Chapter 211: Storms in the Desert

In the vast desert thousands of miles away, the air swirled with heat. The entire world seemed like a borderless furnace—everything seemed to be burning except for the sand. The scorching sun even turned the sand beneath one’s feet into ashes, as if in a furnace, leaving those who stayed in one place too long quickly roasted to death.
It must be said, this was a place detested by everyone…
Yet!
In such a desolate land, a place that deterred countless players and even caused them to die of thirst, there were two delicate footprints stretching firmly for thousands of miles, all the way to the heart of the desert.
The woman wore a white robe. Under the scorching sun with its swirling yellow sand, she walked step by step. Her bright eyes shone with determination and pride. Her gold-embroidered headdress and silver veil, as usual, covered her face from the sand and heat, hiding her beautiful features.
If anyone were here, they would surely be astonished to recognize…
This woman who had traveled thousands of miles into the desert’s depths was none other than “Mengyun”—the leader of the top-ranked First-Class Hall, recently crowned number one on the rankings. She was admired by many players as the one with the fastest training speed, the best equipment, the greatest strength, and the head of the largest guild.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she still couldn’t shake off the discomfort and negative emotions brought on by the heat!
Four days!
It had been four full days since she entered the desert. From daytime to night, from dizzying 60-degree heat to sub-zero temperatures at night, Mengyun had spent four days and nights in this place known as the Death Desert. During that time, she used up all the horse tokens she had collected…
Dozens of fine horses died every few hundred miles, eventually becoming food for the vultures circling above the desert. This gradually depressed Mengyun’s spirits. If it weren’t for the clear red dots on the map guiding her, she would have collapsed long ago.
Living under constant heat and cold, just a few hours could drive one crazy. Logging off didn’t help improve her game character’s status. The water in her Qiankun Bag was running out faster and faster, resources were dwindling, and her mental state was worsening—like a death sentence pressing down on her at every moment.
What was even more tragic was that…
In this utterly deserted land, even homing pigeons couldn’t enter. She could only rely on the brief moments when she logged off to keep track of the current operations of the First-Class Hall and the development of its factions…
Not long ago, she received even worse news:

The Luoyu Gate, with over sixty elite members, was nearly wiped out, including its leader, Situ Luoyu, whom she had highly regarded as a key core member of the First-Class Hall.
Not only that, Situ Luoyu also caused significant damage to the Changle Sect. Not only failed he to accomplish the task of containing the Heroic Gate, but he even allowed Kai Xin to get together with Hong Chen.
Meng Yun repeated a person’s name silently for the first time.
“A student from Nanhua University?”
“That’s right.”
“…”
After pondering for a long time, Meng Yun issued an order:
“Being able to single-handedly kill dozens of top-notch experts at the Creation Realm level—his strength cannot be underestimated… Inform the responsible person to temporarily suspend the original plan regarding Kai Xin. Send people to investigate and make contact secretly to see if they can recruit him into the First-Class Hall.”
…
By the time Meng Yun received detailed accounts of what had happened in Fox Cave, the events there had already been automatically disclosed by The Secrets of the Jianghu.
This was thanks to the Tianji Inkstone obtained by the All-Knowing Scholar of the Jianghu. Anyone who appeared on the various rankings and met the preset conditions related to this scholar would be automatically recorded and included in the rankings, which were sorted based on reputation, strength, wealth, and various other data.
Kai Xin not only ranked first on the List of Renowned Figures…
His wealth also exceeded one million again, putting him back on the Wealth List, making him a figure on both lists.
However!
At this moment, upon seeing the series of achievements listed behind Kai Xin on the List of Renowned Figures, even the stupidest and greediest person would not risk burying themselves and their entire team for just over one million taels of silver.
The Luoyu Gate…
The Changle Sect were highly renowned in today’s Jianghu.
Those who attacked Fox Cave were almost all elite members of gangs or skilled lone wolves. They weren’t arrogant enough to think they were superior to these two major gangs!
…
After eliminating some white foxes deeper in the secret chamber of the Fox Cave’s Death Wolf Woman, Kai Xin did not proceed to the third floor. Instead, after dawn, he was automatically expelled from Fox Cave and appeared in a safe area of Fox Fairy Village, beside an NPC named “Fox Mother”.
Although Kai Xin had the key to open the third floor of Fox Cave, he really wasn’t ready to confront the Yao Hua couple yet…
They were among the strongest NPCs, even surpassing the Liberation Realm! Capable of creating clouds with one hand and rain with the other! They could easily slaughter thousands of people and commit atrocities without suffering any harm themselves—true peerless powerhouses!
After leaving Fox Cave,
Kai Xin immediately felt gazes from all directions, filled with complex emotions—some of envy, jealousy, and hatred, while others were filled with curiosity and admiration…

Many of them were members of the two major gangs, as well as members of the Thousand Dragon Society who were wiped out right outside Fox Cave.
He frowned.
Hong Chen stepped forward, looking at each of them with cold arrogance, speaking without lowering his voice at all: “Don’t worry! Even if these people want to attack us, they should first consider their own strength…” He paused, glanced in the direction of the chaos on the left, and then laughed: “Our men have arrived!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a large group of gang members with the character “Justice” embroidered on their chests, moving in a powerful and unified manner, cleared a path and strode proudly in front of the group.
“Hong Chen!”
A burly man with a square face, radiating bravery, stepped forward from the crowd. With a look of joy on his face, he walked up to Hong Chen and slapped him firmly on the shoulder: “Good kid! I knew you wouldn’t die so easily.”
“Big brother!”
Despite the strong slap on his shoulder, Hong Chen showed an extremely surprised expression: “Why did you lead the team personally?”
“Nonsense!” The brave-looking man with the square face immediately showed anger: “If those bastards dared touch you, how could I just sit back? Otherwise, wouldn’t they think the people of the Justice Gate are easy to bully?”
The people behind him also showed indignation and agreed fervently.
“Big brother, let me introduce them to you. This is Happy, the third-ranked expert on the current list of top fighters; this is Yao Shi, this is Lei Zhan; and Xiao Bei… Xiao Bei was able to survive this time only because of their help…”
“I know.”
The man with the square face laughed heartily: “How could I not know about such an important event? Situ Luoyu and Gu Dulu Changle both died at the hands of the Happy brothers, which really made me feel satisfied! Come on! Brothers! Let me introduce myself—I’m Lin Xiao!”
“…”
Hearing this name, Happy was stunned. Staring at the heroic man’s face, which still showed no signs of weariness, he smiled sincerely from the bottom of his heart: “Vice leader of the Justice Gate, it’s been a long time!”
He thought to himself, “Marquis of Loyalty, it’s been a long time!”