The Eternal Heart - Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Beheading the Bear King
Translator: Alsey
Editor: Chrissy
In front of the Bear Cave.
The two disciples at the Connective Meridian stage, Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui, had hopeful looks on their faces as they looked at Chen Yu.
Ding Jiuhui exhibited a bit of modesty and pity in his speech.
The duo were both helpless. Even if they had made ample preparations before the matter, they still underestimated the Metal Brown Bear King’s strength.
Above all, they underestimated the Bear King’s powerful physical constitution. Even if it was afflicted with the “Transformative Blood Poison”, there wasn’t much difference to its combat strength. It could be said that this battle was incomparably difficult.
Based on Ding Jiuhui’s estimation, they would need several times the amount of this poison at the very least if they wanted to poison the Bear King to the point it collapsed!
Fortunately, there was a steep decline in the Bear King’s speed once the poison invaded its body over the course of the prolonged war, with its vitality slipping away little by little.
But with the duo’s physical strength, as well as the condition of their injuries, they couldn’t really hold on any longer.
At this moment, they needed someone who could stall the Bear King for a moment so that the duo could take a moment to recover. After that, beheading the Bear King shouldn’t be a difficult task.
“Martial Brother Chen, make a move, alright?”
That slim young lady pitifully implored. All that was left in her heart was concern for Le Feng, so she was itching to charge up and help him.
“Everyone.”
Chen Yu immediately rolled his eyes. “You’re asking me, someone who is merely at the Body Tempering stage, to handle the Bear King that even those at the Connective Meridian stage find it difficult to rival. Isn’t this request quite unduly?”
When those words left his mouth, Le Feng and Ding Juihui felt like they had choked on a fishbone.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t refute it at all.
One had to know that compared to the Body Tempering stage, those at the Connective Meridian stage could condense and expel their Inner Breath, as well as open up their meridians. There was a rather significant discrepancy in strength.
Now, they were going to let someone at the Body Tempering stage deal with the Bear King that two great disciples at the Connective Meridian stage couldn’t even rival against?
When all was said and done, was he stalling the Bear King, or was he being treated as cannon fodder and being sent to his death?
“Humph! You’re not ordinary for someone at the Body Tempering stage! I previously saw you kill two Metal Brown Bears with my own eyes just a while ago,” the slim young lady coldly retorted.
Chen Yu laughed grimly but didn’t say a word.
This lady was completely attracted to Le Feng’s charm. The roots of her emotion ran deep and she couldn’t free herself from it. She had completely forgotten who had helped her out of trouble not too long ago.
“Martial Brother Chen.”
Le Feng contended with the Bear King while saying, “I know it really is somewhat risky by asking you to help stall the Bear King. I won’t let your efforts go for free on my end either.”
When he finished talking, he took a book out from his bosom.
Chen Yu appeared to be rather surprised. Le Feng’s martial arts form was rather exquisite. Under such circumstances, he could have a conversation with Chen Yu while contending with the Bear King.
Naturally, no matter how superior his martial arts form was, there was no way to resolve the problem related to his physical strength, as well as the condition of his injuries.
“You’ve already seen my martial arts form. This [Towering Cloud Steps] is a martial arts skill my clan paid a large price to secure. The parts that make it exquisite are considered to be top-notch amongst mid-ranked martial arts skills, and is said to be close to high-ranked martial arts skills.”
Le Feng slowed down in the way he was speaking.
A look of astonishment appeared on Ding Jiuhui’s face beside him. He stared at that [Towering Cloud Steps], evidently being very tempted.
“You want me to make a move in exchange for this martial arts skill?” Chen Yu asked as he found it odd.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of premium martial arts skill was generally not passed on externally. Its value probably didn’t lose to that of the Bear King’s Gall.
“Naturally, Martial Brother Chen has to guarantee that you can help stall the Bear King for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick,” Le Feng said in a low voice.
When he heard this, a strange expression appeared on Ding Jiuhui’s face, who was beside him.
Thinking it through in detail, Le Feng’s plan was rather shrewd.
Stalling the Bear King over the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn?
If he was at Le Feng’s level, middle of the Connective Meridian stage, and had superior martial arts form, he could still do it.
Yet if someone at the Body Tempering stage were in his shoes, it was practically impossible for him to accomplish that feat, and he would even lose his life.
That was equivalent to saying that this [Tempering Cloud Steps] martial arts skill was only serving as bait. If Chen Yu agreed, he might not be able to hold out for that long, and naturally, he wouldn’t get the martial arts skill.
Besides, irrespective of whether Chen Yu succeeded or not, he could win a bit of time for the both of them to take a breather.
“Alright, I promise…but only if you give me the rare book first,” Chen Yu said in a very blunt manner.
Le Feng didn’t find that to be unexpected. He firmly believed that people like Chen Yu who were disciples at the edge of the outer sect longed for higher leveled martial arts skills.
Pow!
Le Feng held his hand out and threw the rare [Towering Cloud Steps] book at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu took the rare book and opened it. He took a few glances at it and put it away properly after ascertaining that there wasn’t a huge problem with it.
Le Feng promptly moved back after they reached an agreement.
