150-159

The dinner went on for a long time. They both hadn't had such an opportunity in a long time. Even if they didn't speak much, they were contented with sitting together and seemed a little reluctant to end this dinner treat. However, the curtain of night had already fallen outside, so Jiang Xiu had to get up and pay the bill.

Jiang Xiu and Cheng Lingran walked along the streets of the Imperial Capital. As Cheng Lingran's body was nice and cool, Jiang Xiu walked close to her while she was on guard against this little lecher. He pointed towards the sky as an act then said, "The moon is very bright today."

Cheng Lingran couldn't help but laugh, "Mhm!"

It was a very corny and amateurish line.

Jiang Xiu bumped into Cheng Lingran lightly, hoping to seize the chance to pull her hand but it brushed past hers. Cheng Lingran felt her heart skip a beat and laughed at him, "You're still small."

This actually gave a reason to Jiang Xiu to reach out and pull her palm with his. His palm felt warm to Cheng Lingran and caused her face to heat up. Jiang Xiu said, "Let me be small."

Cheng Lingran felt it was both funny and extremely embarrassing, "Don't you have shame? You have grown up so big and are still trying to act cute."

"What's there not to do between us?" Jiang Xiu replied.

"Your face had become thicker too…" Cheng Lingran commented yet she allowed him to pull her lily-white hand and lead her along. She advised him, "Take care of yourself in the desert and don't try to show off. Don't participate in anything which is dangerous. Got it?"

Her tone was the same she used to warn him in their childhood.

"Mhm!"

He still remembered the time when he was in Dongzhou. Cheng Lingran used to bring him gifts, and she would warn him to be careful each time before she left. He used to feel impatient for her arrival every time, but never expected she would stop coming one day.

Jiang Xiu felt there was a reason for it as it didn't make sense for it to happen so suddenly. According to her personality, even if she were busy studying, she would still greet him at the very least.

Her pretty face looked alluring under the glow of the neon lamps during the night. When she took notice of Jiang Xiu's passionate gaze, she asked, "What? Are there flowers on my face?"

"Or have I changed? Am I not as pretty as before?"

The both of them hadn't had such genuine close contact for several years already.

Jiang Xiu gave a glittering, sunny smile to her, "Even if you're a dung beetle, you are the most beautiful dung beetle in my eyes."

Cheng Lingran slammed her fists onto his shoulder in a fit, "You are a dung beetle. You are a 100% genuine dung beetle and that too one which has just come alive."

"Don't try to run!"

Cheng Lingran looked at Jiang Xiu chase after her but as she ran with quite a difficulty due to her high-heeled shoes. She quickly hid in a corner and screamed out.

"Don't grab me…"

Whenever she came to Dongzhou to find Jiang Xiu, they would both go to the mountain to have fun. Every time she got caught by Jiang Xiu, he would tickle her. This was Cheng Lingran's Achilles' heel. As they had been husband and wife in the previous timeline, he knew all her weak points.

Only, these weren't the mountains but instead the road, "Sis, can you not shout?"

Jiang Xiu hadn't even begun but Cheng Lingran was already at her limit due to laughing, "I'll shout."

"If you shout, the police will arrive. I'm not familiar with the people of the Imperial Capital. The police will arrest me and book me as a rogue. Wouldn't that be a great injustice to me?"

Cheng Lingran laughed even harder, "That would serve you right. After all, you are a perverted dung beetle."

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

Jiang Xiu fiddled with his hands and tickled her lower ribs.

…

A black car stood on the road of the route they were on. Wang Xintong was seated inside the car and looked at Jiang Xiu and Cheng Lingran from there, her beautiful eyes revealing astonishment and frustration.

She was puzzled by her own actions. She didn't know why she had followed after them, but she knew she didn't do it for that Cheng Lingran who was unfamiliar to her.

…

Cheng Lingran felt her belly hurt from the laughing, "Don't you know you broke the rules? According to the rules, I won't protect you from now on."

"You protect me? Tell me who's the disloyal one?"

Cheng Lingran rushed to reply, "You. It was totally you… I'm the one who sacrifices every time you are in danger. If you get bullied by anyone in the university later, use my name."

"Use your name, huh? Would it work?"

Cheng Lingran continued solemnly, "What's with that 'huh'? It'll definitely work. Believe me. Come sword or fire…" She stopped talking all of a sudden and shrunk back.

Jiang Xiu felt puzzled about why she stopped. He took a look back and saw a wild dog stand there with its tongue spread out. Its eyes looked very spooky under the dusky street lamp.

Jiang Xiu felt Cheng Lingran hide behind him and pulled his clothes with force while shivering all over.

Jiang Xiu gave her a friendly reminder, "Your opportunity to shine has come."

Cheng Lingran refused to come out and even pushed Jiang Xiu towards the front. The intent was clear. Save thyself before saving others.

"Completely disloyal…" Jiang Xiu commented.

"Only this time. Ughh… It won't bite us, right?"

"It'll definitely bite if the legs are slender."

Cheng Lingran almost fumbled in fear as her legs were pretty slender. She didn't believe him but knew it would be quite tragic if the dog did bite her.

She became even more disloyal and used Jiang Xiu as a meat shield.

"Sis, can you bear me getting bitten?"

"At this point, Sis will have to clench her teeth and bear it… Aaahhhhhhhh." She leaped into Jiang Xiu's back when she saw that dog move suddenly.

"Run, Little Xiu, quick…"

Jiang Xiu had become a shrimp.

As for the wild dog, it ran away.

"That was a close call!"

After entering the subway, Jiang Xiu kept gazing at Cheng Lingran who hadn't raised her head till now. She wasn't lowering her head due to shame but rather to resist laughing.

"Indeed disloyal!"

Jiang Xiu criticized her in a stern voice. She couldn't help but laugh out loud and then lower head again in a guilty manner.

Both of them got down near the university.

Cheng Lingran waved goodbye to him then pointed towards the cell phone in her hand with a solemn face, "If someone bullies you, remember to use Sis's name…"

She laughed once again after that then made her escape.

Jiang Xiu's face turned colors from anger.

…

After returning to the dorm, he found that the other brutes were all missing. Such was university life, full of freedom to have as much fun as you want, especially in the first year. Students take off to the skies like birds just released from cages.

When he was about to enter, the boy from the door next to his came over, "Jiang Xiu, Professor Xu is looking for you."

"For what?"

"Might be related to the ancient desert city. He asked you to come to the department."

The time was still early as a few individual study classes were still going on. Jiang Xiu exited the dorm and went over to the department. A pretty expensive Ferrari stood outside the building right now.

He could hear the sounds of people chatting even before he entered. It seemed like there were many people inside.

Jiang Xiu went inside, "Professor Xu, you were looking for me?"

Professor Xu looked at Jiang Xiu and spoke to the handsome boy beside him, "He's Jiang Xiu!"

"Jiang Xiu, this is Jin Xi of the Golden Brocade Group."

Jin Xiu sized him up and down, "So you're Jiang Xiu? Your name isn't on our list, so there's no need to come this time. You can wait for next time."

Qiu Yinru stood beside him, looking at Jiang Xiu with a provocative gaze.

Jiang Xiu asked, "Do you have the final say on that?"

Jin Xi's face turned grim, "I'm funding this project. Tell me, do I have the final say or not?"

"I only know that my name is on the list. If I don't come, the university administration won't approve this exploration project. At worst, no one will go."

These words made the professor as well as the experts gathered here worried.

This was a chance they had been waiting for a lifetime.

Jin Xi's face turned colder, "Our exploration team doesn't need trash. What can you do even if you follow us? Can you disarm traps or fight off bandits? You might as well be the same as a camel. You should know how to behave."

"Though I can't do anything, one thing won't change. If I'm unable to go, you can't go as well."

Qiu Yinru was pretty angry. She really disliked this arrogant guy.

Professor Xu tried to mediate, "Why don't we let him come with us? One more won't hurt us… We can't cancel the project after preparing for so long just because we don't want to take him with us." The professor was worried that the project would be halted.

"Alright. Since Professor Xu has said it, we have no problems with it as well." He walked over towards Jiang Xiu and whispered, "Brat, you are indeed courting death. Look how you'll suffer on the way."

He even had two bodyguards with him who appeared to be from the military.

"Just wait for it…"

Professor Xu announced to everyone, "Start preparing as we'll be setting off tomorrow…"

On the next day, the exploration team gathered in front of the doorway. As Jiang Xiu had offended both Jin Xi and Qiu Yinru by insisting on coming together with them, the other members of the team disliked him as well, and as a result, he got isolated.

He didn't care much about it as he never had the intention to associate with any of these people. He got on the university's bus and sat at the back. The others busied themselves with moving the luggage and the equipment.

Professor Xu was the team leader this time, and Qian Deshen was the vice-leader. Both of them kept discussing details while the students helped in moving their luggage.

"This time, we'll be leaving for Pinghai via rail and then take a bus towards the Xining City from where we will enter the Western Regions…" Professor Xu explained to Qian Deshen.

Qian Deshen asked, "The Shaman we invited still hasn't arrived. Are going to go there directly?"

"You are talking about Li Chengzhi? Master Li is an expert in feng shui and yin-yang so he would feel constrained by traveling with people like us. He's already in Pinghai and join us when we reach there."

"Professor Xu, we have packed everything…"

"Alright. Let's get on the bus."

A person sat beside Jiang Xiu. It was a senior year student. He didn't greet Jiang Xiu, and Jiang Xiu didn't greet him as well. They were setting off towards the train station as it wouldn't be feasible to take these money people on the airplane with their budget. Let alone, the university also wouldn't spend so extravagantly for an exploration team. Most of the funds were used to buy the equipment.

"Jiang Xiu, you should thank the gods for letting you come along with us when you haven't even done anything." The one who said this was called Chen Dewen, a third-year.

"Do you think you did a favor to me by allowing me to come on this trip or what?"

"You…"

The other students also agreed after seeing Chen Dewen got defeated, "Dewen, there's always some people who think they can bribe the university administration just because they have little dirty money. They act like they are young masters while in reality, they are nothing but clowns."

"As if other people don't have money at all."

