Three Months of Time

After briefly introducing Xiao Yi Xian to Bear One and Bear Two, Xiao Heng began his training for the day. As usual, he started by sparring with Bear Two.

Xiao Yi Xian was rather curious about the two bears that could speak, but she still did not dare talk to Bear One. Even though Xiao Heng had said they meant no harm, she was still afraid.

Bear One treated Xiao Heng well, but he was not particularly warm toward Xiao Yi Xian. As a Fifth-tier Magical Beast, he had his own pride. Thus, one person and one bear stood beneath the tree, watching Bear Two fight Xiao Heng.

Xiao Heng: "Bear Two, are you ready?"

Bear Two: "Come on!"

The man and bear began fighting. Naturally, most of the time, Xiao Heng attacked while Bear Two defended.

Xiao Heng slashed his sword against Bear Two's earthy-yellow armor, then swiftly retreated. He had no desire to take a bear paw head-on. Yet Bear Two was still extremely fast. Though Earth Stone Bears were not Magical Beasts known for speed, Bear Two was, after all, a Fourth-tier Magical Beast.

The suppression of their ranks alone allowed him to easily catch up to Xiao Heng, but he was not going all out. If he truly did, then with Xiao Heng's strength, he likely would not last three moves against him.

Xiao Heng also understood the gap between himself and Bear Two. He said nothing more. If he asked Bear Two to fight at full strength now, that would be foolish.

Xiao Yi Xian watched Bear Two and Xiao Heng fight from the side. At first, she found it quite interesting, but as she watched on, she grew bored. Even after Xiao Heng and Bear Two finished fighting, Xiao Heng immediately began recovering his Dou Qi, without even having time to speak with her.

Xiao Yi Xian sat beneath the tree, with Bear One beside her. She muttered, "So boring!"

Bear One watched his younger brother fight Xiao Heng and replied, "Cultivation is like this. It's boring, but only through steady accumulation over time can the strong be born."

Xiao Yi Xian stared aimlessly ahead and asked, "Why do you have to become strong? Wouldn't it be good to live an ordinary life?"

Bear One fell silent for a moment, as though recalling something. Then he said, "I don't know why one has to become strong. I only know one thing: sometimes, if you aren't strong enough, you'll die."

That was right! No matter where one was, the strong always held the initiative. They could decide everything.

Xiao Yi Xian fell silent at Bear One's words. She understood that strength could change many things, but some things could not be changed, even if all she wanted was an ordinary life.

Bear One paused before continuing, "When I was very young, my mother was killed by other Magical Beasts. I fled with my younger brother for a long time. If it weren't for that adult, we probably would have died long ago as well. Back then, I kept thinking that if I had been a little stronger, would Mother not have had to die?"

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Bear One and said apologetically, "I'm sorry! I brought up something painful."

Bear One shook his head. "It's alright. Now, I only want to protect my younger brother well. That's enough."

Xiao Yi Xian nodded thoughtfully and murmured, "Protection... how wonderful."

Bear Two slapped the sword from Xiao Heng's left hand away, a delighted expression appearing on his face. Xiao Heng's sword had made him extremely uncomfortable, so he was naturally happy to knock it away.

"Xiao Heng, admit defeat! You only have one sword left now."

Bear Two looked smug. With one less sword, Xiao Heng would definitely not be as strong. Big Brother had said that as long as he defeated Xiao Heng using his current strength, he would get delicious fruit.

His left hand trembled slightly as Xiao Heng tightened his grip on the sword in his right hand. What tremendous strength. But how could a man admit defeat? He bared his teeth in a grin. "It's still too early for you to make me surrender!"

Seeing that Xiao Heng still refused to admit defeat, Bear Two did not care. If you won't surrender, then I'll defeat you. Earthy-yellow Dou Qi gathered around him as he struck at Xiao Heng with a palm. However, he still held back his strength, afraid of slapping Xiao Heng to death.

Xiao Heng smiled brilliantly. It was true that he used swords, but that did not mean swords were all he knew how to use. Red Dou Qi rose around him. His right hand held the sword, while his left hand formed a fist.

"Mountain Breaking Strike!"

Seeing Xiao Heng prepare to meet him fist against palm, Bear Two feared he might hurt Xiao Heng. But his fist had already been thrown and could not be withdrawn, so he could only continue. I just hope Bear One doesn't beat me up afterward, he thought.

Boom!

Fist and palm collided. Though high-level Dou Techniques could greatly increase one's attack power and allow one to fight above their rank, fighting above one's rank was not the same as being invincible. In an instant, Xiao Heng's attack collapsed.

Mountain Breaking Strike emphasized explosive force, but lacked sustained power. Although he could contend with Bear Two for that brief instant, after it passed, he would certainly be no match for the great bear. He knew this as well, which was why he had held another move in reserve.

At the instant his fist attack collapsed, the sword in his right hand had already been completely wrapped in Dou Qi. Xiao Heng gave a low roar.

"Breath Sever!"

A red and green sword light slashed toward Bear Two's chest. Caught off guard, Bear Two was sent flying by the strike.

Bear Two looked at the armor on his chest. The sword mark upon it, already slowly healing, proved the power of Xiao Heng's attack just now. Although it still had not broken through his defenses, it had improved greatly compared to before.

Bear Two looked completely dumbfounded and turned to Bear One, somewhat suspecting that he had grown weaker. Bear One ignored him and simply said, "Continue."

Although Xiao Heng did not have much Dou Qi left, he would not stop until it was completely exhausted. Bear Two could stand there in a daze, but he could not. If he let his guard down even slightly, Bear Two would likely send him flying with a single strike. He immediately raised his sword and charged at Bear Two again.