Bang!
Chen Yu picked up a stone from the ground and ruthlessly smashed it against the Bear King’s head.
To the Bear King, this stone was simply a scratch and an itch if the strength of an average person was used. It couldn’t draw his attention away.
But the Bear King let out a low roar as a result of being smashed by Chen Yu’s stone.
Roar!
A sound wave attack accompanied the Bear King’s roar. His bloody and ice-cold eyes were fixated on Chen Yu’s body.
Chen Yu quivered as his body instantly felt cold.
It could be said that the enormous thing before his eyes was the greatest threat he had ever faced since his birth.
That engulfing sound wave made Chen Yu’s qi and blood unstable as his eardrums buzzed loudly.
Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance. He took a deep breath as a powerful throbbing came from his heart. In an instant, the qi and blood in his entire body stabilized.
Thump!
Chen Yu lightly leaped up and maintained a distance of about six meters between the Bear King and himself.
Ao! Roar!
In the midst of the Bear King’s attack, dust flew upwards nearby, a groove being left behind on the ground as it attacked. Its powerful might was enough to make ordinary disciples at the Body Tempering stage lose their will to fight.
Not only did Chen Yu’s face not turn red, but his heart wasn’t pounding either. He was like a leopard leaping amidst dust as his legs borrowed the power of the trees nearby from time to time.
On the other hand, Le Feng and the two others had taken the opportunity to withdraw more than thirty meters away.
“This Chen Yu’s speed and reaction really isn’t that bad. He doesn’t seem like someone at the Body Tempering stage at all,” Ding Jiuhui assessed.
“Let’s see how long he can hold out.” Le Feng had a strange expression on his face.
When they were confronting the Bear King, they had to frequently use their Inner Breaths to seal their ears to deal with the sound wave attack that assaulted them from time to time.
As such, they virtually had to expend a considerably greater amount of Inner Breath when confronting the Bear King.
But Chen Yu didn’t have misgivings in this respect.
Time slowly passed.
In the dusty combating ring, that nimble figure kept shifting and leaping, yet he was increasingly calm.
Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui looked more surprised than before.
This was far beyond their expectations!
As time elapsed, Chen Yu seemed to be increasingly relaxed as he dealt with the Bear King.
There was a period of time where the Bear King once attempted to escape, yet Chen Yu jumped high up in the air and bombarded the back of its head with a punch.
Under normal circumstances, there was no way Chen Yu’s punch could cause that much injury to the Bear King.
But after experiencing bitter battles, there were many scars on the Bear King’s head, as well as the fact that it had suffered from the Transformative Blood Poison. This punch caused the Bear King to stagger and let out a shout.
Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui’s countenance changed once more.
Thump!
After a moment, a figure flashed toward the duo at lightning speed.
“The time it takes for half an incense stick to burn has already passed. I’ll leave the rest up to the two of you.”
This figure was Chen Yu.
Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui exchanged a glance before they painstakingly sighed and rose to deal with the Bear King.
The duo had recovered some of their physical strength and the conditions of their injuries had stabilised as well. At this moment, it wasn’t that difficult for them to deal with the Bear King that was an arrow at the end of its flight at this moment.
Pop, plop, pff!
Above all, Le Feng’s broken treasured sword enlarged the scar on the Bear King’s body once more, causing waves of mournful howls to reverberate in the forest.
Soon enough, the Bear King’s life was finally about to reach its end.
“Roar——”
In its final moments, the Bear King madly pounced at Le Feng with utter disregard for its life as if it knew that it was going to die.
In its final counterattack, the Bear King moved somewhat quicker than normal.
Le Feng didn’t do well in calling out loudly.
After battling for a long time, he had sustained heavy injuries, and his body was exhausted. As such, it was already impossible for him to escape unscathed if he wanted to.
“Big Brother Le, be careful——”
A slim figure rushed over from behind and whipped the Bear King with the silver whip in her hands.
Bang!
That whip struck the Bear King right in the face, even whipping its eye.
The one who attacked was the slim young lady. She naturally understood how to attack the Metal Brown Bear’s weak spot after going through multiple battles over this period of time.
The Bear King that had been struck right in the face wailed with its mouth wide open.
“A good opportunity.”
Le Feng stabbed out with his sword and just so happened to pierce the Bear King’s mouth, running it down to its throat in a single breath.
Before this, he attempted to attack the Bear King’s throat, but it was very difficult for him to pierce through it. It went off entirely without a hitch this time as he pierced in at close range from its mouth.
The Bear King, that suffered a fatal wound, let out a heart-wrenching and blood-curdling screech as its claws madly danced.
He rapidly rolled!
Le Feng reacted very quickly and rolled on the ground. After all, the Bear King was definitely going to die after suffering this attack. There was no need to be in a tangle with it anymore.
However, although he dodged this attack, the slim young lady who was shielding him by the side didn’t escape this calamity.
“Ah…”
The slim young lady let out a blood-curdling screech as the thick Bear Claw ran through her fragile body.
Her body hung in midair as she struggled with difficulty for a moment before blood quickly dyed her entire body red.