Another student added indignantly, "That's right. Even when comparing assets, would it be more than what Young Master Jin has? Didn't Young Master Jin help with moving luggage too?"

He indeed did that, but it was Qiu Yinru's.

"Why are you even talking with that trash? He shouldn't hope to get food from us when we are there in the desert. Let's see how he survives there!"

Jin Xi smiled slightly at a seat far away, He didn't even need to act as these people who wished to get on good terms with him would do it for him.

"Alright. Stop it, everyone. When we are out there, the most important thing is the unity of the group." Professor Xu naturally noticed this problem. The previous exploration team had never met this kind of issue. He was a person of teaching and wasn't that good at handling this kind of issue. "Whoever's willing to can share it with him."

"I'm not willing to share. Whoever wants to do it can do it…"

"I'm also unwilling…"

Jiang Xiu smiled lightly and ignored these people. He didn't have any need for things besides food, and he planned to buy that in the area near the edge of the Western Regions. The things there were more suitable for the desert than the things bought here.

Qiu Yinru glanced at Jiang Xiu and also shook her head.

She had a pretty good first impression of Jiang Xiu as he acted pretty humbly then, but after associating with him, she discovered that this man was too prideful and arrogant, and his methods were dishonest as well.

After reaching the train station, the students busied themselves again in moving the luggage onto the train.

Jin Xi went to the side and made a call. He always acted after making a definite plan and before he acted, he decided to investigate Jiang Xiu's background. After that, he would decide whether to destroy him directly or do it in a roundabout way.

The person on the other end of the call informed him, "Jiang Xiu, 17 years old, a person of Jiangzhou's Jiang City. Studied primary school at Dongzhou, junior high and senior high at Jiang City's Second High School and the topper of the Jiangnan province's college entrance exam."

"As for the family background, his father is Jiang Yi who is the Secretary of Annan County which has recently elevated into a county-level city. His mother, Lin Yueling, is a housewife…"

Jin Xi listened to it with disinterest. So, you're the son of an insignificant county-level secretary. You might be the top dog, but at the Imperial Capital, even a common official is higher than your father who is just a bug-like existence to them. To think you dared to act so arrogant in front of me with only this much behind you.

"What?"

Jiang Xiu saw Qiu Yinru bring one light bag over to him yet he didn't take it from her. She said, "Act like you're doing something by carrying this light one. You don't want everyone to isolate you, right?"

"Hehehehe…"

Did Jiang Xiu care about them? No.

"You…" Qiu Yinru became furious as he ignored her and got onto the train while disregarding her good intentions, "What's with your attitude? Just wait. Look how you'll come to beg us when you don't have food or water in the desert. No one will help you then."

Jin Xi's face became gloomier. He naturally didn't believe Jiang Xiu wanted to go along with them to the ancient city. He believed that it was just a pretext and that the genuine reason was Qiu Yinru.

It also seemed that she acted differently to him.

"You think trash like you can compete with me?"

Jin Xi had to admit that this brat's methods were brilliant than his as Qiu Yinru had actually taken the initiative to converse with him. It had taken a year and a half for him to accomplish this but while that brat had done it in half-a-day.

Jiang Xiu looked for a seat after entering the train. Most of the carriage was filled with their exploration team.

After seeing no one was willing to sit with him, Professor Xu went and sat beside him while smiling, "Little Qiu has already spoken to me about your matter. The reason she wasn't willing to let you come wasn't due to malice but that this trip to the desert is quite dangerous. It would be difficult for someone who has never gone on expeditions before to cope with it. Little Qiu was trying to stop you for your own good."

Jiang Xiu smiled faintly.

Professor Xu continued, "It's all in the past now. Since you are accompanying us, there's no need to take that matter to heart. Haha… Little Qiu is actually a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

Jiang Xiu naturally didn't mind about this trifling matter.

"Right! Why didn't you bring any luggage? The trip will span over a month or longer."

"I plan to buy them over there."

"You're quite easy-going. Anyways, why did you insist on coming along so much?"

"For the traces of divinities buried in the ancient city."

"Traces of divinities?" Professor Xu muttered, "Student Jiang Xiu, you believe that this word really has traces of divinities?"

"Yes!"

"This world indeed has some things unexplainable by science, but whether they are really divinities or not…" He shook his head, "That's improbable."

"Student Jiang Xiu, why are you so certain?"

Jiang Xiu wished to tell him it was because he was a God!

However, the professor wouldn't believe it even if he said that. "Humanity has perished twice and each time had traces of divinities behind it. There are a lot of sculptures of divinities buried in that ancient city too…"

Professor Xu was shocked after hearing this, "How do you know there are a lot of sculptures of divinities buried under the Sahagan Ancient City?"

This was just a conjecture they had arrived at and was one of the most important bit they wished to investigate. However, Jiang Xiu seemed certain of it.

"A friend told me…"

The Longevity Stone had come from there, and Xie Sanxian's home also had a few drawings of the ancient city. These drawings were made after his ancestor had returned back from the city by hiring an artist so they might have not been accurate, but there was no doubt that the outline was probably on the mark.

Professor Xu questioned him, "Does he have any proof?"

"Aren't we planning to go there? We shall know it when we arrive there." Jiang Xiu commented.

Professor Xu sighed, "How will it be so easy to find it? This so-called ancient city only exists in documents, and no one has ever reached there. Some people say they have seen it in the desert from a distance, but it's hard to distinguish between imagination and reality deep in the desert. The trip we are making this time is to look for the city than to explore the city."

"Didn't you say someone found it 3 years ago?" Jiang Xiu asked.

Professor Xu explained to him, "The person who went there 3 years ago never returned. The government had just declared that it was found. No one knows the truth." He took out a book which was 2 cms thick, "This book contains all the information we have gathered on the ancient city as well as various kinds of routes…"

"Right. Have you gone to the desert before?"

Jiang Xiu nodded but said, "The desert I visited is different from the one you're thinking of so I won't be of any help to you…" There were deserts on the Immortal Marital Continent too. The climate there was a million times harsher than Earth's, and the sandstorms could even rip the Godhead's off.

"What do you mean?" Professor Xu asked.

Jiang Xiu just shook his head and didn't answer him.

He continued speaking after that, "After reaching Pinghai, we have to receive a very important person."

Jiang Xiu asked him, "Important person? Who is it?"

"As the data we have gathered on the ancient city shows that it is an underground tomb, it means that we are going to venture into a tomb. Entering a tomb is different from archaeology and needs an expert on it. Therefore, we have invited a famous shaman who is an expert in Fengshui and Yin-Yang."

Inspecting a tomb is a part of archaeology and also the most important part, but it was after all only a part of it. Archaeology has many sides to it other than inspecting tombs, such as studying historical remains, historical sites, and secret lands. In fact, archaeologists rarely ventured into graves. The ones most familiar with tombs were tomb robbers. Since many strange things happen in underground tombs, these tomb robbers always have someone among them who understands Fengshui and yin-yang.

"What's the name of that shaman?" Jiang Xiu asked the professor.

"Li Chengzhi. He's from Pinghai's Spirit Tomb Sect. According to Young Master Jin's words, this man's position is pretty high in Pinghai's underworld, and he had spent a huge amount of money to invite him."

Jiang Xiu nodded slightly. After all, they were going into the desert. The torrid heat of the desert wasn't something that ordinary people could endure, and the desert was full of dangers too. "It looks like he spent a lot."

Jiang Xiu looked towards Jin Xi who was seated opposite to Qiu Yinru and spoke to her with a smile on his face. He guessed that Jin Xi was having a great time flirting with her. This young master had really spent a lot of capital to impress Qiu Yinru.

"Right. What's the history behind this Young Master Jin?"

Professor Xu was stunned, "You don't know it yet?"

Jiang Xiu shook his head.

Professor Xu shook his head inwardly by the fact that Jiang Xiu had offended Jin Xi without even knowing his background. "Golden Brocade Group is a famous business tycoon of Pinghai. The Jin family possess enough assets to stand in the top 5 among the Pinghai province as well as the top list in the entire nation."

Professor Xu's face was filled with heartfelt admiration as he said this.

Pinghai's economic development was very quick and violent like Jiangnan's. Soon after, Jiangnan would overtake Pinghai and leave it way behind. But as of now, Pinghai province's economy still stood above Jiangnan's and was at the top 3. As the Jin family's assets ranked among the top 5 in Pinghai, they were really a considerable force.

Jiang Xiu just smiled in response to this.

There were many other true elite clans in the nation, and their assets were far above those millionaires showcased on Forbes. It was just that their assets were invisible as they didn't wish to act high-profile.

After seeing that Jiang Xiu didn't seem to care about this, Professor Xu mentioned another thing, "I also heard a rumor. It seems like the Jin family isn't that simple. Although they are based in Pinghai, they have deep ties to the Imperial Capital. This is clear from the fact that Young Master Jin is able to mix in well within the Imperial Capital." He lowered his voice a little, "Jin family is a political plutocrat as well as the wallet of Old Diplomat Jiang."

Jiang Xiu instantly questioned him back without any change in his expression, "You mean Jiang Yishan?"

Professor Xu nodded with discretion.

Jiang Yishan had once been stationed at Pinghai. It was reasonable to say that there was a relationship between the Jin family and the Jiang family.

Professor Xu continued, "You understand his history now, right? Young Master Jin isn't someone ordinary people can afford to provoke. Apologize to him when you're free. Got it?"

Jiang Xiu just smiled.

"Young man, it's good to have an unyielding character, but you need to act according to the situation. You can't offend some people as you'll not only harm your future but also involved your family."

…

At a table far from them, a few of the team members were playing poker leisurely. It was quite exhausting to travel long distances via rail and was difficult to pass the time unless they did something.

Jiang Xiu leaned back at his seat and closed his eyes. After that, he didn't open them for several hours, neither did he eat nor did he drink anything, and didn't even go to the toilet.

Just like that, the train had finally arrived at Pinghai!

The team members all got down the train. Cheng Dewen asked Jin Xi at this moment, "Young Master Jin, are you from Pinghai?"

