After all, only during the summer of the year does Wuyang Sea’s environment become less harsh, barely allowing humans to survive.
This is also the most crucial working time for those people gathering around Wuyang Sea.
Now that summer is almost over, to catch the tail end of it, one must traverse tens of thousands of miles in a few days, cutting diagonally through the lands Beyond the World, to reach Wuyang Beach.
This is quite a challenge even for Zhao Ya.
So the two of them packed their bags in just one night, and after preparing all necessary items, they hurriedly set off on their journey early the next morning.
Only when they started their journey did Zhao Ya realize Jing Rou’s extraordinariness.
Even though he comes from the Mechanical Sect, his Martial Dao skills are in no way inferior.
Especially his Lightweight Body Technique, which is no less capable than my own.
Seemingly sensing Zhao Ya’s amazement, Jing Rou chuckled while running and said.
"There’s no choice. In our Thunder and Fire Department, we deal with explosives all the time. They’re extremely unstable and can blow up at any moment, so anyone wanting to join must have a pair of good legs, or they’d be long gone."
"That’s how I mastered my Lightweight Body Technique. It’s a pleasant surprise, I guess."
As he spoke, Jing Rou glanced at Zhao Ya, "Want to have a match?"
Zhao Ya found it amusing but was also stirred up with a competitive spirit.
"How do we compete?"
"Simple, about five hundred miles ahead, there’s a town. Let’s take that as our boundary and see who gets there first."
"No problem, when do we start?" Zhao Ya asked.
"Listen to me count, one... go!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Jing Rou charged out first, disappearing into the vast forest in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Ya was initially shocked, then laughed.
"Interesting!"
Speaking, Zhao Ya also started sprinting madly.
A five-hundred-mile distance is only a journey of a couple of hours for the two of them.
Especially in this chase, their speed was far faster than usual, so only an hour later, the town faintly appeared on the distant horizon.
At this moment, Zhao Ya and Jing Rou were almost neck and neck, running side by side.
Upon seeing the shadow of the town, Jing Rou felt invigorated, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and glanced at Zhao Ya.
Actually, five hundred miles is nothing to Jing Rou, but this time was different.
With a strong competitive spirit, he put in all his effort to match Zhao Ya in pace.
Now Jing Rou felt his muscles sore, with clothes drenched in sweat.
But upon looking at Zhao Ya, he saw him strolling leisurely through the forest, as if running five hundred miles was just a casual walk for him.
Even sensing Jing Rou’s astonished gaze, Zhao Ya smiled back, pointed ahead, then sped up toward the town.
Watching Zhao Ya rapidly vanish from sight, Jing Rou was utterly speechless.
This guy... even at this point, he still has reserve strength.
Was he teasing me by following me slowly before?
No way!
There’s no way I can lose!
With that thought, Jing Rou gritted his teeth and pushed his exhausted body forward.
However, no matter how fast horses run, they still die climbing mountains.
Though the town appeared within sight, they would still need to cross another dozen or so miles to reach it.
This distance is usually just a blink for Jing Rou, but now he found these dozen miles incredibly long.
And the silhouette of Zhao Ya ahead seemed like an impassable chasm, forever unreachable.
Finally, almost at the verge of collapse, Jing Rou stumbled into the town, leaning against a wall, taking deep breaths.
In contrast, Zhao Ya wasn’t even sweating and had even bought a bowl of iced sour plum soup from a roadside teahouse for Jing Rou.
"Senior Brother Jing, have some sour plum soup to cool off!"
Jing Rou looked up at Zhao Ya’s calm face, suddenly filled with regret.
Was I just looking for trouble, competing with him for no reason?
But it was too late for regrets now.
The sprint had exhausted Jing Rou, so he’d need at least a couple of hours of rest before moving again.
So, they decided to find a restaurant in town to eat something.
Jing Rou often came to this town, so he was quite familiar with it.
He led Zhao Ya to a lamb shop at the end of the street, ordered half a roast lamb, and a pot of lamb soup.
Though it’s just a small eatery in an unknown town, the lamb was quite flavorful.
Especially the roast lamb, juicy and satisfying with every bite.
Both were hungry, so they started devouring the meal with great enjoyment.
While they were enjoying their meal, a commotion of footsteps and shouting came from the street outside.
"Believe in the Python God, live without illness or disaster for eternal life!"
Believe in the Python God?
Zhao Ya raised his head, turning to look out the window.
On the street, a group of people dressed in blue with red scarves walked by.
Their red scarves had snake eyes embroidered on them, looking quite eerie.
Amidst them was a red sedan chair, covered in red silk, but Zhao Ya could vaguely make out a divine statue with a snake head and human body inside.
"I didn’t expect the Python God Sect, long dwelling deep in the Wilderness Forest, to extend their reach here!"
Jing Rou had put down his chopsticks at some point, also looking outside with a serious expression.
He explained further, in case Zhao Ya didn’t understand.
"The Python God Sect is a tribe deep in the Wilderness Forest, worshipping a giant python. They used to stay in the forest, rarely interacting with outsiders."
"But as many Divine Sects in the forest disbanded, the Python God Sect, as a survivor, quickly grew. These people are likely newly converted followers!"
Zhao Ya said nothing, just watched thoughtfully until the group disappeared around the corner, then suddenly stood up.
"Senior Brother Jing, wait here, I’ll be right back!"
Jing Rou immediately understood what Zhao Ya intended to do.
"You..."
"I know someone from the Python God Sect, but she escaped later. However, the hatred never faded. Now that I’ve encountered them, I must intervene!" Zhao Ya explained.
Jing Rou understood and nodded.
"Alright!"
Zhao Ya left.
Jing Rou watched in the direction he left, feeling a bit moved.
Actually, even if Zhao Ya chose not to act, he would have intervened.
The Mechanical Sect is five hundred miles from here, yet it is like being right under their noses.
The audacity of the Python God Sect to preach openly here cannot go unaddressed once encountered.
However, he had not expected Zhao Ya to know someone from the Python God Sect.
From the brief conversation, Jing Rou roughly deduced the past events.
The Python God Sect, infamous for human sacrifices, was not viewed favorably, and the runaway must be linked to that.
That’s a deep grudge!
However, Jing Rou soon set aside these thoughts and resumed eating.
He trusted Zhao Ya completely.
Forget a group of newly recruited followers, even if the Python God’s true form appeared, they wouldn’t likely match Zhao Ya’s strength.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya had followed the group to a small temple.
The temple, which was previously likely a local god’s temple, had now been occupied by the Python God Sect.
When dealing with this kind of place, Zhao Ya didn’t bother with concealment and marched straight in.
Any followers who tried to stop him were easily thrown aside.
After reaching the main hall unhindered, Zhao Ya spotted the strange divine statue on the altar and became deeply curious, then walked toward it.