“Big Brother Le…”
She looked at Le Feng one last time, feeling incredulous and very unresigned to this outcome before she closed her eyes.
A deathly stillness enveloped the battlefield.
The Bear King’s final counterattack robbed a young teenage girl of her life.
Chen Yu and Ding Jiuhui looked slightly disturbed. Le Feng gritted his teeth with hurried breathing and didn’t take a single look at the young lady’s corpse.
After a few more moments.
Rumble! The Bear King’s tremendous body, that had been badly mutilated, fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
“I finally beheaded it…”
Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui let out a long sigh as a hint of joy faintly appeared in their eyes.
As long as they obtained this Gall of the Bear King, they would have an even greater assurance in making a break through to their current realm.
But at this moment.
Roar! Woo!
A frightening shout could faintly be heard coming from an even deeper region of the forest. Its might didn’t lost to that of the Metal Brown Bear King’s.
“This is bad! It’s another vicious beast. I’m afraid that it’s an existence that is on par with the Bear King!”
Le Feng’s expression sank.
Under normal circumstances, vicious beasts were conscious about their own territories. This land belonged to the Bear King, so other vicious beasts wouldn’t encroach on it unless they were existences that were at the same rank or higher.
“Maybe the scent of blood here is too strong and attracted other vicious beasts of the same rank,” Chen Yu analysed.
Soon enough, Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui promptly cut the Bear King’s corpse and dug out its gall.
Based on everyone’s present situation, everything pointed to a disaster if they were to encounter a vicious beast at the rank of the Bear King again.
“Let’s go!”
After they dug out the Bear King’s gall and cut off the Bear King’s claw, the team rapidly withdrew from the Bear Cave area and ran out of the forest.
A moment after the trio left the area.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures appeared on a mountainous form above the Bear Cave.
The two consisted of a young man with a scar on his face and a sword on his back, as well as a beautiful woman in flowery garments who looked quite tender and was exquisitely beautiful that her looks moved people.
“Hehe, we really did get to see a good show.”
The beauty in flowery garments had a ruminating look on her face as she looked at the direction where Le Feng and the others left in. In a low voice, she said, “That young lad really is heartless. He actually let the girl who came to his rescue die tragically in the hands of the Bear King in order to grab ahold of the optimal opportunity to kill the Bear King.”
“What’s so strange about that? One inevitably has to step on multiple piles of bones of the dead in order to walk on the path of a powerhouse,” said the scar-faced young man with the sword on his face in a manner that was nothing to write home about.
“But…”
“The strength that these little fellows at introductory ranks displayed can be considered to be not too bad. I’m afraid that they’re only outer sect disciples at the lowest rung as well. The background of this Yunyue Sect is not to be underestimated.”
“What? Big Brother wants to change the original plan? We, the ‘Twin Nefarious Foil’ don’t need to fear the insignificant Yunyue Sect, right?”
The beauty in flowery garments did not mind.
“I originally wanted to pressure the higher levels of Yunyue Sect and make a business deal with them to mend my ‘Demonic Cloud Sword’ for a certain amount of ‘Space Metal Meteorite fragments’. But looking at these few youngsters’ performances, I suspect that Yunyue Sect isn’t as simple as it looks on the surface. Perhaps, there really might be those at the rank of that old fart,” explained the young man with the sword on his back.
The beauty was just about to speak when a horrifying screech could be heard coming from not too far away.
All that could be seen was a “gigantic spotted leopard” close to the build of the Bear King pouncing over at top speed. It was glaring at the duo atop the mountainous form like a tiger watching its prey.
Looking at its might, this gigantic spotted leopard didn’t lose to the Bear King and was even faster on top of that. If Le Feng and the rest encountered this gigantic vicious leopard beast, which was proficient in speed, it might be difficult for them to escape even if they wanted to.
The beauty had the same expression as before when she was faced with this and slowly pointed towards the leopard with a slender finger.
In a split second.
Plop! A strange and gorgeous sheet of glowing air mass appeared from her fingertip and struck the gigantic spotted leopard.
A horrifying scene then appeared.
Buzz! Chi!
A facula with fierce grandeur suddenly blossomed like a gorgeous flower on the gigantic spotted leopard. In an instant, the facula punctured the gigantic leopard and created countless bloody holes on its body.
The gigantic leopard didn’t even have enough time to screech miserably when its body turned into a puddle of blood.
This small incident didn’t affect the subject of the duo’s conversation at all.
“More importantly, my ‘Spirit Mouse’ smelled something that made it feel uneasy and frightened near where we are…”
A shivering mouse with purple fur appeared on the palm of the young man carrying a sword on his back.
“This Spirit Mouse of mine is a variant. It has an extremely keen sense of smell. I once avoided a few great calamities all thanks to its sense of smell towards dangerous and powerful existences. But this time, its fear is unprecedented.”
Even the beauty was startled by the words of the young man carrying the sword on his back.
She understood the special abilities of this variant Spirit Mouse very well.
“What existence is it exactly that made the Spirit Mouse so terrified, especially when those few little youngsters were around just now? We need to be a little more cautious in our travels to Yunyue Sect this time…”