"Yes. This is my native place, but I grew up in the Imperial Capital. I return here during the Chinese New Year, so I'm very familiar with the place. Since we will stay at Pinghai for 1-2 days, you can roam around a bit." Jin Xi explained to him.

"Yinru, it's your first time to Pinghai, right?"

Qiu Yinru nodded, "Yes, it's my first time. I planned to come here many times but couldn't make it in the end. This time, I've finally arrived here."

Everyone unloaded the luggage after that.

Archaeology was quite an exhausting work. The work needed a lot of things such as videotape equipment, exploration equipment, ladders, tents, sleeping bags and so on."

"I'll help you."

Jin Xi brought out his gentlemanly side out again.

"Thank you!"

Everyone knew very clearly in their hearts that this opportunity was set aside for Young Master Jin. Actually, he wasn't the only one secretly in love with Qiu Yinru, but the others had no choice but to give up.

There was a bus waiting for them after they left the railway station. Pinghai was Young Master Jin's domain, so he had naturally arranged things properly. The hotel they were staying at was a private 5-star hotel. There was actually no need to make it all so luxurious but since it was the Golden Brocade Grand Hotel, they were persuaded by him as it was his own family's and they could stay there for free.

"Wow. I have never stayed at a 5-star hotel before!"

"I'm so excited!"

The girls all screamed excitedly after seeing the deluxe lobby of the hotel.

"Jiang Xiu, have you ever stayed at one?"

Chen Dewen asked Jiang Xiu in a soft voice.

"No!"

Jiang Xiu matched his answer with what they were expecting.

The economy was pretty average in the year 2008, and the concept of 5-star hotels was pretty different from those in the future which were genuine high-grade luxury hotels.

For ordinary people, staying at a 5-star hotel was a pretty luxurious experience.

"That's why you should feel grateful. If it weren't for Young Master Jin, you would have never got the chance to stay at such a high-grade hotel."

Jiang Xiu simply ignored him and after taking the room card.

"Look over there, do you know who that is?"

"Yeh. It's a greedy ingrate who lives for free without doing anything at all."

In reality, Jin Xi didn't wish to invite all of them to stay here too. He was just showing off. If it weren't for Qiu Yinru, he would've never invited these people to stay at a 5-star hotel.

…

Sometime after Jiang Xiu had come to the hotel, he received a call form Gu Dekang who hadn't called him in a long time, "Hello, Mr. Jiang?"

"What is it?"

Gu Dekang spoke a little anxiously, "I wasn't planning to disturb Mr. Jiang but had no choice but to do it. As the results of Jingmen Military District weren't good in the All-Army Competition, the leader of the Central Military HQ is quite dissatisfied. I'm under a lot of pressure right now. The situation is has become worse now as I heard that someone wants me to step down from my position."

"Is someone acting behind the scenes?" Jiang Xiu asked him.

"It's all the same whether it's the military or officialdom. In case we show weakness, people will always plot to make you step down. That's why I wish to ask for Mr. Jiang's help."

"How do you want me to help you?"

"The leader will be held accountable for the achievements in this time's military competition. Though this is just a ruse, sometimes this kind of ruse is the most crucial point. That's why I can only try to win through the competition."

"I wish to ask Mr. Jiang when you can come to the camp and teach those little brats."

"That way I can show the results to the HQ as quickly as possible."

This was the reason for his call. Though Jiang Xiu held the title of Jingmen Military District's Chief Adviser, he hadn't made a single trip there during these two months. This was why Gu Dekang urging him to come there.

"I'm about to enter the desert. It will take at least 10-15 days or as long as 1-2 months."

"If the pressure on your side is that huge, how about this? I have a fist technique with me. You can send someone to get it from me. If you teach it to your army members, it should increase their fighting strength by a grade."

"May I ask what's the name of this technique and what rank it is?"

"Explosive Flame Punch, Demigod level."

Ancient fist techniques were already very amazing by the fact that they could increase the power tenfold, and this fist technique was a rank higher than that. There was no doubt that it would increase their fighting strength a lot more than that.

Gu Dekang was jubilant at this good news, "Thank you, Mr. Jiang. Thank you very much…"

Jiang Xiu didn't have any ordinary first techniques with him, neither did he have any ancient ones. He only had God level ones with him, but these were all immortal arts, and those soldiers naturally couldn't learn it. Jiang Xiu got rid of the immortal elements from the art and only left the simple martial arts part behind. That's why he called this Explosive Flame Punch a Demigod level art.

Having an ancient fist technique was already considered a huge thing in the army, and now that they had a Demigod level one, it was something really amazing.

"I'll immediately send someone to get it…"

After hanging the call, Jiang Xiu asked the hotel service personnel to get him a notebook. He wrote the way to cultivate the Explosive Flame Punch as simplified as he could so that the soldiers of the army wouldn't get confused on how to cultivate it.

Immortal Arts, Immortal is the core, and if it was removed from it completely, only the art remained behind so it's strength was reduced drastically, but it was still enough to win over Ancient Arts.

The word 'flame' was pretty much useless after it was simplified. If the original version were used, flames would appear from the void and these were real flames which contained a frightening explosive force. But now, it had transformed into a technique which released the energy in the body in an explosive burst. Calling it the Explosive Flame Punch wasn't suitable anymore, it was appropriate to call it the Explosive Punch now.

Once he finished writing it, Jiang Xiu washed his face and took a nap as he was tired from the day-long journey in the train.

And right now, a military jeep had left for the Golden Brocade Grand Hotel. The one driving it was none other than Gu Dekang's personal bodyguard, Captain Yan Zhen, as this task was no small matter and involved the fate of the entire Jingmen Military District.

Before leaving, Gu Dekang had repeatedly warned him that he must act politely towards Mr. Jiang. Yan Zhen wanted to cry because no one would dare to disrespect that demon god-like man unless they were tired of living. From the look on Gu Dekang's face, it seemed that the events which had happened at Bodhi Gene had left behind a shadow on his heart and completely destroyed his inner world, making him thoroughly doubt life.

From that day onwards, they viewed Jiang Xiu the same as one would a God.

There were only 10 or so people from Huaxia (China) on the Demigod Ranking. If the news that Mr. Jiang had killed Li Bodhi were to spread out, it would shock all the martial arts circles within the nation as well as give rise to the attention of the powers all across the world.

Another unparalleled expert had appeared in China!

Yan Zhen felt emotions well up in his heart, making him feel quite proud that Huaxia has a person like Jiang Luoxia.

Under the influence of the excitation, he sped the jeep faster and faster.

The Jingmen Military District was at the Jingmen province located in between the Jiangnan province and Pinghai province, so it wasn't that far but also not that near. It took some time to cross across provinces in China. By the time he reached the hotel, it was already 2 AM in the morning.

He decided to spend the night at the hotel then look for Jiang Xiu in the morning.

"Yan Zhen?"

Someone called out his name. Yan Zhen turned around to look and looked a handsome youth walk towards him. He was quite astonished, "Young Master Jin, what are you doing here?"

"This is my family's hotel. I should be the one asking what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the army division right now?"

Yan Zhen naturally couldn't reveal that he was implementing an SSS level mission, "I came to have some fun as I finally got a rare chance to have a holiday."

"These people are?"

There were a few men following Jin Xi, and it looked like they were planning to do something.

"It's nothing much. I'm just planning to teach a lesson to someone who's trying to make things difficult for me."

"Have you checked in already? I can arrange a good room for you."

"That would be great."

After the room was arranged, Jin Xi went to the upper floor along with those men and arrived in front of Jiang Xiu's room. One of them pressed the doorbell and said, "Open the door, it's a police inspection."

Jiang Xiu was sleeping pretty soundly and didn't think much about it after waking up as it was common for the police to do inspections of hotels. Also, since he had his cultivation, there was no need for him to be afraid of anything.

When he opened the door, a group of people rushed inside. They were all hunky and appeared to be practitioners. They looked at him with a savage glint in their eyes and moved as if they wanted to smash the entire room. They clearly weren't the police and more like robbers.

Jin Xi wore a smile full of ridicule as he closed the door and blocked the way outside, "Jiang Xiu, I told you, right? That you'll regret coming with us."

Jiang Xiu looked at these people with a smile that didn't seem like a smile.

Jin Xi continued, "Of course you're quite calm. After all, you are a son of a City Secretary and also carried up your high school's martial arts club."

Jiang Xiu furrowed his brows, "You investigated me?"

"Of course, I did. I always understand my opponent before taking action. Let brother teach you a lesson today. This is called 'know yourself, know your enemy, and you shall come unscathed through a hundred battles.'"

It was quite a pity that our Young Master Jin had only investigated Jiang Xiu and didn't know he had another name, Jiang Luoxia.

He laughed proudly, "These people aren't normal. They include provincial and national mixed martial arts champions as well as famous boxing masters of the underworld. I've specially invited them today to deal with you so you should feel honored."

"I'm going to beat you up until you kneel down and call me Grandpa."

Jin Xi assumed a stance as if he had already won, "A'Biao, go play with him.' He raised his chin up arrogantly. He seemed to have become a completely different person from his usual courteous self.

"To think you dared to oppose Young Master Jin. You must be tired of living."

That man called A'Biao had a tall figure, around 1.8 m and had a muscular body. The muscles on his shoulders were 2-3 times bigger than that of ordinary people. He planned to go up and crushed Jiang Xiu with a hold.

BANG!

Jiang Xiu raised his foot and sent that person flying. His body flew back and crashed into the door behind. Jin Xi felt A'Biao's body fly past him along with a fierce wind and then flew out of the room along with the broken door.

Jin Xi's expression went rigid in a moment as his eyes grew wide open in disbelief. This was a high-quality entrance door and weighed 200 kilos. It would remain still even if a car crashed into it.

The others who were planning to go up were all frightened after seeing this scene. Fudge! This guy is an Inner Strength expert, no, maybe a Supreme stage expert.

They immediately turned back to escape but naturally couldn't. Jiang Xiu grabbed one of the men who weighed around 100 kilos and threw him out like he was trash, making him crash into the wall at the end, causing it to cave in and resulting in lime plaster sprinkling down from the roof.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Another two of them were thrown out from the room.

