Some spirit beasts were fiercely vengeful. They never forgot an enemy they had faced—not for five years, not even for a lifetime. The only thing Lin Hai hadn't expected was that this Strength Bear would throw away its own life just to get revenge. What a savage beast.
After burying Lin Hai's third junior brother on the spot, Sanbao called up to Lin Hai, who was recovering atop a tree. "Brother Lin, would you like some roast meat?"
"I'm not hungry. How could I have an appetite after all that? Come up and rest. Didn't you say you wanted to visit Willow Forest City? I'll take you there tomorrow!"
The night passed without incident. By the next morning, Lin Hai had mostly recovered. Aside from a few minor external injuries, what he had lost most was spiritual power. After a night of cultivation, he had regained seven or eight tenths of it. Sanbao, meanwhile, had made a complete recovery and was back at his peak.
"We were really unlucky this time. Four of us came, and I'm the only one going back. Greed was to blame for all of it. What good was a Spirit Weapon?"
As they passed through the Crystal Monkey's territory, Lin Hai brought up the subject again. He wished he could fly over and cut down the Crystal Monkey King, avenging his dead junior brothers and sister.
"Brother Lin, do you really want a Spirit Weapon?" Sanbao asked mysteriously.
"Of course I do. You've seen what a Spirit Weapon can do. With one, your strength can double! Second and third junior brother wouldn't have died at that mad bear's hands. But... sigh..."
Lin Hai shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Fine. I'll help you with this, Brother Lin. Just do as I say, and I'm seventy percent sure I can make your wish come true," Sanbao said with a grin.
"Good. Tell me what to do. As long as it doesn't cost me my life, I'll do anything." His longing for a Spirit Weapon made Lin Hai unusually eager.
Sanbao explained the plan, and Lin Hai nodded repeatedly as he listened. At last, the two split up.
About an hour later, Lin Hai finally spotted traces of the monkey troop. He ran to a nearby hillside and let out a long whistle. Before long, Sanbao arrived as promised.
"Brother Luo, I found the troop. It's up to you now. I'll wait here," Lin Hai said, his face full of anticipation.
"All right. I'll do my best!" Sanbao nodded and headed off.
In a coconut grove in the valley, nearly twenty Crystal Monkeys played without a care. Ever since a fourth-tier Monkey King had emerged among them, they had been the undisputed rulers of the surrounding hundred kilometers. No spirit beast dared challenge their authority.
Terrifying humans were the exception, of course.
But not every human had the power to challenge them. The humans from the day before, for instance, had provoked them and paid for it with their lives.
Just as several young monkeys were playing merrily, a pebble suddenly slammed into one of them, striking it in the chest from the hillside beyond the grove.
"Ugh..."
The troop was highly alert. At the young monkey's cry of pain, the whole group immediately fled deeper into the coconut grove, leaving only three or four of the strongest adults behind. The fourth-tier Monkey King stood at the front, its eyes sharp. The adult monkeys soon spotted their enemy on the hillside—a loathsome human.
There was no need to say it: this was Sanbao's plan to lure them out.
"Roar!"
At the Monkey King's command, one agile Crystal Monkey darted out of the grove and raced toward the hillside. When the scout discovered that there was only one enemy, and that he was pathetically weak—only an early second-tier cultivator—it let out an angry roar and charged at Sanbao, both claws swinging.
Two more spirit monkeys slowly circled around from behind. The fourth-tier Crystal Monkey King led its remaining two subordinates back into the depths of the grove, where a whole troop of their kind still needed protection. Humans were especially cunning; they couldn't afford to fall for a diversion.
The human on the hillside was too weak to pose a threat. Its powerful subordinates could handle him easily.
Events unfolded just as the Monkey King had expected. The young human had no chance against a third-tier spirit monkey. After just two or three exchanges, he turned and fled.
The Crystal Monkeys hated humans deeply. When Sanbao ran, all three spirit monkeys sprang after him. The fleeing human was weak, but he was fast. No matter how hard the monkeys pursued him, they couldn't close the distance.
After crossing the ridge, the three spirit monkeys stopped. They howled at the sky a few times, then turned back toward the coconut grove.
Crystal Monkeys were far cleverer than ordinary spirit beasts. Knowing when to stop was one of the laws of survival.
"Why'd they stop chasing you?"
A tall figure suddenly burst out of the bushes. Lin Hai, his face covered in a bristling beard and a heavy sword in hand, emerged.
"Heh, don't rush. This was only a test. A few more tries, and it's bound to work. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered!" Sanbao said calmly, as if he had everything under control.
