Hunting in the Wild

Because he did not want to trouble Witch Doctor Master again, Lu Chen prepared to go hunting outside.

But as Lu Chen was thinking this, he soon saw the Witch Doctor and the Clan Chief at the entrance.

"Witch Doctor Master, Clan Chief, why have you come?"

"How could we not come after what you did? Why did you go beyond the totem's range? Do you know how dangerous that is?!"

Looking at the old Witch Doctor, who was bristling with anger, Lu Chen did not feel much resentment. He could sense the Witch Doctor's concern.

At the same time, Lu Chen understood Witch Doctor Master's intention. He had come to persuade him not to take risks again.

At that, Lu Chen shook his head.

"Witch Doctor Master, sorry for making you worry. But shouldn't we Barbarians be going out to fight? If we keep defending like this, do you think we can hold on?"

Those words left the Witch Doctor silent. Of course he knew that constant defense would not work.

The village could still carry on for now, but it was merely lingering on its last breath. Too many of the village's young Barbarian men had already died.

Yet even knowing that, the Witch Doctor had no solution. The evil entities were far stronger than this small village. Without the totem's protection, leaving would only make the village die faster.

Lu Chen understood that as well, so he spoke directly. "The other clansmen do not have my talent. Staying around the village is the best choice for them."

"But I am different. My talent is excellent. To avoid wasting it, I should fight and grow stronger."

Though his earlier words were somewhat boastful, Lu Chen spoke that way to gain the Witch Doctor's support.

And after sensing Lu Chen's determination, the Witch Doctor could only fall silent.

After all, Lu Chen's legs were his own. If he wanted to leave, there was nothing the Witch Doctor could do.

After a long silence, he finally sighed.

"Fine. You are nearly sixteen, already an adult. You can decide everything for yourself. Just be careful. If you cannot win, you must run."

"Rest assured, Witch Doctor Master. I have no desire to throw my life away. Besides, I will not go too far from the totem. With the totem at my back, if I cannot win, I can still retreat."

"That is good. You are..."

The Witch Doctor glanced at the iron sword in Lu Chen's hand, confusion appearing on his face.

Lu Chen had no intention of hiding it. He even asked Witch Doctor Master about it.

"I am preparing to hunt. By the way, Witch Doctor Master, do you know where there is more prey?"

"Is it because fighting consumes too much and you do not have enough food? If you need more, you can ask me!"

Faced with the Witch Doctor's kindness, Lu Chen shook his head.

"Witch Doctor Master, you have already helped me too much. This time, let me handle it myself. Besides, fighting beasts is also a form of tempering."

"Hahaha, A'Chen, you truly are a fine son of our Barbarian Tribe. Go west of the village. There is the most prey there. But remember, whether you catch food or not, you must return before dusk. At night, you cannot survive alone in the wilderness."

"Understood, Clan Chief."

Watching Lu Chen's swiftly departing back, Witch Doctor Master sighed.

"Alas, that child A'Chen is far too driven. I do not know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing."

"Of course it is a good thing. Only such an A'Chen can become truly strong, rather than being useless trash with strength but no fighting ability."

"Moreover, with A'Chen's drive, I believe his future achievements will definitely not stop at the Barbarian Bone Realm. He may even rise to a higher realm. If that really happens, our village will truly prosper."

At the thought of a powerful clansman sheltering the village, even the Witch Doctor felt tempted.

But he soon shook his head.

"Those above the Barbarian Bone Realm are indeed powerful, but how many can succeed? Most clansmen die along the way."

The Clan Chief did not refute that. One general's success was built upon ten thousand bones; Barbarian tribes were no different.

The strong were always few. Too many geniuses had fallen on the road to becoming strong.

"To draw nourishment from slaughter and strengthen myself—this path is indeed difficult, and death could come at any moment. But I have no choice."

The one speaking was Lu Chen. As he ran westward in great strides, he recalled what had just happened.

Lu Chen knew the Witch Doctor's persuasion came from good intentions, but he had not hesitated in refusing.

