Chapter 19: First Battle in the Savage Beast Hills, Each Showing Their Prowess
The next morning, as the first light of dawn broke, the mist in the forest had not yet fully dispersed. The campfire had long since gone out, leaving only a wisp of blue smoke curling upward. Yu Yuanchen, Tang Chen, and Qian Daoliu opened their eyes almost simultaneously. After a night of meditation, the fatigue from yesterday's fierce battle had been swept away, and their spirits were fully restored.
"Shall we go?" Tang Chen stretched his muscles and bones, letting out a series of crisp pops, his eyes shining with an eager Battle Intent.
Qian Daoliu elegantly smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles in his robes and nodded slightly. "We are nearing the Savage Beast Hills; we must be more cautious."
Yu Yuanchen stood up, his electric field perception quietly spreading out as he felt the active and chaotic Aura of the Soul Beasts around them. He nodded and said, "Let's go. Let's meet the 'masters' of these Savage Beast Hills."
The three did not delay any longer. Yu Yuanchen, with the keenest perception, led the way, while Tang Chen provided support from the center. Qian Daoliu used his flight advantage to circle at a low altitude, handling both reconnaissance and support. They maintained a loose triangular formation as they headed deep into the hills.
The terrain of the Savage Beast Hills was quite peculiar. It was not merely a range of high mountains and steep ridges, but was composed of countless undulating hills, deep canyons, and dense primeval jungles. The vegetation here was exceptionally lush, with many trees appearing an unnatural dark green, and the air was filled with a faint, unsettling sense of restlessness.
After traveling only a few miles, their first encounter occurred unexpectedly.
"Roar!"
Accompanied by a roar full of violence, the bushes on the left suddenly burst open, and a massive Soul Beast charged out like an out-of-control chariot! It resembled a giant bear, but its entire body was covered in dark red scales. Its shoulder height exceeded three meters, and when it stood upright, it reached nearly five meters. Its bear eyes were as red as blood, and saliva dripped from its mouth, radiating the Aura of a rampaging ten-thousand-year Soul Beast!
"It's a Violent Earth Dragon Bear! Judging by its size and Aura, it has at least fifteen thousand years of cultivation!" Qian Daoliu's voice came from the sky, tinged with gravity. This kind of Soul Beast possessed immense strength and astonishing defense, and it was in a permanent state of frenzy, making it quite difficult to deal with.
The Violent Earth Dragon Bear clearly viewed the three as intruders. Without any hesitation, its thick hind legs slammed into the ground, and with an Aura that could shake the mountains, it lunged straight at Yu Yuanchen at the front! Its scaled giant paw, carrying a fierce wind that seemed to tear the air, struck down heavily!
"Good timing!" Purple lightning flashed in Yu Yuanchen's eyes, but he did not meet the attack head-on. His footwork shifted, and his figure slid toward the side and rear like Gui Mei, narrowly avoiding the heavy blow. The giant paw struck the ground, leaving a deep claw mark and sending soil and stones flying.
Just as the Earth Dragon Bear's old strength was spent and its new strength had yet to gather, Tang Chen, positioned on the flank, moved!
He performed no fancy maneuvers, simply stepping forward directly, his body half-turning. The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand carried a thick and condensed force as he delivered a simple and unadorned "Uplifting Hammer Strike" from bottom to top, accurately striking the Earth Dragon Bear's relatively fragile armpit!
"Bang!"
The muffled sound was like thunder! The Earth Dragon Bear's massive body was actually lifted slightly upward by the hammer blow. It let out a roar of pain, and fine cracks appeared on the scales under its arm! Tang Chen's timing, angle, and power were all perfect; he had seen the opportunity created by Yu Yuanchen's dodge and delivered the most effective damage.
The Earth Dragon Bear was in pain and became even more enraged. It abandoned Yu Yuanchen and turned to pounce on Tang Chen.
However, a golden sword light, like falling fire from the heavens, silently yet swiftly pierced toward the Earth Dragon Bear's other eye! It was Qian Daoliu! He had dived down at some point, the Angelic Sacred Sword pointing directly at the vital spot.
