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Feng introduced, "That oasis called Pearl Lake is truly beautiful, with lakes, greenery, and even trees and flowers. Every time I visit his home, I always feel like he has hired a whole bunch of workers to cultivate that oasis."
"Have you ever thought about taking over that oasis?" Cui Ming asked.
"I have thought about it; every time I go, I have that idea," Feng Dao replied. "But I can still live with myself; I haven't sunk to that level of immorality."
Cui Ming nodded, "At least you have one redeeming quality." Even without external constraints, there are still moral lines one should not cross.
Feng was dissatisfied, "What do you mean 'at least'? I have merits all over! I'm hardworking, kind, and helpful... If you dare to refute me, I'll just become someone unhelpful." It was a blatant threat.
"You're the boss; you call the shots." You want to take over even the desert.
"Haha... I say, can you help the host with some work instead of just standing by as a guest?"
Cui Ming shrugged, and cards flew out one by one as large fish were shot to the surface. Unlike Feng's method of fishing, which required careful control of force—killing big fish without harming small ones while chasing after them.
...
Feng was right; Zhir's Pearl Oasis was indeed stunning. Feng's description only captured a fraction of its true beauty.
This oasis was a depression surrounded by relatively lush shrubs, home to quite a few Cotton-Tailed Rabbits that fed on Shrub Leaves. Inside were green fields and abundant grass, with numerous Poplar Trees scattered throughout the oasis. At the center of the oasis was a small lake measuring only three hundred fifty square meters but reaching depths of seven meters. Wildflowers and grasses flourished everywhere. By Pearl Lake stood a wooden cabin made from Poplar Trees, exquisite and delicate, with a wooden staircase outside. People could walk down to the edge of Pearl Lake and sit there, dipping their feet into the water.
Feng claimed it seemed like an oasis cultivated by a large number of workers. Cui Ming would argue that it indeed looked like an oasis created by many hands. The traces of human intervention were quite evident. There were even stone steps by Pearl Lake, seemingly for easy access to water. It was uncertain whether this oasis had many workers maintaining it; perhaps half of it was artificially constructed. However, where would all those workers come from? Simply put, the stone steps laid along the lakeside were two-meter-long solid stone slabs—something a native like Feng could never manage to create.
"Beautiful, the Pearl of the Desert," Cui Ming marveled at Pearl Lake. "A masterpiece of nature. Quite impressive."
Zhir remained noncommittal, sitting on a step with his feet submerged in the water. Upon seeing the two, he stood to greet them and simply said, "Make yourselves at home," before sitting back down, as if he had anticipated their arrival.
The wind truly did not treat itself as an outsider; it picked fruits, climbed trees to break branches for drying meat, and fished in the water, behaving as if it were at home. Under the setting sun, Zhir appeared remarkably calm. Occasionally, splashes of water caused by the wind would hit him, but he showed no signs of displeasure. Under the wind's guidance, Cui Ming went into the wooden hut to lay down some straw for their sleeping area. After sleeping outdoors every day, seeing the little hut was genuinely exciting.
Zhir slept very little, only three or four hours at night. He would sit by Pearl Lake, either gazing into the distance at the Sand Dune Mountain Range or staring blankly at the water from the steps. The wind was quite talkative, rambling on about various topics. By the end, Zhir and Cui Ming were too lazy to even respond with a simple "uh-huh." However, Zhir and Cui Ming often played chess together. Zhir taught Cui Ming an ancient version of Chess that resembled international Chess. It primarily consisted of a King, Queen, Princes, and various soldiers. Soldiers or Princes could be appointed as Generals, who possessed considerable power and were crucial pieces on the board.
What made this Chess interesting was the presence of a Traitor. Before the game began, both sides secretly placed one piece aside as their Traitor. In the early stages of combat, both sides aimed to identify their own Traitor piece by deducing which piece was attacked by their opponent while also disguising their own Traitor to mislead the enemy.
After twenty rounds, each side's High Priest could resurrect one piece before appointing a General to commence the final battle. If the General turned out to be a Traitor, it would be disastrous. However, even if the General was not a Traitor, the Traitor could still assassinate him, necessitating protection from the General's Guards. Thus, before making a move, a Traitor had to first eliminate the opponent's Guards or attack them to create confusion.
This Chess could be played mindlessly or strategically. The wind played it without much thought; he would appoint whoever he liked as General and label anyone he disliked as a Traitor—acting like a tyrant. Yet this tyrannical approach occasionally yielded surprising results; his record against Zhir was two wins to eight losses—not a complete defeat. Zhir found no interest in playing Chess with the wind; it felt pointless. Cui Ming was much more to his liking; they schemed against each other step by step, employing various tactics—having an opponent made it enjoyable.
As days passed, their lives fell into a routine. In the mornings, Cui Ming and Zhir would face off in Chess while the wind chattered away. After finishing their games, Cui Ming and the wind would train in different spots in the desert until sunset when they returned to eat something before sleeping.
Zhir remained indifferent to their training and never participated himself. However...