After all, this world was not his previous life. In China, even without strength, one could live an easy life. But in this world, without strength, death could come at any moment.

And Lu Chen absolutely did not want to spend his life trembling in fear.

Therefore, fighting and gaining Experience Points to level up were Lu Chen's only choice.

"Unfortunately, Experience Points are not omnipotent. The nutrients needed for leveling up still have to be solved by me."

After casually complaining, Lu Chen shook his head and laughed.

"Compared with everyone else, I am already far better off with Experience Points. A person cannot be too greedy!"

With such grumbling, Lu Chen quickly made his way toward West Mountain.

Compared to his constitution and strength, Lu Chen's speed was not especially fast. However, with his high stamina, ordinary running consumed almost no energy. Thus, though he was not quick, his advance remained steady.

In just over half an hour, Lu Chen ran into West Mountain. Without lingering at the outskirts, he headed directly into the forest.

"This is where the clansmen often come to hunt. The prey around the edges has long since been cleared out. If I want to quickly find prey, I can only go deeper inside."

With that thought in mind, Lu Chen pushed as far into the forest as he could.

After another hour or so, relying on his abundant stamina, Lu Chen entered the depths of the forest.

Seeing no more traces of human activity around him, Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and began searching everywhere for prey.

An hour later, amid a forest filled with insect cries, an elk was running and leaping frantically when a sharp tearing sound suddenly came from behind it.

Boom! An explosive sound rang through the forest.

The high-speed object crashed into a large tree.

Looking carefully, one would discover that the object flying at high speed was not a weapon, but an ordinary small stone that could be picked up anywhere.

Yet though stones were commonplace, the destruction it caused was terrifying.

The stone finally struck a large tree. The instant it hit, bark exploded everywhere, exposing a deep crater. At the same time, the stone that had struck the tree turned into powder from the backlash.

Looking at the tree that had nearly been smashed in half, then at the pebble that had turned to powder, one could see just how terrifying the strength of the monster who had thrown that stone was.

Yet Lu Chen, who possessed such terrifying strength, did not look pleased.

Of course Lu Chen was not pleased. This hunt had gone terribly for him.

"Damn it, the beasts here are too alert. I cannot catch them at all."

That was right—he could not catch them. It had long been said that though Lu Chen was a Swordsman known for agility, his strongest attributes were strength and constitution.

And that made hunting extremely difficult for Lu Chen.

The prey in the Barbarian Wastes might be weak, but their speed when fleeing was absolutely first-rate.

Lu Chen had seen beasts several times after entering the forest, but their running speed left him staring after their dust.

After chasing them repeatedly, wasting a great deal of stamina yet gaining nothing, Lu Chen chose ranged attacks.

Having yet to gain the ability to use sword qi, Lu Chen could only throw concealed weapons for ranged attacks.

Unfortunately, without the support of skills and using them for the first time, Lu Chen's talent with concealed weapons was truly rather dreadful.

Time and again, the stones he threw created quite an imposing display, but every attack returned without success.

Faced with such a situation, Lu Chen was genuinely irritated.

"Alas, am I going back like this?"

He could find prey, but could not catch it. He had no bow and arrows, and his ability to throw concealed weapons was poor. Lu Chen was truly at a loss.

Just as Lu Chen was feeling a headache coming on, his eyes suddenly turned cold and he spun sharply toward his rear.

"Danger is approaching."

Sensing the incoming danger, Lu Chen instantly tensed his body and entered a combat-ready state.

"What is it? An evil entity? But did not evil entities disperse as soon as the sun appeared? Or is it one that can appear during the day?"

With his entire body taut, Lu Chen guarded against the appearance of an evil entity.

Yet Lu Chen soon revealed a surprised expression.

Turning around, Lu Chen discovered that the one attacking him was not the evil entity he had always regarded as an enemy, but a grayish-brown wild bear approaching rapidly on all fours.

"Brown Bear! I came hunting, yet I was attacked by a beast."