Desert Pursuit

The desert stretched out, vast and boundless.

The wind whipped up dust from the sand, obscuring the setting sun, whose bloody silhouette was reduced to a mere arc.

A few sparse, stunted trees swayed their withered branches in the wind and sand.

As the sky darkened, the desert grew even more desolate and bleak.

Licking his dry, cracked lips, Xia Daoming gazed at the abandoned village ahead, standing as solitary in the desert as he was. He decided to find shelter there for the night and set off again early the next morning.

During the day, the desert's most unbearable aspects were the sun, which hung overhead and scorched the body without respite, and the endless, seemingly infinite expanse of exposed sand and rock.

It was enough to induce despair.

But it was relatively safe.

The desert at night was not only bone-chillingly cold but also harbored many unknown dangers.

There were packs of wolves roaming in search of prey, and vipers, scorpions, and sand spiders that suddenly emerged from beneath the ground…

Most of the houses in this nameless desert village had collapsed, leaving only ruins.

In the center of the village stood a dilapidated old well, but the water had long since dried up.

There was no sign of life around, only yellow sand, withered plants, and white bones half-buried in the sand.

The sound of the wind echoed through the empty, ruined village.

Bleak.

Deathly silent.

"Bang!"

Xia Daoming gently pushed the old wooden door, and it crashed down, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

Inside, a skeleton lay slumped over a table.

On the floor lay another skeleton, which looked like that of a child.

Xia Daoming glanced around and quickly retreated from the dilapidated house.

After searching the entire village and confirming there was no danger, Xia Daoming chose a place to spend the night.

It was a house that still had a broken roof and four crumbling walls.

Xia Daoming tidied the house roughly, sprinkled some insect-repellent powder around the perimeter, and then went outside to scatter some tribulus terrestris and string a few ice silkworm threads, tying one end to his finger.

With all that done, Xia Daoming finally sat down and took out an old wooden box from his bosom.

As soon as the wooden box was opened, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Inside the box lay a piece of something five inches long and one inch thick, dark purple in color, with patterns like dragon scales, shaped like ginseng, and showing clear signs of being gnawed.

Xia Daoming took the item out and bit into it like a carrot, taking two large mouthfuls.

The dark purple substance actually exuded a white, milky sap and emitted a faint fragrance.

Xia Daoming licked the sap from the gnawed area, placed the item back into the wooden box, and secured it close to his body.

Next, Xia Daoming sat cross-legged and began circulating the Dragon Serpent Art.

After a long while, in the darkness of the night, Xia Daoming slowly opened his eyes.

A very simple interface appeared in his mind.

Xia Daoming—

Cultivation: Fourth-Rank Martial Master

Level One Meridian Strengthening Progress: Zero Percent.

"I've finally broken through to become a Fourth-Rank Martial Master!"

A look of surprise flashed in Xia Daoming's eyes.

A year ago, due to an accident, Xia Daoming had transmigrated into the body of a young man with the same name and had become a Second-Rank Martial Master at the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall in Black Stone City.

Humans have Twelve Meridians, which connect to the internal organs.

The ranks of Martial Masters correspond to the Twelve Meridians and are divided into Twelve Ranks.

A First-Rank Martial Master circulates their internal energy within one meridian. A Second-Rank Martial Master can circulate their energy within two meridians by breaking through meridian blockages, and so on, up to the Twelfth Rank.

At that time, in addition to some memories from the original owner of the body, a simple system interface had also appeared in his mind.

The system's function was as simple as its interface.

It strengthened the toughness and capacity of the meridians.

For each rank of Martial Master, as long as there were sufficient nourishing foods to strengthen the blood and qi, the system could continuously strengthen the meridians, up to the ninth level.

This meant that, theoretically, at the same rank, Xia Daoming's internal energy would be nine times that of others.

Amidst his surprise, Xia Daoming suddenly felt a sense of danger.

He leaped to his feet and, like a cat, silently moved to the door.

Through the crack in the door, Xia Daoming saw six people and a wolf-mastiff rapidly approaching the house he was in, illuminated by the moonlight.

