The pursuit

Long journeys were tedious enough, let alone when you were injured and surrounded by such desolation. It took considerable patience to keep going, but there was one simple solution: distraction. It made the tedium much more bearable and allowed you to travel farther.

So throughout the journey, Kanni explained the details of Elemental Beasts and Elementalists to Zeng Mu.

After putting it all together, Zeng Mu was filled with joy and excitement. Elemental Beasts were also divided into seven major elements, and Elementalists likewise had three major realms. The slight difference was that people here were restricted by their bloodlines and could only absorb one prescribed element. In other words, even the Elementalists of this world could only wield a single element.

He firmly believed that, having crossed over from another world, he most likely would not be affected by those bloodline restrictions. Thus, Zeng Mu was confident that once he acquired his first element and waited for it to develop into an innate elemental mark within him, he could advance his elemental realm and generate a second element on his own, then a third, a fourth...

Maybe once I gather all seven elements, I'll gain the power to go home, he murmured inwardly.

In his original world, the strongest person at the Element Academy was naturally its dean. That man possessed six elemental marks and was an Elemental Spirit Master who inspired both awe and fear. One afternoon after enrolling, Zeng Mu had encountered him outside the library, and they had shared the most important conversation of his life...

"Dean, I've been wondering what happens when someone masters seven elemental marks. Do their elements or their body become stronger?" Back then, Zeng Mu had asked a question he had pondered for a long time.

The dean smiled and answered without hesitation, "You're very bright. Since the academy was founded, you're only the second student to ask me that question."

"To understand the answer, you first need to grasp a principle-the principle behind the elements."

"What sort of principle is that?"

The dean pointed at the ground beneath their feet, then at the bamboo grove beside them. "Look. Look around us. Every one of these things was formed from the seven major elements. Although we wield a portion of their power, we can never create them out of nothing."

"I don't understand. Isn't producing elements easy for an Elementalist with an elemental mark?" A green mark appeared on Zeng Mu's forehead. He raised a hand, and a blade of grass formed from wood element appeared in his palm. Vivid, fresh, and green, it was no different from the grass beside the stone steps behind him.

The dean shook his head. "No. All you possess is the power of conversion-the ability to use yourself as a medium to convert elements drawn from nature. You don't possess the ability to manufacture elements yourself."

"Oh? Is that how it works?" Zeng Mu was clearly surprised.

"So once you understand that principle, you'll also understand that mastering seven elemental marks means being able to command all matter in nature. You become one with the world. That is another realm, one no person has ever reached. Although I'm only one step away from it now, I know that step isn't something I can take just because I want to."

"Why?"

The dean gave a rare smile. Looking at the student before him, his eyes glimmered as he said, "As the saying goes, with greater power comes greater responsibility. It's a law of nature, just like eating. The more you eat, the harder you must work to digest it. Otherwise, you'll only end up eating yourself to death."

He lifted his head toward the sun and finally said, "I can feel it. If I truly take that step, this world will no longer belong to me. Or rather, I will no longer belong to this world."

Although Zeng Mu would not claim to be particularly clever, he was quite satisfied with his memory. He immediately recalled a phrase scholars had arrived at through their joint research into the arrival of elemental power in his world: "The collision and interaction of two worlds..."

The warhorse had been running for two hours and was covered in sweat, but its pace had not slowed at all. Its eyes were remarkably bright, its breathing steady, as though it had inexhaustible stamina. Even its coat seemed to gleam.

Thinking back on it now, this must be the world those scholars talked about, Zeng Mu murmured inwardly, gazing at the blazing sun overhead.

With that, he understood that the changes in his own world had been caused by the elemental power of this one.

Although there was still no sign of the main force, at least they were far from the blood-soaked battlefield. Loose stones grew more plentiful underfoot, and the yellow sand mixed among them held a little moisture.

After sunrise, the temperature began climbing and soon reached thirty degrees Celsius. Within half an hour, Kanni and Zeng Mu were sweating constantly, and before long, they had finished their meager supply of water.

"It looks like we won't catch up with the main force anytime soon. We've got no choice. We'll have to take off this armor to conserve our strength and see if we can hold out until then," Kanni said helplessly.

Although they were already far from the battlefield, they had yet to leave the region where the three territories met. They might encounter enemies ahead, and then lacking armor would be more frightening than lacking water.

Zeng Mu nodded and began removing his helmet and light armor. Each man kept only a sword, leaving no other equipment on them.

They also removed the warhorse's armor, reducing their combined burden by thirty kilograms. The horse's previously labored breathing steadied again. After a brief rest, they set off once more, running toward the sinking sun.

After another two hours, even the warhorse could no longer keep it up, and its pace finally slowed. Although some elemental energy remained inside it, dehydration forced it to conserve its strength so it could last longer.

"Kanni, how far are we from that Sand City place now? Could we travel straight back there?" Zeng Mu asked, his mouth parched.

Kanni looked drowsy. At the question, he gave a dismissive smile and said weakly, "Straight back to Sand City? If we were Elementalists, we might have a chance. But you know what? Sand City is still at least five hundred kilometers from here. At our normal pace, we'd have to travel nonstop for three days and two nights to reach it. Now both we and the horse are dehydrated. At this speed, I doubt we'd get there even after five days and five nights."

"I didn't expect it to be so far away. Looks like finding the main force is our only hope," Zeng Mu said, gazing at the glaring sun.

