The Harvest Was Decent

A few miles away.

Chen Guan dragged the tiger's carcass, silhouetted against the setting sun, as he strolled leisurely toward the dilapidated temple.

Today had been a bountiful harvest.

Three secret manuals, more than half a tiger's worth of meat, and a complete set of tiger bones.

These portions were enough to sustain his proficiency consumption for two days.

Grinding proficiency was incredibly taxing on his physical stamina.

As his level increased, Chen Guan clearly noticed that he was eating more and more.

Especially at the very moment his proficiency improved, and for the hour that followed.

He could feel his stomach and intestines churning, along with the rapid absorption of fat and food in his gut.

His muscles felt sore and itchy, a sign that they were growing.

Half a month ago, when he was being hunted by the constables, he had been a bit chubby and hadn't been able to forage along the way.

With the increase in proficiency and the growth of his physique, his reserve fat had been largely consumed.

In other words, he had slimmed down.

In case there comes a day when I can't find food, I need to start storing energy during the ordinary days.

Chen Guan had already set his plan.

That was to eat, eat, eat, and train, train, train.

The fat storage inherent to black bears was, in itself, a powerful innate talent.

It allowed him to maintain high-intensity grinding.

Furthermore, Chen Guan had discovered something else.

Over the past half month, he seemed to have grown five or six centimeters taller.

His height had reached around two point six meters.

It seemed that an increase in physique could also lead to an increase in body size.

Chen Guan felt quite good about it.

Being tall and big was quite imposing.

Over the next few days.

Chen Guan finished reading all the secret manuals.

Because they contained annotations, learning them wasn't particularly difficult.

He simply followed the instructions and practiced.

Although many of the internal energy breathing techniques were calibrated for normal human standards, he could still learn the physical training and combat techniques.

By utilizing these moves, Chen Guan felt his combat power had risen once more, and the effectiveness of his training had increased significantly.

He needed to deepen his familiarity with them.

In case he ever reincarnated as a human, he would be able to practice them by the book.

Grumble...

Today, while Chen Guan was contorting himself into strange poses in the temple's backyard, his stomach growled again.

At the same time, a prompt appeared: [Talent Proficiency +1]

"Now, a single point of proficiency improvement requires about twenty catties of meat."

Chen Guan glanced at the notification, then looked toward the temple entrance.

"Brother!"

Xiao Qing, who had been squatting at the doorway watching her brother train, saw him look over and used her ability to manipulate a large chunk of wild boar meat, delivering it right in front of Chen Guan.

The temple was cool, which helped extend the shelf life of their food.

After hunting, Chen Guan usually left the food with his sister.

It also served as practice for her to hone her control abilities.

"Roar."

Chen Guan first thanked his sister, then grabbed the large piece of meat and began to feast, savoring every bite.

Nowadays, Chen Guan aimed to ensure he gained seven to eight points of proficiency a day.

The minimum requirement is 160 catties of meat.

But Chen Guan usually eats around 180 catties, storing the remainder as fat for energy.

Through deliberate effort, the rapid consumption of proficiency, and the fat-conversion inherent to his ursine nature.

At this moment, after days of energy storage.

Chen Guan's physique appeared exceptionally robust.

Compared to the other two-meter-tall black bears in the forest, he was a full size larger.

Relying solely on this raw strength, akin to an ancient warrior's brawn, he could easily send other black bears tumbling with a single charge.

If he were to run on all fours, calling him a miniature tank would be no exaggeration.

Chen Guan loved this feeling of power.

So, continue training.

Ten days later.

The sky was cloudless.

In the bustling Little Liuzi Town.

"Wooden pendants, wooden pendants..."

"Fresh venison..."

Peddlers carried shoulder poles, hawking their wares through the streets and alleys.

"Shopkeeper, how much for this jewelry?"

Merchants and various young masters and ladies stopped from time to time at the street stalls.

"The weather is perfect today..." Most pedestrians and locals, seeing the fine weather, strolled through the market with cheerful expressions.

Because today was the annual Autumn Harvest Festival.

For the next few days, this lively market scene would continue.

Many unmarried young women and young men would also attend the early autumn lantern riddle festival tonight, hoping to encounter their future soulmates.

This mid-year Autumn Harvest Festival was a traditional holiday passed down through generations, second only to the New Year.

And amidst this bustling scene, where everyone was generally in high spirits.

Outside an inn on the edge of town.

The bandit leader sat by the bridge, ignoring the couples flirting nearby, his face dark as he stared at the inn ahead.

The location of his buried treasure was right beneath this inn.

But back then, this area was outside the town, with neither a bridge nor an inn.

Yet now, with the stability of the current dynasty and the expansion of the town.

This place had become part of Little Liuzi Town.

"Damn it all... does this mean I have to dig?"

The bandit leader felt miserable, and based on his experience, he sensed it would be difficult to dig.