One day after a month had passed, Cui Ming sat atop a Dune basking in sunlight while meditating when suddenly an unthreatening Skeleton Life Token appeared in his mind. He leaped into the air as a sharp blade pierced through his foot. When he landed and looked down, he saw a soldier—a figure made primarily of sand and clad in armor—emanating Force and holding a spear while staring at him.
A Yellow Card flew from Cui Ming's hand as the soldier suddenly charged forward through it and lunged at Cui Ming with an assault stab—the spear striking precisely into his body. As Cui Ming's Force was penetrated and prepared to retaliate, the soldier lifted him up and slammed him onto the sandy ground before stepping back to wait for him to rise.
Cui Ming stood up; the soldier held his spear firmly while watching him intently. Another Yellow Card flew out from Cui Ming's hand as the soldier dashed through it again. Just as he prepared to stab again in front of Cui Ming, that Yellow Card flipped back around and struck him instead—binding him in place. With determination beneath his feet, Cui Ming pushed back while unleashing a flurry of Poker cards that sliced through the soldier's body.
Fifty meters away, atop the Dune, a Bow Sand Soldier materialized, drawing back its bowstring. Cui Ming flicked a Poker card, which sliced through the sand and the flying arrow, scattering grains everywhere. At that moment, the sound of hoofbeats approached from behind Cui Ming—a cavalryman wielding a spear charged down from the top of the Dune, spear leading and shield raised.
Targeting the horse first, Cui Ming launched three Poker cards, striking down the Sand Horse. As the cavalryman hit the ground, he drew a Scimitar and rushed at Cui Ming. Just then, a Spear Soldier arrived. Cui Ming used a Yellow Card to immobilize the Spear Soldier but took an arrow from the archer in return. Damn it, how to fight? The Melee Weapons were also closing in...
Cui Ming struggled for a moment before quickly playing a Black Card to swap places with Melee Weapons. An arrow from the archer struck Melee Weapons instead. Cui Ming circled around Melee Weapons, enduring occasional slashes while successfully preventing the archer from shooting and stopping the Spear Soldier's advance. After considerable effort, he finally managed to slay three Sand Soldiers.
Just as he finished, two Spear Soldiers appeared thirty meters away, both gripping long spears and stepping forward to target Cui Ming. This time, Cui Ming found himself overwhelmed; he dashed left and right with incredible speed but was still unable to retaliate.
After being knocked down, the two Spear Soldiers turned to sand and scattered across the Dune. Cui Ming realized that these Spear Soldiers were likely connected to Zhir, but Zhir seemed unwilling to discuss it—only acknowledging that Cui Ming had seen through his extraordinary identity and offering some extra guidance. However, that extra guidance didn’t seem particularly beneficial.
As he pondered this, three more Spear Soldiers emerged. Cui Ming forced a smile; he appreciated the good intentions of his elder brother but felt that this was just pointless suffering with no help for his training.
Just as Cui Ming prepared to retreat from the Sand Soldiers, sand gathered beside him, forming a Sand Soldier that resembled him and held a flying card defensively in its right hand. Startled, Cui Ming jumped away as four Sand Soldiers converged on him. Three of them charged sequentially at him; when the first spear lunged forward, Cui Ming's Sand Soldier sidestepped to evade it and used the first Spear Soldier's body as cover to attack the second with a flying card...
The execution was flawless, like an assembly line in a factory. Whenever a Spear Soldier attacked, Cui Ming's Sand Soldier could always predict the direction of the strike and dodge accordingly. Doubts filled Cui Ming's mind—this was something he couldn't possibly do... or could he? Observing closely from the side, he noticed that two Spear Soldiers had already vanished, leaving only one engaged in battle with his Sand Soldier. Cui Ming chose defense over offense, dodging the Spear Soldier’s charges.
The Spear Soldier's assaults were as swift as Li Qing's flying kicks. The mechanical repetition of movements between the Spear Soldier and Cui Ming's Sand Soldier captivated him; he gleaned much from watching intently. It was about Force—when standing upright, each thrust directed at different angles caused varying fluctuations in his body’s Force. Just like how Cui Ming concentrated Force into his flying cards to enhance their lethality, the same principle applied to the Spear Soldier: when charging forward, Force gathered primarily at the front with subtle changes. With focused observation, he could see that when the Spear Soldier lunged forward, especially around his shoulders, Force rapidly flowed into his hands—those areas had significantly less Force than others for just that brief moment.
All along, like many others, Cui Ming had been focused on enhancing his own abilities within Six Elements but rarely considered analyzing his opponent’s Force output. The changes in Force during an attack were often minute; one needed both keen insight and careful attention to detect and feel them. For instance, when boxers fight, they typically retract their fists before throwing a punch; if you can observe this motion and anticipate it for defense or evasion, you can avoid or block their strikes. The more skilled a boxer is, the more concealed their movements become—making observation increasingly difficult. Even if you notice an opponent’s punch trajectory early on, your window for judgment is extremely limited.
Is this truly something humans can achieve? (To be continued.)
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