Only Jin Xi remained now. His face was extremely ugly. He knew Jiang Xiu could fight but wasn't expecting his martial arts were so high, "You are a martial arts expert?"

Jiang Xiu asked him spiritedly, "Do you want me to break your left leg or your right leg? Or do you want me to crush your skull?"

Jin Xi felt that his time was really bad today, but he really had good luck. Luckily, a Grandmaster stage expert was within the hotel right now.

He turned around and ran, shouting with all his might, "Big Brother Yan, save me!"

Yan Zhen was a guard. Since Jin Xi had told him he was going to teach a lesson to someone, he had remained on guard in case something unexpected happened as it seemed like quite a dangerous situation.

This much sound might not seem like anything to others, but it was enough for him. He got out of his room immediately and made towards the direction the noise came from.

Jiang Xiu slowly came out of the room and didn't rush to act. Jin Xiu heard footsteps and saw Yan Zhen appear at the end of the corridor. A smile rose up on his face as he looked at Jiang Xiu provocatively, "Come, attack me if you have guts."

"Do you whose domain this is?"

"Big Brother Yan, someone wants to attack me…"

"Who is it? Who dares to attack Young Master Jin in Pinghai?" Along with the voice, Yan Zhen rushed there like a fierce tiger, arriving there with quite the momentum and as if he was ready to suppress any trouble.

But when his sight fell on Jiang Xiu, he felt as if thunder had struck him. He recalled the scenes of this demon god-like man killing others as well as his otherworldly strength. His face went rigid immediately.

"It's him! Big Brother Yan, cripple him!"

After seeing that Yan Zhen didn't make any sound, Jin Xi turned back to look and noticed Yan Zhen's face was pale and that he was trembling.

"You came to find me?" Jiang Xiu asked him.

Yan Zhen finally recovered and nodded with quite a difficulty, "Y-Yes. As it was too late, I wasn't planning on disturbing Mr. Jiang. That's why I checked into the hotel temporarily. I didn't know Jin Xi had dared to offend Mr. Jiang."

"Mr. Jiang?" Jin Xi questioned him. "Big Brother Yan, you know him? Why are you so afraid? He's just Mr. Jia… Mr. Jiang? Which Mr. Jiang?"

He felt a bad premonition. Yan Zhen wasn't an ordinary person. He was the personal guard of the commander of a military district and had seen all kinds of people so an ordinary person naturally wouldn't scare him.

"Jiangnan's Mr. Jiang." Yan Zhen replied to him.

Jin Xi was extremely shocked as he looked towards Jiang Xiu with a gaze full of disbelief!

Jiangnan's Mr. Jiang. Jin Xi was scared shitless this time. Cold sweat drenched his entire body. He knew what kind of existence Mr. Jiang was as the fame behind this name was built upon the corpses of people.

"H-How can you be Mr. Jiang?"

Jin Xi's voice lost all his strength. He even stuttered while speaking and didn't dare to look straight at Jiang Xiu.

He hadn't cared much about Jiang Xiu, and his father was also only a secretary of a county city. They weren't nothing but tiny bugs in front of the Jin family, but Mr. Jiang, this person was a truly ruthless character. According to the rumors, all the people of Jiangnan's underworld quiver in fear due to this person's deeds. He was someone on the same level as Jiangnan's border region's Gu Dezhi, the millionaire Ma Yingqiu and others like them. The younger generation simply wasn't qualified to talk on equal terms with them.

He flaunted his status as a young master, but many young masters fail to succeed on the path to becoming an ambitious and ruthless character. Even if he matured another 20 years, he would still need to rely on the right time, place and occasion to reach the level Mr. Jiang was at right now. Let alone, becoming someone like Mr. Jiang was his lifelong goal at the moment.

Jiang Xiu looked at him apathetically, "Since you know who I am, you must also know how the people who offend me end up."

Jin Xi's expression turned ugly. He heard that this man had thrown the family head of the Wang family, Wang Xuehai, off a helicopter to his death personally.

"Mr. Jiang, I'm a child of the Jin family. Please spare my life for the sake of my family's face."

"My Jin family has the Imperial Capital's Jiang family behind us!"

"Can you forgive me?"

"Spare you?" You can ask Yan Zhen whether those who have offended me are alive or not."

Cold sweat formed on Yan Zhen's forehead while his face went pale.

"N-None are alive…"

He had never seen someone as determined and ruthless as Jiang Xiu. Even his senior official had that he had never seen someone with that kind of cultivation and ruthlessness.

"I'm from the main branch of the Jin family. If Mr. Jiang acts against me today, you'll start a feud with the Jin family."

"It's better to have another friend than a foe."

"So, you do understand this principle. I thought you didn't. Since you understand this, why didn't you let me join the exploration team? Though the university had consented to it, why did you want to kick me out of the team?"

"Why did you even bring a group of men to hit me?"

Jin Xi sweated profusely at this moment.

"Your actions don't seem friendly at all. Is this how you make friends? If I was just an ordinary person, I wonder how I would've ended up? With a broken hand? Or a broken leg?"

Jin Xi was left speechless. If Jiang Xiu weren't Mr. Jiang, he would have played with him as much as possible.

"That's why…"

Jiang Xiu waved his hand and released an energy pulse. Jin Xi's two legs got crushed in a moment, making him fall to the ground while screaming mournfully.

"AAAAAHHHHHH… MY LEGS!!"

He went silent after screaming that as he felt light-headed due to the pain. He couldn't muster up any strength to shout and could only whimper like a dog.

"Throw him out…"

"Understood, Mr. Jiang."

After Jin Xi got thrown out of the hotel, someone carried him to the hospital as those two broken legs needed treatment as soon as possible. In the past, if legs were broken in such a way, it was of no use to take the person to the doctor, and the person would end up as a handicapped person. There we no chances of recovery and they would be deformed forever, but now, science had developed a lot. It was possible to walk normally after the surgery, and there was even a chance of recovering to the former state.

But Jin Xi would never forget this incident.

Those few unconscious MMA champions were also thrown out after that. Yan Zhen then returned back to Jiang Xiu's room. The door was broken now, but it didn't hinder his rest at all.

Yan Zhen lightly knocked that broken door, "Mr. Jiang?"

"Come in!"

Jiang Xiu was seated on the sofa. There was a cup of mineral water on the table. He picked up the notebook from over the table and passed it to Yan Zhen, "Explosive First, Demigod Rank. Don't spread it around too much, limit it to only 100 people in the army."

Jiang Xiu didn't wish for his fist art to become street goods. Even if a martial art were fierce, it would be no better than trash if a lot of people learn it, as people don't treasure things obtained easily.

Yan Zhen received it quite excitedly. He believed he would definitely be among those 100 selected people. The art he was cultivating right now was an ancient first art. His strength would increase by several times from this Demigod ranked fist art. At his level, increasing strength even by little was quite difficult, let alone, by several times.

He asked Jiang Xiu, "May I ask Mr. Jiang whether it's possible to become a Demigod through this art?"

Since it was called a Demigod ranked fist art, he thought it may perhaps have some secret hidden in it.

Jiang Xiu shook his head, "That's not possible!"

He had already removed the Immortal components from this art. Demigods were beings which have transcended worldliness. It's only possible for cultivators to stand in that realm by cultivating to the peak, reaching the limits of the human body and gaining proper comprehension by themselves.

"The path to becoming a Demigod isn't as simple as you think…"

"Pardon me for my thoughtless queries." Yan Zheng stated.

There were only around 10 Demigods from China in the Demigod Ranking, so it was clear that becoming one wasn't that easy. Let alone, this art was going to be passed down to the army.

"I shall return to the military district immediately with this to avoid any unexpected situations." Yan Zheng stated.

…

On the next day, everyone woke up and had fun till noon. Only then did they notice that Young Master Jin hadn't appeared yet and his phone was switched off as well.

Around 2 PM, Professor Xu gathered all the people as the person they were waiting for had arrived.

Spirit Tomb Sect's Li Chengzhi as well as his two sons.

Li Chengzhi wore long black robes, kept one hand behind his back and twirled with a necklace made of beads in the other hand. His brows were like that of a wolf's and eyes especially frightening. He was a person with an eccentric appearance and carried himself with an imposing aura. He was around 60-70 years old but looked as if he was middle-aged. His sons even looked older than him.

"Students, this is Master Li!"

The students called out simultaneously, "Master Li!"

Li Chengzhi smiled at them, "Hello everyone. By the way, where is Young Master Jin?" The reason he had come was to give face to Young Master Jin, but he hadn't seen the host till now.

"I'm also puzzled. We haven't seen him today at all. It's possible he's busy." Professor Xu continued.

Li Chengzhi furrowed his brows, "We must set out today as the days after today are all ominous for a while. Let's set off first. We can contact Young Master Jin later."

A Fengshui expert paid particular attention to things like these. There was no problem with contacting Young Master Jin after they reached the border of the desert. Actually, no one among them was willing to take Jin Xi along as he had only come to have fun. They even had to spend energy on attending to him. Now that Master Li had spoken already, they were ready to rumble.

"Alright. We will set off first then." Professor Xu stated.

They left for the Western Regions via rail on that day.

…

After hearing that his son's legs were broken by someone, Jin Xu hurried over from the Imperial Capital to the hospital as soon as possible. He looked at his son lay on the bed wearing a patient's clothes. His eyes turned red when he saw the plastered legs of his son, feeling bitter hatred in his heart. He only had one son, and someone had dared to break his legs. "Who is it? Who did it?"

One of the children of the Jin family to the side replied, "It's still unclear. We will know after young master wakes up."

"Doctor, when will my son wake up?"

"The effects of the anesthetic have already ended so he should have woken up already. He should be sleeping right now. That's good too as it'll hurt when he wakes up…"

Jin Xi began to issue painful moans on the hospital bed before he even finished explaining.

"SON!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Jin Xi opened his eyes. He made a sorrowful expression as if he was about to cry. He felt physical pain as well as mental pain. Jin Xu understood the woe in his son's heart, "Who dared to do this to you?"

"It's Jiangnan's Jiang Luoxia."

"It's him!"

