Bear Two's Promotion, Fifth-tier Magical Beast

Back in his room, Xiao Heng opened the system panel. The system remained unchanged.

Host: Xiao Heng

Cultivation: Five-Star Dou Shi

Cultivation Art: Ascension Art (Earth Grade Low)

Combat Skills: Immortal Slaying Sword Art (Earth Grade Low), Explosive Step (Mystic Grade High), Flame Kill (Mystic Grade High), Rashomon (Mystic Grade High), Lion King's Wrath (Mystic Grade High), Mountain Breaking Strike (Mystic Grade High)

Heavenly Dao Points: 3

Energy Points: 500

Cultivation Art Points: 10

Combat Skill Points: 0

The system only recorded the cultivation arts and combat skills Xiao Heng had mastered. It did not keep track of weapons, heavenly treasures, pill recipes, and the like, but this was already enough.

"System, fuse Black and White Profound Cut with the sword scabbard."

Black and White Profound Cut materialized together with its scabbard. A progress bar appeared before Xiao Heng. During his battle with Bear Two, Xiao Heng had noticed that wielding two swords was not very flexible. He was more adept with his right hand, and the sword in his left hand sometimes became a burden instead. So, he decided to fuse Black and White Profound Cut.

Moreover, he now had enough Energy Points, so he planned to upgrade Black and White Profound Cut as well. Mainly because that huge pile of things was just a burden sitting around, useless.

Once the progress bar finished, Xiao Heng issued another command. "Fuse all weapons with Black and White Profound Cut."

The progress bar appeared once more, and the large pile of weapons before him vanished.

The upgrade to Black and White Profound Cut was completed very quickly. Xiao Heng held the brand-new Black and White Profound Cut in his hand and carefully examined the new sword before him.

The sword was four chi long and three and a half fingers wide. The silver-white edges on both sides spoke of its sharpness. Half the blade was black and half was white, while a blue line ran along the sword's spine from end to end, wrapping around the entire hilt as well. The patterns on the blue grip were distinct, allowing it to rest most comfortably in one's hand.

Obtaining a fine sword was every swordsman's dream. Xiao Heng was not the most orthodox sort of swordsman, but he did use a sword. Naturally, he was delighted to obtain such a blade.

He said happily, "From now on, you shall be called the Immortal Slaying Sword!" Thus, Black and White Profound Cut disappeared, replaced by the Immortal Slaying Sword. An Earth Grade Low Immortal Slaying Sword would be enough for Xiao Heng to use for a long time. But with a good sword, how could he lack a good scabbard?

Placing the sword across his legs, Xiao Heng took out a two-meter-long, thigh-thick length of dark green bamboo and two Magic Cores. He had found this Iron Ink Bamboo in an Iron Bamboo Forest. Iron Bamboo was not particularly rare, but Iron Ink Bamboo was different. Even among a thousand stalks of Iron Bamboo, one might not produce a single stalk of Iron Ink Bamboo.

Moreover, this stalk of Iron Ink Bamboo was not young; it was at least two hundred years old. If Bear Two had not dragged him off in search of food, he might never have found it.

Speaking of Bear Two, after they had become familiar with one another, Bear Two often took Xiao Heng to search for all kinds of medicinal herbs. Xiao Heng, meanwhile, would refine half of those herbs into pills for Bear Two to eat. They split everything evenly. In the Magical Beast Forest, so long as Bear Two did not venture into the deepest regions, he was practically invincible. Very few magical beasts could defeat him, and even those that could not defeat Bear One.

Thus, during this period, Xiao Heng had obtained quite a few medicinal herbs with Bear Two. This bamboo was one of them.

"System, upgrade the sword scabbard."

The scabbard upgrade was even faster, taking a little over ten minutes. When he slid the sword into the dark green scabbard, it fit perfectly. The system truly was quite intelligent—Xiao Heng had been wondering whether the reforged scabbard might not match the sword. A Mystic Grade High scabbard was worthy of the Immortal Slaying Sword.

Nodding in satisfaction, Xiao Heng looked at the remaining pile of clothes and such in his Storage Ring and decided to use his remaining Energy Points to fuse them. After all, the materials of those clothes were quite good too.