The Earth Dragon Bear instinctively closed its eyes and turned its head, intending to use the hard scales on its forehead to withstand the sword strike.
"Screech—"
Sparks flew everywhere! The Sacred Sword broke through the hard forehead scales and sliced through the flesh, but was stopped by the even harder skull. The intense pain in its head and the burning of the Holy Light caused the Earth Dragon Bear to let out a shrill and furious roar.
Meanwhile, Yu Yuanchen had already circled to the Earth Dragon Bear's rear flank. Electric light condensed on his dragonified right arm. Instead of using the more taxing Thunder Dragon Claw, he highly compressed the power of lightning at his fingertips, forming a condensed Purple Lightning Finger Sword that stabbed toward the joint connection of the Earth Dragon Bear's hind leg like a bolt of lightning!
"Sizzle!"
The electric light had extreme piercing power. Although it failed to completely cripple the leg joint, the instantaneous numbness and stinging pain caused the Earth Dragon Bear's massive body to stumble, its movements immediately hindered.
The attacks of the three were like a torrential storm, yet they were not a result of seamless coordination. It was more as if each had seized a fleeting opportunity, and while completing their own attack, they happened to create conditions for another or cover the gap left after another's attack. Tang Chen attacked the front with overbearing power; Yu Yuanchen roamed the flanks, excelling in speed and penetration; Qian Daoliu controlled the air with precise strikes and containment. They did not deliberately try to coordinate with each other but made the most rational choices based on their judgment of the battlefield situation and their own combat styles.
Despite having ten thousand years of cultivation and a powerful Physical Body, the Earth Dragon Bear appeared exceptionally clumsy and frustrated under this "fighting individually yet looking out for one another" tactic of the three peerless Geniuses. Every one of its attacks either missed or was cleverly diverted or parried, while it had to endure continuous strikes from different angles and with different attributes.
Every time Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer fell, it shook the bear's Qi and blood, causing its scales to shatter. Yu Yuanchen's Purple Lightning Finger Sword and occasional bursts of the Thunder Dragon Claw always found the bear's relatively weak points, bringing stinging pain and numbness. Qian Daoliu's Angelic Sacred Sword was like a sword hanging overhead, constantly threatening its vitals and forcing it to divide its attention for defense.
The battle lasted for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick. The Earth Dragon Bear was covered in wounds, its movements becoming slower and slower. Although its blood-red eyes were still filled with madness, there was also a hint of powerless exhaustion.
"That's enough!" Tang Chen shouted, his fifth Soul Ring lighting up again. "Fifth Spirit Ability, Mountain Quake!"
He seized the moment when the Earth Dragon Bear was forced to tilt its head back and roar by one of Yu Yuanchen's lightning claws. The Clear Sky Hammer, carrying a terrifying shockwave, slammed violently into its relatively fragile throat!
"Crack!"
The clear sound of bone breaking rang out! The Earth Dragon Bear's roar stopped abruptly, and its massive body crashed to the ground. After a few twitches, it fell silent.
The battle ended.
Tang Chen leaned on his hammer, looking at the corpse on the ground, and grinned. "This beast's hide is really thick!"
Qian Daoliu landed lightly, his wings retracting and his Sacred Sword returning to its sheath. His breathing was steady as he commented, "Its strength and defense are indeed top-tier, but unfortunately its intelligence is too low; it only knows how to fight by instinct."
Yu Yuanchen also dispersed his Soul Power and walked over. Looking at the black Soul Ring slowly condensing over the Earth Dragon Bear's corpse, he said thoughtfully, "Although the Soul Beasts here lack intelligence, the animal instinct created by this pure madness and Life is quite rare. Fighting them requires higher control over power and better timing."
The three looked at each other, and each saw a hint of recognition in the others' eyes. The battle just now was less of a coordination and more of a "resonance" based on top-tier combat prowess. They didn't need words to roughly predict each other's movements and intentions, thus making the most beneficial moves for the battle.