Jin Xu was stunned, "How can it be him…" His face turned gloomy immediately, "It doesn't matter if he wants to show off his power in Jiangnan, but he shouldn't have dared to provoke my Jin family. Jin Xi, feel relieved. Father wouldn't let him have an easy time. First, explain the entire situation to me."

Jin Xi told him everything.

"He should be entering the desert around now, right? Then let's make sure he dies in the desert."

Jin Xi became excited, "Father, you mean to say?"

Jin Xi said, "Gu Dezhi has his hold in Jiangnan, but Jiangnan is a fertile land. The economy right now is quite volatile, and many big shots are eyeing this piece of land right now. Jiang Luoxia has already become a target. This a chance for us to eliminate Jiang Luoxia and take over Jiangnan."

"I'll request the elder to use the family's power to eliminate Jiang Luoxia…"

Jin Xi was extremely shocked by his father's words, so much that he even forgot the pain he felt and couldn't help sit up. Jin Xu hinted him to lie down properly as it would be troublesome if the wounds worsened again.

"Take proper rest. I'll make a trip to the ancestral house."

Jin family's ancestral house was where the Jin family began everything as well as the holy land within all the children of the Jin family. Jin Xi was filled with a deep veneration after his father mentioned the ancestral house. He was overcome with rage as he looked at his father step out of the ward at a firm pace. He believed he would have to wait for a decade or two before he could get revenge for the humiliation he suffered yesterday but had never expected that he would be able to do it so soon. He felt deeply honored that he was a descendant of the Jin family.

…

At a well-conserved archaic village which seemed just like a common tiny village from the outside. Many people kept walking in, and out of there yet only a few knew that this place was the origin of the Jin family.

Inside one of the courtyards.

"He really has big guts to break the legs of a descendant of my Jin family." One of the old men who was smoking tobacco slammed the table in a fit, the muscles on his face trembled due to the anger, "Does he think my Jin family is nothing?"

The old man on the seat of honor raised his eyelids to look at his temperamental brother, "That Jiang Luoxia isn't that simple. He usurped Jiang City then extinguished the Wang family and reached the summit of Jiangnan's underworld step by step. Someone even speculated that this person is a Demigod."

"That's impossible. The entire nation would have already known it if he was a Demigod."

The patriarch continued, "This person became famous due to a winning a battle with that legendary Demigod of the Wang family, Wang Jianzhi. However, Wang Jianzhi isn't a person on the Demigod Ranking after all. Therefore, everyone doubts whether Jiang Luoxia is a Demigod or not."

The tobacco smoking old man asked, "What do you mean by that? Are you afraid?"

"If you're not going, I'll go!"

The Patriarch stated, "Old Six, why are you so anxious? I haven't finished speaking. Did I say we are letting this go? We brothers had nothing before and built up the Jin family to what it is today. Do you think we are afraid of anyone?"

"What do you intend to do then?"

"It's hard to determine whether Jiang Luoxia is a Demigod, but there's a chance he is an Arcana stage expert. If it's just that, a few of our brothers are enough to deal with him. Let alone, the desert is our home ground as a few of us have come from there. However, what if he's a Demigod? I know what you want to say, but we have to act carefully…"

"We can go ask Elder Brother Mu Sen."

Everyone was startled after these words were spoken. Jin Xu's eyes grew wide open too.

Old Six's expression changed as well, "Old Three, is it worth bothering Elder Brother Mu Sen for that insignificant Jiang Luoxia? Isn't that lifting that brat up too much?"

The patriarch said, "Jiang Luoxia is the No. 1 person in Jiangnan's underworld and also dares to call himself a Demigod so he naturally wouldn't be weak. Elder Brother Mu Sen would be interested as well."

"All of you, follow me!"

The party left the courtyard and went towards the depths of the village. After going deeper, they reached the forbidden area of the Jin family. It looked the same as the village outside, but a person lived here.

A young child played under a big tree near the entrance of the village. That party of 20 people walked over there. The Jin family patriarch came in front of the child and asked, "Child, do you know where Grandpa Mu is?"

The young child pointed towards the dilapidated old house ahead of them. The house resembled those stone houses from the 1940's. An old man with withering gray hair was seated among a group of children there.

There were sounds of birds chirping coming from there as well.

After approaching nearby, they saw the old man had his mouth open while two little birds pecked his teeth to clean the stains on them.

"Elder Brother Mu Sen…"

Mu Sen had an indifferent expression when he saw so many people had come over. He blew from his mouth and caused the two birds to fly away. After they spiraled twice in the air, they landed on top of his arm which was extended outwards.

"So many of you have come over to look for me. Did something happen?"

"The family's children have provoked a ruthless person. This person is called Jiang Luoxia, and there's speculation that he's a Demigod…"

"Oh?"

He finally revealed a look of interest on his face. Mu Sen then turned out to rinse his mouth from the water in a worn-out cup. It seemed like those two birds were brushing his teeth just now.

Another bird came flying over with a towel.

The patriarch continued to speak, "The reason we doubt this person is a Demigod or not is that he fought with Wang Jianzhi and killed him."

Mu Sen washed his face, "Wang Jianzhi? I saw him 60 years ago. He wasn't a Demigod at that time but had already reached at the doorstep to entering the Demigod stage. No matter whether he successfully broke through to the Demigod stage, since this person was able to kill him, it's worth for me to act."

"Where is Jiang Luoxia right now?"

"He entered the desert."

…

In a small town in the border area of the desert. Jiang Xiu's group had arrived here just now. As the town was located at the border, there was a sandy flavor within the air. The people here all had their head covered as their hair would be filled with sand if they did not do it and also wore goggles to protect their eyes. Qiu Yinru had also covered her head with a red head-covering at this moment. It made her skin look paler, giving her an exotic charm.

Everyone began to purchase supplies required in the desert and specially packed water canteens. This was an extremely important thing. Many of them were troubled over which size to buy as bigger ones were no good and smaller ones couldn't carry much water.

The other thing was the camels.

There was no need to buy camels separately as it was mostly bought from the local guide.

"Young Master Jin's phone is still switched off. What should we do?"

"I say, why don't we set off like this?"

Master Li, Expert Qian as well as Professor Xu consulted with each other. Professor Xu looked at the situation. Everyone was already ready to set out. They couldn't just wait in vain because they weren't able to contact Young Master Jin.

"There was no need to fear bandits before as Young Master Jin had a few bodyguards with him, but now…" Expert Qian stated. There were many robbers in the desert, and most of them had guns with them.

"Let's follow the usual archaeology procedure then. I'll go request two soldiers from the garrison." Professor Xu suggested.

"What does Master Li think about this?"

Since Master Li and his sons possessed adequate cultivation, they weren't afraid of danger, but they weren't enough to protect such a large group of people. He nodded in agreement, "Since we have the authorization, we better use the power of the government."

Professor Xu left for the garrison along with the required documents.

"How many camels do we need?" Chen Dewen asked Qiu Yinru. As Young Master Jin wasn't present, he wanted to use this chance to associate with this beauty as much as possible.

"One per staff and also a few to carry the supplies…"

"Right…" The guide nodded.

"That makes it thirty… two, I suppose?"

After saying this, Qiu Yinru went to choose one most suitable for her. This was her first time riding a camel, so she was quite excited.

Chen Dewen pulled the guide aside, "Mix a bad camel inside, one which will fall back after walking a little."

The guide rushed to wave his hands, "My camels are all good hamu, none of them is bad hamu."

Chen Dewen felt gloomy. This person was too stupid. "I want you to give me a bad one purposefully, do you get it hamu?" He took out a wad of red cash and handed it over to him.

He wanted to give this camel to Jiang Xiu. This way, he would drop behind and wander alone in the desert. Didn't you want to tag along? Let's see how you do that now.

"Okay, okay…"

Jiang Xiu was standing in front of a street herb stall at a distance. He didn't believe the desert could threaten him, but he would bleed in case he was injured, and blood was the source of divinity. Also, he would feel unwell due to dehydration. That's why he wanted to settle these two issues.

"Is that a heavy tambo?"

The seller, a grandpa from the western regions, nodded, "Yes, 50 bucks for a stalk hamu."

No one bought it though it was placed outside.

"This is Seven Blood Ginseng…"

"100 bucks…"

Qiu Yinru had come beside him at some point in time. She noticed that Jiang Xiu hadn't bought anything, not even the head-covering or the goggles yet he was here buying these herbs. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you buying these useless things?"

Jiang Xiu picked up one of the herbs, "Why would he set up a stall here if it's useless?"

"Humph! Don't act as if you know stuff when you don't."

Jiang Xiu felt this was really funny. Girl, you came over and asked me why then you tell me not to pretend? Aren't you contradicting yourself there?

He picked up a little of the grinded powder, "This is Clarity Grass, right? Add a little of this too."

The scariest thing in the desert was getting severely dehydrated. Even if the effects on the body functions were to be ignored, the most fatal effect was hallucination. This was very dreadful.

"50 bucks for a pouch."

"Give me two of them."

Once dehydrated, the brain would start to hallucinate, and this was quite risky in the desert. If someone becomes severely dehydrated in the desert, it meant they were almost dead. This Clarity Grass could wake them up from the state of hallucination. Hence, this was akin to a life-saving elixir.

Many people didn't know about this. For example, Qiu Yinru who was beside Jiang Xiu at the moment. She asked curiously, "What's the use of this powder?"

Jiang Xiu beautifully ignored Beauty Qiu.

But the seller of the stall wished to do business, so explained it to her, "Buy it! It's a life-saving powder which can clear the mind. Young lady, why don't you buy two pouches as well?"

Qiu Yinru shook her head, "It's too expensive."

100 bucks for 2 pouches was indeed a little expensive. Actually, this product was created by drying the Clarity Grass in the sun then crushing it into fine powder. It didn't sell that well, but that too depended on where it's sold.

For example, a cup of water had a huge difference in price in a street tall and a five-star hotel. Inside the desert, it was priceless.

Jiang Xiu spent 500 bucks on purchasing medicinal herbs here and also bought three water pouches. He filled them with water and put them in his backpack. He didn't buy anything else and travelled very lightly.

