After reaching Spirit General, Sanbao trained ever harder in the Lineage's Nine-Fold Claw and Nine-Turn Golden Body. He had also become extremely proficient in both Spirit Skills, and their power was more than twice what it had been when he was a Spirit Scholar.
Because its requirements were so demanding, Sanbao had only cultivated the Nine-Turn Golden Body to the third layer. The Nine-Fold Claw's requirements were much lower; in theory, one could master it upon reaching Spirit General.
Sanbao had only just entered the Spirit General realm. Although he had trained in the Nine-Fold Claw for quite some time, he was still a ways from mastering it. Even so, he had long since witnessed the Spirit Skill's power.
On the back slope of Fire Cloud Peak stood a kind of granite that was extraordinarily hard. Sanbao had tested it: striking it with a sword barely left a mark. But when he unleashed the Nine-Fold Claw with all his might, the granite shattered to pieces, proving astonishingly brittle.
This showed just how powerful the Nine-Fold Claw was. Of course, Sanbao wasn't entirely confident it could break through the defenses of a peak third-rank Strength Bear.
In the time it took an incense stick to burn, the two fighters on the ground had both sustained injuries. They weren't serious, but the Strength Bear had completely overpowered them.
"Big brother, let's retreat. We can't kill this Strength Bear." Once the woman in red saw how things stood, she knew they had no hope of defeating it and could only withdraw.
"All right. But what about Third Brother?" The bearded elder brother had wanted to break away for some time, but one of their companions was lying nearby, his life or death unknown. He didn't dare leave to rescue him, lest the Strength Bear pick them off one by one.
"We can only leave it to fate," the woman said with grim resolve.
"We have no choice."
The two worked together with perfect understanding. One exchanged glance was all it took for them to retreat at the same time. Then they sprang into motion and fled in opposite directions. With an angry roar, the Strength Bear charged after them without even looking back. In the blink of an eye, only Sanbao and the heap of charred meat beneath the tree remained.
And, of course, their third companion, whose life or death was still unknown.
Sanbao leaped down from the tree and felt beneath the third man's nose. Finding no breath, he shook his head and turned to leave.
The Strength Bear's blow had carried tremendous force, shattering the man's internal organs. The third man had only been a five-star Spirit General, yet he'd insisted on showing off. His death was no one else's fault.
Strange. The Strength Bear hadn't even been after the roast meat.
The campfire had long since been scattered, and the venison lying on the ground had turned black. But to Sanbao, who hadn't eaten in a day and a night, none of that mattered. What mattered was filling his stomach. He picked up a thoroughly cooked piece of meat and vanished into the darkness.
He'd thought the big tree would be a safe haven. He hadn't expected trouble to find him there too. Better to leave.
At least those hours of waiting hadn't been a complete waste—he'd ended up with a big hunk of delicious roast meat.
By the time Sanbao leisurely finished his meal, he had reached a nearby hilltop. From the other side of the mountain came repeated, thunderous roars, driving away every bird and beast in the area.
That Strength Bear still hadn't given up chasing the two. It was fighting them again even now. The more Sanbao thought about it, the stranger it seemed. His stomach was full, so he might as well go take a look.
Before long, Sanbao crept close to the battlefield. The situation had changed since before. The bearded man was injured, and the Strength Bear's body was crisscrossed with bloody gashes. Even so, the bear showed no sign of losing heart. Its enormous paws, like blocks of steel, battered the two men until they could barely stand.
"Big brother, this thing's clearly fighting to the death. What did we ever do to it?" the woman asked. A note of fear had crept into her voice.
"I don't know either. What a cursed day. First we ran into a Crystal Monkey King, and now this mad bear!"
The bearded eldest brother was just as helpless. He hadn't wanted to keep fighting, but his earlier battle with the monkey had drained him badly, and his spiritual power still hadn't recovered. He couldn't match the Strength Bear's stamina. They'd barely made it over one hill before the bear caught up with them.
Most importantly, ordinary Spirit Beasts were territorial. Once you left their territory, they would give up the chase. This Strength Bear had thrown that rule out entirely, pursuing them relentlessly.
"Ah!"
The woman screamed as the Strength Bear's paw slammed into one of her arms. There was a crack, and the bone broke on the spot.
The bearded man finally found an opening and stabbed the Strength Bear in its left eye. Blood poured from the wound.