"It won't be that easy. The main force is retreating fast. The longer we take, the harder they'll be to catch. We can't stop tonight, so get some sleep now. We'll have to take turns holding the reins."

Zeng Mu sighed, closed his eyes, and gradually fell asleep.

The horse's jostling kept his brain in a light sleep somewhere between slumber and wakefulness. It was the ideal state for relieving fatigue while allowing his body to react as quickly as possible if anything unexpected happened nearby.

Perhaps because he had accepted reality, Zeng Mu slept soundly even under these circumstances. His trained body barely swayed, easing Kanni's lingering worries. Kanni turned his attention back to the journey, holding the reins with his eyes half closed.

Across the land, two men and a horse pressed onward in monotonous silence, while the sky slowly dimmed without their noticing.

Once his fatigue had eased as much as it could, Zeng Mu opened his eyes and found that night had fallen. Stars scattered across the night sky, and a bright moon hung overhead.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Almost seven hours. This is the first time I've seen anyone sleep so long on horseback." Kanni's voice was weak and dry. He seemed even more dehydrated now.

Zeng Mu glanced at the warhorse's weary eyes. "Let's stop and rest a while. Then I'll take the reins. You both need a break first."

"No. Let's enter the gorge first. We might find something there that'll save our lives," Kanni said, looking ahead.

Far ahead stood a gorge of jumbled rock, rising like a small mountain. It resembled a knight standing beneath the night sky, powerful and alone.

An enormous natural fissure ran through the middle of the rocky gorge, as though a giant sword had cleaved it in two. Even from a distance, it was an astonishing sight.

"Something that'll save our lives? You mean water?" Zeng Mu's eyes lit up, and excitement crept into his dry voice.

"Uh... you could say that. But finding it takes luck, and it won't taste very good. You'd better prepare yourself," Kanni added.

Two minutes later, the horse reached the entrance to the fissure, slowed its steps, and ambled forward.

The fissure was six meters wide, and the night was clear and bright. Even without a flame, they could see the path beneath their feet.

To Zeng Mu's surprise, there were hardly any loose stones on the ground. Instead, the earth was somewhat soft. He bent down, scooped up a handful of soil, and squeezed it. The dirt clumped together, clearly holding plenty of moisture.

"I didn't expect the soil here to be so damp. Maybe we could find some water if we dug a few feet down," he said excitedly.

Kanni immediately rejected the idea. "It's a nice thought, but unfortunately, most of this gorge is alkaline granite, which affects the groundwater. The water here is salty. We can't drink it."

"Then what was that thing you mentioned...?"

"Don't rush. Just watch." Kanni bent down and carefully examined the damp soil, as though searching for some kind of trace.

A minute later, Kanni reached behind his back and drew his silver sword with a swish. Turning his wrist to point the blade downward, he gripped the hilt in both hands and began digging with it like a shovel.

Mounds of dirt piled up. In less than three minutes, a small hole sixty centimeters deep appeared, and Zeng Mu caught a scent like rotting beast flesh.

"Got it!" Kanni shouted, already lying on the ground. He put away his silver sword and reached into the hole, sinking his arm deeper like a child feeling around for crayfish in a field.

When Kanni withdrew his arm, Zeng Mu saw by the moonlight that his hand was clenched into a fist, apparently holding something.

Kanni looked at him with a smile, held out his fist, and opened it. "Try them first. See how they taste."

In his palm lay a cluster of tiny, pale-white beads. Only after looking closely and noticing a little black line inside each bead did Zeng Mu realize they were insect eggs.

"There's water in these?" he asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry. These are Water Demon Scorpion eggs. They're full of moisture. Each one holds the equivalent of ten drops of water. Eating this handful will keep you going for another two hours."

Zeng Mu took the eggs and hesitated briefly, but the dry pain in his throat made him open his mouth the very next second and swallow the whole lot.

Although he did not chew them, their intensely foul taste still made him frown deeply. Thankfully, it disappeared after two seconds. Then he felt moisture spreading through his stomach, and the pain in his throat soon stopped.

Kanni lay beside the little hole, scooping up and eating one handful after another like a bear drinking at a lakeshore. Clearly, he had none of Zeng Mu's hesitation.

Once he felt he had eaten enough, he stood and moved aside, letting Zeng Mu scoop out more for himself.

When there were no more eggs to be found in the hole, Zeng Mu stood as well. Wiping his mouth, he said with some satisfaction, "These things taste much better than they smell."

Kanni laughed. "That's because you're dying of thirst. The first time I ate them, I threw up, ate more, then threw up again. I wasn't nearly as quick about it as you."

Zeng Mu smiled. "Survival comes first. Isn't everyone like that when they're desperate?"

"Should we rest here before setting off again? The wind blows harder and colder at midnight. Traveling through it will use up our water and stamina faster."

Kanni nodded in agreement. "That's right. We've been traveling for most of the day. We should let the horse have a proper rest too." He led the horse into a corner.

"By the way, what exactly are those Water Demon Scorpions you mentioned?" Zeng Mu asked, standing beside the little hole.

"They're a type of water-element arthropod. Every winter, they lay their eggs in damp ground. In early summer the following year, the young emerge from the soil."

He had barely finished speaking when the resting warhorse suddenly neighed, as though it had sensed something approaching.

"What's wrong with the horse?" Zeng Mu asked, watching it shift restlessly on its hooves.

"Nameless One, watch out behind you!" Kanni suddenly shouted.