The sound of a horn came through from a distance at this moment. Jiang Xiu and Qiu Yinru looked over there and saw a military keep come over while leaving a dust trail in its wake. It drove straight to the town hall where there were at.

The first person to jump down the jeep was a soldier in camouflage with a submachine gun on his back. Professor Xu got down after that, followed by the driver who was also in camouflage.

"Students, these two people are the soldiers which the garrison has provided us. They'll ensure our safety during the journey."

"This is Captain Leng and this is Comrade Xiao Zhang…"

"The local garrison is quite supportive of our operation this time. Captain Leng and Comrade Xiao Zhang are top-class soldier kings in the army as well as martial arts experts."

"Welcome them, everyone…"

Clap-Clap-Clap!

The students clapped fervently. They had never seen a soldier with a submachine gun on his back so they were awed very much. The two of them gave a neat army salute to everyone.

Only Li Chengzhi, his sons, and Jiang Xiu were the ones who weren't clapping.

"Little Qiu, is everyone ready?"

Qiu Yinru took out the list and checked the no. of people, "Everyone's ready. We can set off anytime."

The ancient desert city exploration team this time consisted of one professor, three experts, two soldiers, three shamans, plus the 18 students.

"Alright, let's start on our journey officially."

The group set off towards the desert with grandiose. Jiang Xiu felt something was wrong while riding the camel because he noticed that this camel was quite weak and slow. Only, he didn't feel it was anything much as that 30-year old Captain Leng was accompanying him.

Since there was a person the same like him, Jiang Xiu didn't feel he was slower.

"It looks like you don't fit in with them."

Captain Leng's name was Leng Zhan. He had dark skin and a grim face. He spoke with a local accent and looked quite tough. He didn't show much expressions on his face and thus looked pretty hip overall.

"They made this trip at public expense while I made it at my own expense."

Captain Leng finally realized the crux of the matter."

"I heard this time's archaeology mission is very serious and the objective is to look for the ancient ruins which have disappeared. I came to this place when I was 16 and almost 15 years have passed by now. I've heard of many legends and captured plenty of tomb robbers, but no one had really seen Sahagan Ancient City…"

"Why did you follow us into the desert then?" Jiang Xiu asked him.

Leng Zhan replied, "I have to carry out the mission given by my superior. Also, protecting you all is also my duty. I don't wish for anyone to have an accident in the desert."

"The weather inside the desert is definitely awful, but the people are more awful."

"You mean to say?"

"The robbers in the desert are much more violent. The desert acts as their natural protection. Someone has even organized an army inside and established a country."

According to their current itinerary, they would arrive at the White-Hump Peak after a day. Their direction was correct when comparing to the words left behind by Xie Sanxian's ancestor. Back then, they had travelled west and continued pursuit for seven days before losing their way. In other ways, after going west for seven days, the exact direction to move will depend on the materials these experts had gathered and their deductions from the corresponding geography.

Night had creeped in before they realized. The climate in the desert was quite vile and caused fatigue to pile up so proper rest was a must. That's why they didn't continue to hurry after the sky had darkened. All of them prepared to rest by setting up tents, heating water and cooking food.

Professor Xu and the rest assembled together to study the map.

"The folklore writings of the Ming Dynasty tell that the ancient city is a remnant of divinities. Therefore, many strange things happen above the ruins. According to the writings, it never rains in the other places in the desert but it rains over the ancient city. They even have an underground drainage system.

Qian Deshen stated.

Professor Xu nudged his spectacles, "Folklore exaggerates a lot. Also, authors like to add their own imagination into the description. We are people of Science. God is merely a system of faith and doesn't exist in reality."

This Professor Xu was an atheist. He had revealed this point of view when he was discussing things with Jiang Xiu.

"What? Professor Xu doesn't believe there's a God in this world?" Qian Deshen asked him.

Professor Xu shook his head while smiling.

"God exists!"

A resolute voice came through at this moment. Everyone looked towards the source. It was Shaman Li Chengzhi who said it. He stood up then slowly walked over towards them, "God exists in this world. Since you two people are erudite people, you might not understand it, but our world has an underworld strength hidden below the surface. They are martial artists. You too must know of the Jianghu. There's a ranking called the Demigod Ranking in the underworld, everyone knows this. They live for over a hundred years and some for over two hundred years. Their ultimate target is to become God."

The professor's and the experts as well as the students wore a face full of disbelief.

"Master Li must be joking, right?" Professor Xu asked him.

Li Chengzhi shook his head, "These are facts. All the people who have touched the high-level entities in the underworld know about it. Our nation has 13 people on the Demigod Ranking and the rest of them are from other nations."

"If Professor Xu has time after this desert trip and wants proof, you can go to Sichuan. There are many legends related to Gods and Sword Immortals there as well as a good deal of proof too."

"The Demigod from Sichuan on the Demigod Ranking is still alive…"

Professor Xu smiled in response to that. He didn't like to argue with others. In his mind, these so-called Shamans were just tricksters of Jianghu and one of the lowest professions equivalent to scammers. He naturally didn't deny they had the ability as well as were useful in tombs but he also held a prejudice in his heart.

This was the nature of a scholar.

"Professor still doesn't believe it?"

Li Chengzhi continued, "Since Professor has researched historical ruins for your entire life, have you never found any mysterious thing inexplainable by science?"

"Naturally, we have met it. There's many things which can't be explained by science, but that doesn't mean God exists. It's just that our science and technology still hasn't reached that level yet. We will definitely solve some of the riddles we face right now after 50-100 years." Professor Xu replied to him.

"Flame Control, Walking on Water, Killing Through… You say all these things are related to science?"

"Of course."

To him, there was no difference between a Shaman controlling fire and a magician playing with fire. He had seen several videos of magicians spending a day underwater and of someone sleeping mid-air. Only these were all results of diversionary tactics. The trick was hidden, that's all. Once it is uncovered, it becomes worthless.

The two of them kept arguing and the situation soon became volatile.

The students and the experts naturally stood on Professor Xu's side.

The Professor asked, "Since Master Li believes God exists in this world, may I ask if you have seen one?"

"That's…"

His face went rigid. God was ethereal. Even the Demigods didn't dare say that God existed and just had a vague feeling that they existed.

It was quite a troublesome matter. Since Li Chengzhi hadn't seen a Demigod with his own eyes, the argument couldn't conclude in the end. Professor Xu too, as a person of the academic faction, liked to debate with others very much.

Li Chengzhi said, "Whether you believe it or not, God exists. It's just that you can't perceive God."

Professor Xu asked him, "If a God exists in the ancient desert city, please tell me why that city got buried due to a sandstorm? Shouldn't it have thrived forever?"

Li Chengzhi was also stumped this time, "That…"

How could he allow a professor to one him over in eloquence? He pondered on it for a moment then said, "Maybe they migrated elsewhere or encountered invaders."

After hearing this, Jiang Xiu couldn't help but think over it as well. According to what Xie Sanxian told him, there were many enormous sculptures of Gods in the ancient city. It was feasible to withstand the natural climate of the desert from the accumulation of the divine blessing there. It didn't make sense to migrate elsewhere in that case. The only explanation for the loss of the divine blessing would be that they were invaded.

"It's God, do you think there are enemies God can't handle?" Professor Xu questioned him.

"Of course." Li Chengzhi replied.

"Hahaha…" Professor Xu laughed, "Master Li keeps joking around. Isn't God supposed to have control over the entire world? How can there be an enemy which the omnipotent God can't handle?"

"It's possible. For example, an even stronger God." Li Chengzhi suggested.

Professor Xu said, "Master Li, we are archaeologists, not novelists. We speak based on the proof left behind in history as well as relics. We can't speak baselessly."

Anyone could say whatever they wanted, but without any proof, it would lack persuasiveness.

On that night, everyone slept in sleeping bags inside their tents to resist the rapidly plummeting temperature of the desert, but Jiang Xiu alone didn't do that. He took out a thin cloth from his backpack and spread it on the ground then laid down on it.

The vilest thing in the desert which was the difference in temperature between day and night didn't affect Jiang Xiu much.

"Yinru, why haven't you slept yet…" One of the seniors, Xiao Yan, asked her when she noticed Qiu Yinru move within the tent, "Don't we have to hurry tomorrow?"

Qiu Yinru pulled the zip to the tent a little and peeked outside from the small gap. The bonfire was glowing brightly. She looked at Jiang Xiu who was lying down on the sand. Even if he were able to resist the sudden drop in temperature, he would still suffer as he would get buried under the sand by the morning.

"Look now, aren't you suffering because of getting isolated from the group?"

"Senior sister, will he be fine?"

Xiao Yan said, "Why are you worried? It serves him right. Who asked him to come with us? And since he did, why didn't he bring anything with him? He always acts as if he is some young master. Just ignore him and sleep quickly. If he can't endure, he'll surely bow his head to the professor or the boys."

…

"Little brother, are you going to sleep like that?" Leng Zhan came out from his tent and went towards the place Jiang Xiu was at. When he saw Jiang Xiu was lying on the ground, he suggested, "Why don't you come into my tent?"

"It's fine. You should sleep."

Leng Zhan looked towards Jiang Xiu profoundly. The temperature was already lower than 30 degrees Centigrade yet Jiang Xiu acted as if he completely fine. From the way he was using his hands as a pillow, it even seemed that he was resisting the chillness quite easily.

Leng Zhan nodded and returned back to his tent but speculated that it was possible Jiang Xiu was a martial artist.

The night was very long, and to Jiang Xiu, it was nevertheless a rare comfortable night. The desert was full of the great earth and gave a feeling as if he was fusing with the world. He held the Longevity Stone in his hand and entered a cultivation state.

The blood within his body started to rumble with a resonance. This was the sign of awakening. The membranes of the genes in the blood slowly began to rupture and released the power hidden inside.

Boom!

The membrane exploded suddenly. Jiang Xiu felt as if he had blown up. The energy gathered back together, and the divine force in his body grew another notch up.

The 63rd divine regalia appeared.

"Soon…"

From the style, it seemed like only a few strokes were remaining. The strokes at the lowest corner were the finishing ones, and once they appear, the divine regalia pattern would finally be completed. That was the sign of divinity, and Jiang Xiu would, at last, become a genuine God then.

