Chương 226: Desert Shop

King Chonghou had sharp eyes, and it seemed as if stars were moving within them, and the light and darkness of the universe were changing.

"The wild and untamed clans only have the advantage of timing and location. Those who reach the pinnacle of the world must ultimately have the support of the people. They do not understand the will of Heaven, nor do they know the rise and fall of dynasties. They are not to be feared."

"I am proud of what I have said," said the Marquis of Chong.

Mo Wuji bowed and praised, "The achievements of a marquis and king are comparable to those of nature. This wild man in the wilderness suffers from nothing more than a moss ailment, which can be cured with a wave of his hand."

only----"

"Just what?"

"However, with the Great Zhou's aggressive momentum and the allegiance of several wild tribes, the situation in the world is likely to change soon."

"I possess a vast fertile land, countless fierce generals under my command, a million elite soldiers, and the assistance of the Central Asian barbarians. If the Great Zhou does not come, all is well; but if they do—" The King of Chonghou's eyes flickered with indescribable emotions, and an air of arrogance was visibly present on his body.

Mo Wuji knelt on the ground, bowed respectfully, and exclaimed, "Your Majesty's might shakes the land; you should establish unparalleled achievements!"

"Ha ha!"

The laughter was like thunder, shaking the surrounding area and making the rooftops hum.

Half an hour later, in the Mo family mansion, Mo Wuji solemnly summoned his eldest son Mo Longteng and youngest daughter Mo Ling'er.

"Father, has the Marquis issued an order? Is this matter difficult to handle?"

Seeing his father's worried expression and heavy face, Mo Longteng couldn't help but ask.

"It's not that the lord has issued any decrees, but rather that the lord has revealed his ambitions today—alas!"

Mo Wuji sighed and said in a deep voice.

"Did the Marquis reveal this to my father?"

Mo Ling'er was taken aback, then asked curiously, "Could it be a test of my Mo family's team? It seems the people behind the Marquis can't hold back any longer."

"When the land returned to its former glory, even the lords and kings remained law-abiding. Now that they alone occupy such a vast territory, their ambitions are naturally hard to contain. But Father, our Mohist school—"

"The arrow is already on the bowstring. Now that our Mo family is under the command of the Marquis, we are already his people. Even if Your Majesty is wise, other important ministers will still have grievances. At that time—"

"From this day forward, enforce strict military discipline, stockpile ample provisions, and ensure the army conducts daily drills without any slackening."

"Yes, Father."

Mo Longteng bowed and agreed.

Mo Wuji nodded, then looked at his daughter and said softly, "My dear daughter, focus on your cultivation and strive to advance to the Domain Realm as soon as possible. In return, I will impart the Mo family's divine abilities to you."

"In this bustling world, only force ultimately reigns supreme!"

A fierce glint flashed in Mo Wuji's eyes, and a faint emerald green aura flickered around his body.

As this halo appeared, Mo Wuji's entire body became almost ethereal, both real and illusory.

It seems to exist somewhere between truth and falsehood, reality and illusion.

"Father, have you mastered the Eternal Light and Death Seal Technique?"

Mo Longteng and Mo Ling'er were overjoyed and exclaimed in surprise.

"Um!'

Mo Wuji responded with a faint "yes".

"Excellent! Father, your divine skill has been perfected. From now on, our Mo family can advance and retreat freely, and we are now invincible."

Mo Longteng shouted with uncontrollable joy.

"Teng'er, how can I rest assured with such an unreliable person?"

Mo Wuji frowned and said.

"Father, is eldest brother happy too? However, brother, you must not keep this to yourself. You must not tell anyone except the three of us, Father."

Mo Ling'er looked at her brother and exclaimed in surprise.

"Ling'er is right. Alright, Teng'er, go and prepare. We must be ready for battle at any moment and not waste a single second."

"Yes, General!"

Mo Longteng suppressed his joy and quickly turned and left the hall.

After Mo Longteng left, Mo Wuji looked at his daughter and said with a gentle smile, "Have you mastered the Spring Breeze and Rain Divine Skill?"

"Yes, there's only one hurdle left before I can break through to the Domain Realm."

Mo Ling'er nodded and said.

"Good, as expected of a top-tier martial artist with the bloodlines of both the Mo and Tan families. At your age, your father was only at the initial stage of the Dharma Aspect Realm."

"Father, how can you praise your daughter like that? I only realized how many heroes there are in the world after this trip. How dare I be so arrogant?"

As Mo Ling'er spoke, Zhao Rui's dashing figure appeared in her mind.

