Wanderer (New Book, Please Recommend and Bookmark)

"The desert air is really dry, the sun is so scorching, Camel Beasts are too slow, and other mounts aren't suited to this environment. We have to walk on foot too—what a hassle."

The Blue-Haired Youth with a small round shield on his back raised a hand to block the sunlight and complained. At the same time, he occasionally glanced at the Golden-Haired Knight Maiden beside him, seemingly worried about her because of the harsh environment. Unfortunately, he received no response.

Among the four, the Blue-Haired Youth seemed to be the most pampered and particular. Aside from his outstanding talent, his background was probably quite impressive as well.

Just as he was finishing his complaint, a rough voice suddenly rang out.

"I say, Young Lady Aitiya, aren't those guys who've been following us trying to rob us? Should we strike first?"

The Three-Star Professional Rank Warrior who had casually killed a Desert Lizard was boredly using his Heavy Axe to flip through the lizard's head, searching for a possible Magic Core. With something like a cigar clenched between his teeth, he spoke in a muffled voice.

After saying that, he chopped off one of the lizard's thighs with his axe and began preparing to roast it, looking every bit like a glutton.

The Blue-Haired Youth, whose attempt to show off had been interrupted, could not help feeling irritated. Could this big idiot Ye Man also have feelings for Aitiya? Something so obvious, and he actually asked her about it? Was he trying to get close to her...

"There's only one Professional Rank Expert among them. Unless they have something wrong with their heads, they won't act recklessly. They look like bottom-tier scavengers. There's no need to pay them any attention."

The beautiful Golden-Haired Knight who had been standing silently at the side, looking meticulous and composed, gave no response and showed no expression. The Blue-Haired Youth was lost in his own fantasies, while the Thin Mage Apprentice floating roughly half a meter above the ground on a Small Carpet answered indifferently.

There was no disdain in his tone, but the casual coldness and indifference were even more obvious than disdain. It was as though he simply did not care about the few people spying on them at all—a complete confidence in his own side's strength.

"Right. They're just a bunch of lowly scavengers. They only want to follow us around and pick up the trash we don't want."

The handsome Blue-Haired Youth who never left the beautiful Golden-Haired Knight's side regained his senses and spoke with disdain. His words clearly carried the superiority of someone looking down from above.

Compared with the Mage Apprentice's cold indifference, however, the Blue-Haired Youth's open display of contempt was clearly less impressive. Perhaps he simply wanted to say something to draw the girl's attention.

Naturally, at this distance, Xuan Ye and the others had no idea that the four had already made a preliminary decision about whether to drive them away. They were only staring wide-eyed at the mostly intact corpse on the ground.

Although its head had been mangled into a mess during the search for the Magic Core, the rest of the corpse was largely intact. Those people did not even care about the relatively valuable teeth, claws, or tail hide, and they had directly crushed the eyeballs that could have been used as alchemy materials. They clearly had no interest in the corpse anymore.

An air of extravagant wealth hit them in the face. Looking at their clean clothes, then thinking of himself carrying an enormous backpack earlier, Xuan Ye felt that they were like country bumpkins compared to Pay-to-Win Players.

If those people had not stopped to rest there, and if their intimidation had not been so overwhelming, Luo Luoji and the others would have rolled up their sleeves and gone to haul away the corpse.

A magical beast with Professional Rank strength—one that even Luo Luoji could not defeat alone...

In the end, the four did not leave them waiting in vain. After continuing on their way, they decisively left the corpse behind as the Scavenger Squad's spoils. With such a tempting reward in front of him, Luo Luoji immediately cast aside his remaining concerns. They would not even need to spend money buying supplies. They had to seize this opportunity.

The only thing he worried about now was the speed of the entire team. The other party had few people and great strength, making them extremely mobile, while the Scavenger Squad was far too cumbersome. After hesitating and gritting his teeth, Luo Luoji finally decided that the five who had gone ahead to scout would empty their backpacks and follow them, while the others would be notified to return along the original route.

