After a bit more back and forth, the Imperial Scholar reluctantly got on the pallet. Skymender began to walk, dragging the pallet along the sand while following the Western Monks.
They walked rather fast, forcing Skymender to use his full strength in order to keep up. Luckily, his strength was far beyond ordinary.
Everything continued normally until an hour passed. Skymender was exhausted. Constantly using his full strength for an hour was already an incredible feat.
Truthfully, the environment made it many times harder than normal. The constant heat pouring down caused Skymender to quickly dehydrate, especially while using his full strength.
In addition, pulling the pallet in the sand was far more difficult than pulling it on any other terrain. The sand was constantly fighting against him.
He did his best to resist drinking water, as he had a limited amount. The Imperial Scholar had brought more, stored in a backpack on the pallet, but the journey was long and he didn't wish to use water unless necessary.
Another hour passed, and Skymender arms and legs felt limp. He could barely feel his limbs as he struggled to keep up with the Western Monks.
They were just a dot on the horizon at this point, since Skymender had failed to keep pace.
The Imperial Scholar felt bad, but Skymender had essentially forced him to come.
Another hour passed, and every part of Skymender's body was finished. It was by pure will that he kept moving. The Western Monks could be seen in the distance, but they were far away.
They had not helped Skymender, but it was not because they were heartless. Skymender had brought this unto himself, and they had let him accompany them on the condition that he didn't slow them down.
Skymender did not ask for help. He too knew that he was the one who had asked for this.
As he continued to pull the Imperial Scholar, his mind began to quiet. His thoughts slowly ceased, and everything within him seemed completely at peace. Suddenly, as he took a step on the ground, something appeared around him. All of the ground around him, and everything touching the ground, including the pallet and the Imperial Scholar, appeared in his mind.
It was blurry and without color, but this was the first time that he had seen since the day he lost his eyes.
He instantly stopped, causing the Imperial Scholar to look at him.
"I saw." Skymender said.
"What?" The Imperial Scholar asked, confused.
"I just accidentally used the technique that I've been trying to learn." He said.
The Imperial Scholar's eyes widened. "Good. Try again. See if it was just a fluke."
Skymender nodded and took a step forward. Nothing appeared.
He sighed. He could tell that it was only because his mind and thoughts had been completely calm.
He shook his head towards the Imperial Scholar, who sighed.
"Now that I've used it once, it should be easier to learn." Skymender said, pointing out a good part of this.
The Imperial Scholar agreed.
Skymender felt a bit rejuvenated. He continued onwards, though his high spirits did not last for long. He was getting tired once again. In addition, he could not enter that state from before.
Everytime he tried, the thought of entering that state stopped him from doing so. In a way, entering that state had made it harder to enter that state once again.
Skymender focused his mind as much as possible as the hours passed, but he simply could not completely calm it.
He was extremely close, but the small gap that existed between his current state and complete calmness seemed insurmountable. He would have to wait until the Western Monks decided to stop moving and rest.
Skymender pulled the pallet for another ten hours. His exhaustion could not be described. His consciousness began to wane in and out. The Imperial Scholar saw all this, and suggested they stop for the night, but Skymender rejected it.
If it wasn't for his inhuman body, which was as a result of the Imperial Scholar's design, this would be impossible.
Skymender tried to think of this like a training situation. With how much he was using his muscles, he was bound to be much stronger afterwards.
As another hour passed, the Imperial Scholar finally saw the Western Monks once again. The moon was in the air, but he was still able to see them setting up camp from afar.
Skymender put in the last bit of effort he had in his body to get to the camp. The monks eventually heard the sound of him dragging the pallet, and looked over in astonishment.
Skymender's body was very clearly thoroughly destroyed. He was bruised in many places, and blood had dripped out from ripped portions of skin.
The monks could not help but admire him. As he reached the camp, he collapsed on the ground, instantly falling asleep.
What he had done today was a feat that may never be replicated by another human. Perhaps only someone much stronger, such as Sword Master Gargantuan, could possibly accomplish such a feat.
As Skymender collapsed, the Imperial Scholar got up and gave him water. He put Skymender in a comfortable position before making him some food they had packed.
Skymender was not conscious, but instinctively ate the food the Imperial Scholar fed to him.
As the food was finished, Skymender fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, the monks were in a circle.
He sat up, his entire body sore.
"It's about time. You've been asleep for 33 hours." The monk in charge said.
Normally, they would have only rested for, at most, eight hours before continuing on. However, seeing Skymender, they could not help but wait.
The Imperial Scholar took care of him while he was asleep.
"Whenever you can move your body, we can start again."
Skymender nodded. Although it did not seem like the monks were helping him, they had stopped early and stayed in this spot for much longer than normal.
Skymender did his best to loosen his muscles before standing up. He was ready.