He has probably already entered the Domain Realm.

Seeing that his daughter seemed somewhat lost in thought, Mo Wuji coughed lightly and frowned, saying, "Is something on your mind, daughter?"

"No, no. Father, I'm going back to practice my skills, hoping to break through to the Domain Realm as soon as possible. During this time, please don't disturb me unless it's important."

Mo Ling quickly finished speaking with a smile, then turned and left the hall.

"This child! Her personality is just like her mother's."

Mo Wuji smiled gently, his affection for Mo Wuji evident in his expression.

Northern Xinjiang Desert!

Zhao Rui rode on a camel, led by a child, from the desolate borderlands to the Central Asian countries.

Beside him were two men and women dressed in martial arts attire. They were young, around twenty years old, about three or four years older than Zhao Rui.

The two appeared to be a couple, each riding a camel and cuddling affectionately.

Zhao Rui was somewhat envious of his children's liveliness.

He hadn't chatted with a girl like this in a long time since he became a grandmaster.

It's unclear whether it's the pinnacle of martial arts that truly makes one forget love, or whether he simply hasn't met a woman who can truly move his heart.

Even now, he has never felt an uncontrollable longing or affection for a woman like he did in his previous life.

Physiological attraction, or perhaps preordained in a past life, is the most ideal and blissful companion that people pursue.

Because of that existence, being with it is truly a blessing from heaven.

Unfortunately, whether it was Miao Miaomiao or Qin Rui, although they were very beautiful and he liked them, that was all he liked.

It's like a man having multiple wives and concubines.

"I'm getting old!"

Zhao Rui chuckled and shook his head, his gaze sweeping across the distance to the herd of camels lined up in the distance.

There are dozens of camels here, each with a passenger.

These passengers came from all walks of life, but most of them were traveling from Central China to Central Asia.

Apart from a small number of daring and careless people who come out to enjoy the scenery, most of them are doing business.

Since ancient times, merchants have pursued profit; the greater the risk, the higher the profit.

Even when two armies are at war, merchants still do business.

"There are often bandits in this desert, but don't worry, our camel caravan is one of the best here, and no one will dare to be so blind as to stop our caravan."

A martial artist from the Camel Gang circled around to the side of the man and woman, gave the woman a slightly lewd look, and then struck up a conversation with a smile.

The man had a scar on his face, resembling a centipede, which looked quite terrifying upon closer inspection.

"Wow, big brother is so amazing!"

The man gave a perfunctory reply.

"Are you a couple? The girl is quite pretty. Where are you from?"

"She's my girlfriend, bro. We're all fine here, you can go ahead and take care of your business."

The man said with an embarrassed expression.

"Look at you, I'm a helpful person. When I see a girl, I feel a sense of closeness, like she's my good sister. Okay, call me if you need anything, there's nothing I can't handle."

The scarred man in the camel caravan smiled slightly, raised his eyebrows a little, and then, without saying another word, turned and rode away from the couple.

In the scorching desert, apart from the people and camels in Zhao Rui's team, there were basically no other animals to be seen.

Not only were there no animals, but there was also no trace of other plants or buildings.

The group walked for most of the day, until the sun began to set, and then a restaurant built of earth and stones finally appeared before them.

The restaurant was not small, but it was rather simple and ordinary.

The huge signboard stood outside, but after being blown away by the wind and sand, most of it was already gone.

Led by their leader, the camel caravan headed straight for the restaurant. Even before they reached the entrance, attentive waiters greeted them, arranging resting places for the camels and guiding them into the restaurant for their meal.

The service was impeccable.

Zhao Rui followed the crowd inside and found that there were still quite a few people sitting in the hall.

There were martial artists dressed in ancient costumes, tourists in modern attire, and foreigners dressed in Central Asian attire.

The hotel was quite lively.

"Brother, can we sit at your table?"

Just as Zhao Rui found a seat, the couple came over and said politely.

"Please sit down."

Zhao Rui smiled, turned his head to look around, and found that there were no empty tables in the entire hall.

"Thanks, bro. Of the whole team, I think you're the most handsome and the smartest."

"Is that so?"

Zhao Rui smiled noncommittally and continued eating his meal.

Seeing that Zhao Rui wasn't talking much about sex, the young couple turned away and continued their affectionate, cuddly interactions.

Zhao Rui smiled nonchalantly and ignored them.

After a while, the waiter finally brought out the steaming hot noodles and placed them in front of the three of them.

A bowl of these noodles costs several hundred dollars, enough to buy dozens of servings elsewhere.

