Bear's Cave Front.
Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui faced the immeasurably powerful Bear King and a scattering of Iron Brown Bears.
Their expressions were extremely grave, and their breathing was tense.
In the brief skirmish earlier, the sonic attack unleashed by the Bear King had given Le Feng a small setback.
Swoosh!
Ding Jiuhui leaped onto the tree trunk, standing shoulder to shoulder with Le Feng.
"Fortunately, Junior Brother Yue has a broken treasure weapon that can at least scratch the Bear King. Otherwise, I would have turned around and left by now."
Ding Jiuhui steadied his emotions and took out a small bottle from his bosom.
Inside the bottle was half filled with a purple liquid, faint black bubbles surfacing.
"What is this?"
"Blood Transformation Poison. Fifty Primordial Stones per small bottle, enough to handle ordinary low-tier fierce beasts."
Ding Jiuhui's mouth curled into a cold smile.
After speaking, he carefully smeared half of the Blood Transformation Poison from the bottle onto Le Feng's treasure weapon, the broken sword.
Boom! Crack!
At this moment, the Bear King below slammed itself a few times, causing the large tree, which two people could barely encircle, to shake violently, with cracks appearing on its branches.
"What terrifying strength!"
The two of them shivered inwardly, exchanging a glance.
Le Feng, emboldened by his superior movement technique, soared toward the ground and swung his sword toward a lone Iron Brown Bear.
Slash!
The sword, coated with Blood Transformation Poison, made a swipe on the Iron Brown Bear's back neck, causing its body to stiffen, and within moments, it collapsed, dead as a doornail.
"This poison is quite potent."
Le Feng's eyes lit up, his confidence in slaying the Bear King increased.
With the treasure weapon and Blood Transformation Poison, the lethality of his attack nearly doubled!
"Now, as long as the other four guys don't hold us back, this mission should go smoothly."
Ding Jiuhui murmured.
At the same moment.
The others in the team were each being chased by several Iron Brown Bears, enduring an ordeal.
Even the slender girl, having the least pressure, faced with the pursuit of two Iron Brown Bears, was trembling with fear.
The speed of Iron Brown Bears was actually not slow, and they could at least tightly chase disciples below the Meridian Passage Stage, with excellent stamina.
With the slender girl's speed, it was difficult to shake off the two Iron Brown Bears behind her.
However, the worst off was the pock-faced boy!
He was being relentlessly chased by four Iron Brown Bears; even the slightest pause in his stride and he would be pounced on by one of them.
Fortunately.
His movement technique was decent, and with quick thinking, he utilized the geographical environment, running circles with the four Iron Brown Bears.
"There's no way out! I should have known that those contribution points aren't so easily earned."
The pock-faced boy felt like crying but had no tears left.
Once his stamina gave out, what awaited him would be a nightmare.
…
Among the four, if anyone was at ease, it was naturally Chen Yu.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Chen Yu, like a leopard, dashed through the dense forest, his breathing stable, unlike the others, who were in a panic.
Every so often, he purposely paused, worried that the three Iron Brown Bears behind would lose track of him.
Thanks to the mysterious transformation from the crystal stone, Chen Yu's strength and speed far surpassed his past self.
Especially his stamina and recovery, he was unafraid of running for a few more hours.
Even if it dragged on, he could tire those three Iron Brown Bears to death.
"Keeping three Iron Brown Bears busy is no big deal, even if three more came, it would just increase the pressure a bit."
Chen Yu pondered deeply.
He was no longer thinking about just stalling the three Iron Brown Bears, but how to further eliminate them.
If Feng De and the others knew this, who knows what they'd think.
Chen Yu had this thought mainly because of his lack of actual combat experience.
However, he was now facing three Iron Brown Bears, not one; if it were just one, according to his previous performance, he had a ten percent chance of slaying it.
Soon, Chen Yu concocted a plan.
There was only one strategy, and that was division!
Divide and conquer!
Chen Yu's gaze flickered toward the back: due to his speed, the three Iron Brown Bears chasing him were in a loose formation, with distances between them.
"Got it!"
Chen Yu suddenly remembered a hill outside the dense forest.
Before long, Chen Yu led the three Iron Brown Bears out of the dense forest and to the hill.
This hill was about two zhang high, with a radius of dozens of zhang, forming an irregular oval shape.
Next, Chen Yu circled the oval hill with the three Iron Brown Bears in tow.
The plan went smoothly.
The Iron Brown Bears, as low-tier fierce beasts, lacked intelligence and were soon confused by Chen Yu, their grouping became separated.
"Good!"
Chen Yu rejoiced inwardly.
Having achieved this step, the goal of eliminating the three Iron Brown Bears was halfway accomplished.
Swoosh!
He leaped, appearing behind one of the Iron Brown Bears.
"Iron Plow Fist!"
Chen Yu took a deep breath, his heart surging with vigorous vital energy and blood, gathering all his strength to unleash a punch.
Whoosh!
As the punch was delivered, it was like an iron ball roaring, showcasing the power of the Great Success stage of the Iron Plow Fist in full.
Moreover, Chen Yu truly unleashed his most pinnacle punch after his body's transformation!
In that instant, the besieged Iron Brown Bear's fur stood on end.
Bam!
The back of the Iron Brown Bear's head erupted in blood, its body dizzy, its vision went black.
With just one punch, the Iron Brown Bear was half-dead, losing the ability to resist.
"Die!"