With the number of Intermediate Knight Attendants left in the team, along with Luo Luoji's squad's long-standing reputation nearby, there was no need to worry too much about their safety. As for the five, including Xuan Ye, they would follow behind and pick up whatever was left behind.

They were going to pull off something big!

Although their numbers had been reduced to just five, roughly the size of a mercenary squad, they were the essence of the entire Scavenger Squad. Even Xuan Ye, who was the weakest at carrying loads, had no problem carrying two hundred jin over long periods. Since they would be selectively targeting Professional Rank magical beasts, the five of them might earn no less than the entire squad had before!

Given the extravagance of those four, they would probably leave behind plenty of good things besides Magic Cores.

Of the five who set out, aside from Luo Luoji and the other three Senior Knight Attendants in the squad, there was only Xuan Ye, the special case who had awakened Bloodline Power in his eyes.

Since returning to the city on his own was definitely not an option, and because Luo Luoji had saved his life, Xuan Ye did not refuse.

His understanding of the entire world of Reizel was pitifully limited. Even though he could search through the original owner's memory fragments, they were extremely one-sided because the man had previously focused on training and had been brainwashed by his father.

Perhaps this operation would broaden his horizons as well.

After unloading all the goods they had originally been carrying and distributing them among the others, the entire Scavenger Squad was nearly at full capacity. The main group had already earned quite a bit by returning now. If the five who followed behind and picked up leftovers gained another haul, they would truly make money faster than similarly sized mercenary groups carrying out missions.

It could even be said that after streamlining their numbers, the five led by Luo Luoji formed an elite mercenary squad. With a Professional Rank Expert holding the fort, they surpassed at least most mercenary teams in Stanrosai City.

Along the way, Xuan Ye made full use of this opportunity. With the attitude of an ambitious young man, he continually asked the older members for wilderness knowledge. Not to mention Luo Luoji—even Jack, who had once lost to Xuan Ye, possessed an experience gap Xuan Ye could not make up in these areas. Many seemingly insignificant actions carried deep meaning.

Based on the strength of the squad they were tailing, they would certainly lose track of them eventually even after streamlining their own group. Luo Luoji had not expected to keep following them forever. Yet the four ahead strolled and stopped along the way, appearing extremely leisurely, and after three days, they were still within tracking range.

During those days of trailing them, Xuan Ye relied on the improved version of the Basic Breathing Technique and his already solid physical foundation. On the evening of the third day, with the help of a Sand Wolf's heart muscle, he successfully began communicating with his Perception Inner Palace. He crossed Intermediate Knight Attendant and directly entered the Advanced Attendant stage, becoming a Level 7 Knight Attendant!

Level 6 Attendant was the limit that many commoner Attendants could reach! Advanced Attendants were far rarer! Their status was also much higher!

Once the number of Advanced Attendants grew large enough, they could even threaten Professional Rank Experts!

Previously, Luo Luoji could rely on the Guardian's abilities and let Xuan Ye slash at him without suffering much harm. Yet after breaking through to Advanced Attendant, Xuan Ye already possessed the most basic degree of strength needed to injure a Professional Rank Expert!

Breaking through during the unranked Knight Attendant stage did not cause much of a disturbance. Even Luo Luoji did not notice anything unusual—or rather, they simply would not think in that direction.

Just a few days ago, Xuan Ye had still been a sickly and weakened fellow. Even if he had been on the verge of breaking through, he should not have done so this quickly. For physical cultivation, the fastest method was not staying home and practicing breathing exercises. Even Advanced Breathing Techniques could not compare. Staying at home was the primary method for mage-type cultivation!

The fastest path for physical classes was killing magical beasts of similar rank and absorbing the Essence that dispersed when they died. Even if one could not kill them, cultivation improved far faster during a heated life-and-death battle than through motionless breathing exercises. The main function of breathing techniques was to speed up the absorption of the scattered Essence after killing a target and reduce the time needed to assimilate foreign Essence inhaled into the body. Clearly, in their eyes, Xuan Ye had not made any effective kills during this period and should not have improved much.

After all, going from Level 6 Attendant to Level 7 was a threshold. How could it be so easy?

