Taming the Dark Gold Bear

"I want to learn!"

Xun'er's stubborn look left Yun Xi torn between laughter and tears.

"Alright, alright. I'll teach you when I have time, but only the basics. If you get the chance later, you should still try becoming an alchemist." Yun Xi comforted her.

"Mm!" Xun'er nodded heavily.

"Alright, this is for you. Once you refine it, we'll head to the next place and see if there's anything good." As Yun Xi spoke, he placed the spirit pill he had just refined into Xun'er's hand.

It felt slightly cool upon entering her mouth. That was her only impression of the spirit pill. Without further hesitation, she withdrew her soul perception and sat down cross-legged, entering a cultivation state.

"Mm."

Seeing Xun'er enter cultivation, Yun Xi nodded slightly. He was clearly quite satisfied with her personality of acting as soon as she was told.

Under a large tree not far away, the Dark Gold Bear was still crouching on the ground with its paws over its head. Its five-meter-tall body was curled into a ball, and its bear eyes stared fixedly at Yun Xi's back. Yet it did not dare make a single sound. His aura frightened it terribly, filling it with fear from the depths of its heart.

Who would have thought that as it watched, the terrifying figure before it suddenly turned around? One soul and one bear met each other's eyes, and even the air seemed to freeze.

"Roar?... Mmph..."

Startled, the Dark Gold Bear let out a questioning sound, but the next instant, it quickly covered its huge mouth. It had suddenly remembered that the man before it had told it to be quiet...

"What should I do with this bear?" Yun Xi muttered softly, rubbing his chin. After all, he was not from this world, so he had no idea whether roasted bear tasted good.

He slowly drifted over and circled the Dark Gold Bear once before returning to where he had been. Still puzzled, he said, "It's hard to know where to cut... Let me think about how to eat it..."

"Roar?!"

Hesitantly hearing what the man in front of it had said, the Dark Gold Bear's legs began to tremble, and the corners of its bear eyes grew wet.

"Roar... roar..."

If it had heard correctly, this man was thinking about how to eat it? At that thought, the Dark Gold Bear began trembling all over, letting out mournful low roars.

"Shut up!"

He was considering various cooking methods when the giant bear in the distance suddenly began wailing. Afraid it would disturb Xun'er's breakthrough, Yun Xi shouted at it harshly.

"Roar..."

Having been scolded again, the Dark Gold Bear gradually resigned itself to its fate. Though it wanted to resist, its body honestly remained completely motionless.

And so, in the pitch-black forest, a bizarre scene appeared: a five-meter-tall Third Order Magical Beast, the Dark Gold Bear, crouched beneath a tree with its paws over its head, watching the back of a figure in the distance in fear. That figure, meanwhile, stood quietly beside a little girl, guarding her...

"Hah!"

The strange yet harmonious scene lasted for dozens of minutes before finally being broken by a young girl's sharp cry.

"Yun Xi, Yun Xi, I'm seven-star now, hehe." The moment Xun'er opened her eyes and confirmed her strength, she immediately shared her joy with the figure beside her.

Looking at Xun'er, who was brimming with delight, Yun Xi smiled and scolded, "Alright, alright. Now that you've broken through, hurry and release your soul perception. We're getting ready to head deeper in." They had found something the moment they entered the forest, making him even more curious about what lay inside.

"Mm." After answering, Xun'er quickly closed her eyes. Vast soul power slowly spread out, gradually enveloping the area, and her vision became clear once more.

"Oh, right." From the corner of his eye, Yun Xi noticed the Dark Gold Bear still crouching beneath the tree. He then asked Xun'er, "What should we do with this bear? Kill it or let it go?" To kill or carve it up was merely a matter of a wave of Yun Xi's hand. Asking Xun'er was simply because he instinctively regarded her as the one in charge. Even Yun Xi himself did not quite understand why; he merely seemed to want to hear Xun'er's opinion.

Following Yun Xi's gaze, Xun'er also saw the bear crouching beneath the tree. There still seemed to be tears at the corners of its eyes.

"Forget it. It's quite pitiful too. It guarded the Crimson Gold Twin Fruit for so long, and I even took one from it. Let it go..."

"Alright, then I'll listen to you." Yun Xi nodded slightly and said softly.

Having received Yun Xi's agreement, Xun'er immediately ran over. Standing before the Dark Gold Bear, she smiled gently at it. "Big Bear, thank you for your fruit. We're going deeper into the forest to take a look, so you should leave this place quickly."

"Roar..."

Hearing that, the Dark Gold Bear lowered its head to look at the tiny Xun'er, then shook its head and let out a soft roar.

"What do you mean? You don't want to leave?"

"Roar..."

It shook its head again, then pointed its enormous paw at Xun'er, then at itself, and finally toward the depths of the dark forest in the distance.

Xun'er's eyes lit up at the sight, as if she had guessed something. She asked softly again, "Do you want to accompany me into the forest?"

"Roar."

The Dark Gold Bear nodded. She had clearly guessed correctly. It did want to accompany Xun'er deeper inside, though that was only part of the reason. More importantly, it feared that the figure beside Xun'er might suddenly become unhappy and kill it. It would be better to build a closer relationship.

Seeing it nod, Xun'er turned around excitedly and asked Yun Xi behind her, "Can it?"

"It can."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Hehe, Yun Xi, you're so nice." Xun'er hugged one of Yun Xi's arms and grinned foolishly.

At the side, the Dark Gold Bear finally lowered its raised paws and slowly stood up, blankly watching the intimate pair before it... one human and one soul.

In its eyes, Yun Xi was an existence beyond its reach, someone who made it tremble with fear after only a single glance. Yet this legendary figure, so lofty in its eyes, was actually being so intimate with a little girl only a few years old. This puzzled it, but also gave it a hint of delight. After all, holding onto Xun'er was equivalent to clinging to Yun Xi. What was not to like?

"Roar!"

At that thought, the Dark Gold Bear's mood soared. With such a powerful backer, it could run rampant throughout the entire forest. It could not help letting out an excited roar.

"Shut up!" Yun Xi shouted.

"Roar~~..."

After being affectionate for a while, Xun'er finally planned to set off for the forest. Before that, however, there was still one problem.

"Big Bear, it's not good to keep calling you that. How about I call you... Little Gold from now on?" Xun'er racked her brains before finally coming up with a name she found satisfactory.

Yun Xi: ...

Dark Gold Bear: ...

"Haha, then it's settled. I'll call you Little Gold from now on."

Yun Xi: ...

Dark Gold Bear: ...

After Xun'er had named it, Yun Xi finally said calmly, "Let's go. Have it lead the way, and we'll take a look inside."

"Roar!"