After a brief rest and collecting some of the most valuable scales and the bear gall from the Earth Dragon Bear, the three continued deeper.
As they went deeper, the Soul Beasts they encountered became stronger and more varied. There were Shadow Blade Leopards skilled in stealth and ambush, Thousand-Foot Rot Lizards capable of spitting poisonous mist, and fierce Blood-Beaked Vultures that moved in swarms...
Every battle was by no means easy. These Soul Beasts might have low intelligence, but with their powerful instincts, strange skills, and the boost from the special environment of the Savage Beast Hills, they could often unleash combat power far exceeding their age.
During an encounter where they were besieged by nearly a hundred Blood-Beaked Vultures, the three felt pressure for the first time. These vultures' individual strength was only around a thousand years, but they were numerous, fast, and fearless, launching suicide attacks from all directions. Although Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer was immensely powerful, it was somewhat difficult to deal with such agile, small flying targets. While Qian Daoliu and Yu Yuanchen had large-scale attack capabilities, the Soul Beasts in these Savage Beast Hills all had tenacious Life and could not be quickly and severely injured.
In that battle, the three had to form a simple back-to-back defensive formation, each responsible for one direction, pushing their respective Domains to the limit. Tang Chen's hammer wind howled, smashing any vultures that dared to approach into pulp. Qian Daoliu's sword light was like a curtain, and his Holy Light made the vultures hesitate to dive; those that did get close were directly split in two. Yu Yuanchen struck out repeatedly with both claws, sending out condensed lightning claw marks that exploded in the air, weaving an electric net that injured many vultures. Those that managed to get close despite the lightning had their heads crushed by a single claw strike.
After the battle, all three were somewhat disheveled, with small scratches on their bodies and significant Soul Power consumption. But through this battle, they gained a deeper understanding of how to maximize their own advantages in a chaotic situation and provide effective support to their companions.
Night fell again, and the three found a cave to spend the night.
By the campfire, Tang Chen treated a deep, bone-deep claw mark on his arm (from a sneaking ten-thousand-year Shadow Phantom Cat) while grimacing. "This damn place, why are the Soul Beasts all like they've gone mad? They fight completely without regard for their lives!"
Qian Daoliu used the Holy Light condensed from his Soul Power to treat a burn on his shoulder (splashed by the fire of a ten-thousand-year Flame Burst Monkey). Hearing this, he said calmly, "If not for this madness, how could this place be a training ground? Fighting them tempers our adaptability and our will under extreme conditions."
Yu Yuanchen silently circulated his Soul Power, nourishing his somewhat overextended Meridians and the bite mark on his leg (left by a ten-thousand-year Gloom-Patterned Violent Wolf that refused to let go even in death). The continuous battles of the day had made his use of the Thunder God Power more proficient and his manipulation of blood and Qi power more skillful. He discovered that under extreme pressure, that Purple-Gold Scale also seemed to heat up slightly, faintly accelerating the recovery of his Soul Power and physical strength.
"Today's battles have yielded significant gains," Yu Yuanchen said, opening his eyes. "Especially when facing those strange and troublesome Soul Beasts, our attacks often require faster transitions and more precise landing points."
Tang Chen nodded in agreement. "Exactly. If my last hammer blow had been even half an inch off, that Shadow Blade Leopard might have escaped." He was referring to a tough battle in the afternoon against an extremely cunning ten-thousand-year Shadow Blade Leopard, which was finally driven into a corner and finished off by Tang Chen's hammer.
Qian Daoliu looked out at the pitch-black night outside the cave, his gaze deep. "This is just the beginning. It is said that there are even more powerful existences deep within the Savage Beast Hills, including no shortage of powerful Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old. We must be even more careful."
Yu Yuanchen and Tang Chen both looked solemn and nodded.
The path of training was just beginning. The Savage Beast Hills used its savagery and danger as a gift to welcome the three Geniuses. And through the tempering of blood and fire, the three were absorbing the gains of battle at an astonishing speed, solidifying the Foundation of their path to becoming the strong.