An arm for an eye. Who knew whether it was a gain or a loss?
"Roar!"
Losing its left eye didn't make the Strength Bear any more timid. If anything, it only made it more ferocious. Its enormous paws kept hammering at the injured woman.
"Big brother, what do we do? What do we do?"
The woman was already panicking. What rotten luck, to run into a Spirit Beast that didn't care whether it lived or died.
"Retreat!"
The eldest brother ordered them to withdraw again. But this time, they couldn't get away so easily. The Strength Bear clung to the woman, fighting as if it were willing to trade its life for hers.
With a scream, the woman finally couldn't withstand its assault. Her chest caved in, and she died on the spot.
"Second Sister!"
The bearded eldest brother roared. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he swung his sharp sword, charging at the Strength Bear once more.
"Now's the time."
Sanbao judged the moment and struck without hesitation.
"Roar!"
A scream cut through the Strength Bear and the bearded man's frenzied fighting. Behind the bear stood a young man in green, holding a bloody mass of flesh in his hand.
It was Sanbao, who had been hiding nearby.
The bearded man and the Strength Bear were both at the end of their strength. Neither posed much of a threat to him, so only then did Sanbao choose to step in and save them.
The Strength Bear turned around with difficulty. When it realized that the man before it had torn away its genitals, it lunged at him in a frenzy.
Sanbao sneered and spun aside, easily dodging its attack. Then he sprang into the air, soaring above the bear's head. Five streaks of golden light plunged toward its face. With another leap, he dodged the Strength Bear's final desperate blow.
The Strength Bear's vision went black. Someone had gouged out its remaining eye, too.
Blind, the Strength Bear let out a furious bellow and swung its massive paws wildly in every direction. A moment later, it crashed to the ground with a thud.
Sanbao had struck the Strength Bear's two greatest weaknesses: its genitals and its eyes. Under the Nine-Fold Claw's devastating assault, he had hit the mark with a single strike.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue, young brother. Where are you from?"
After watching Sanbao dispatch the Strength Bear in moments, the bearded man grew somewhat nervous. He thanked the young man before him, but wariness was plain in his eyes.
His opponent might only be a Spirit General, but from the way he had killed the Strength Bear in a flash, his strength was unfathomable.
"I'm from Lijing. I came to train in West Cloud Mountain. I heard your shouts and came over. You were in danger, so I lent a hand. Though I was a little late. What should I call you, big brother?"
Sanbao glanced at the woman in red lying on the ground and spoke with regret.
Sanbao's words eased the man's wariness a little. Seeing the kind look in Sanbao's eyes, he slowly realized that Sanbao meant no harm.
Otherwise, given the strength Sanbao had just displayed, the wounded man would have stood no chance against him.
When he saw the woman in red's condition, the bearded man's eyes immediately reddened. He picked up her lifeless body and replied quietly, "My name is Lin Hai. This is my junior sister. We're from Willow Forest City, over by West Cloud Mountain. There were four of us when we set out..."
Sanbao already knew some of what had happened to Lin Hai. Hearing him say it himself now, Sanbao realized he hadn't been lying and finally felt at ease.
As they talked, they efficiently cut the Strength Bear into several pieces. They naturally took its most valuable parts—the paws, gallbladder, and hide. It was a pity it hadn't formed a core inside its body; those were extremely valuable ingredients for refining medicine.
Once Spirit Beasts reached the third rank, they could form a core within their bodies. The core was the essence of a Spirit Beast's spiritual power. Generally speaking, cores were found mostly in fifth-rank Spirit Beasts and above, while the odds of third- and fourth-rank beasts forming one were very low.
They quickly tidied up the battlefield, then returned to the base of the big tree. The third man's body was still there, and they needed to bury him quickly. Otherwise, the beasts in the mountains would soon devour him, something Lin Hai couldn't bear to see.
"Brother Lin, think carefully. Why was that Strength Bear willing to fight you to the death? Ordinary Spirit Beasts don't go that far," Sanbao asked as they walked.
"Ah, I don't know either. Maybe we just had terrible luck!"
Lin Hai sighed deeply. Then, as if remembering something, he said, "Oh, I've got it. About five years ago, my master and I came through here. We found several Strength Bears and killed two of them. The other two got away. Yes, it was around here. My master did all the killing back then. And after five years, one of them still remembered me!"
"So that's what happened."
Only then did Sanbao understand.
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