Wind and snow drifted down, settling silently in the small courtyard of the Lin Manor and upon Lin Shunhe’s shoulders.

He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the sky.

"This weather... it snows whenever it pleases. Elder Du, what is the situation at the Clear Wind Sword Sect?"

"It is somewhat troublesome. Young Master Hui moved too fast. The moment he received the news, he rushed to Fu'an Town. However, we reported it to Lord Black Face in time, and he has already sent someone to secretly provide support. It shouldn't be a major issue," Elder Du said in a deep voice.

"Is that so? That’s good. That’s just how Ah Hui is; he has always been impulsive. I thought his recent daily obsession with martial arts training had tempered his nature, but it seems he's still the same old way." Lin Shunhe sighed.

"Young Master Hui is actually quite excellent. His aptitude is extremely high. Reviving the Clear Wind Sword Sect to its current standing... no ordinary person could achieve that," Elder Du praised.

"Li Chi... the Circulation Realm..." Lin Shunhe fell silent.

He had intended to wait until he fused with the Imitation Evil Weapon and established a Hall—mastering greater power—before bringing his son into the fold.

But he hadn't expected the Clear Wind Sword Sect to stir up trouble so quickly.

Thinking of this, he felt a bit of a headache.

Perhaps hitting a wall and bloodying his head this time will make him give up.

An Internal Force Realm cultivator charging headfirst at a Circulation Realm expert... he truly didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

As the trouble his son stirred up grew more frequent and severe, Lin Shunhe felt his ability to clean up the mess slipping away. This made him hunger even more for the impending delivery of the Imitation Evil Weapon.

"By the way, which envoy did Lord Black Face send?" he suddenly asked.

"It is Envoy Zhuo—Zhuo Tianjue, the Cold Hook," Elder Du replied.

"That is good. Among the envoys, Senior Zhuo's strength ranks near the top. Holding back Li Chi should be no problem." Lin Shunhe had worked with him before and knew some of his background. He instantly relaxed.

"If Ah Hui sweet-talks him a bit when the time comes, and acts sensibly, he might even be able to build a relationship with Senior Zhuo. If he can get a pointer or two and edge closer to the Circulation Realm, that would be even better." Lin Shunhe calculated in his heart, his expression relaxing.

….

At the mountain gate of the Flying Stone Sect.

The martial artist with the strange weapon squatted on the roof of a two-story wooden building inside the gate, staring dumbstruck at the fierce battle between Lin Hui and Li Chi.

"Brother Zhuo... is this the person you said we needed to save?"

Behind him, the white-clad woman in the conical hat looked at the slaughter in the distance with equal speechlessness.

"To be honest... looking at this situation, I don't think we're qualified to save anyone."

"The problem is, Lord Black Face told me to come, but he didn't say who to save. Could it be... I'm supposed to save Li Chi?" The martial artist with the strange weapon stroked his chin helplessly, suppressing the shock in his eyes.

"Let's watch how things change for now. It's really unclear right now which side will win," the woman in the conical hat replied.

"The trouble is, I probably can't beat either of them." The martial artist sighed.

"That is normal. I have the same feeling. Just watch..." The woman in the conical hat nodded, her gaze piercing through her veil to continue staring at the distant battle.

Clang!

Just then, the two spheres finally collided.

White lines turned into a torrent, rushing forward like countless steel needles. Or like an avalanche composed of countless threads, crushing everything ahead, submerging everything.

Opposite them, the formless sword vanished. Fast to the extreme, merely slicing through the air instantly drove the airflow.

Massive swathes of sword-shaped airflow trailed the blade, transforming into a giant transparent sword that hacked straight into the torrent of white lines.

Hum!

The formless sword and the white torrent stalemated for a split second.

The next moment.

Shua!

The torrent of white silk threads was abruptly split in two, cleaved down the middle by the giant, formless sword.

The invisible, transparent giant sword split the white lines, slashing all the way to Li Chi's forehead.

Bang!

The sword broke; the figure appeared.

Lin Hui’s figure appeared in front of Li Chi. The Clear River Sword in his hand had completely shattered into countless fragments.

Silver fragments shot forward and backward, exploding outward.

Lin Hui’s figure blurred, dodging the fragments. In the next instant, he flashed again, appearing on the snowy ground five meters away.

Pfft.

The hilt of the broken sword fell, plugging into the snow.

In the next second, a new longsword appeared in his hand—a weapon belonging to a nearby Flying Stone Sect disciple.

"A pity. If only I had a good sword..."

"There are no 'ifs.' Without Internal Force reinforcement, even the best sword cannot breach my protective Internal Force," Li Chi said calmly.

The broken sword struck him like it was hitting a steel plate, bouncing off and vanishing.

He lifted his foot and walked toward Lin Hui again, step by step, treading on the black mud revealed by the fierce wind.

"Then let's try again." Lin Hui raised the longsword. "It just so happens there are plenty of weapons here."

Gusts of strong wind scattered from his body again, centering him in the eye of a storm.

If before he was relying purely on extreme speed sword strikes, now, he was truly about to employ the killing moves of the Wild Wind Sword Technique.

An even more exaggerated gale than before began to form a giant sphere around him, blowing the wind and snow away to the periphery.

Hu!

The next second, both rushed forward simultaneously.

One shone with blinding white light; the other vanished once more.

