Zhang Tie and the others traveled slowly.
Every morning, before dawn broke, Liu Xing and the others split into two teams and left the airship. They searched for traces of blood men along the routes Zhang Tie had designated. Once they found any, they killed them on the spot, then brought their heads back.
The route Zhang Tie had mapped out covered roughly two hundred kilometers each day. Most of those two hundred kilometers lay in desolate wilderness far from cities and uninhabited lands. At times, they had to cross mountains and ford rivers. Even with all their equipment, the journey was not easy—especially since they had to search their surroundings as they traveled to guard against ambushes by blood men, and then kill any blood men they found. For a group of uneven strength, whose highest level was only level nine, this stretch of road was a grueling challenge.
Thus, although Liu Xing and the others set out very early each day, it was generally already dark by the time they returned to the airship's landing point, where it waited for them.
When they left the airship, Zhang Tie allowed them to carry only weapons, empty water flasks, ropes, and similar tools, along with distress flares. They were not permitted to bring anything else—not even potions. During the day, they had to find food themselves and fill their own stomachs. Of course, once they returned to the airship, they could eat as much as they wanted.
On the first day after leaving Xingyu City, Liu Xing and the others spent fifteen hours on the road. By the time they returned to the Iron Dragon, it was past one in the morning. Everyone was exhausted beyond measure. Several female disciples were in a sorry state, their clothes torn in many