In the end, three sets of clothes were forged, all of them fitting Xiao Heng well: one white, one green, and one black. In terms of grade, all three sets were Yellow Grade, which was quite impressive. However, the clothes were rather ornate and unsuitable for him to wear at the moment, so Xiao Heng stored them all in his Storage Ring.

Closing his eyes, Xiao Heng swallowed a Kirin Fruit and began tonight's Cultivation Journey.

The next day!

Xiao Heng brought Xiao Yi Xian to Bear One and Bear Two's place again.

When Bear Two saw Xiao Heng, his nose suddenly twitched, as though he had caught some scent. Following the smell, he came over to Xiao Heng's side and began sniffing him!

Xiao Heng tried to push away that enormous bear head.

"Bear Two, what are you sniffing for?"

It was not that he was unwilling—it was simply rather frightening to have a bear sniffing around his face.

Ignoring Xiao Heng's attempts to stop him, Bear Two sniffed the scent on Xiao Heng and asked curiously, "Xiao Heng, what delicious thing did you eat?"

Xiao Heng looked bewildered. "I didn't eat anything! I only took an Amethyst Crystal Pill!"

Bear Two asked, "What's an Amethyst Crystal Pill? Do you have any more? I want to eat one too."

Xiao Heng took out an Amethyst Crystal Pill and said, "This is an Amethyst Crystal Pill. Do you want to eat it? But it probably won't do you any good!"

Suddenly, Xiao Heng seemed to think of something. He took out all his remaining Purple Spirit Crystals and said, "Were you talking about these?"

He had obtained nine Purple Spirit Crystals in total. He had given one to Yun Yun, leaving eight. He had used another four in alchemy, leaving four.

The instant Bear Two saw the Purple Spirit Crystals, he grabbed them. Looking happily at Xiao Heng, he asked, "Can I eat these?"

Bear One also walked over. Seeing Bear Two excitedly holding the Purple Spirit Crystals, he snatched one from Bear Two's hand.

He said, "This thing has such a dense fire-element energy aura!"

Magical beasts were naturally skilled at finding heavenly treasures, though this was also related to their innate talents. When it came to finding heavenly treasures, Bear One was not as sharp as Bear Two, but he was no slouch either. He could clearly sense the dense fire-element energy within this crystal.

Xiao Heng was also curious why Bear Two was so interested in the Purple Spirit Crystals. But if these things were useful to Bear Two, he would not be stingy. Bear Two was already at the peak of the fourth tier. If he broke through, he would become a Fifth-tier Magical Beast, which would also be of considerable benefit to Xiao Heng.

"This is called a Purple Spirit Crystal. It is something that the Amethyst Winged Lion King sheds only once every twenty years. I use it for pill refinement. If it is useful to Bear Two, then give them all to him! I have no use for them anyway."

Before Bear One could say anything, Bear Two immediately snatched back the Purple Spirit Crystal from Bear One's hand. He clutched it tightly and refused to let go. "Thank you, Xiao Heng. I'll definitely take you to find even more medicinal herbs in the future."

Seeing this, Bear One could do nothing about it. He could only say helplessly, "Xiao Heng, then thank you."

Xiao Heng shook his head. "No need to be polite. Bear Two has also helped me find quite a lot of medicinal herbs."

Watching the two bears and one human, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly asked Bear Two, "Bear Two, if you eat this, will you be able to advance?"

Bear Two nodded. "Mm, I feel like if I eat these crystals, I'll definitely break through."

Those words suddenly enlightened Xiao Heng. No wonder Bear Two had reacted so strongly to these things. If eating them could help him advance, then it made sense.

Bear One was also surprised when he heard Bear Two's words. These things could help Bear Two advance? He had originally thought Bear Two would need much longer before breaking through! He immediately stopped hesitating.

He quickly ran back into the cave. After a while, Bear One came running out, carrying a yellow ganoderma as large as a human face.

"Thick Earth Ganoderma!"