The most significant superiority of a God from an Immortal was the body. Except for the dominant defense of the body, the other thing was the lifespan. A high-level race such as Gods had an almost unlimited lifespan, while Immortals had to surpass tribulations to increase their lifespan. In other words, once Jiang Xiu becomes a genuine God, he would have a very long lifespan which couldn't even compare to that of a human's.

Then he would have enough time to wait for the cultivation resources his apprentice had sent to him. He would increase his cultivation at rapid speed after that and return back to the Immortal Martial Continent.

…

On the next day, Qiu Yinru woke up first and she found that Jiang Xiu was already awake and stood atop the sand dune, looking at the sun rising at the horizon with his hands on his back. She was astonished that he was unaffected.

The other members of the exploration team came out of their tents one after another.

After washing up and eating breakfast, the resumed their journey again.

After five days…

The sun's hotness caused vapors to rise on the desert, making it seem as if the air was twisting. There was no moisture at all, and the team found it difficult to continue walking on the sand dunes.

They had already lost the relaxed mood they had when they had started the journey. Many of team members had haggard appearances with dry skin and split lips. Their eyes were blood-shot, and they found it quite challenging to make any movements, just like a patient struck with illness.

The body fatigue was one thing, the main thing was their mind. They were almost losing it now. Even after looking for a long time, they still weren't able to locate the place, Dragon Gathering Dunes, where the Ming Dynasty's army had lost their way back then.

"I'm so tired. Can't we rest for a while?"

The number of times people were requesting for breaks kept increasing, and even Professor Xu who liked to argue didn't have the strength left to do that this time. A few of the students directly sat down on the ground, but as the sand was too hot, they looked for a shady region. They finally took rest under the shadows of the camels.

Li Chengzhi and his two sons were relatively well, so they didn't go there though they licked their lips from time to time and were also tired. The two soldiers were in a better condition. One of them was leading, and the other was in the back. They were on high alert at all times with submachine guns on their backs even though they were so tired that they didn't even feel like moving their fingers.

Jiang Xiu alone appeared the same as the time when they had started the journey, unaffected by anything.

"What kind of monster is he? Does he not get tired?"

Chen Dewen and the rest couldn't understand this. Jiang Xiu's physical strength was stronger than those soldiers, and he seemed completely fine even after going through the desert's torment for so many days.

"Did you hear that?"

They suddenly felt the entire ground tremble. It seemed as if something was approaching them and there were also sounds of gunshots. Everyone was frightened and the sand dune zone immediately sunk into a state of panic. All those who were resting on the ground got up very fast.

"What happened?"

Du-Du-Du!!! The sounds of machine gunfire resounded from a distance.

"Are those g-gunshots?"

The expressions of Chen Dewen and the others turned uglier.

"Yes. Everyone lay down on the ground…" The two soldiers were familiar with regards to gunshots. They immediately took the submachine guns from their backs and shouted towards everyone.

The sounds kept nearing them. Jiang Xiu looked towards that direction and discovered two people, a man and a woman, were fleeing from a group of people chasing them.

It would've been fine if they fled towards another direction, but they were fleeing towards his location.

"It's Meng Fei's Gang!" Xiao Zhang shouted.

"Captain, what should we do?"

Leng Zhan's thoughts spun very quickly. Their mission was to ensure the safety of the exploration team, but they couldn't just ignore those two people being chased by the bandits.

Let alone, they were already exposed.

"Attack!"

Leng Zhan took a roundabout route to outflank them while Xiao Zhan did the same from the other side. The professor, the experts, and the students were scared shitless.

Du-Du-Du!!! The gunshots kept resounding in the air.

Bam! That man fell to the ground while bleeding from his stomach, "Quick, Young Lady, esca…" He died before he could even finish speaking.

"Fourth Uncle!"

The woman cried out with tears welling up at her eyes. She clenched her teeth, abandoned the body and made her escape with haste.

"It's her?!"

Jiang Xiu was stunned. This woman was only 16-17 years old and looked very pretty. Even such an extreme situation couldn't hide her alluring beauty. It was Xie Sanxian's daughter, Xie Ting.

"Why is she here?"

The number of enemies had far exceeded the number those two soldiers had estimated. There were around a dozen people, and they were riding horses instead of camels, so they were faster. The machine gunfire kept raking at them, so they had to roll over on the ground and hide behind the sand dunes to escape from their view. In a blink, they were already surrounded.

Meng Fei and his bandits were also astonished due to encountering a group of people here. The leader of the bandit group was a man with a robust stature. He seemed to be around 30-40 years old and had a wild appearance. His eyes followed Xie Ting amongst the screams as she tumbled down the sand dunes and mixed into the crowd. The bandits reined their horses before the team, "Who are you all?"

Professor Xu was already shivering all over due to the fear. No one dared to reply to him. Jiang Xiu, however, went to support Xie Ting who had tumbled down the sand dune, "Are you okay?"

Xie Ting shook her pale face subconsciously, but her eyes opened wide in surprise when she saw who it was, "It's you…"

"Why are you here?" Jiang Xiu asked her.

"I…"

At this time, they got surrounded by the dozen or so riders. Though the two soldiers had guns in their hands, the bandits simply ignored them.

They possessed no threat to them after all.

The boorish man with the wild appearance said, "If you don't want me to shoot them, it's best if you drop down your guns honestly…" He got down from the horseback and strode over towards the team with massive, powerful strides on the sand. His momentum was quite domineering.

His sight swept past the group of the people, looking at the mix of old and young among them. They all had haggard appearances and didn't seem like people who operated in the desert frequently.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you all?"

Professor Xu summoned his courage and made a great effort to stand up. He was the person in charge this time. "I'm a professor at the Imperial University, and these people are all my students. We came to the desert for an archaeology project."

The professor's answer was something he had already expected. The man continued asking, "What kind of project?"

"The ancient desert city!"

The bandit's, as well as Xie Ting's expression, changed once the professor said this. The bandit asked him, "You came for the ancient desert city?"

"Yes!"

"Do you where the ancient desert city is?"

Professor Xu raised the book containing the data they collected, "We are looking for it!"

"Hahaha…"

The bandit laughed then turned towards Xie Ting, "It seems like many people want to go to the ancient desert city yet it looks like only you know where it is."

Everyone looked towards Xie Ting. The girl pursed her lips and didn't reply to them.

"You know where it is?" Professor Xu forgot his fear due to shock. This old man pursued academics stubbornly and often forgot about the other things.

Jiang Xiu wasn't surprised by this. He had already obtained a clue at Xie Sanxian's home. Xie Sanxian said that his ancestor was a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, but his appearance had sold him out. The shape of his eyes was different from the traditional Han Chinese person. Xie Ting was the same as well, she seemed of mixed descent. Although the blood of the other race was already very thin, Jiang Xiu could still feel it clearly due to his sensitivity towards the bloodline.

Xie Sanxian also had the Longevity Stone with him. This showed that there was a close relationship between the Xie family and that ancient desert city.

"Does it really exist?"

Professor Xu questioned her.

"Of course, it does. If not, why would our Lady Xie enter the depths of the desert along with her servant?" The bandit replied to him.

Xie Ting still kept silent.

"You still won't speak?"

The bandit leader hinted at his subordinate to grab a person. He grabbed the student closest to him. Jiang Xiu didn't even know what that third-year student was called. The man aimed the gun at his head, causing his legs to tremble, "D-Don't kill me…"

The bandit said, "Young Lady Xie, which way is the ancient city?"

Unrest flickered through Xie Ting's pretty eyes, but she still kept silent.

Bang!

His brains were blown out on the scene.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

The group screamed in alarm.

When the bandit moved to grab another person, those two soldiers tried to act but the other bandits all aimed at them. The members of the exploration team all shrunk back in fear. The student who was grabbed just now started wailing immediately, "D-Don't kill me. I only came to have fun and not for archaeology."

Leng Zhan shouted, "Meng Fei, it's enough. If you want to kill someone, kill me instead…"

"You know me? Right, looks like you're a defender of the border area." Meng Fei swept his gaze past him then looked towards Xie Ting again, "Which way is the ancient city from here?"

Xie Ting didn't say anything like before. Professor Xu urged her from the side, "Young Lady Xie, please tell him. Ruins are dead, but people are alive."

Bang!

Another person was killed.

"AAAHHHH!"

The group became even more restless. If this kept going on, they would all get killed.

Xie Ting said in a soft tone, "Mr. Jiang, can you handle these bandits?" Jiang Xiu had killed people with just a wave of his hand back then at the entrance to Bodhi Gene. Xie Sanxian had told her that Jiang Xiu should be a Demigod.

Jiang Xiu said, "They have guns. You don't want me to die, right?"

Leng Zhan and Xiao Zhang were filled with sorrow after witnessing the deaths of two people. As soldiers, the taste of watching the people they were protecting die right before their eyes really made them suffer pain more painful than death.

The man pointed the gun at the third person's head.

"Which way is it to the ancient city?"

Bang!

The third one was dead as well. All the team members looked at these bandits in alarm. Their gazes were filled with anguish. The girls all huddled together due to the fear.

"Fu*k…"

Meng Fei was infuriated. Xie Ting hadn't said anything even though three people were dead. He raised the machine gun and raked them group gunfire, resulting mournful wails.

"Don't!"

If Leng Zhen weren't under the aim of these guns, he would've fought with his life.

"AAAAHHHHHH…"

People among the group scream. Another 6-7 of them dropped dead while one got hit in his thigh and another in his arm.

"So you won't say anything, huh?"

"This Daddy will kill all these people then kill you as well…"

The team members all screamed in fear, "Young Lady Xie, please tell him. We beg you…" They knew it was useless to beg the bandits so they could only beg Xie Ting.

Xie Ting revealed a troubled expression. She wasn't willing to tell them even if she were to die but she felt conflicted when dealing with so many lives.

"I'm going to count down from three…"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

Du-Du-Du!!!