The second punch from Chen Yu sent the Iron Brown Bear's body crashing to the ground.
If the other members of the squad were present, they would surely be shocked beyond measure.
Because Chen Yu, alone, had slain an Iron Brown Bear within a few exchanges.
Even Ding Jiuhui at the early-stage Meridian Passage couldn't achieve this; Le Feng, though possibly able to kill an Iron Brown Bear with one strike, relied on the sharpness of his treasure weapon.
After dealing with this Iron Brown Bear, there was even less pressure with the remaining two.
Chen Yu could dispatch the remaining two Iron Brown Bears with two or three punches each.
"It seems that through actual combat, one can indeed provoke combat prowess."
Chen Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
Reflecting on when he first faced an Iron Brown Bear, he was somewhat apprehensive, unable to utilize even sixty percent of his full strength.
Now, he could practically slaughter any Iron Brown Bear with ease.
"Let's head back and have a look."
Chen Yu's stamina was still very good. Having slain several Iron Brown Bears, he was somewhat addicted.
As he approached the dense forest, he heard cries for help.
"Help me!"
A panting voice came from the side; it was the pock-faced boy.
At this moment, the pock-faced boy was being hunted by four Iron Brown Bears, looking utterly wretched, as if walking a tightrope on a cliff.
"With this boy attracting attention, I can kill more Iron Brown Bears, which means more distributed rewards."
Chen Yu made up his mind.
Swoosh!
Without hesitation, he chased after the scene behind him.
Thus, a bizarre scene emerged:
The pock-faced boy was running for his life from four Iron Brown Bears, while a youth charged toward the bears with murderous intent.
A few breaths later.
Boom!
The first Iron Brown Bear was slain from behind by Chen Yu.
Immediately afterward.
The second and third Iron Brown Bears were successively taken out by Chen Yu from behind.
Perhaps frightened by Chen Yu's savage ferocity, the fourth Iron Brown Bear surprisingly turned tail and ran.
"You…"
The pock-faced boy looked in awe at Chen Yu, who was covered in blood and exuding a murderous aura; in fact, none of the blood was his own.
In the end, the fleeing Iron Brown Bear didn't escape, with a mournful cry, it fell to the ground, taken out by Chen Yu's brutal method.
The pock-faced boy stood by, his face full of shock and stupor.
"Let's go, have a look inside."
Chen Yu, unfazed, calmly headed deeper into the forest.
He really wanted to see the Bear King's great battle.
"Bro, I can't run anymore…"
The pock-faced boy lamented, collapsing to the ground with a "plop."
After being chased for half the day by four Iron Brown Bears, he was near exhaustion.
Whereas Chen Yu still appeared composed, leisurely entering the forest.
On the way.
Chen Yu encountered the slender girl; although she faced only two Iron Brown Bears, she was struggling, covered in fragrant sweat.
"Brother Chen, lend me a hand."
The slender girl exclaimed happily.
Without a word, Chen Yu, his face vacant, attacked from behind, taking out the two Iron Brown Bears.
He'd already grown accustomed to attacking Iron Brown Bears from behind.
Naturally, the slender girl was astonished by Chen Yu's formidable strength, but her gaze was somewhat peculiar.
"Senior Brother Chen Yu, let's go help Brother Le Feng, shall we?"
The slender girl pleaded softly.
"Help? Just you?"
Chen Yu glanced sideways at the panting girl dismissively. Measuring she'd barely be enough to fill the gap in Bear King's teeth.
"By our agreement, we don't need to intervene with the Bear King. Hmm, but helping clean up the battlefield is doable."
Chen Yu nodded.
The slender girl hummed discontentedly, following Chen Yu toward the bear cave.
Roar!
Just approaching the Bear King battlefield, they heard the dull, staggering roar, causing their eardrums to tremble and their energy and blood to churn.
The slender girl nearly lost her footing.
"Huh? This seems like a sonic attack."
Chen Yu was utterly unfazed, for his physique could no longer be measured by normal human standards.
Hearing this, the slender girl adjusted her breath and covered her ears with her hands; she was only at the Body Refining Stage and couldn't, like Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui, seal her ears with inner breath.
Closer now, they clearly saw the situation.
Near the bear cave, lay seven or eight Iron Brown Bear carcasses, with some still oozing dark, poisonous blood.
Le Feng and Ding Jiuhui, gasping for air, both bore some wounds.
Ding Jiuhui was worse off, nearly kneeling on the ground.
On the other side, Le Feng wielding his treasure weapon, staggered as he engaged in guerrilla tactics with the Bear King.
The Bear King's body had many wounds, oozing purplish-black pus, yet its claw swipes and roars remained formidable.
"Chen Yu, you're just in time!"
Le Feng's face lit up seeing them, especially upon seeing Chen Yu.
As for the slender girl, although her eyes were full of affection and worry, she was overlooked by Le Feng.
"What's this? Junior Brother Yue, not planning to seize the moment and slay this bear?"
Chen Yu stood aside, showing no intention of helping.
The Bear King's power was far above ordinary Iron Brown Bears; especially in the final moments, a desperate counterattack could be deadly at any time.
And as per the prior agreement, he didn't need to help.
Le Feng's expression faltered, unable to argue, as the prior mutual agreement was clear.
"Junior Brother Chen, both Junior Brother Yue and I are injured and exhausted. You just need to help stall the Bear King for a while; once we recover, slaying the Bear King will surely be easy."
Ding Jiuhui squeezed out a smile on his face, speaking politely.