Chapter 13 – Competing

“The White-Nosed Demon Bear is a common low-level demonic beast with violent and aggressive tendencies. An adult White-Nosed Demon Bear is over three meters tall, with a cultivation level equivalent to a cultivator at the Qi Refining stage.” Feng Ye raised his eyes and took the measure of the creature standing ten meters away, which was an entire head taller than him, estimating: “The one in front of us should be an adult.”

Clap, clap, clap. Hao Chen clapped, then praised with a smile: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is so knowledgeable.”

“Fellow Daoist Hao Chen thinks too highly of me. The White-Nosed Demon Bear is the most difficult monster to deal with on our back mountain culling list. All disciples of Lingxiao Sword Sect are knowledgeable about this monster. Also…..”

Feng Ye changed the subject, turning to Hao Chen with a sheepish look on his face: “To be honest, I’m not very strong. I’m only at the third level of Qi Refining. Fellow Daoist Hao Chen is at a higher level than me, so I’ll leave this White-Nosed Demon Bear in your care.”

Hao Chen maintained his smile and kicked the ball back: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye may not be aware, but although I’m at the fourth level of Qi Refining, I gained this level by taking medicinal pills. My foundation isn’t stable, and my actual strength is only at the second level of Qi Refining. Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is still a little better.”

“No, no, no, my cultivation isn’t very stable either. As Fellow Daoist Hao Chen has seen over the past few days, my swordsmanship has been neglected for too long, and I really don’t have the ability to deal with such a monster.”

“Roar!” As if to confirm Feng Ye’s words, the White-Nosed Demon Bear opposite roared. A flock of unknown birds in the forest were startled, and fled quickly with flapping wings.

The roar created a wave of sound that caused Feng Ye and Hao Chen’s daoist robes to sway, but the two men stayed firmly on their feet without taking a single step back.

Although they didn’t retreat, they also had no intention of advancing.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye also knows that our Tiangong Pavilion is a sect that focuses on the refinement of weapons. In terms of combat ability, ten of our disciples may not be able to match one disciple of your sect. Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, don’t be so modest. Your strength is definitely superior to mine.”

Fang Yang, standing behind them, listened to their conversation with an expressionless face.

He wasn’t surprised at all that the two men before him continued to shirk their responsibilities and make all kinds of excuses.

The friend of his Useless Shixiong was, of course, another useless person.

These two losers seemed to have similar interests, and were actually competing with one another to see who was the most useless one.

What was there to compare? The world of losers was too hard to understand.

Fang Yang looked up at the sky. He began to have regrets.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have promised his Useless Shixiong yesterday that he could accompany him to look for miasma-dispelling herbs.

This morning, he, Useless Shixiong, and Useless Shixiong’s good friend Hao-dage had gone up the mountain together. The beginning was relatively smooth. Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage bickered as they walked, while Fang Yang concentrated on picking herbs.

But as the two of them were bickering, some strange things started to happen around them. For example, a branch suddenly fell on Useless Shixiong’s head, and then a bigger branch fell on the head of Hao-dage.

Useless Shixiong tripped on a stone that suddenly appeared under his feet, and Hao-dage took fewer than three steps with a smile on his face before also tripping on a stone.

Later, it got even worse. A tree near Useless-shixiong suddenly fell down, hitting Useless Shixiong and no one else. 

Standing to the side, Hao-dage asked with concern if Useless Shixiong was injured. Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, the tree behind him suddenly collapsed, hitting him and no one else.

And Fang Yang attributed all of these things to…..bad luck.

Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage were too unlucky. Unlike him, who didn’t encounter any obstacles along the way. Falling branches, stumbling stones, and abruptly collapsing trees – none of it had to do with him.

But this current event certainly did.

Coincidentally, those two fallen trees were the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s favorite fruit trees.

When the fruit trees fell, the fruits themselves were naturally not spared. The smashed fruit oozed juices, and the fragrance attracted a nearby White-Nosed Demon Bear.

Thus, the scene before them.

Faced with a White-Nosed Demon Bear hungrily eyeing them ten meters away, Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage still did not stop bickering.

The two of them became increasingly animated as they talked, belittling themselves to the point of worthlessness. After comparing themselves for so long, which one of them was the most useless was still undetermined. 

Fang Yang was getting tired of listening to it.

Thud, thud, thud.

Dull footsteps approached.

It seemed the White-Nosed Demon Bear was also getting tired of listening to it. Although it was a demonic beast, its intelligence wasn’t low. After all, it wouldn’t be able to top the list of the most difficult beasts in the back mountain by relying on force alone.

Before attacking, it observed the three humans in front of it for a while and felt that they didn’t pose a threat, so it rushed over and brandished its enormous bear claws.

The three-meter-tall bear’s running speed was not lowered by its size. It took only a breath of time for it to rush in front of Feng Ye and Hao Chen.

And the two people continued to stand there motionless, one with crossed arms and the other waving a fan.

