A Mix-up

Actual combat was the only standard by which strength was tested.

Most people could bully the weak with their strength, but those who could strike down the strong while being weak themselves were always only a tiny handful.

Chen Xiao and Hai Bo Dong practiced exactly the same method.

But the latter's realm, the number of Dou Techniques he knew, his combat experience, and even his physical condition were all far ahead.

Because of that, in today's sparring match, Chen Xiao was still at an absolute disadvantage, almost suppressed in every aspect.

And because there was no limit of a hundred moves today, the two of them fought for even longer, leaving Chen Xiao clearly feeling that he was improving at flying speed, yet ending up in an even more miserable state than yesterday.

"You have too little experience fighting others. Though you're improving very quickly, you still need practice. Otherwise, you'll definitely suffer a great loss in the future. From now on, Old Man will train with you for an hour every day. Let's set the time in the morning. As for the rest of the time, you can go to the edge of the desert to temper yourself. You only need to show a little wealth, and there will be plenty of mercenaries willing to fight you to the death. If you're lucky enough to run into Snake People harassment, your progress will absolutely advance a thousand miles in a day."

After they had fought for quite a while, the Ice Spear in Hai Bo Dong's hand pointed straight at Chen Xiao's forehead. He smiled faintly, only then dispersing the Ice Spear as he spoke slowly.

After two days of contact, he could sense Chen Xiao's improvement, which made his desire to take Chen Xiao in even stronger.

Hearing Hai Bo Dong's suggestion, the four large words "bait-and-arrest enforcement" immediately surfaced in Chen Xiao's mind.

This method could indeed be used.

"I'll go."

Without thinking too much, Chen Xiao nodded and agreed.

The desert was not only active with humans and Snake People. There were also quite a few Magical Beasts and Poisonous Insects living there.

There were even, on occasion, some people who came over from other empires.

"Mm, let's stop here for today. Last night, Old Man already sent a message to Teng Shan. Within three days, he will definitely arrive. Make your preparations."

Hai Bo Dong nodded, glanced at Qing Lin, who was standing in the distance watching with a nervous expression, then left at a leisurely pace.

Only then did Qing Lin dare to come closer. She carefully looked him over, and when she saw that Chen Xiao only looked wretched, while in truth he was not seriously hurt, she finally felt completely relieved.

The earlier exchange between the two of them, in Qing Lin's eyes, had been far more terrifying than the few mercenary-group clashes she had seen before.

"No need to worry. The Ice Emperor and I both know our limits. Come on, let's go back too. Today, I'll teach you how to draw in qi. From now on, during the day, you don't need to run around with me. Just cultivate properly at the inn."

Qing Lin nodded her head. After walking beside Chen Xiao for a while, she spoke softly.

"Young Master, may I ask a question?"

"Anything you want. Nothing is taboo."

"Qing Lin still doesn't know Young Master's name."

"That's my fault. I forgot. My name is Chen Xiao. It doesn't sound as nice as Qing Lin's name, but it's still fairly easy to remember."

Qing Lin nodded. It was indeed easy to remember.

But then she suddenly felt that this was not the same as saying her own name sounded better, and immediately shook her head repeatedly.

No, that wasn't right either!

Qing Lin's little face was full of conflict, making her look rather adorable. Chen Xiao could not help laughing out loud at the sight.

Over the next three days, Chen Xiao's routine was extremely regular.

In the morning, he woke from cultivation, then went outside the city to fight Hai Bo Dong, after which he entered the desert again to train along its edge.

In the end, he still did not use the bait-and-arrest method, because after entering the desert, Chen Xiao discovered there was simply no need.

There were at least a hundred mercenary groups in the surrounding cities, and even more mercenaries active along the edge of the desert every day. Among them were some with vicious minds, who upheld the idea that murder and arson brought golden belts, while building bridges and repairing roads left no corpses, and specifically targeted people who looked easy to bully.

And Chen Xiao happened to belong to that group of people.

As a result, he was always being targeted and had no shortage of opponents to fight to the death.

What was a slight pity was that most of these mercenaries were of ordinary strength. Even when they had the advantage in numbers, it was very difficult for them to pose a threat to Chen Xiao, forcing him every time to suppress more than half of his strength before he could feel the benefits brought by life-and-death fighting.

On the fourth day, early morning.

Hai Bo Dong had just opened the Map Store when he saw several figures flying over from high in the sky.

From those pairs of dazzling, multicolored Dou Qi wings, he could confirm it.

These people were all experts above the Dou Wang level!

