Strength Bear

Could it be that those people have caught up? That's impossible; I've been running for an entire night, and with all the twists and turns I've taken, even I couldn't find my way back. Do these guys really have such good luck?

Just as Sanbao was lamenting his terrible fortune, a group of two men and one woman appeared in his field of vision. The three looked incredibly disheveled; not only were their clothes torn, but they were also covered in blood, clearly having just survived a fierce battle. Judging by their direction, they were heading straight for the large tree where Sanbao was hiding.

It was too late to leave, so he had no choice but to tuck himself away and hope he wouldn't be discovered. As the group slowly approached and stopped beneath the tree, Sanbao couldn't help but smile bitterly. They had chosen the exact same tree as their temporary resting spot.

With a few thuds, the three of them collapsed to the ground to regulate their breathing. Among them, only the burly man with a thick beard remained slightly cautious, scanning the surroundings and the tree itself.

Sanbao was hidden perfectly, so the burly man's hurried glance naturally revealed nothing.

"Boss, this time we've really lost everything! Not only was the fourth brother killed by those Crystal Monkey, but we didn't even get a single thing to show for it!" shouted one of the men, a tall, thin youth with a pale face.

"Third brother, don't say that. It's already a stroke of luck that we managed to escape with our lives. Who would have thought that a fourth-rank monkey king would appear among the troop? This is all Headhunter Zhang's fault for providing wrong intelligence; I'll make him pay when we get back," said the burly man, who was clearly the leader of the three.

"Sigh, you can't blame the headhunter entirely. He did warn us before we set off. I told you that a Spirit Weapon wouldn't be so easy to obtain, but you wouldn't listen," interjected the woman in red, who must have been the second in command.

"If you want to blame someone, blame that Miss Lei from the city. She insisted on getting a Crystal Monkey Heart, and now look—the fourth brother's life has been thrown away because of it!"

As the group chatted while regulating their breath, Sanbao slowly began to understand the situation.

The West Cloud Mountain range covers a vast area. Hundreds of kilometers to the east of the mountains lies Lijing, the capital of the Yunli Kingdom, while less than two hundred kilometers to the west of the range sits Willow Forest City, one of the few major cities in the Yunli Kingdom.

These people were from Willow Forest City, and the Lei Family, a prominent clan there, had offered a high price to Spirit Cultivators in the city for a third-rank Crystal Monkey Heart.

Crystal Monkeys are social spirit beasts, mostly of the first or second rank, though some third-rank ones do exist.

Normally, no Spirit Cultivator below the Spirit King realm would dare accept such a bounty. However, the burly leader beneath the tree had once seen Crystal Monkeys in the West Cloud Mountain range, and he himself possessed the cultivation of a three-star Spirit Commander. Combined with the fact that the reward was a precious Spirit Weapon, the group had decided to take the job and venture into the mountains.

The western side of these mountains was technically under the jurisdiction of the Cloud Saint Sect, but it consisted mostly of desolate, vast mountain ranges, collectively known as West Cloud Mountain.

Although West Cloud Mountain nominally belonged to the Cloud Saint Sect, the sect rarely paid it any attention, and it had long been a gathering place for low-rank spirit beasts.

That was why the group dared to venture deep into the mountains, and by chance, they had indeed discovered a troop of Crystal Monkeys.

This should have been a stroke of good fortune, but as the saying goes, blessings and curses are intertwined. The troop contained a fourth-rank monkey king, which caused the group—who had intended to hunt for the heart—to be hunted by the monkeys instead, resulting in the death of their weakest member, a Spirit General.

After barely managing to escape the troop, they had fled eastward and arrived right under this tree.

Two hours later, just as Sanbao's limbs were growing cold from waiting, the group finally stood up. The burly man spoke, "We can't make it back today. It seems we have to find a safe place to spend the night and return to Willow Forest City tomorrow!"

"No need to look further. I think we should stay here. We can gather some dry wood, start a fire, and the third brother can go hunt some game. We'll just have to make do," said the woman in red, whose injuries were quite severe, making her reluctant to move.

"Very well. Third brother, go ahead, but be careful," the burly leader agreed, seeing that everyone was badly injured and that the location under the tree was actually quite decent.

This was a disaster for Sanbao. Having run all night, he was already starving, and now that these people were refusing to leave, he was in a difficult spot.

If he didn't reveal himself, he would have to go hungry until tomorrow morning. If he did, he risked an unnecessary conflict; after all, he had been eavesdropping for two hours, and if this led to trouble with the Cloud Saint Sect, the cost would be too high.

Weighing the pros and cons, Sanbao decided to endure it. It was only one night, after all.