"Brother Luo, be careful. That fourth-tier Monkey King is no pushover. If it gets its claws into you, you might not be able to escape!" Lin Hai nodded, secretly admiring Sanbao's courage. If he were in Sanbao's shoes, he would never dare go near that troop of Crystal Monkeys again.
Sanbao had some means of protecting himself, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't have wagered his own head on this.
About half an hour later, Sanbao approached the coconut grove again. He picked up a sharp pebble and hurled it with all his might at a careless young monkey by the edge of the grove.
This time, Sanbao used much more force. The pebble struck the young monkey hard in the chest and pierced straight through.
The young monkey tumbled headfirst out of the tree. It was clearly dead.
"Ugh..."
The troop sounded the alarm. Several adult monkeys sprang out and quickly spotted Sanbao again.
Another game of chase began. This time, the spirit monkeys were truly enraged. After crossing the ridge, they didn't stop; they kept pursuing Sanbao until the fourth-tier Monkey King could no longer sense them. Sanbao gradually slowed down. Then, in a patch of grass, he abruptly turned and charged the fastest of the third-tier spirit monkeys.
At the same moment, a heavy sword thrust out from deep within the grass.
A golden light shaped like five fingers swept viciously down toward the spirit monkey's head. Clearly, the monkey hadn't realized how dangerous Sanbao was. It casually raised one arm to deflect his blow, focusing more of its attention on the heavy sword that had appeared out of nowhere.
The sword belonged to Lin Hai. His spiritual power was far more abundant than Sanbao's, so the spirit monkey sensed that he was the greater threat.
The spirit monkey knocked Lin Hai's heavy sword several inches off course, and it stabbed past at an angle.
But Lin Hai wasn't the real killing blow. That was Sanbao's Nine-Fold Claw.
With a sharp hiss, Sanbao's five fingers, like five keen blades, pierced effortlessly through the spirit monkey's left arm. Seizing the opening, he swept his hand across and slammed it into the monkey's chest with Golden Sand Palm.
The spirit monkey shrieked, gravely wounded.
The other two spirit monkeys finally arrived. Before they sprang in to help, they howled loudly, clearly alerting the Monkey King that they had encountered a powerful enemy.
"Stop right there!"
Lin Hai naturally wouldn't let the three spirit monkeys join forces. He swung his heavy sword in a fierce half-circle, driving back the two rushing to help. At the same time, Sanbao pressed his attack, his left hand—charged with power for a long time—clawing viciously toward the wounded monkey's back.
With a ripping sound, the spirit monkey died.
"Fall back."
Sanbao grabbed the monkey and called out. The two men vanished into the grass.
The other two spirit monkeys had clearly been frightened by Sanbao's thunderous assault. They didn't dare give chase. By the time the fourth-tier Monkey King arrived, the two men were already long gone.
Sanbao carefully placed the third-tier Crystal Monkey's heart in a bowl, then tucked it into the pack on his back. The two hurried toward Guilin City, in the western part of Cloud Mountain.
Several days later.
In a small town outside West Cloud Mountain, two men appeared, hurrying along. One was tall and broad, with a thick beard. A large pack was strapped to his back, and he carried a black heavy sword diagonally over his shoulder, giving him a murderous air.
The other had a handsome face and a high nose, and looked rather excited.
It was Sanbao and Lin Hai, who had crossed West Cloud Mountain together.
This was the first time Sanbao had crossed hundreds of kilometers entirely under his own power. The journey had been dangerous at times, but at least he had made it out of Cloud Mountain.
Of course, Lin Hai's strength and experience had played a huge role. If Sanbao had been alone, there was no telling whether he'd have made it through safely.
"Brother Luo, this town is only a hundred kilometers or so from Guilin City. We've been traveling for days, and we're both tired. Why don't we rest here today and enter the city tomorrow?" Lin Hai asked.
Along the way, Sanbao's intelligence and strength had completely won Lin Hai over. Though Sanbao was only a one-star Spirit General, Lin Hai already considered him his equal—perhaps even a little better.
After all, Sanbao was only in his teens. His future was boundless.
"Sure, as long as we can keep that monkey heart fresh," Sanbao said. He knew the medicinal value of a monkey heart. If it spoiled, it might no longer fetch a Spirit Weapon.
"Don't worry. This Ice Porcelain Bowl will keep the monkey heart fresh for at least a month." Lin Hai looked confident. Before long, an inn appeared in front of them.
The two were just about to wash up and get some rest when several inexplicable strangers suddenly blocked their way.
Three of them were Spirit Generals; the rest were all high-level Spirit Scholars.
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