Invisible rings emerged within the gale, floating and trembling like transparent bubbles.

The rings hovered around Li Chi, forming a cage.

"Wind!"

Lin Hui's voice penetrated icily through the sound of the wind.

Bang!

In the next instant, a terrifying sword mark appeared on Li Chi’s back, compressing the white light covering his body inward.

But likewise, the immense pressure caused the longsword to shatter once again, turning into countless flying fragments.

Li Chi struck back with a backhanded palm. The white light palm shadow split into nine, linking into a chain that knocked away the sword fragments and blasted toward Lin Hui.

But the move struck empty air.

In the next instant, a new sword mark exploded on his back again.

Another longsword shattered into fragments.

Li Chi’s expression changed slightly. He turned and struck again, but still hit nothing.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Longswords kept shattering and exploding between the two of them.

And the location of the strike was always the exact same spot on his back.

No matter how Li Chi dodged or counterattacked, his back remained the place where the sword marks appeared.

At this moment, he finally understood just how disgusting super-speed could be.

"I see now why you dared to come here alone."

He cycled through over a dozen killing moves but failed to capture the figure. He simply stopped fighting, opening his arms. He allowed the sparks and fragments to explode continuously on his body.

"It seems ordinary moves are useless against you. In that case..."

Li Chi closed his eyes. In such a fierce exchange, he actually closed his eyes, as if resting.

Crack.

Suddenly, a trace of white electric arc emerged and danced on the surface of his body.

"I will let you witness the secret art I created myself."

The white electric arcs became numerous and dense, covering almost every part of his body.

"Secret Art: Meteor Fossil!"

Li Chi suddenly opened his eyes. The white electric arcs on his body detached all at once, condensing into a ball of white electricity.

At the same time, he clapped his hands together, smashing the electric ball.

Boom!

Blinding white light exploded on the spot. Within the light, countless dense white palm shadows shot out violently, spreading in all directions.

The palm shadows this time were obviously different from before. Each one traced a bizarre arc, curving toward Lin Hui.

Wild Wind Clear Ring.

Lin Hui’s blurred figure emerged for a split second, then vanished again.

Standing in place, he suddenly moved left, then right, precisely dodging every single palm shadow.

Palm shadows exploded on the ground beside him one by one, blasting out pits of various sizes.

But not a single one could hit him.

After dozens of palms were exhausted, the ground was riddled with craters, and the entire level sank by a layer.

The wild wind howled; white light flickered.

The two returned to their previous standoff state.

The only difference was that the surrounding ground and buildings had been affected—collapsed or broken, a complete mess.

"You cannot break my barrier, so you cannot win," Li Chi said, squinting.

"You are right." Lin Hui threw away the handle of yet another broken sword. "The Internal Force strength of the Circulation Realm is higher than I imagined. But I haven't lost either."

If he couldn't be hit, he would forever stand in an undefeated position.

He didn't say this out loud, but Li Chi tacitly accepted it.

"Interesting... too interesting." Li Chi laughed.

He began to laugh, the smile on his face growing wider and deeper.

"Everyone strives to be stronger, harder, and tougher. Only you... you actually managed to raise your speed to such a degree. Interesting, truly interesting!"

"I take back my previous rudeness toward you. Although you are not Circulation Realm, you are comparable to it."

He lowered his hands, actually relaxing from his channeled state.

"Since neither of us can do anything to the other, continuing is meaningless. How about a truce?"

"..." Lin Hui smiled. "You had so many people die. You're just going to let it go?"

"I said it before: those were trash, not humans. The only true humans here are you and I." Li Chi’s expression returned to calm.

Lin Hui was left speechless. This was his first time witnessing the indifference a Circulation Realm martial artist held toward those below.

Xue Meng had mentioned before that Circulation Realm martial artists and those below were almost two different species. At this very moment, he truly felt that gap.

Judging from the exchange just now, he could break the defense of the Internal Force Perfection Song Zhanlong, but he couldn't handle Li Chi's protective Internal Force.

Even the Wild Wind Sword Technique's Shattering Awl was just a hair short of breaking through.

But that tiny bit became a limit he could not cross, no matter what.

If he had a good sword, he should be able to break the barrier. But there were not that many "ifs" in the world.

He had asked his father to search, but the best weapons on the market were only at the intensity of the Clear River Sword. Anything better was practically not for sale. It depended on luck. Once they appeared on the market, they were snatched up immediately.

"You are still young; there is no need to fight to the death with an old man like me. My goal isn't to be blocked by you here, either. The conflict between you and me initially only stemmed from the apothecary in Fu'an Town. The Flying Stone Sect can offer compensation for this matter," Li Chi said calmly.

"My disciples were heavily injured, and my Elder's whereabouts are unknown. How do you intend to compensate?" Lin Hui asked in a deep voice.

"We will be responsible for the medical expenses, and we will also help search for the missing Elder. But my Flying Stone Sect also had three Internal Force martial artists killed by you. How about we call it even?"

Li Chi had a mission to attend to; he couldn't afford to be deadlocked here with Lin Hui.

Although he was wary of an opponent who could come and go without a trace, that opponent still couldn’t break through his defenses. If they truly tore away all decorum, the worst outcome would be both sides turning their attacks on the people around the other.

A mutually destructive ending was not what he wanted to see.

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