The man and bear fought once more. Generally speaking, battles of life and death rarely lasted long. Both sides would unleash their full strength in the shortest time possible and kill their opponent. If the opponent still did not die, then there was nothing more to say—run. But Bear Two was mainly helping Xiao Heng practice his moves, so while this fight was not particularly long, it was not short either.

Watching Xiao Heng's progress from the side, Bear One felt somewhat pleased. Though he did not know how humans cultivated, Xiao Heng's improvement still delighted him. The stronger Xiao Heng became, the happier he was.

After their exchange just now, Xiao Yi Xian realized that the bear beside her seemed quite nice. She was no longer afraid and asked, "What tier is Bear Two?"

Bear One said, "Bear Two is at the peak of the Fourth tier. I suppose I'm at the advanced Fifth tier."

Although Xiao Heng had already told her how strong these two bears were, she was still amazed by the strength of Bear One and Bear Two.

She praised, "That's amazing!"

Upon hearing Xiao Yi Xian's praise, Bear One did not become smug. Instead, he said, "We Magical Beasts cultivate very slowly. For someone like me, without some other fortunate opportunity, breaking through to the Sixth tier would probably take decades. As for Bear Two breaking through to the Fifth tier, that would likely still take several years. Humans are different. With good talent, breaking through to the Dou Emperor realm only takes a few decades."

Xiao Yi Xian seemed to think of something and asked, "Then how long would it take Xiao Heng to break through to Dou Emperor?"

Bear One shook his head. "I'm not too sure either, but with his talent, barring any accidents, he should be able to break through before he turns thirty."

He did not know much about human talent. He had merely heard before that exceptionally talented humans could break through to Dou Emperor before the age of thirty. As for Xiao Heng's talent—since that adult had taken a liking to him, it had to be extraordinary. He would certainly break through to Dou Emperor before thirty.

Xiao Yi Xian smiled sweetly. "I didn't expect this guy to be so talented." After saying that, she happily looked toward Xiao Heng.

Bear One said, "Mm."

Xiao Heng and Bear Two exchanged more than ten moves before the battle finally ended when Xiao Heng exhausted his Dou Qi. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Xiao Heng began recovering his Dou Qi. As for Bear Two—sorry, but that little bit of Dou Qi meant nothing to him!

After recovering his battle qi, Xiao Heng began a new round of fighting. He fought until his battle qi was exhausted, recovered it, then fought again.

Bear Two was very strong, so Xiao Heng could unleash his full strength without restraint. He did not need to worry about hurting Bear Two, nor did he have to worry that his opponent would be too weak. Bear Two, on the other hand, was forced to fight Xiao Heng under the pressure of Bear One's fists, and he found it terribly boring.

Before they knew it, an entire day had passed. After saying goodbye to Bear One and Bear Two, Xiao Heng took Xiao Yi Xian back to the valley. The journey back went smoothly. Although the Purple Cloud Wings played a part, the aura of a Fifth-tier Magical Beast around Bear One kept most magical beasts from attacking Xiao Heng.

It was already dark in the valley. Xiao Heng rubbed his full stomach in satisfaction and smiled contentedly.

Xiao Heng: "How did today feel?"

Xiao Yi Xian: "Watching you fight Bear Two was pretty interesting, and Bear One is pretty nice too."

Xiao Heng: "Then shall we go again tomorrow?"

Xiao Yi Xian smiled gently and looked at Xiao Heng. "What? You still want to take advantage of me?"

Xiao Heng: "How is that possible? Do I look like that kind of person?"

"You don't just look like one. You are one!"

Xiao Heng: "Uh, uh, uh! Xiao Yi Xian, I'm telling you, don't think you can slander me however you like just because I have a good temper. Apologize now!"

Xiao Yi Xian: "Bleh, bleh, bleh! No! What can you do to me?"

Xiao Heng: "You're challenging my bottom line!"

Xiao Yi Xian: "I am challenging it. What are you going to do about it?"

Xiao Heng chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "Hehehe! Aren't you afraid I'll be overcome by beastly urges? There are only the two of us here right now!"

Xiao Yi Xian was not afraid. After being together for so long, she had long understood what kind of person Xiao Heng was. His mouth was the only formidable thing about him; he could anger someone to death with his words. As for anything else, forget it!

She gave a disdainful smile and said, "If you dare, then try!"

As she spoke, she puffed out her chest, looking as though she were daring him to come at her. Xiao Heng was left a little stunned. Had this woman become so mature now? Even this could not scare her anymore? Sure enough, they could not get too familiar. Huh? Had her chest gotten a little bigger? It seemed like it had!

Feeling Xiao Heng's fixed gaze, Xiao Yi Xian's face could not help growing hot. Still, she refused to admit defeat and continued, "Come on, if you've got the guts! I don't believe you'd dare..."

By the end, she was clearly losing confidence. Xiao Heng did not bother arguing with her. After feasting his eyes for a moment, he said, "I won't hold it against you. I'm going to cultivate."

Mainly because he was afraid that if he kept looking, he would lose control of himself.

Watching Xiao Heng close the door, Xiao Yi Xian let out a breath of relief. She had still been rather afraid. Though she trusted Xiao Heng's character, she could not keep acting like that! She decided she could not do this again next time. After calming herself down, she returned to her room to sleep as well.

And so, Xiao Heng fought Bear Two during the day and refined pills at night. Occasionally, he would go looking for medicinal herbs or kill a few magical beasts.

As for Xiao Yi Xian, she spent most of her time in the valley, though sometimes she would accompany Xiao Heng to visit Bear One and Bear Two.

Thus, time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.