As they sprinted, their formation spread out, subtly forming an arc around the house.

The fur of the Blood Wolf Mastiff actually emitted a faint bloody glow under the moonlight.

"The Blood Wolf Mastiff truly lives up to its reputation. I've been on the run for twelve full days, and I still couldn't escape its tracking!" Xia Daoming's pupils contracted slightly, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Blood Wolf Mastiffs were not only better at tracking than wolfdogs but also extremely ferocious and prone to fighting.

The combat power of an adult Blood Wolf Mastiff was comparable to a Second-Rank Martial Master.

"Xia Daoming, come out. We know you're inside." The six people and one mastiff stopped about thirty to forty feet from the house. A one-eyed man with a pockmarked face shouted.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Before the man's voice had even finished, the Blood Wolf Mastiff bared its crisscrossing, sharp teeth and growled at the house.

"Since the Blood Wolf Guards and the Blood Wolf Mastiff are here, why is Hall Master Wei still hiding? Are you afraid I'll assassinate you too?" Xia Daoming shouted back.

The Blood Wolf Hall was one of the gang forces in Black Stone City.

Hall Master Wei Mao was a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, accompanied by six Blood Wolf Guards. The top three Blood Wolf Guards were Third-Rank Martial Masters, while the latter three were Second-Rank Martial Masters.

Black Stone City, in turn, was a small city in the northern region of Mangzhou Prefecture in the Great Liang Kingdom.

A month ago, Qiu Zhiheng, the master of the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall and Xia Daoming's master, accidentally found a century-old Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng on Black Dragon Mountain outside the city.

The century-old Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng was a great tonic for martial artists, not only increasing their power but also aiding in breakthroughs.

However, the medicinal properties of the century-old Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng were potent. Although Qiu Zhiheng was a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, he was already nearing sixty, and his internal organs were declining year by year. He dared not consume large amounts of this great fortune, only daring to slice off a small piece daily.

Even so, Qiu Zhiheng's declining internal organs began to show signs of improvement. If he were to consume the entire century-old Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng, there was a chance he could reverse his decline and break through to become a Fifth-Rank Martial Master in his twilight years.

Unfortunately, Qiu Zhiheng's joy turned to sorrow when the secret was inadvertently discovered by Wei Mao, the Hall Master of the Blood Wolf Hall.

Twelve days ago, on a dark and windy night, Wei Mao, along with his brother Wei Chan, also a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, and his son Wei Mo, led many skilled fighters to raid the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall.

Qiu Zhiheng, after all, was nearing sixty and hadn't engaged in combat for many years. Surrounded by three martial masters of the same rank and many other experts, he was quickly overwhelmed. He was killed by Wei Chan, the deputy hall master of the Blood Wolf Hall, who then seized the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng.

However, Wei Chan was also severely injured in Qiu Zhiheng's dying counterattack.

Xia Daoming seized the opportunity, assassinated the heavily injured Wei Chan, and fled Black Stone City with the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng.

Seeing the prize almost within his grasp, Wei Mao was shocked when a Second-Rank Martial Master suddenly appeared, not only killing his brother but also stealing the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng.

Wei Mao was so enraged that he nearly lost his mind. He left his son, Wei Mo, to oversee the Blood Wolf Hall in Black Stone City, and personally led six Blood Wolf Guards and a Blood Wolf Mastiff in pursuit of Xia Daoming.

If Xia Daoming were merely an ordinary Second-Rank Martial Master, he would have been caught and killed long ago.

But he was a transmigrator with a system. Although he was only a Second-Rank Martial Master, his meridians had been strengthened to Level Six. He could fight seven or eight Second-Rank Martial Masters by himself.

Under normal circumstances, a Third-Rank Martial Master could only fight three Second-Rank Martial Masters.

What's more, due to the system, his ability to withstand and convert medicinal power was much greater than Qiu Zhiheng's.

And as his meridians were strengthened, his ability to withstand and convert medicinal power also increased.

While fleeing, Xia Daoming kept finding opportunities to consume the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng.