But there's a reason why it's expensive. If you can eat steaming hot noodles in the desert, why bother about the price?

After all, things are valued for their scarcity!

Zhao Rui ordered braised noodles with tomatoes, simple and delicious, just what he likes.

Just as everyone was having their meal, Zhao Rui suddenly heard footsteps coming from a distance.

There were as many as eight people.

These people moved with light and agile steps, clearly possessing considerable martial arts skills.

Are all these people coming for this small station?

The only difference for Zhao Rui was that he also encountered this camel caravan halfway through his journey, and wanting to experience it, he joined them.

Just as he was pondering for a moment, the seven or eight people in the distance actually pushed open the door and walked in.

All eight people were dressed in their favorite clothes, some in ancient costumes and some in modern attire.

Everyone's clothes are different, but the patterns tattooed on their shoulders are exactly the same.

This group of people were extremely arrogant. After looking around the store, they kicked one of the fat men eating next to them to the ground.

"Didn't you see? You're sitting in my seat."

The fat man didn't say a word, silently got up, and hid on the other side.

With his departure, the table became empty.

Upon seeing this, the waiter immediately stepped forward to greet him warmly, but the eight people showed him no respect and pushed him away with a flick of their hand.

"Shut up, where's your boss? Tell her to come out."

A martial artist shouted loudly.

"Unfortunately, our manager has gone to the Central Plains for further studies and is not here."

The waiter quickly smiled and said.

"She's not here? Then hurry up and serve her."

"Yes, yes!"

The waiter quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to go into the kitchen.

The surrounding guests didn't seem surprised by the group's arrogance; instead, they all kept their distance from them.

Seeing this, the group burst into laughter, then took out cigarettes, lit them, and took a couple of puffs. At that moment, a burly man with a bald head and a broad nose stood up and suddenly struck out with his palm into the distance.

With a loud bang, a crater the size of a basin was punched into the ground.

"Same as always, 3, 000 per person, payable on the spot, no credit."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and shortly afterward, someone personally stepped forward and handed over three thousand yuan.

"Why are they charging me money like that? Isn't this robbery? I'm calling the police!"

Upon seeing this, the girl sitting next to Zhao Rui exclaimed in shock and anger.

Her boyfriend quickly covered her mouth to stop her from saying anything.

The woman turned out to be incredibly strong, clearly a trained fighter; with a single flick of her body, she threw the man aside.

"This is still the Central Plains, how come there's no law here?"

The girl was furious. She pointed at the eight people and said coldly.

"Hey, little girl, you've got a sharp tongue! I wonder if it'll hold up in a minute. If it doesn't, you'll get a spanking!"

Upon hearing her words, the bald man not only didn't get angry, but instead stood up with interest and walked towards her.

He joked as he walked.

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

"Stop talking, Fei'er. Gentlemen, my girlfriend isn't quite right in the head, please be understanding, please be understanding."

The man who had been left behind quickly stepped forward and bowed repeatedly to the bald man and the others in apology.

"You're not a real man."

After the woman finished speaking with a frown, she grabbed the square table and swung it directly at the bald man.

These sweeping, powerful movements are more masculine than any man's.

"Whether you're good or not, you'll know once I tie you."

The woman's actions truly startled everyone present.

No one expected that such a seemingly delicate girl would use such violent tactics.

Moreover, it looks quite impressive.

"interesting!"

The bald man swayed, dodging the woman's attack. With a loud crash, the table smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"They dare to collect protection money, don't they know what era we live in?"

When the woman missed her first strike, she twisted and delivered a back kick. Her movements were so fast that the bald man had to raise his hands to his chest to block her kick.

Even the bald man's strong body couldn't help but take two steps back.

Clearly, he was far inferior to the woman in terms of strength.

"Big brother!"

"Looks like a friend from the martial arts world, quite skilled indeed—"

"This is the northern desert, not a place where you can act arrogantly. Brothers, let's go!"

At the bald man's command, the other seven men instantly surrounded him.

Each of the seven people took a different step and positioned themselves in a specific direction.

The seven men, each with their own special role, attacked the woman like a formation.

The woman remained fearless and threw a punch, the sound of tigers and leopards thundering faintly emanating from it.

Although she was very strong, the seven opponents were not to be underestimated either. Their combined formation steadily suppressed the young woman.

"Fei'er, let me help you!"

Upon seeing this, the man rushed forward, trying to shield the woman.

Unfortunately, he was not strong enough and only managed to withstand two moves from the bald man before being kicked away.

The direction it fell was right at the table where they were eating.