Fortunately, it was far too early, and there were almost no people on the streets. Otherwise, seeing such a sight would inevitably have caused a commotion.

With his extraordinary eyesight, Hai Bo Dong could see clearly that among the five people flying over, the most familiar one, Teng Shan, was impressively present.

However, he was not in the center position among the five.

The one occupying the middle was a person draped in a Black Robe. Their gender could not be distinguished, and because of the angle, their face could not be seen for the moment either.

Aside from this person and Teng Shan, Hai Bo Dong recognized the other three at a glance. They were—

The Jia Ma Empire's Lionheart Marshal, of the Nalan Family, Nalan Jie!

Yan Shi, known as the Lion King!

Feng Li, known as the Wind Walker!

These people were all ranked among the Jia Ma Empire's Ten Great Experts!

"What is Teng Shan doing?"

Looking at this rather luxurious lineup, Hai Bo Dong frowned slightly.

It wasn't as if they were going to attack the Snake-People Race this time. There probably wouldn't even be a fight, so why mobilize such a large force?

Under Hai Bo Dong's gaze, the party of five soon swept down and saw him standing at the entrance.

Only then did Hai Bo Dong recognize the identity of the person draped in a black robe.

It was none other than the Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun.

A genuine Dou Emperor expert!

With such strength, it was only natural for her to be guarded in the center.

"Old Hai, it really is you! Back then, when you left and never returned, I used almost every bit of power I had, but I couldn't find the slightest trace of you."

Seeing Hai Bo Dong, Teng Shan, dressed in splendid robes, immediately strode forward, his expression especially excited as he spoke.

Hai Bo Dong nodded slightly, setting Teng Shan aside for the moment as he stepped forward to greet the other four.

"Sect Master Yun, Nalan Jie, Yan Shi, Feng Li. I didn't expect Teng Shan to actually invite all of you here."

"Ice Emperor."

"Haha, the terms Teng Shan offered were quite generous. They were truly hard to refuse."

"Ice Emperor, after so many years apart, I never thought we would have another day to meet."

Yun Yun and the other three all responded one after another.

At that moment, they all sensed that the Ice Emperor's condition was far worse than before, but none of them brought it up.

After exchanging brief greetings, Hai Bo Dong led the five of them into the shop.

Once they were seated, Teng Shan, who had the closest relationship with Hai Bo Dong, was the first to lose patience and ask.

"Old Hai, could your current state have been caused by that powerful enemy? There are only so many Dou Emperor experts within the Jia Ma Empire. I wonder which one attacked Old Hai?"

Hearing this, Yun Yun and the others all pricked up their ears, extremely curious.

Hai Bo Dong was a Dou Emperor expert who had been famous for many years, different from a rising star like Yun Yun.

To make Hai Bo Dong suffer such a huge loss, even forcing him to request aid, the person who had acted was definitely a high-rank Dou Emperor!

It was precisely because of this doubt that Teng Shan had not even informed the imperial family this time.

After all, that person in the imperial family was also a suspect.

Though Teng Shan could not think of a motive.

Sensing the five people's gazes, the more Hai Bo Dong listened, the more confused he felt.

"No, who told you this Old Man was in danger?"

He had indeed run into some problems, but that problem traced back to many years ago.

As far as the present went, Hai Bo Dong did not have the slightest thought of settling the score.

Medusa Queen was far too terrifying!

Hai Bo Dong could not even think of anyone within the Jia Ma Empire who could defeat her for certain.

Moreover, behind Medusa Queen stood the entire Snake-People Race!

"You weren't in danger?" Teng Shan was stunned.

After being dazed for a moment, Teng Shan finally understood. He had most likely misunderstood this matter himself, which had led to this whole farce.

"This matter was because I cared too much and overthought things. I thought Old Hai had encountered danger."

With a bitter laugh, Teng Shan sorted out the whole situation.

At the same time, he took out that letter from his Storage Ring.

After opening it, there was only one simple sentence on it—

"Find a strong expert. Come to Mo City quickly to help!"

Seeing this, Nalan Jie and the others laughed in a rather unkind manner.

Teng Shan could not really be blamed for misunderstanding. That sentence was simply too easy to read too much into.

Hai Bo Dong shook his head helplessly. The matter involving Chen Xiao was somewhat complicated, and it was difficult to explain clearly in a few words on paper. He had originally planned to discuss it in detail once Teng Shan arrived, but he had never expected it to turn into this situation.

"Forget it, forget it. In any case, it won't have much effect. Since all of you have accepted payment as well, when the time comes, all of you can make the trip together."