As a result, in just twelve days, not only was Xia Daoming not caught, but he also used the medicinal power of the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng to first complete the nine meridian strengthenings for the Second-Rank realm, then break through to become a Third-Rank Martial Master with unstoppable momentum, and then further strengthened his meridians multiple times during the gaps in his escape.

Tonight, he found another opportunity. He not only completely finished the nine meridian strengthenings for the Third-Rank Martial Master realm but also seized the momentum to break through to the Fourth-Rank Martial Master realm.

Although he had just broken through to the Fourth-Rank Martial Master realm, with the nine meridian strengthenings from the Third-Rank realm, in terms of sheer strength, Xia Daoming's current power was more than ten times that of a Third-Rank Martial Master.

The power of an ordinary Fourth-Rank Martial Master was generally about three times that of a Third-Rank Martial Master.

With the same realm as Wei Mao but a far greater total power, Xia Daoming no longer chose to flee but decided to stay and fight.

"To dare to assassinate my brother and snatch food from my mouth, you truly have some courage." A tall, thin man in blood-red attire, with sharp cheekbones, piercing eyes, an eagle-like hooked nose, and a few strands of goatee, stepped out from behind a broken wall.

This man was none other than Wei Mao, the Hall Master of the Blood Wolf Hall!

"Wei Mao, you heartless, unrighteous scumbag! Master Qiu treated you as a friend, yet you massacred the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall for a mere Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng!"

Seeing Wei Mao emerge from the shadows, Xia Daoming's killing intent surged, but he didn't open the door, still speaking from inside the house.

"Kid, so what if I massacred the Dragon Serpent Martial Hall? This chaotic world is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak. You can only blame Qiu Zhiheng for not having the ability to enjoy the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng," Wei Mao sneered.

"Do you think you have the ability to enjoy it?" Xia Daoming taunted.

"What do you mean by that?" Wei Mao's expression changed slightly.

"I have the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng in my hand right now. If I decide to shatter rather than be preserved, what do you think will happen..." Xia Daoming sneered.

"You dare, kid!"

Before Xia Daoming could finish speaking, Wei Mao's face changed drastically. He stomped on the ground, leaped forward several times, and had already passed the six Blood Wolf Guards. With a "boom," he directly smashed open the already dilapidated wooden door.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and dust filled the house.

"Old man, you fell for it!"

Amidst the flying dust, Xia Daoming, in mid-air, swung his right leg in a serpent's tail motion, like an iron whip, striking fiercely towards Wei Mao's head.

Wei Mao had expected that upon crashing through the door, he would see Xia Daoming desperately consuming or destroying the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng. To his surprise, it was such a fierce kick that he was greatly startled and hurriedly raised his arm to block!

"Bang!"

A powerful force swept across Wei Mao's arm, carrying him crashing into the nearby dirt wall.

The dirt wall shook, and rotten wood and dust from the dilapidated roof began to fall onto Wei Mao.

Wei Mao, however, had no time to consider these things. His eyes were wide with terror as he looked at the fist that had appeared on his chest.

This fist was curled halfway inward, the palm hollow, the knuckles tight, the tips of the fingers and the back of the fist forming an angle, resembling a serpent's head.

"Bang!"

The Serpent Head Fist struck Wei Mao's chest with full force.

Wei Mao's chest instantly caved inward.

The wall behind him, struck by the immense force, let out a "boom" and a large hole appeared, sending dirt and stones flying.

Another punch followed, striking fiercely.

Wei Mao was sent flying out of the hole in the wall like a kite with a broken string.

As he fell, he thought he heard the sound of his own heart shattering.

"How is this possible!" As he fell, Wei Mao's eyeballs bulged, staring fixedly at Xia Daoming, blood continuously pouring from his mouth.

He couldn't believe that a Second-Rank Martial Master from a martial hall, who had been like a stray dog just twelve days ago, could suddenly become so powerful!

"Hall Master!"

The six Blood Wolf Guards outside the room, who were preparing to rush in, saw Wei Mao fly through the wall and fall to the ground. Their eyes widened, and a chill ran down their spines.

Just then, a dark shadow, like a venomous snake hiding in the shadows, suddenly darted out from the dusty room.