Southern Border, Muddy Mountain.
Near noon, the rising sun shone high in the sky, and the clear heavens were cloudless for thousands of miles.
Somewhere in the forest behind Muddy Mountain, a young boy was facing off against a large bear.
The atmosphere was tense.
The bear stood nine feet tall, fat and powerfully built. Its whole body was covered in dense, glossy brown fur. Its maw gaped wide, revealing sharp beast fangs, while its crimson eyes fixed tightly on the boy before it, brimming with savage light.
The boy facing this bear was likely only fifteen or sixteen.
He was barely five feet tall, appearing even more slight and delicate beside the bear.
The boy had thick brows and large eyes, his gaze bright and spirited. He bravely exchanged looks with the bear, showing no intention of retreating.
The brown bear suddenly let out a great roar, opened its jaws wide, and pounced at the boy.
Though the brown bear looked clumsy and heavy, old hunters all knew that bears possessed astonishing explosive strength.
The brown bear went from stillness to motion, its speed erupting in an instant—shockingly fast!
The boy only felt a fishy wind howl before his eyes. In the blink of an eye, the brown bear had already pounced right in front of him.
Yet the boy's expression did not change. In that hair's-breadth instant, he activated a Gu worm.
The Movement Gu Worm made him shift away a distance in a flash.
The brown bear missed and rammed headfirst into the great tree behind the boy.
With a muffled bang, the thick trunk was immediately smashed apart by the brown bear.
A creaking sound followed, and the tree crashed down, striking the ground with another dull thud.
A great number of birds around them fled