“Roar!” The White-Nosed Demon Bear roared again.

Due to the close distance, along with the sound of their sleeves blowing, the three of them now smelled the pungent, fishy odor of the bear’s mouth.

Huge claws swiped down from above, capable of tearing apart the hardest human skull.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, if you don’t do something, we’re going to die.” Feng Ye looked up at the claws that were bearing down toward his head.

“Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, don’t worry. Being able to perish with you is enough for me in this life.”

Fang Yang: “……”

He lamented inwardly that although he was the least in both height and age, he felt that he was the only adult present and must shoulder the responsibility of protecting these two wastes.

Moreover, he was at the seventh level of Qi Refining. He didn’t understand why Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage automatically ignored him when deciding who would fight the White-Nosed Demon Bear.

Although this adult bear possessed the strength of someone at the tenth level of Qi Refining, he didn’t need to defeat it. He just needed to delay it for long enough that Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage could escape.

Fang Yang was confident in himself, so he pushed aside the two people blocking his way and used the iron sword he had brought up the mountain for self defense, slashing diagonally from bottom to top.

This was not the first time this White-Nosed Demon Bear had dealt with human cultivators, and it knew the power of this cold-shining metal. The claws swinging down suddenly changed direction mid-air.

With a clang, the tip of the sword hit the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s hardest claw.

At the seventh level of Qi Refining, a cultivator’s physical fitness was greatly enhanced, far surpassing that of ordinary mortals. But it was entirely incomparable to the natural advantages of monsters.

The White-Nosed Demon Bear was also renowned for its strength, which was at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

As a result of the collison, Fang Yang was knocked back five to six meters by the force transmitted through his sword.

Fang Yang’s proactive behavior angered the White-Nosed Demon Bear. It no longer bothered with Feng Ye and Hao Chen, and just rushed toward Fang Yang with a roar.

Fang Yang regained his footing as quickly as he could. He pointed his sword forward, spread his legs and lowered his center of gravity, and got ready to meet the enemy.

At the same time, he recalled yesterday’s advice from the mysterious big brother who lived in a bamboo slip: “Although you use great force when you draw your sword, that force is not flowing through your body in the right direction, resulting in thirty percent of the force used on your sword being wasted.”

“Power starts from the ground, then spreads to the body, arms, wrists, fingers, joints, all connected from the bottom to the top. Only in this way can the maximum force be poured into your sword.”

Sharp claws swung in front of him again. Fang Yang’s eyes focused. He followed the mysterious big brother’s instructions, exerting force from his feet, then to his body, arms, wrists, fingers, and finally to the body of the sword.

Fang Yang swung his sword fiercely, and the iron sword infused with powerful force audibly split the air before hitting the bear’s claws once more.

There was another clang.

Fang Yang’s feet sank deep into the dirt, and he slid back two or three steps.

But he stopped.

After moving two or three steps back, he stopped. He was not knocked back again by the White-Nosed Demon Bear, but actually blocked the bear’s claws, which were renowned for their strength.

Fang Yang was delighted. The mysterious big brother’s words were true.

Not far away, Feng Ye smiled. He noticed the slight change in Fang Yang’s movements when he drew the sword and knew that his lesson the previous night had not been in vain.

“What is Fellow Daoist Feng Ye smiling about?” Hao Chen suddenly asked, having paid close attention to Feng Ye’s actions.

Feng Ye immediately stopped smiling, and came up with an excuse: “My fellow junior disciple is so strong. Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, it looks like we don’t have to die. I’m grateful that we escaped the bear’s claws, ah.”

Hao Chen hid half of his face behind his fan, leaving only his peach blossom eyes exposed. He narrowed his eyes slightly, asking in a tone of disbelief: “Is that so?”

Feng Ye nodded affirmatively: “It really is.”

Hao Chen didn’t believe him, but also didn’t ask further questions.

He closed his fan and tapped his palm with the handle. His eyes were on Fang Yang, who was fighting the White-Nosed Demon Bear, but his words were for Feng Ye: “Why doesn’t Fellow Daoist Feng Ye step forward to help? Aren’t you afraid that your shidi will be torn apart at the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s claws?”

Feng Ye was also watching Fang Yang, observing his sword movements. After all, it had only been one night, and Fang Yang hadn’t truly comprehended his instructions. But with Fang Yang’s current strength, dealing with this White-Nosed Demon Bear shouldn’t be a problem.

Even if he didn’t win, he wouldn’t lose.

Feng Ye was very confident – not in Fang Yang, but in the sword skills he had taught Fang Yang.

So he stood there motionless and said to Hao Chen: “I’ll be of no help with my insufficient strength, so it’s better for me not to add to the bear’s murder tally.”

“Heh heh.” Hao Chen chuckled. “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is always so modest.”

Feng Ye replied without missing a beat: “I’m not being modest, just self-aware.”

Hao Chen smiled, saying nothing.

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Chapter 12 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 14