Xiao Heng recognized the medicinal herb at a glance. This herb was anything but ordinary. It could only be found in places rich in earth-element energy, and the earth-element energy contained within it was exceptionally dense. It played a major role in many medicinal pills.

Bear One carefully held the Thick Earth Ganoderma and said, "I happened to find it before. There were two in total. I ate one when I broke through to the fifth tier. Now, this is the only one left."

When Bear Two saw the Thick Earth Ganoderma, his eyes lit up. He immediately tried to snatch it, but how could he be Bear One's match? Bear One sent him flying with a single slap.

Bear Two clutched the Purple Spirit Crystal tightly and looked at the Thick Earth Ganoderma in Bear One's hand with a wronged expression. "Big Brother, I want to eat that."

Bear One looked at Bear Two sternly and asked, "Are you sure you can break through?"

Whether human or Magical Beast, they could generally sense when they were about to break through. Back then, he had felt that eating that Thick Earth Ganoderma would allow him to break through, which was why he had eaten it. Bear Two's current condition did resemble the signs of an imminent breakthrough. Still, he had to ask carefully.

Neither of these two items was easy to obtain. It would be far too regrettable if they were wasted.

Seeing his big brother's serious expression, Bear Two also replied solemnly, "Big Brother, I'm sure."

A breakthrough sometimes came down to a fleeting feeling, so Bear One did not dare delay. He immediately handed the ganoderma to Bear Two.

At that moment, Xiao Heng, who was standing nearby, suddenly thought of something. He said to Bear Two, "Bear Two, can you hold on a little longer? If you can, I'll refine these things a bit first so you can absorb and refine them more easily."

Bear Two nodded. "I can hold on for a while."

Xiao Heng looked toward Bear One, who also nodded. He knew Xiao Heng was an Alchemist and trusted him. "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Xiao Heng said no more. He took out his pill furnace and, under Bear Two's pained gaze, snatched the Purple Spirit Crystal and tossed it into the furnace. He added nothing, merely purifying and melting it down. Half an hour later, four bottles of purple liquid emerged from the furnace. Xiao Heng then refined the Thick Earth Ganoderma into small medicinal pellets.

He handed the pills and purple liquid to Bear Two. Looking as though he could no longer hold himself back, Bear Two swallowed the purple liquid and pellets in a single gulp. He calmed himself for a moment, and then the aura of a breakthrough swept outward.

Xiao Heng's expression changed. He had not expected Bear Two's breakthrough to unleash such a terrifying aura. The Purple Cloud Wings instantly spread open.

Explosive Step!

Dou Qi erupted from beneath Xiao Heng's feet, shattering the ground as he shot into the air and lunged toward Xiao Yi Xian.

Bear One had not expected Bear Two to erupt so suddenly either. Fortunately, Xiao Heng reacted quickly and flew far away with Xiao Yi Xian in his arms.

After landing on the ground some distance away, Xiao Heng set Xiao Yi Xian down and asked, "Are you alright?"

Xiao Yi Xian shook her head. "I'm fine."

Bear One also came over. Seeing that they were unharmed, he let out a breath of relief. He had been careless. If Xiao Yi Xian had been injured, his sin would have been grave. He was not blind; he could tell that this new lord treated that girl differently.

Moreover, he and Xiao Yi Xian were fairly familiar with each other, and he did not want either of them to get hurt. That explosion of energy might not have been much to Xiao Heng, but it would definitely have severely injured Xiao Yi Xian.

"Bear Two's breakthrough will take some time. You two should return to the cave first! I'll stand guard here," Bear One said to Xiao Heng and Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Heng nodded. The Magical Beast Forest was hardly peaceful, but with Bear One standing guard, there probably would not be any trouble. Still, he and Xiao Yi Xian should not try to act tough. If something truly happened, not only would they be unable to help, they might even become a burden.

He nodded. "Alright."

Xiao Heng then led Xiao Yi Xian into the cave. However, he did not go all the way inside. He remained near the cave entrance, watching Bear Two break through. A Magical Beast breaking through to the fifth tier held considerable appeal for him. As for Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Heng had her move farther inside. She was still too weak. If anything happened, she might not even have time to run.