Chapter 45: Kang Feng
*Two weeks earlier *
Desert of Forgotten Souls
Hu Qinling had been advancing through the arid desert for days. The heat was overwhelming, an unrelenting furnace that would have reduced any ordinary being to ashes. Even with her level, she felt fatigue accumulating, her endurance tested by the incessant attacks of desert creatures. But it wasn’t the monsters that annoyed her the most.
"Hu Zhen! You have nothing better to do than follow me? Damn it, you should get lost, you’re getting in my way!"
She shot a furious glance at her older brother, who, unperturbed, continued to walk beside her.
"No need to shout, Ling’er. I’m here to protect you."
"I don’t need it!"
As she turned around again to complain, a sandworm suddenly burst from the ground, its gaping maw ready to swallow her. Before she could draw her sword, Hu Zhen leaped with lightning speed and, with a violent palm strike, the creature exploded into a mass of foul flesh that scattered across the burning sand.
"See?"
Hu Qinling clicked her tongue, furious.
"I could handle it just fine on my own."