The bandit pressed on the trigger and emptied the case in one go. Xie Ting looked at those people who had collapsed to the ground and felt her heart fill up with guilt. She finally couldn't help say, "Alright, I'll tell you!"

The gunshots stopped. Another few people died.

"Go 30 Km South from here, and you'll reach the Dragon Gathering Dunes. I'll have to calculate the direction again once we reach there…"

The bandit pointed the gun's muzzle towards the sky with a grin on his face, "You should have just revealed it sooner. Looks how many bullets this Daddy has wasted now. Let's set off right now then."

The surviving team members didn't wish to continue. Since they were able to survive through this calamity, they naturally wanted to leave the desert as soon as possible.

"Move faster…"

"W-We don't want to come…"

The bandit said, "You have to come. What if Young Lady Xie decides to cheat us mid-way? Who will we find to kill at that time…"

These words caused the faces of the surviving members to turn ashen.

They only had this use left now.

Spurred by these group of bandits, they moved faster than usual as no one dared to move slow lest they end up dead.

After a while, another group arrived at this location.

"Wait, something's wrong ahead…"

The Patriarch down the camel and went over to take a look. There was a pile of dead bodies there. He touched the still undried blood there and shouted, "All dead. Judging by their clothes, it seems like there are students of the Imperial University. The blood still hasn't dried off so it should have happened just recently."

"Were they shot dead?"

The Patriarch said, "Elder Brother Mu Sen, what do you think?"

"This matter is quite strange. Maybe they ran into bandits? It doesn't make sense that Jiang Luoxia couldn't even handle bandits… All the dead ones are students of the Imperial Capital too…"

"It doesn't matter. They should be quite nearby. Let's speed up so we can catch up to them."

The Patriarch nodded. There were still footprints on the ground right now. If they waited for a sandstorm to pass by, the trail would run cold, and it would become difficult to pursue Jiang Luoxia.

The group followed after the footprints.

With Xie Ting leading the way, the journey became smoother. The sun gradually descended behind the dunes, and the sand-filled wind engulfed the skies. In this kind of climate, if they weren't careful, they could run into a typhoon.

The sand dunes were pretty high on both sides, and the path they were walking through felt like as if they walking through a canyon.

"This place is the Dragon Gathering Dunes."

Professor Xu and the others who had completely lost interest in exploring and wished to escape as soon as possible couldn't help but take out their data and compare. The structure of the dunes drawn on their materials had a 90% similarity with their surroundings.

"Yes! It's this place!"

The professor and the experts nodded after confirming it.

A curl rose up on Meng Fei's mouth after seeing this. It seemed that Xie Ting hadn't played tricks on him. She opened her mouth at this moment, "Next, we should go in that direction."

Xie Ting pointed towards one of the paths, "This way leads to the Thousand Ghosts Cliff. Only, looking at the weather, it seems like a sandstorm is going to approach."

Those who have lived in the desert for a long time were good at predicting the weather here.

If they encountered a sandstorm, it would be difficult to come out alive from it.

"A sandstorm, huh?"

"Sang Bao, grab a few of them so we can play darts."

Xie Ting was stunned. She felt indignant. It wasn't like she had decided whether the sandstorm would appear. She couldn't understand why he wanted to kill people again. However, if she insisted on going into the Thousand Ghosts Cliff now, not only would these weak students die, the chances of her surviving would be low as well. It would be akin to leaving everything to God and relying on luck.

"Don't take the students. Use me!" Xiao Zhang shouted.

"Alright. Grab him then."

Xie Ting said in a cold voice, "Go in if you want to, but you will definitely suffer if you…" Xie Ting knew that according to the nature of these bandits, only a few would survive by the time they reach the ancient city. She felt it was somewhat better to bet everything against them instead.

Jiang Xiu had also seen the data on Thousand Ghosts Cliff. This was a bizarre region in the desert. Both sides were filled with black colored rocks, and when the wind blew past these bumpy rocks, they would release a ghastly scream. Moreover, black clouds had also gathered over the sky, and the signs of an incoming storm were evident. It looked quite frightening.

The wind was blowing quite hard on the ground, so much that they found it quite challenging to move forward, but Meng Fei, this demon, wanted them to absolutely go through the Thousand Ghosts Cliff.

"AAAAHHH!"

Followed by a scream, one of the suitcases was blown up into the sky.

One of the members of Meng Fei's gang said, "Boss, this is too difficult. We will get blown away by the wind if we continue. It's best if we find a place to hide among the sandstones."

Meng Fei cursed out.

"Move towards the cliff walls…"

These cliff walls were 20-30 meters high, and the paths inside were very tangled and complicated. If they went in too deep, it would be difficult to find the way back, so they only stood at the entrance.

After going inside, Meng Fei let Sang Bao play darts. These people appeared quite violent on the surface, but they actually understood how to intimidate others pretty well. If it felt too comfortable, not only would they loosen up, it would give birth to the thoughts of resisting them or escaping from them in the minds of their captives.

"Take me!" Xiao Zhang walked out with bitter hate in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth in rage.

Xiao Zhang stood at the cliff wall with his back against it. Sang Bao, who was standing opposite to him, revealed a sinister smile while holding a dagger with a sharp edge which could easily pierce into the body, "You better not move or else my knife would miss and land on your head. That would end all the fun."

The students had almost stopped breathing due to the fear.

They had seen this kind of trick in a circus before, and even street performers did it, but those were all tricks while this was real. Life could be lost any second now. Qiu Yinru and the other girls were so scared that they didn't dare to look at it.

"Do it!"

Xiao Zhang's face became flushed. He was brave, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of death.

Whoosh!

A white glint flashed, and Xiao Zhang suddenly closed his eyes. Everyone screamed in alarm yet heard Sang Bao say, "You are a little brave…" That knife had cut past Xiao Zhang's cheek and pierced deep into the dock. His life was safe for now.

The team members relaxed their breath after seeing this.

However, San Bao's following words made their hearts collapse yet again, "The next one now…"

"What?"

Everyone among the exploration team was outraged. This was too much, but they just couldn't resist when facing that dozen or so machine guns as their conclusion was pretty evident if they did.

Li Chengzhi suddenly said, "That throw is nothing great!"

Sang Bao, who was initially feeling quite proud, revealed a cold expression, "What did you say?"

"I say your throw is nothing great. Don't try to show off here. If you don't believe me, why don't we bet on it?"

"Interesting. Very interesting…"

Meng Fei said, "I have also heard about Master Li's famous name. Let's have fun then. If you win, this game will end, if you lose, I'll kill another person…"

"Alright, it's a deal then."

"Li Lei, go compete with him…"

His son nodded then walked out. His face was pale due to the nervousness, but there was no hesitation on that face.

"How shall we compete then?"

"That rock there. Whoever shoots the knife deeper wins!" Li Chengzhi suggested.

The rocks in the deserts were a little spongy while some of them were incredibly hard. That rock Li Chengzhi had pointed towards was a hard one. Since Sang Bao was able to throw the knife deep into it, his skills were pretty good.

"Alright!"

Xie Ting asked Jiang Xiu again in a quiet voice, "Do you have any methods to kill all these bandits? Even if I take them to the ancient city, they won't let us go."

"How will I do it? They have guns."

In Xie Ting's mind, Jiang Xiu wasn't a person like this. He was quite valiant and would behead people with a wave of his hands. Back then, he had killed 7-8 people within a snap of his fingers so there was no way he would be afraid of just a few bandit's guns.

Since they were among the group, it was difficult for someone to not hear them. Chen Dewen was right beside them, "Don't count on him. He's just a good-for-nothing. We ran into these robbers because he was too slow."

Chen Dewen released his fear and rage by blaming Jiang Xiu for everything.

In reality, the reason Jiang Xiu was slow was that he had a purposefully given him a shoddy camel.

"Yeah!"

"He's useless!"

The other students all agreed one after another as if they wished to beat him up.

After hearing this Xie Ting understood that these people didn't know who Jiang Xiu was, otherwise, they wouldn't dare to complain like this. She didn't reply to her anymore and focused on the bet. "Who do you think will win?"

"Li Lei!" Jiang Xiu replied.

The professor and the students held different opinions. Accusing someone wrongly was good and all but the reality was often cruel.

"Why?"

Jiang Xiu smiled coolly while gazing at Li Lei who stood at a distance, "Li Lei can use Inner Breath. He can supplement his physical power along with the spiritual power. So, it's evident that he'll win."

Xie Ting didn't necessarily understand what he said. By physical power, he meant the direct physical force, and spiritual power consisted of Qi, psychokinesis, curse power and magic power.

Those powers were all things which couldn't be touched, but they existed in reality. Some of them were unbelievably powerful. An expert in magic power could overturn seas and river and life the sea surface up by around 100 feet and make it float there for a long time. It wasn't possible to achieve such a feat through physical power.

Ding!

Li Fei's dagger left behind a white awn and disappeared. The blade bore deep into the rock, so much that only the handle hadn't entered inside.

Everyone was astonished.

Even the bandits were all amazed.

Sang Bao's dagger blade had only made it three parts inside while Li Lei's dagger blade went inside wholly. The result was clear.

"Superb!"

"I knew that those from the Spirit Tomb Sect were fierce but never knew their martial arts were so high. You can protect the life of one person who can go over towards the safe zone." Meng Fei commented.

Li Lei immediately replied, "My father!"

"Alright."

"Master Li, please move over towards the safe zone."

Li Chengzhi nodded then moved over towards the safe zone.

Bang!

A gunshot suddenly resounded in the area. The bullet had pierced through Li Lei's head, making him fall down and form a pool of blood.

"LI LEI!!!"

Li Chengzhi screamed, "Y-You really can't be trusted."

Meng Fei said, "We are trustworthy. Didn't we let a person off? Master Li, your son is really filial. He used his life to exchange your life. I really feel happy for you."

"You…"

A hissing sound came through from outside. The sandstorm had arrived. Even if they were within the rocks, they could feel the gale attack them as sand covered the entire sky.

It seemed as if the entire sky was covered up by the storm.

At this time, the two soldiers finally acted. They charged into the bandits and snatched their firearms immediately. Only the sound of the wind was audible while gunfire flashed here and there. Not even the gunshots could be heard.