Yet Xuan Ye's improved breathing technique, which was perfectly suited to his body, was extremely special. During simple quiet cultivation, it might not even match those Advanced Breathing Techniques. But because it perfectly matched his flesh and body, his efficiency in absorbing and digesting the Essence and Qi and Blood within all kinds of bloody food far exceeded the effect of normal absorption.

In this state, he ate higher-grade bloody food beyond his rank every day, so his improvement speed was naturally quite remarkable. The four ruthless figures ahead had left behind many magical beast corpses comparable to the Professional Rank along the way. Under normal circumstances, they were not something Xuan Ye could easily obtain at his current stage.

Even if he had gotten them, he could not have digested them so quickly without this unique improved ability!

Communicating with the Inner Palace, opening the Inner Palace, and consolidating the Inner Palace—these were the directions Knight Attendants from Level 7 to Level 9 worked toward. They also represented the early, middle, and late stages within the same rank before condensing a new core after successfully advancing to the Professional Rank. One had to choose one's path well and lay a solid foundation for condensing a Professional Core...

"The path of the profession... Hmm, after communicating with the Perception Inner Palace, the entire world really does feel different. It isn't just my eyes—every sense seems to have been strengthened. I wonder whether the Eyes of Lawbreaking have improved too. And although it's called the Perception Inner Palace, it has also tempered and strengthened my internal organs, improving my overall physical qualities. The difference from other paths should still be small at this stage. I suppose obvious differences will only emerge after condensing a core."

Xuan Ye slowly exhaled the stale air from his body. Listening to the sound of flames crackling in the campfire beside him, he looked up at the enormous Silver Moon occupying nearly half the sky, his spirits rising.

Having just come into contact with this cultivation path, he felt a sense of enthusiasm and interest. It was like pulling all-nighters grinding games in the past. This feeling of gradually gaining rewards through effort was simply impossible to stop!

"Hmm?"

Just as a faint feeling of reflection arose in Xuan Ye's heart, his ears twitched slightly. His newly strengthened Perception allowed him to detect a subtle disturbance in the desert. Something was approaching—clumsy and slow.

"Heh, you noticed it too, kid? It should be one of those annoying poor bastards. Their wandering range seems to have expanded lately, to think they've appeared here."

After Xuan Ye opened his eyes upon noticing the movement, Luo Luoji, who was keeping watch beside the fire, looked up at him. Then he grinned and spoke, seeming unconcerned.

"What is that?"

Having just finished cultivating, Xuan Ye showed no signs of being sluggish despite the middle of the night. Instead, he looked rather energetic as he asked curiously. This was exactly when he needed to keep absorbing knowledge.

"It's a Wanderer. There—if you want to look, go up that sand dune. You probably haven't seen one before. They usually only appear deeper in the desert. Don't worry, there's no threat. We're just too lazy to deal with it. It's a poor bastard."

Luo Luoji had no intention of getting up at all, speaking lazily...

The desert at night was the complete opposite of the daytime. Once he left the range of the campfire's warmth, the chilly wind made Xuan Ye's hairs stand on end. Yet what chilled him more than the cold wind was—

The figure wandering aimlessly in the distance as he stood atop the sand dune!

Its entire body was ruined and rotting, its decayed flesh long dried by the wind. Its skin was covered in a disgusting moldy green, and nearly shredded strips of cloth hung in tatters from its body. Its savage wounds and gashes exposed the stark white bones beneath!

A human! A dead human! A dead human who could still move!

It was Undead!

At that moment, the name of this desert flashed through Xuan Ye's mind once more—the Desert of the Dead!

Just then, Xuan Ye narrowed his eyes. Under the bright moonlight covering half the sky, and with his excellent vision, he vaguely saw a figure standing on the distant sand dune opposite them, seemingly observing this place as well.

Its bloodless skin appeared even paler under the moonlight. Its thin body and oversized mage robe fluttered in the cold wind, while cold, deep eyes stared at the Wanderer below without the slightest expression.

It was the Mage Apprentice from the group they had been following...