Because after days of scouting, he realized this place was far too busy.

Not only was there an inn, but also brothels, music houses, teahouses, and a fairly legitimate gambling den.

In such a street of entertainment, there were many martial arts experts keeping watch or seeking pleasure.

If he were to start digging and alert someone, who would the money end up with?

That was anyone's guess.

But as for giving up.

The bandit leader was even less willing.

Because he hadn't heard of anyone discovering the treasure buried over three zhang deep while the inn was being built.

This proved that his fortune was still there.

"I must plan carefully..."

After pondering for a few moments, the bandit leader came up with a halfway decent plan.

That was to become a waiter or a hand at this inn.

Then, find an opportunity to dig slowly.

"I've already dug a tunnel for three years, what's a little more..."

The bandit leader decided to endure and continue digging.

Especially since the head constable had returned recently, strengthening patrols outside the town and in the vicinity, and coordinating with surrounding villages to post notices, seemingly in search of him.

He also thought it best to keep hiding.

The most dangerous place is the safest.

The bandit leader decided to hide in plain sight.

Search...

He felt the short blade inside his sleeve, then leaned slightly over the bridge to look at his bearded reflection in the water.

Tonight, he would shave his beard, knock out a few teeth from his back rows, and change his appearance entirely.

Two more days passed.

Five hundred miles from the ruined temple.

Hulin Mountain.

Inside a cave.

A five-meter-tall tiger sat cross-legged on a large rock, staring down at a trembling leopard below.

"Woo-woo..." The three-meter-long leopard trembled as if trying to say something.

"What?"

Upon hearing this, the great tiger spoke in human language, astonished: "You say my white-browed concubine is dead?"

"Woo-woo..." The leopard trembled and spoke again.

As he spoke, he produced several rags, each stained with two distinct scents of blood.

One belonged to an old man.

The other was left behind by Chen Guan when he was injured that day.

Although both had dried into the dirt and rocks, the leopard, having cultivated water-attribute arts, was able to extract some of it using water spiritual energy.

"A human, and... a bear?" The great tiger sniffed the scents.

"Woo... (Yes)" The leopard nodded hurriedly, explaining that he hadn't been able to find Chen Guan at the time.

Because on his way back that day, Chen Guan had washed his wounds in the river and applied medicine, which had dispersed the scent.

"Woo-woo..."

After finishing his account, the leopard looked at his king in terror, afraid that the king would kill him the next second.

He had been responsible for protecting the "King's" concubine.

Yet, a month ago, he had lost her trail.

It wasn't until ten days ago that he approached the vicinity of the rock crevices and, based on the faint scent, located the crime scene.

Judging by the large patches of blood and the "remains" of brain tissue that had long since dried up and been consumed by insects, he was certain that the King's concubine was no longer among the living.

"Woo-woo (Spare me, Great King)..."

He was begging for mercy now, looking at the great tiger with a pitiful expression.

But deep down, he was exceptionally guarded; if the King showed any sign of movement, he would bolt.

Of course, he could have chosen not to return in the first place.

But doing so would have inevitably led to the King hunting him down.

The King had his scent and commanded over a dozen ghost servants capable of traveling a hundred miles a day.

Finding him would have been quite simple.

However, after hearing his plea, the great tiger shook his head and said:

"What kind of demon do you take this King for?

This King is the Tiger Immortal!

As it stands, if a concubine is dead, she is dead; this King still has seven other concubines.

You need not worry about this King blaming you.

We have been brothers for many years; it is not worth it to fall out over a concubine."

"Woo! (Thank you, Great King!)" Hearing the King say this, the leopard kowtowed repeatedly, feeling incredibly moved, his guard dropping significantly.

But the next second.

The Tiger Immortal lunged from the stone platform, his sharp tiger claws extending to slice the leopard's head clean off.

Roll, roll...

The leopard's head, still wearing an expression of relief, rolled a long distance away.

The Tiger Immortal tore out the leopard's heart and liver, stuffing them into his bowl-sized mouth.

"This King only said I wouldn't blame you; I never said I wouldn't kill you."

After devouring the leopard's heart and liver.

Tiger Immortal returned to the stone platform and began to refine the essence blood from the leopard's heart.

Two days passed.

Only then did Tiger Immortal exhale a long, foul-smelling breath.

"I raised that little concubine for decades; she was on the verge of gaining sentience and could have produced essence blood to serve as a medicinal catalyst for my cultivation.

Now that she is dead, I have no choice but to use you for my practice instead.

Let us empathize with one another; this king does not blame you, and you should not blame this king."

As Tiger Immortal thought this, he took out a tattered rag, sniffed it, and then turned his gaze toward the rocky direction the leopard had mentioned.

"To be able to kill my little concubine, you are qualified enough to serve as this king's next 'medicinal catalyst' and empathize with this king."