章 21: Be Careful of Bears
編集者: Caron_
Winter was fully upon them and most beasts hid away in their caves. The men of the Ye Family Village all stayed home and cultivated, waiting for warmer hunting season weather.
The Ye Family Village was a large village, but under Ye Feng's leadership, they had stored enough food for winter and no one worried about going hungry.
The snow piled on and covered the heavens and the earth with white.
On such freezing days, no one wanted to wander outside and all the villagers stayed indoors to cultivate.
The only exception was Ye Tian—every few days, he would venture forth to battle a couple Level Two Martial Warrior snow bears, practicing his Martial Skill and developing his combat experience.
After a month's practice, his Thundering Palm could finally create nine Palm Shadows, finally reaching the realm of great perfection.
After that, Ye Tian stopped practicing his Martial Skill and focused entirely on his cultivation.
Because of his talent and Yellow Martial Spirit, his rate of cultivation was incredibly quick and his month of progress was equivalent to what others managed in a year, and so very quickly, Ye Tian broke through to Level Three Martial Warrior.
…
Snow rained down from above, carried by the wind like little fairies, dancing in descent.
A month had passed but the weather hadn't improved and the white mountain forest was still empty of most beasts.
"It might even take two more months before it gets warmer!" Ye Tian murmured to himself, wrapping his tiger skin coat tight as he stepped into the thick snow and ran through the mountain forest.
He had once again come out to test himself!
Ye Tian passed by the familiar waterfall, not stopping as he continued deep into the forest. This time, he planned on going ten Li further than he had before.
I'm a Stage Three Martial Artist and a snow bear is no longer a threat. I need to find Level Three Martial Artist realm beasts to test myself, Ye Tian thought.
As a Special Forces Soldier, he was intimately familiar with the importance of actual combat experience; as his power grew, he would need to find opponents equal to him to test himself against or else he would never be able to utilize all his strength.
And how could a man who wasn't in control of his own power defeat others?
As he carefully explored the mountain forest, Ye Tian pushed deep into unknown territory. Suddenly, the ground began to quiver as angry roars echoed from the distance, shaking the forest.
En? That's the roar of a Black Cruel Bear! Ye Tian thought, his eyebrows dancing upwards in surprise. A smile crossed his face—the Black Cruel Bear was a Martial Artist Stage Three beast and was one of Ye Tian's targets.
Ye Tian sped up, running in the direction of the roars. Soon, he could see a huge black bear twice as large as the snow bear. It looked incredibly ferocious.
The Black Cruel Bear saw Ye Tian just as he saw it, turning with a huge-eyed glare. Without hesitation, it rushed at this trespasser, charging with its powerful Qi surging forward and suppressing Ye Tian alongside a gust of wind.
"Good!" Ye Tian called out happily, dashing forward and striking out with the Thundering Palm, shooting forth nine powerful and stunning Palm Shadows.
The Black Cruel Bear cared nothing for illusions, roaring angrily as it rushed forward. It smashed down with its huge paws, each like a boulder smashing down with immense power.
Ye Tian's speed and dexterity outstripped the Black Cruel Bear's, enabling him to dodge aside as his Palm Shadows landed on the Black Cruel Bear's body.
Instantly, the Black Cruel Bear's enormous body was lifted as it was tossed through the air before its weight brought it crashing to the ground.
"Roar!" Ye Tian's attack had been a direct hit, but even though the attack had heavily wounded the Black Cruel Bear, the beast only grew enraged. As soon as it got to its feet, the violent beast charged forward again, wishing for Ye Tian's death.
Ye Tian fought calmly. He didn't think of the Black Cruel Bear as a true threat, but for the sake of avoiding injury, Ye Tian combined his speed with his Thundering Palm to slowly wear the Black Cruel Bear down.
"Hong!"
Finally, the Black Cruel Bear fell and stilled, and the triumphant Ye Tian smiled with excitement.
With his cultivation and his perfected Thundering Palm, a Level Three Martial Artist was no longer any opponent for him.
For most people, a beast was always stronger than a Martial Artist of the same cultivation level, and most Level Three Martial Artists of the Ye Family Village couldn't fight this bear one on one.
However Ye Tian could use his perfected Thundering Palm to easily deal with a Black Cruel Bear of the same cultivation level.
The Black Cruel Bear is quite a powerful beast in the Martial Warrior Level Three range. I didn't expect to defeat it so easily, but it seems like this isn't the limit of my current abilities.
Ye Tian's eyes shone bright as he looked up at the unexplored mountain forest before him.
Easily defeating the Black Cruel Bear renewed Ye Tian's confidence, and he decided he would go deeper and see if he could find a Level Four Martial Artist beast.
This was a rather reckless decision, and dangerous beasts often appeared in the region before him. Normally, even the Ye Family Hunter Team would tread carefully here.
But after some more consideration, Ye Tian still decided to explore more.
Even the powerful beasts will be hiding away in this weather; the odds of me encountering one is incredibly low, Ye Tian thought. He didn't plan on going too deep and just wanted to explore the outer regions of the dangerous zone.
