Strength Bear

Could that bunch have caught up with me? Impossible. I'd been running all night, and with all the turns and detours along the way, even I couldn't find the way back. Could those guys really have such good luck?

Just as Sanbao was cursing his rotten luck, a group of two men and one woman came into view. They looked battered, their clothes torn and spattered with blood. They had clearly been through a fierce battle. From the direction they were heading, they would pass right by the tree where Sanbao was hiding.

It was too late to leave, so he could only hide and hope they wouldn't spot him. As they slowly approached and then stopped beneath the tree, Sanbao could only smile bitterly. They had chosen the same tree as him for a temporary resting place.

With a few thumps, all three slumped onto the ground to catch their breath. Only the burly, bearded man showed any caution. He scanned the surroundings and glanced up into the tree.

Sanbao was hidden exceptionally well. The big man only gave the tree a hurried glance, so naturally, he didn't notice him.

"Boss, this time we've lost both the wife and the soldiers! Not only did that Crystal Monkey kill Fourth Brother, we didn't even get a damn thing out of it!" shouted one of them, a tall, thin young man with a pale face.

"Third Brother, don't put it like that. The fact we got away with our lives is already a blessing. Who would've thought there'd be a fourth-tier Crystal Monkey King among that troop? It's all Headhunter Zhang's fault for getting the information wrong. We'll make him pay when we get back." The speaker was the bearded man, the eldest of the three.

"Hey, you can't blame Headhunter for that. He warned us before we set out. I told you all along that Spirit Weapons weren't easy to come by, but you wouldn't listen," a woman in red cut in. She was probably the second eldest.

"If anyone's to blame, it's that Miss Lei from the city. She just had to insist on getting a Crystal Monkey Heart. And now Fourth Brother's paid for it with his life!"

As the group rested and talked, Sanbao slowly pieced together what had happened.

The Cloud Mountain Range covered a vast area. Several hundred kilometers east of the mountains lay Lijing, the capital of the Yunli Kingdom. Less than two hundred kilometers to the west was a city called Willow Forest City, one of the Yunli Kingdom's few major cities.

These people were from Willow Forest City, in the western part of Cloud Mountain. The Lei Family, one of the city's great lineages, had offered a high price to any Spirit Cultivator willing to procure the heart of a third-tier Crystal Monkey.

Crystal Monkeys were Spirit Beasts that lived in groups. Most were first- or second-tier, though there were also some third-tier ones.

Normally, no Spirit Cultivator below the Spirit King realm would dare accept such a commission. But the bearded man beneath the tree, the group's eldest, had once seen Crystal Monkeys in the Cloud Mountain Range. He was also a three-star Spirit Commander. With the reward being so valuable—a Spirit Weapon—the three of them had accepted the commission and ventured into Cloud Mountain.

The western side of Cloud Mountain was considered part of the Cloud Saint Sect's territory, though most of it was desolate mountain range, stretching across a vast area. It was also known as West Cloud Mountain.

Though West Cloud Mountain nominally belonged to the Cloud Saint Sect, the sect rarely bothered with it. For years, it had been a gathering place for low-tier Spirit Beasts.

That was why the three had dared to venture deep into the mountains. By chance, they really did find a troop of Crystal Monkeys.

It should have been a stroke of good fortune, but fortune and misfortune went hand in hand. A fourth-tier Crystal Monkey King had appeared among the troop. The three, who had hoped to hunt Crystal Monkeys for their hearts, instead found themselves pursued by the entire troop. One of them, the weakest Spirit General, had even been killed.

After barely escaping the monkeys, they fled east and happened to reach the tree.

Two hours later, just as Sanbao was getting stiff and cold from waiting, the three finally got to their feet. The bearded man spoke up. "We won't make it back today. We'll have to find somewhere safe to spend the night, then head back to Willow Forest City tomorrow!"

"No need to look. This spot will do. We'll gather some firewood and get a fire going. Third Brother can go catch a few wild animals. We'll make do here." The woman in red was badly injured and didn't seem keen to move.

"Fine. Third Brother, go on, and be careful." The bearded man could see that everyone was hurt, and the spot beneath the tree was decent enough, so he agreed at once.

This left Sanbao in a bind. He'd run all night the evening before, burning through too much energy. By now, he was starving. But the three were stubbornly staying put, and that was a problem.

If he stayed hidden, he'd have to go hungry until morning at the very least. If he showed himself, he feared it might spark an unnecessary conflict. After all, he'd been eavesdropping on them for two hours. If that brought the Cloud Saint Sect down on him, it would be a terrible trade.

