At the same time.
At the edge of the Sahara Maze, the Skinny man's legs had been petrified, and dozens of black swords around him pinned his body immovably.
"Damn Chinese! I swear, I will kill you in this lifetime!"
He muttered and ranted, full of hatred.
As time passed, there was no one around on all sides, and the monotonous scenery stood eternally.
The Skinny man had no strength left to curse. Looking around the desert, he could hardly tell how much time had passed. Had it been hours? Had they already left the Sahara?
Gradually, an unprecedented panic arose in his heart. Being in such an environment for too long would drive anyone insane.
However, the Skinny man was lucky. His suffering did not last long, and his life ended soon.
Wuwuwu!
At one point, he heard a howl of the wind. Turning his head, his eyes widened, full of terror.
On the horizon where the sky met the sand, a vast murky mass appeared.
Dusky yellow roiled and rolled, covering the sky, seeming like thousands of troops lined up, crashing forward, and the sound grew louder and louder.
A sandstorm?!
Rumble! Rumble!
The sandstorm moved incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, towering yellow sand surged forward. A humanoid figure swirled with sand stood upright, crimson eyes looking down at the thin black man.
"No! Nooo!"
In the end, in his desperate gaze, the terrifying sandstorm swallowed him, and under the tearing force of overwhelming energy, his body was crushed inch by inch.
The Sandstorm Wraith swept up endless wind and sand, staring toward the Sahara's boundary. With each step, it relentlessly pursued those who had fled.
On the other side, Lu Jun and the others also witnessed this scene.
The world was covered in yellow dust. The rolling sand looked like a mudslide reaching the heavens, or like layers upon layers of golden waves crashing down. The sky collapsed, each wave sweeping forward relentlessly.
At the top of the towering sand wave, a figure stood proudly, arrogantly overlooking everything!
Just as Nan Jue had described before, its entire body was surrounded by suspended sand particles, its pupils filled with strong resentment and agitation. The raging sandstorm was its masterpiece.
It was as if this being were a commander standing over thousands of sand troops, or perhaps the earth-shattering, sky-piercing sandstorm itself was a part of it!
Everyone was horrified. Such overwhelming presence must rank in the upper-middle range of the Monarch tier.
Fortunately, they had followed Lu Jun's orders, sprinting thirty-four kilometers in one go and diving into the Mediterranean.
Wuwuwu!
The towering golden sandstorm instantly covered tens of kilometers. Even when it collided with the sea, it did not weaken in the slightest. Soon, the blue ocean was blanketed with sand, yellow and murky.
From a high vantage point, the narrow coastline had once been a beautiful stretch of dunes and beaches, but due to the storm's sweep, the entire coastline had shifted slightly inland.
The Sahara Desert had expanded its territory once again!
The Sandstorm Wraith could not catch anyone. Its deafening roar resounded along the Mediterranean coast.
Far out at sea, everyone sat atop the White River Dolphins summoned by Lu Jun, swallowing hard. The South African captain suddenly realized that the Skinny man had probably died completely.
After this sandstorm, Lu Jun and the others did not dare go ashore. They drifted in the depths of the Mediterranean, waiting for the African Magic Association's rescue team to arrive.
Before long, figures appeared on the horizon.
Leading them was the Super-class mage Daiven. Scanning everyone, he spotted the familiar members of the South African National Team and sighed in relief. "Good to see you are safe. And thank you to the Chinese team for your help."
"No trouble, no trouble. About the money…"
Mofan snapped back to his usual easygoing, carefree self, grinning slyly as he mentioned payment.
"Don't worry," Daiven promised. "The African Magic Association will allocate funds soon. Let's first go to a safe place to rest."
Everyone followed, eventually finding accommodation in a large city along the Mediterranean.
Along the way, the South African captain mentioned those who had died. Daiven was unconcerned. "Only a few died. That's fortunate in the Sahara. They couldn't wait for rescue and simply didn't have the life to survive. Don't dwell on it."
In the end, the Cape of Good Hope Magic Association responded quickly, tallying the contributions of the seven Chinese National Team members. Lu Jun's contribution was the largest, earning him the most—over half of the total commission.
Even so, the remaining six, including Mofan, each shared several hundred million.
Lu Jun did not want money. He wanted rare, special metals—a whole small vein of ore.
The Cape of Good Hope agreed. Africa immediately conjured images of mineral wealth, and the magical plane was no different.
Of course, a vein, though seemingly abundant, produced relatively little for high-grade metals due to high energy concentration. Even large veins yielded little; small veins at most produced around a thousand kilograms.
"The third type of special metal for the Tai'a Divine Sword…"
He rubbed his hands in anticipation, planning to go to Africa as soon as the commission was settled to make his selection.
Vroom vroom vroom!
Unexpectedly, the moment Lu Jun mentioned Special metal, he appeared. A streak of sword-light shimmered through the void; the Black-Gold Dragon Pattern Sword returned, floating beside him, radiating intense killing intent. Its sharpened edge gleamed even more clearly, clearly having enjoyed a recent feast of blood.
Seeing this, Lu Jun was surprised. "Back already?"
Then, the Tai'a Divine Sword merged into his mental world's Platinum Galaxy, releasing vast amounts of sharp power, purifying the Metal Galaxy.
Lu Jun quickly sat cross-legged, absorbing the gains. His mind blurred as if he had merged with the Tai'a Sword, replaying the recent slaughter. With the sword in hand, he fought the two warring clans.
Every angle and force of each strike was imprinted in his mind, as though he were personally controlling the Tai'a Sword in battle.
Crack crack crack~
In moments, the Metal Galaxy expanded to its extreme. Under the long-term nourishment of the White Tiger Pendant, the light-barrier shattered, and magical energy increased by more than double.
High-Tier Second level [Tai Bai Divine Vault · 108,000 Swords]!
It advanced further in the First-level Tongtian Sword Formation, splitting into billions of golden beams. Combined with mastery of high-level Metal magic, it seemed to allow even more intricate manipulation.
Lu Jun internalized the Dark Universe. Six galaxies ran in parallel, all high-level second Level. He could not help but feel elated. After some time in the National Team, he had entered the stage of accumulation and sudden breakthrough.
Judging by his progress, he estimated that by the start of the National Competition, he would have one or two fully mastered high-level magic systems.
At a glance, he seemed just behind the National Team's top mage, Zheluo. Yet, because he had to manage six elements, his actual strength was far more formidable—he might even reach Super level.
"Nearly two years at high-level, and this progress owes everything to the White Tiger Pendant!"
Lu Jun marveled. His cultivation speed was impressive; Mofan would need two to three more years to fully master high-level six-element magic.
Moreover, the Tai'a Sword brought with it many remnants of Warrior-level souls.
Inside the White Tiger Pendant, since the last of the Basic-Tier Level 5 magics had been extracted, seven complete Warrior essences remained. After two battles with the Tai'a Sword, the total surprisingly reached [thirteen].
The fifth-level intermediate magic seemed within reach.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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