Chapter 75: If You Catch Up to Me

Desert Iron Mercenary Group.

Qing Lin lay listlessly on the table, her chin propped on her hands as she stared blankly at the teacup in front of her.

Her young master had been gone for three days now, and he still hadn't returned. She missed him.

She lifted her small hand, where a black ring hung on her thumb. Xiao Bai had entrusted it to her before leaving, and these past few days, she had checked on it every now and then to reassure herself.

Inside the ring, Elder Yao watched the little girl who seemed terrified of losing him and couldn't help but feel a bit speechless. This child treated Xiao Bai's words as if they were divine edicts. Thinking of Xiao Bai, a faint trace of worry flickered in his eyes.

That day, the kid had told him he was leaving him with Qing Lin while he went off alone to find a place to break through. Elder Yao hadn't thought much of it and agreed.

He knew Xiao Bai had his secrets, and bringing him along might be inconvenient, so he didn't press for details. He figured breaking through to the Great Dou Master level wouldn't take long. But now, three days had passed, and the kid still hadn't returned.

"Kid, don't tell me something's happened to you..." Elder Yao muttered to himself.

---

Tagor Desert.

Under the scorching desert sun, a black-robed, white-haired young man sat motionless atop a sand dune, covered in dust, his eyes closed, his face slightly haggard.

Around Xiao Bai, the circle of lightning-infused yellow sand had shrunk to less than five hundred meters and was still gradually contracting.

Inside his body, the azure thunder rooted in his spleen continuously drew in the yellow-gray thunder origin and refined it through his meridians.

This was the solution Xiao Bai had devised after a night of contemplation when he had been at a loss.

The Five Elements mutually generate and restrain each other. Among them, the only elements that could restrain Earth were Metal and Wood. He didn't yet possess Metal, but he did have Wood—the Yi Wood Righteous Thunder.

Could he use the Wood Thunder to suppress this new Earth Thunder?

As soon as the idea occurred to him, Xiao Bai tried it. And sure enough, Little Yi didn't disappoint. It could directly restrain the Dark Thunder of Wu Earth and extract the origin energy that Xiao Bai couldn't pull out on his own.

So, for the past two days, Xiao Bai had been refining the origin energy of the Dark Thunder of Wu Earth. By now, he had already absorbed about half of it, and as the refined origin energy in his body increased, the efficiency of the refinement also improved.

By his estimate, he would fully refine the Dark Thunder of Wu Earth by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

This was a huge relief. Fortunately, this thunder was relatively mild—once he found the right method, refining it was manageable. It wasn't as violent as Little Bing, or else he'd be stuck sitting in this desert, exposed to the elements, for months.

---

"Hurry, Xiao Wu! Hold on! We're almost at Stone Desert City!"

"Xue Lan, you should go ahead! I'll hold off those Sand Mercenary Group bastards!"

"Dan Zi, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Run faster, you damn coward! What kind of man are you?!"

In the desert, a woman supported an injured man while another young man with a wounded leg limped behind them. All three wore mercenary attire, and they appeared not far from Xiao Bai.

Suddenly, the female mercenary spotted the figure sitting cross-legged on the sand dune in the distance. Her eyes lit up.

White hair fluttering in the wind, black robes edged with gold that shimmered under the sunlight—there was no mistaking it. This was the man named Xiao Bai, the clansman of the two leaders of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. They were saved!

"Dan Zi! See that person over there? We're heading there!" Xue Lan pointed excitedly at Xiao Bai.

"Xue Lan, is this really a good idea? We shouldn't drag innocent people into our mess!" Dan Zi hesitated.

"Shut up! That man can save us!" Ignoring him, Xue Lan helped the injured mercenary, Xiao Wu, toward Xiao Bai.

Dan Zi could only shake his head helplessly. He had no idea why Xue Lan was so insistent, but with the pursuers closing in, he had no choice but to follow.

"Take one more step, and you die."

A low, hoarse voice, calm yet chilling, froze the three in their tracks. Their feet hovered mid-step, unsure of what to do.

"Sir Xiao Bai! It's me—Xue Lan! From the Desert Iron Mercenary Group! We've met before! We're being chased by the Sand Mercenary Group. Please, help us!"

Xue Lan watched as their pursuers drew closer and grew increasingly anxious. She raised her voice toward the black-robed figure with his back turned to them.

Dan Zi, hearing Xue Lan's plea, felt utterly hopeless. Has Sister Xue Lan lost her mind today? he wondered. You've only met this man once, and now you're begging for help? Are you stupid?

What kind of relationship do you even have with him? Why would he save you? Because you're pretty? Well, Xue Lan was the beauty of the Iron Sand Mercenary Corps, but what if this guy wasn't interested? Wouldn't they just be gambling with their lives?

"Xue Lan, Dan Zi… look at your feet!" The injured mercenary being supported by Xue Lan spoke weakly, immediately drawing their attention.

Beneath them, faint flickers of yellow-gray lightning occasionally danced across the sand, sending a chilling sense of danger through their hearts.

Under the blinding desert sun, it was easy to miss if one wasn't paying close attention.

"What the hell is this? I've never seen anything like it in the desert!" Dan Zi exclaimed in shock.

Xue Lan didn't answer. Instead, she scanned the area further out and realized that the same phenomenon extended for hundreds of meters around the seated figure. So that's why Xiao Bai warned us, she thought. He wasn't pretending not to recognize us—he was giving us a chance.

"Lure them into this area, and even a Great Dou Master will meet their end. What you do next is up to you." Xiao Bai's calm voice reached them, though he still didn't turn around.

The three mercenaries paled, immediately backing away several steps, cold sweat dripping from their brows. If we had taken that step earlier, would we already be dead?

A Great Dou Master—that was the level of Luo Bu, the leader of the Sand Mercenary Group, the strongest among all mercenaries in Stone Desert City. If what Xiao Bai said was true, then this patch of sand could effortlessly bury every mercenary in the city.

They didn't doubt his words. The ominous aura radiating from those flickers of lightning was unmistakable.

After a quick discussion, they decided that Xue Lan would act as bait to lure the three pursuers into the lightning zone.

Xiao Bai simply sat and watched, feeling quite bored. He had already noticed that the pursuers had only one nine-star Dou Zhe among them, which was why they were in such a desperate situation. The other two were probably no match for Xuelan, who was a seven-star Dou Zhe.

Xue Lan's method, however, left Xiao Bai utterly speechless.

With a provocative smirk, she called out to the nine-star Dou Zhe among their pursuers:

*"Chase me~ If you catch me, I'll let you do~ whatever~ you~ want~!"*

The man, overcome with excitement, charged straight into the lightning zone.

A surge of yellow-gray thunder erupted—

*ZAP!*

In an instant, his body turned charred black, his face frozen in a lecherous grin.

Tsk tsk. Truly, lust brings a knife to one's head. The ancients never lied.

After dealing with the remaining two pursuers, the three mercenaries turned and bowed deeply toward Xiao Bai.

"Thank you, my lord!"

"Pass a message for me," Xiao Bai said, still not turning around. "Tell your leader I wish to hire your mercenary corps. Have him bring enough manpower—and veterans who know the desert terrain well. They are to come here at dawn the day after tomorrow."

He paused, then added, "And bring Qing Lin and Elder Hai with you."