After weighing the pros and cons, Sanbao decided to endure it. It was only one night.

For Spirit Cultivators, if they were meditating in seclusion, going three or five days without food was no great problem. Abundant spiritual energy reduced their need for food, though there were limits. Sanbao had expended too much energy the previous night. Going hungry for one night wouldn't matter much, but another two days would be hard on his body.

It was said that those who reached a certain level of cultivation could live without grains, but that was only a legend. Besides, Sanbao was still far from such a realm, so he still had to answer nature's call.

The same was true of the three beneath the tree. After fighting the Crystal Monkeys, they were just as ravenous, so they had sent one of their number out to hunt.

The mountains were full of Spirit Beasts, but ordinary animals were even more numerous. For Spirit Cultivators, hunting them wasn't difficult.

In less than fifteen minutes, the tall, thin young man called Third Brother returned carrying a plump mountain deer. The others got to work: one gathered firewood, another lit the fire, and someone else cut up the venison and sprinkled it with salt. They worked together with exceptional ease, their movements practiced and sure. They were clearly experts at this.

It seemed these people were seasoned hunters.

The bonfire slowly caught. Before long, the smell of roasting meat drifted through the air. Sanbao was so hungry his mouth watered, yet he couldn't get a bite. He cursed each of the people beneath the tree in turn.

Just as Sanbao felt there was no justice in the world, a sudden roar rang out in the distance.

"Roar..."

The three beneath the tree, who had been about to enjoy their roasted meat, sprang into action. They each grabbed a weapon, ready to fight.

A gigantic black bear came lumbering toward them from afar. At first, it didn't seem to be moving very fast, but it covered the several hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it, first those monkeys chased us off, and now a Strength Bear shows up. Does it think we're a bunch of pushovers?" The boss was thoroughly fed up.

"Isn't this perfect? It's only a third-tier Spirit Beast, Boss, not a Crystal Monkey King. Let's cut off its paws and strip its hide!" Third Brother shouted excitedly.

"You don't know a damn thing. My master and I killed two of these Strength Bears before. They're not only immensely strong, but their whole bodies are impervious to blades and spears. If we can't beat it, don't try to play the hero. Get out of here fast!" The bearded boss knew how dangerous Strength Bears were and gave him a stern warning.

"Got it, Boss! Watch this!" Third Brother charged forward with his blade.

"Careful!" the boss shouted.

Before the words had left his mouth, the black Strength Bear charged in. It swung a huge paw straight at Third Brother, who was leading the attack.

With a bang, the giant bear ignored Third Brother's blade and slammed its paw into his shoulder. A cry of pain rang out as the tall, thin young man was sent flying several meters, landing on the ground, fate unknown.

The Strength Bear was ferocious. Though it had knocked Third Brother flying with a single blow, a streak of blood had appeared across its chest.

It was a fight where each side risked its life to hurt the other.

"Third Brother!"

"Look out!"

The bearded boss and the woman in red shouted at the same time and rushed to attack. The Strength Bear was already wounded; no matter what, they couldn't let this chance slip by.

Bang, bang...

The Strength Bear's forepaws were as hard as steel, knocking both their weapons back. The bearded boss favored a similarly forceful style, but against the bear's immense strength, his arms were shaken numb and his palms went tingling.

In a head-on fight, the two of them were no match for the giant bear.

Whoosh.

The Strength Bear lunged, its huge paw striking at the woman in red. A flash of yellow light flared as a lotus-like sword bloom met the attack. The bearded boss had finally used his strongest Spirit Skill, the Earth Lotus Sword Technique.

The woman in red stepped back and sent several streaks of light flying from her hand.

But neither the boss's Earth Lotus Sword nor the second sister's flying lights posed much of a threat to the Strength Bear. Its hide was exceptionally tough, and the thick layer of black fur covering it protected it well. It wasn't afraid of these attacks at all.

Instead, the two of them kept retreating under the black bear's fierce assault. They didn't have the bear's defenses; if its huge paw struck either of them, they would be in grave danger.

As the fight went on, the Strength Bear gradually gained the upper hand despite facing two opponents.

Sanbao watched anxiously. Though the two people beneath the tree were both Spirit Commanders, their weapons were only ordinary iron. Coupled with their injuries, they posed little threat to the Strength Bear. If they had a Spirit Weapon, it would be enough to pierce the bear's defenses, and victory would naturally be theirs.

That showed just how important Spirit Weapons were.

At that moment, Sanbao felt a little regret. He had turned down the Spirit Weapon his master, Jing Yifei, had offered him. He wondered whether his Nine-Fold Claw could pierce this Strength Bear's defenses.