Cha Cha!
As soon as he stepped into the zone, Ye Tian felt an oppressive pressure falling on his shoulders. Even though there were no beasts in sight, this pressure still appeared out of thin air.
Ye Tian's heart jumped. After so many years of powerful beasts prowling through this area, the oppressing pressure had gradually sunk into the earth and filled the zone with a natural aura.
On high alert, Ye Tian proceeded forward carefully, his eyes taking in every direction as he strained to hear any sound. He kept his steps light and his breath quiet as he inched forward bit by bit.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a loud floor filled the air, numbing Ye Tian's ears, even causing his mind to go blank for a moment.
Not good! Ye Tian thought anxiously. He didn't see any beasts, but just by the power of the roar, he knew this beast was far beyond his capabilities.
Ye Tian immediately turned to run, and as he fled, he looked back and saw a terrifying scene.
"Roar!"
A huge black bear strode forward, chasing Ye Tian.
The Black Cruel Bear?
No, if it were the Black Cruel Bear, Ye Tian wouldn't have had to run away scared, all desire to fight squeezed out of him.
"F*ck me, how am I so unlucky to encounter the Black Cruel Bear King, a Level Five Martial Artist?" Ye Tian recognized the huge bear and his terror deepened.
The Black Cruel Bear King was double the size of a normal Black Cruel Bear, and its stride was so powerful that the ground shook as it chased after Ye Tian.
Ye Tian turned and no longer dared to look backwards, focusing on running as fast as possible. Luckily, the Black Cruel Bear species had great strength but were slow, and even the Black Cruel Bear King had difficulty catching up to Ye Tian.
But the question was whether or not this dangerous zone was hiding any other nasty surprises.
Damnit! I can't just run! Ye Tian thought anxiously. With the huge commotion that the Black Cruel Bear was causing, other powerful beasts would surely come to investigate.
If some beast like the quick tiger or cheetah came, he would be doomed.
Ye Tian's heart was filled with worry as he ran and ran, his gaze sweeping over the area around him as he tried to find an escape route.
The Black Cruel Bear King was very patient, chasing Ye Tian for a full two hours while showing no signs of stopping. Ye Tian, on the other hand, quickly grew tired and he slowed down greatly.
And as he slowed, the distance between Ye Tian and the beast gradually narrowed, deepening the panic in Ye Tian's heart.
What now? What now? Ye Tian thought anxiously. After running at his max speed for two hours, even his Martial Warrior Level Three cultivation could no longer support his exertion; he was faster than the Black Cruel Bear King but his endurance couldn't compare. The difference between the two levels was unsurpassable.
Even after living two lives and with all his experience as a Special Forces Soldier, Ye Tian couldn't remain calm.
If the current situation continued, in less than an hour, the Black Cruel King would catch up to him.
I can't die now! I finally got a Martial Spirit! I can't die here! Ye Tian roared furiously inside, filled with denial and regret.
Because he had his memories from his previous life, Ye Tian had always thought himself cleverer than others; if he had just stuck to his plan, he would've definitely become a powerhouse eventually, but he had forgotten that this world was different from his previous world. The Shen Zhou Continent was filled with beasts and Martial Warriors, and dangers of any kind could appear.
Ye Tian had unconsciously succumbed to his pride, but now he knew that this world had different rules—ones that he couldn't avoid.
At least right now, he wasn't powerful enough to challenge these rules.
"Roar!" The Black Cruel Bear King's roar grew closer and closer.
Ye Tian hurried forward and tripped on roots covered in snow, catapulting forward. He flew through the air and finally hit a boulder, pain covering his face.
But he could pay no attention to the pain, hurriedly climbing upright and turning to run. Just as he was turning, he saw a small hole nearby, just large enough for him to fit in.
"Heaven always leaves a path!" Ye Tian's eyes gleamed as a joyous expression crossed his face, and without hesitation, he clambered into the dark cave.
Hua lala!
The Black Cruel Bear King had arrived, but it was too large to fit into the cave. Without any way of reaching him, it stood outside and roared angrily at the human.
"Come on, come in if you can, hahaha!" Ye Tian laughed, adrenaline pumping through him after this narrow escape from disaster. He waved his fist at the furious Black Cruel Bear King, provocation dancing across his face.
"Roar!"
The Black Cruel Bear King looked at his satisfied expression and grew even more furious, and it angrily smashed the ground and shook the earth.
In the end, releasing his anger did nothing but the Black Cruel Bear King refused to leave, sitting down before the cave and glaring wide-eyed at Ye Tian.
Now, worry returned to Ye Tian's heart. If the bear didn't leave, how could he?
He couldn't stay in the cave forever—after all, he still needed to eat. In this kind of situation, if he wasn't killed by the Black Cruel Bear King, he would starve.
Instantly, Ye Tian understood the Black Cruel Bear King's evil plan.
"If anyone dares tell me that bears are dumb, I'll have to show them!" Ye Tian howled miserably.
-- 贈り物
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