A Descender Born with Heaven's Mandate

At the foot of the slope less than a hundred meters away, several Black Armored Guards were also staring at him in stunned silence. Then, several more Black Armored Guards burst from the bushes behind them. When the Gold-trimmed Black Armored Guard leading them saw the brocade box containing the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng in his hand—and saw him chewing it—his expression changed drastically. He drew a deep breath, pulled out his saber, and pointed it at him:

"Bold thief! How dare you steal and eat a tribute! Your crime is unforgivable!"

With a stomp of his foot, he shot forward more than ten meters and landed on a jutting rock. Borrowing its momentum, he leaped again, covering another dozen meters. His speed was astonishing.

Lin Xiao cursed inwardly at how fast they were catching up, quickly stuffed the brocade box into his robes, turned around, and ran.

As he chewed the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, its powerful medicinal force surged like a tide. The true qi in his body boiled along with it, and he felt strength flooding every inch of him. He pushed his perfected Flying Heaven Steps to the limit, feeling as though he were about to take flight. After a few flashes, he had soared to the mountaintop, crossed over it, and vanished from sight.

He Jinyi charged up the mountain and saw Lin Xiao's figure leap down the other side. The distance between them rapidly widened to nearly a hundred meters, making his expression even uglier. But the moment he thought of what Lin Xiao was chewing, fury surged through him. Gritting his teeth, he continued the pursuit.

One side chased while the other fled, yet the distance between them grew farther and farther. After a quarter of an hour, Lin Xiao could no longer see his pursuers, but he did not stop. Instead, he continued running.

These Black Armored Guards had a specialized tracking technique. They had managed to catch up even after he had shaken them off by such a distance just now, so this time he had to run much farther.

As he fled, he refined the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, trying to accumulate as many Potential Points as possible in preparation for the deduction later.

He ran for who knew how long, covering ground until nightfall. Lin Xiao had no idea where he had reached. He only knew that a vast mountain range stretched in the distance for an unknown number of miles. Most importantly, he saw snow piled atop those peaks, as though he had suddenly arrived in winter—even though it was only May.

By then, he could no longer see his pursuers. He did not know whether the Black Armored Guards had continued chasing him, but he estimated that even if they had, they were still far away. After looking around, he decided to cross the nearby mountain, find a place to settle down, and begin his deduction.

He had probably already reached the Mobei region. The temperature had unknowingly dropped close to freezing, but Lin Xiao had internal energy protecting his body and did not feel cold. He soon reached the mountain and crossed its snow-covered ridge, only to stop abruptly.

In the valley on the other side of the mountain, he unexpectedly discovered a huge army crossing through it, marching from ahead in the direction he had come from. For some unknown reason, they spotted him the moment he appeared. Several burly men on horseback spurred their steeds toward him.

Every one of those men wore fur robes. In the bitter cold, they exposed their upper bodies without fear of the chill. They took longbows from their horses, nocked arrows, and shot at him.

Lin Xiao paid them no mind at first. But as several arrows, fired from more than a hundred meters away, came hurtling toward him with astonishing accuracy and force, he could not help uttering a soft exclamation as he dodged them. Then he turned and left.

An army this enormous was certainly not something he could fight head-on, and there was no need to provoke them. Most importantly, Lin Xiao sensed a terrifying aura within the army that made his heart tremble. There was likely an extraordinarily powerful expert hidden among them—possibly even a Grandmaster. He did not dare linger and risk an accident.

Thus, he tossed away the arrows he had caught and left without the slightest entanglement.

The riders could not catch him and could only leave dejectedly. Returning to the center of the army, they came before a carriage as large as a house, pulled by more than a dozen horses. Someone soon let them inside. The carriage was as spacious as a house, with a burning brazier in the middle that made it warm as spring.

At the innermost part, a handsome man dressed in exotic attire sat upon a throne, accompanied by two exotic beauties. The burly men who entered knelt before him and said:

"Reporting to the Great Khan, that Han expert's martial arts were formidable. I failed to catch him."

The man was enjoying a beauty feeding him fruit. Hearing this, he raised his eyelids and glanced at him.

"I saw that man. He was an expert, so it is normal that you could not catch him. This time, the Tribal Alliance Army has split into three routes and marched south. Even if the Han people discover us, they will have no time to prepare. There is no need to seal the news. Your crime may be forgiven, but your punishment cannot be avoided. Go and receive ten strokes of the army cane yourself!"

"This subordinate will go receive his punishment at once."

The burly man rose and left. Before long, dull blows echoed from outside the door. They stopped after ten strikes. The young Great Khan leaned against a beauty's bosom, propping his chin on one hand as he gazed toward the doorway. Then, as though he had thought of something, he suddenly laughed and asked:

"Tell me, do you think this young master can successfully conquer the Great Kang Dynasty and unify this world, just like Genghis Khan?"

The beauty beneath him smiled and said:

"Of course he can. Young Master Xuanji used a secret technique to descend and replace Prince Haiguer Khan. Born with Heaven's Mandate, he can break through the world's power limit. Ever since inheriting the position of Great Khan, Haigher Khan's power has rapidly expanded. He is now one of the three great tribes of the north. With the three tribes joining forces and marching south this time, they will surely wipe out the Great Kang Dynasty in one fell swoop."

At this moment, another beauty smiled and said:

"The other two tribes only intend to plunder and leave. Unlike the young master, they have no ambition to march south and contest the Central Plains. Once the young master unifies the Central Plains, he can march north and destroy the other two tribes. The entire world will then fall into his hands. After completing Heaven's Mandate and becoming the Chosen Son of Heaven in this world, he will naturally be able to transform this world into his private world."

Haigher Khan—who was also this young master—pulled one of the beauties into his arms and reached beneath her skirt, fondling her as he laughed heartily.

"Forget about transforming it into a private world. I have no interest in a mere low-martial small world. What interests me is the world origin force contained within it. When the time comes, I will strip it away and merge it into my Xuan Shen Realm to strengthen its origin. My Xuan Shen Realm has already absorbed enough world origin force. It only needs a little more before it can advance. Then, relying on the world origin force released by the realm's advancement, I can receive its backlash and advance another step, surpassing Big Brother in one stroke."

"With the young master's current strength, no one in this world is your opponent. Even those so-called Grandmasters are no match for you. Unifying the world will be as easy as turning over your hand!"

Zhao Xuanji pinched the woman's breast, his face glowing with delight.

"This little mouth of yours is truly good at talking."

The woman gazed at him seductively and said:

"This slave's little mouth is not the only one that knows how to talk. The little mouth below knows how to talk, too. Young master, would you like to try it?"

"Mm. Let this young master see."

Amid a series of shy, alluring moans, the luxurious carriage was instantly filled with boundless springtime.

Lin Xiao naturally had no idea what had happened within the northern nomadic tribe's army. He also did not know what the sudden appearance of this tribal army signified. By then, he had already left the region far behind and reached the snow-covered peaks deep within a mountain range whose location he himself did not know.

"Damn it. If you can still find me like this, I'll take my hat off to you!"

After erasing all traces of his path, he dug a snow cave into the peak and hid inside. He sealed the entrance with snow, leaving only a small hole for air. His aura was essentially completely isolated. If they could still catch up to him after that, he would truly have to concede.