For a Spirit Cultivator, if one is meditating, going without food for three to five days is not a major issue. Abundant spiritual energy can reduce a cultivator's need for food, though there is a limit. Sanbao had expended too much energy the previous night; enduring one night was fine, but going two days without food would be hard on his body.

It is said that once a cultivator reaches a certain realm, they can stop consuming grain, but that is merely a legend. Besides, Sanbao was still far from such a level, so he naturally still had to eat.

Sanbao was in this state, and so were the people under the tree. After the fierce battle with the Crystal Monkeys, they were equally famished, which was why they had sent one of their own to hunt.

Although the mountains were full of spirit beasts, there were even more ordinary wild animals, and for a Spirit Cultivator, hunting them was not difficult.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the tall, thin youth known as the third brother returned carrying a plump mountain deer. They each went to work—some gathered wood, some started a fire, and others cut the venison and sprinkled it with salt. Their coordination was incredibly smooth, and their techniques were practiced, clearly showing they were experts at this.

It seemed they were veterans of the wild.

The campfire was slowly lit, and before long, the aroma of roasted meat began to drift everywhere. Sanbao was drooling from hunger, but since he couldn't eat, he cursed each of the people under the tree in his heart.

Just as Sanbao was feeling utterly hopeless, a massive roar suddenly echoed from the distance.

"Awoo..."

The three people under the tree, who were just about to enjoy their roasted meat, braced themselves like they were facing a great enemy, each drawing their weapons to prepare for battle.

A giant black bear came lumbering from the distance. It didn't seem very fast at first, but it covered the hundreds of meters in an instant.

"What the hell! We just got chased off by a few monkeys, and now a Strength Bear shows up? Do they think we're made of soft targets?" the leader said, feeling deeply frustrated.

"Isn't this perfect? Boss, it's just a third-rank spirit beast, not a Crystal Monkey King. Let's cut off its bear paws and peel its hide!" the third brother shouted excitedly.

"You don't know what you're talking about! My master and I once killed two of these Strength Bears. They aren't just incredibly strong; their bodies are impervious to blades. If we can't beat it, don't try to be a hero—run immediately!" the burly leader knew the power of the Strength Bear and scolded him harshly.

"Got it, boss! Watch me!" The third brother charged forward with his blade.

"Be careful!" the leader shouted.

Before the words had even left his mouth, the black Strength Bear had already lunged. It swiped its giant paw, catching the third brother, who was in the lead.

With a loud bang, the giant bear ignored the third brother's blade, its massive paw slamming directly into his shoulder. With a pained howl, the tall, thin third brother was sent flying several meters away, crashing to the ground, his fate unknown.

This Strength Bear was far too ferocious; although it had swiped the third brother away in one blow, it had also sustained a bloody gash on its own chest.

This was a fight to the death.

"Third brother!"

"Watch out!"

The burly leader and the woman in red both shouted as they attacked. The Strength Bear was already injured; they couldn't let this opportunity slip by.

Bang, bang...

The two front paws of the Strength Bear were as hard as steel, rebounding the weapons of both attackers with ease. Although the bearded leader also favored a fierce and powerful style, he found his arms aching and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger numb from the shock of clashing with the bear's immense strength.

In a direct confrontation, the two were simply no match for the giant beast.

Whoosh.

The Strength Bear lunged, its massive paw slamming down toward the woman in red. With a flash of yellow light, a lotus-like sword bloom rose to block it; the bearded leader had finally unleashed his most powerful Spirit Skill, the Earth Lotus Sword Technique.

The woman in red took a step back, striking out with several streaks of flowing light from her own hands.

However, neither the leader's Earth Lotus Sword nor the second's flowing light could pose a significant threat to the Strength Bear. Its hide was incredibly tough, and shielded by a thick layer of black fur, it feared these attacks not at all.

Instead, the two were forced into a constant retreat under the black bear's powerful offensive. They lacked the bear's defenses, and if they were struck by its giant paw, their chances of survival would be slim.

As the fight wore on, the Strength Bear, despite being outnumbered two to one, gradually gained the upper hand.

Sanbao watched the scene with growing anxiety. Although the two under the tree were both at the Spirit Commander realm, their weapons were merely ordinary iron, and hampered by their existing injuries, they posed very 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 be a foregone conclusion.

This clearly demonstrated the importance of a Spirit Weapon.

At this moment, Sanbao felt a twinge of regret. He had previously refused the Spirit Weapon offered by his master, Jing Yifei, and he wondered if his own Nine-Fold Claw would be able to break through the Strength Bear's defenses.