Bing's Near-Death Experience.

"I'm really going to die out here..." Bing talked to himself.

  Sweat dripped endlessly from his body, sticking his clothes to his skin as if they were one in the same. Bing's shield dragged in the sand, creating a path that seemed to endlessly extend behind him. From where Bing was now, you couldn't spot the start of the path. His tongue dryly hung outside his mouth as he's been traveling for days without a sip of water or a crumb of any food.

  As he was now, he was desperately wishing for anything to happen to him. Anything at all that could possibly quench his thirst and fill his belly. Being attacked by a horde of spirit beasts? Please and thank you. Getting caught in a trap by thieves and robbers?

'I will gladly feast upon your bodies as respect for allowing me to live.'

  His feet have been traveling towards wherever Lei was at the moment. With his fishing pole, he could instantly fish out a spirit beast to eat no matter where he was. It was also nice that he was closer in distance to Bing unlike Qing. Qing wouldn't be able to stop him from starving to death with her fan. Well, that wasn't exactly true but Bing doubted that Qing would allow him to eat a few of her butterflies just so that he wouldn't die. He got the feeling that she didn't like him or Lei all that much. Or really like anyone much at all.

"Please... Anything at all... Heavens I don't deserve to die like this do I? Must I really resort to that? Just to survive?"

  Bing collapsed from exhaustion and fell face first into the sand. He was a little happy that he landed on his face instead of on his back. He wouldn't be able to take the heat from the sun bearing down on him so fiercely. The sand might be burning his skin but with his Devil Arts, he could handle a little burning. The extreme temperatures on this floor wasn't the dangerous part for Bing. It was the lack of food! He needed to eat to survive! It didn't matter how well his body could take the heat or cold. It mattered if he dried up into a husk and withered away!

  Keeping his eyelids from falling was taking all his strength. He didn't want to do this. He considered it his final and last option to prevent himself from starving to death. A demonic hum escaped from Bing's mouth. Breathing, it was how any martial artist performed their auxiliary art, by breathing in a specific rhythm while flowing qi in a specific pattern through their insides. Bing planned to use his Devil's Arm martial art to save his life. Eating his own flesh, just to survive.

  The very thought of it disgusted him but his desire to survive was much stronger than his disgust. An additional arm grew from his belly and threw him over on his back. Bing grabbed the belly arm with his two hands, ready to tear it off and bite into it like a wild animal. The pain would be the worst thing he's ever felt in his entire life.

"Look what we have here boys... a freakish little piggy about to cook itself for us." Bing's body suddenly jumped up with unusual athleticism.

"He doesn't look like he has anything valuable on him... Are you sure this guy is worth stealing from?"

"It's not like it's going to hurt us to rob him when he dies."

"Yeah. Loot is loot you little bitch."

  He felt as if he was filled with an endless source of energy as he stared at the desert bandits riding giant lizard. In his eyes, they seemed to turn into various human-sized foods. Bing's stomach roared as he slowly walked towards the closet reptile. His hunger overtook him, he didn't even hear the sounds of the bandits laughing at him as he reached out towards the salamander with his fat fingers. It attempted to bite his hand but Bing was faster.

  Bing lifted the large animal with one hand and grew several more from his hand that was choking the spirit beast. Several mouths with razor-sharp teeth and forked tongues appeared on the palm of each of the hands. All the tongues stabbed into the flesh of the salamander and drained it of everything except its bones and blood. The bandit rider fell off during the feeding and landed inside the animal's skeleton completely stunned. Bing could feel his strength returning after devouring the beast. His thirst was quenched, and his hunger was sated.

  Bing's eyes wandered over to the remaining lizards, striking fear into their very souls. The ridable reptiles went into a panic and ran away as fast as they could, disobeying their masters' wishes. There was only one bandit remaining. It was the one whose ride he sucked dry. Now that he wasn't starving on the verge of death, he could think a bit more clearly now. These guys were about to rob him, weren't they?

"Let me guess... Your friends are going to come back with even more people to kill me, right?" Bing asked.

"No matter how much a freak you are, you don't stand a chance against our leader when they come! Even if you kill me, you won't survive against our leader!" His entire body shook as he tried to threaten Bing.

"Since I'm going to die anyway, I suppose I should get a final meal before I go, right?" Bing slowly walked towards the frightened bandit.

"No... No...! No! Stay away! Let me go! Please!" Bing picked him up by his throat and held him above the ground with one arm.

"I...have...children..." He choked out.

"I'm sorry." Bing really did mean it.

  Even after the thief's muscles, organs, and skin were being extracted by the little mouth on his hand, Bing did feel bad for what he did to the man. Unfortunately for him, there was almost nothing he valued more than his own life. And the only way he could protect his life was by becoming stronger. He didn't have the heart to spare those that were willing do him wrong and possibly bite him in the butt for his kind acts. Unlike Lei Zhi, Bing didn't believe in sparing future troubles. There were too many ways one could lose their life in this world. Getting rid of a few would be helpful in the long run, in Bing's opinion. He might've been affected by the Empress more than he thought...

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"Leader! Leader!" The bandits who just returned to their camp, cried out.

"Who the hell is doing all that yapping? If we're not under attack, I'm beating the hell out of you." The beautiful woman promised.

"Leader! We found someone strong nearby! He might be one of those people that you always spoke about!"

"Eh? Tell me about this person." Her curiosity was piqued.

"He could grow arms from his body!"

"He could lift a Quick-footed Salamander with a single hand!"

"He can eat a man within seconds if he touches you!"

"Yeah! He even ate one of our fucking rides!"

"Huh... This guy sounds more like a monster than a human. Are you idiots sure you didn't all decide to have the same mirage?" She scoffed.

"We're telling the truth leader! Without your special power, we don't stand a chance against him!"

"And you're sure he's one of those people I always talk about?" She wanted clarification.

"He didn't wear any clothes we've ever seen before."

"He also carried a strange weapon in his hand. It was like a large bone bowl or something."

"We didn't get to see how it was used."

"Alright. You guys managed to get me interested just enough. Let's go investigate this monster of a person." The bandit leader got up from her chair and grinned.

  She flicked her hand out and a mysterious white and black orb manifested above her palm. Radiating a strange elemental qi that most cultivators wouldn't ever be able to identify. It was with this cultivation technique that allowed her to reign as the Unstoppable Lin Mei of the Desert. The leader of the Sand Shark Bandits. A notorious group that has flourished for the past 3 years thanks to Lin Mei's powerful martial arts.

"My mount has his scent tracked! We can find him anytime Leader!"

"If he's really as scary as you all think he is, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to prepare a small trap for him." Her scouts immediately agreed with her suggestion.

"I'll get the talismans!"

"I'll get the bows and arrows!"

"I'll bring the food!"

"Food?" Lin Mei said confused.

"Oh, the guy is as fat as a pig."

"A fatty beat you all?"

"He didn't beat us. He just scared our mounts away and killed a salamander with ease."

"This guy better be as strong as you said he is or I'm doubling, no, tripling all of your training for the next month." Lin Mei threatened.

"Don't worry leader! Have I ever let you down before?"

  Lin Mei couldn't respond to him. He was her best scout and has never given her wrong information about a target. It looks like these bastards found just what she needed to advance to the next rank in her martial art. And after she does that, taking over this desert will be as easy as snapping her finger.