Chapter 13 – Creating Opportunities

“Roar!” The White-Nosed Demon Bear bellowed fiercely as it swung its claws toward Fang Yang’s head.

There was no doubt that if the bear’s claws found their mark, his head would shatter like a melon dropped on the ground.

Fang Yang concentrated his energy into his dantian and used all the spiritual power in his body to strengthen his muscles and bones. He held the blade of the sword above his head, blocking the bear’s deadly claws once again.

A drop of sweat dripped down Fang Yang’s forehead. He had been fighting the White-Nosed Demon Bear for several rounds, and although he’d followed the instructions of the Mysterious Big Brother, he could just barely hold on. His physical strength was far from comparable to that of this monster that had long been wandering the mountains and forests.

If this went on any longer, he was certain to lose.

He could, however, escape.

Fang Yang estimated that his time was almost up. With how long he had delayed, Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage should have already run far away. Now, if he could find a chance to flee, he would be out of danger.

Just as Fang Yang had this thought in mind, he suddenly heard a round of cheering and applause: “You can do it, Shidi!”

Fang Yang: “……”

He immediately exerted force, swinging his sword to knock away the more than three-meter-tall White-Nosed Demon Bear that was blocking his view.

Only then did he realize that the two people who were supposed to have run away as planned were still standing there. They hadn’t moved at all.

While he was fighting for his life here, those two were leisurely watching the show.

When he saw Fang Yang looking at him, Feng Ye smiled and waved.

Fang Yang: “……” So tired.

Feng Ye’s carefree expression suddenly changed, and he pointed behind Fang Yang as if in warning.

Fang Yang also sensed the danger behind him. He immediately ducked and rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the cunning White-Nosed Demon Bear’s sneak attack.

The bear missed its target, and due to the inertia of its forward charge, it continued forward a few steps before stopping.

Fang Yang was on high alert, ready to deal with the monster once it turned around and charged him again. But unexpectedly…..the White-Nosed Demon Bear must have felt that the shortest human was too difficult to deal with, so it changed its opponent.

And rushed straight toward Feng Ye and Hao Chen.

Feng Ye’s smile and Hao Chen’s fanning movements stopped simultaneously.

The two exchanged glances, then tacitly ran in opposite directions. The White-Nosed Demon Bear looked left and right, sniffed with its white nose, and selected Hao Chen.

Feng Ye’s footsteps paused. He looked at Hao Chen being chased by the bear and said with feigned concern: “Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, run faster or its claws will get you~”

Feng Ye’s gloating was clearly evident in his rising tone.

Hao Chen narrowed his eyes and came to a sudden stop.

The three-meter-tall bear was like a small mountain, completely blocking Hao Chen.

Feng Ye briefly lost sight of him.

Seeing that the bear’s claws were about to hit him, Hao Chen swiftly raised his fan to intercept them. This fan looked like an ordinary folding fan, but under the claws of a bear that could easily break bones, there was not even a crack on it.

Hao Chen’s hand holding the fan was also very steady. When Fang Yang was fighting against the bear’s claws, he could just barely cope with the force behind the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s strikes. But Hao Chen’s hand was as steady as solid rock, and the bear’s claws were unable to advance in the slightest.

Having blocked the bear’s attack, Hao Chen would be able to directly fling away the giant bear with only a little effort.

But he didn’t do so. He simply blocked the attack and used the cover of the bear’s body to make a gesture with his free left hand.

Spiritual energy was invisibly injected into the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s dantian.

The bear’s body abruptly froze.

At this point, Fang Yang saw that the situation wasn’t good and rushed over to help.

He drew his sword behind the White-Nosed Demon Bear, intending to divert its attention and rescue Hao-dage. 

But contrary to expectations, the bear didn’t even dodge the sharp sword stabbing at it from behind.

Just as the astonished Fang Yang thought he was about to succeed, immensely strong spiritual energy began to spread out in all directions with the bear as the epicenter.

With a bang, the powerful spiritual energy threw Fang Yang into the air, and he only stopped when he hit a nearby tree.

Feng Ye took a step forward with his right foot and stood in place, stabilizing his body.

The spreading spiritual power was like a whirlwind, making his robes flap.

His brow furrowed as he observed the giant bear whose spiritual energy had suddenly surged.

“Roar!” A bellow louder than any previous one sounded, practically breaking their eardrums.

The White-Nosed Demon Bear’s body swelled as it roared. It instantly grew taller at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the tips of its claws hanging at its sides became sharper.

Panting heavily, the White-Nosed Demon Bear slowly turned its head. Its eyes were red as blood, its pupils flashing with tyrannical fury and killing intent.

“Foundation Establishment stage…..” Feng Ye murmured, staring up at the bear hungrily eyeing him.

This monster had actually broken through the threshold from the tenth level of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment in an instant and advanced.

This was utterly impossible. Not to mention that the upper limit of commonplace monsters like the White-Nosed Demon Bear was the tenth level of Qi Refining, an inexplicable breakthrough mid-battle was absolutely not something that could happen.

It was extremely difficult for monsters to advance, and it usually took dozens to hundreds of years of accumulation to break through to the next level. How could it suddenly advance like this?

Someone must be playing tricks. Feng Ye’s gaze bypassed the giant bear to land on Hao Chen, who stood behind the monster with his fan covering the corners of his lips.

Hao Chen’s eyebrows were curved, giving him an innocent and gentle appearance.  

But if the corners of his lips hidden by the fan were unveiled, his expression would look completely different.

In sum, he had been here for two days. Not only had he questioned Fang Yang, but he had also tried to question other disciples of Lingxiao Sword Sect.

However, apart from finding out that he had inexplicably become Feng Ye’s dual cultivation partner, Hao Chen was unable to obtain any information.

Unlike Feng Ye, who was still unaware of the situation, Hao Chen had happened to learn of this groundless gossip while chatting with Lingxiao Sword Sect disciples the previous afternoon. But although he was surprised, he didn’t deny it. Instead, he halfway went with the flow and accepted this identity. After all, such an identity would help him gain more information.

But even so, he was unable to gain anything valuable. Feng Ye was completely leak-proof. Nobody was aware of his true identity or actual strength.

Since there was no opportunity, he would create one.

Hao Chen decided to take the initiative to attack. Fang Yang, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, would certainly be unable to take on a monster at Foundation Establishment stage. If Feng Ye didn’t want his naive little shidi to die in vain, he would have to take action himself.

And as long as Feng Ye made a move, Hao Chen would at least be able to glean some clues from the way he attacked.

Hao Chen looked at Feng Ye from a distance with a playful smile. The corners of his lips curled behind his fan, and he said silently: “Will you help this time or not? Hehe…..”

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Chapter 13 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 15