Chapter 26: Mountain Rock Savage Bear, Stepping in to Save the Day

"This Rock Bear is truly difficult to deal with! Our martial techniques can't even scratch him!"

One of the men swung his sword at the Rock Bear, but it only left a white mark behind.

His expression changed drastically.

This had been his full-strength strike, yet it couldn't even wound the Rock Bear.

"What do we do? If this continues, we're all going to die here!"

Another woman spoke up. They were currently doing their best to dodge the Rock Bear's onslaught, but they were still occasionally grazed by flying debris.

One by one, they were already covered in wounds.

"You guys go! I'll hold this Rock Bear back! I was the one who decided on this trip! I might die, but you all must make it back alive!"

The strongest among them, the leader of the group, spoke in a cold voice.

His words were incredibly resolute, appearing as though he had already made his peace with death.

The best option now was to sacrifice one person's life to stall the Rock Bear so the others would have a chance to escape alive.

"Senior Brother Mo Changhen, we all agreed to this trip! If we go back, we go back together!" the woman shouted loudly.

"We can't abandon you!"

"Go! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!" Mo Changhen roared angrily. He charged at the Rock Bear once more and swung his sword down, only to be swatted away by the beast's palm, crashing to the ground.

"These people, though young, have good character," Chu Fengmian muttered to himself as he watched the scene from his hiding spot in the jungle.

Among martial artists, friendship and family ties are usually extremely thin; everyone is primarily out for themselves. In a situation like this, any other martial artists would have long since scrambled to flee.

Yet these five youths were still persisting, which earned Chu Fengmian a measure of respect for them.

"It seems I'll have to step in. It just so happens I haven't fought a Body Tempering Realm demon beast yet. This Rock Bear will do just fine!" Chu Fengmian snorted inwardly.

His figure suddenly leaped from the dense forest, thrusting his sword toward the Rock Bear.

"Someone's here?"

Seeing the sudden appearance of a figure, the five youths felt a surge of joy, thinking help had finally arrived.

But the moment they saw Chu Fengmian's cultivation realm, the joy on their faces instantly faded.

Bone Tempering Realm, Eighth Layer.

This level of strength was even weaker than the weakest among them. The five of them working together were no match for the Rock Bear; what difference would one more person make?

"Friend, I know you mean well, but this Rock Bear is a Body Tempering Realm beast. You should leave quickly to avoid danger," Mo Changhen said hurriedly, looking at Chu Fengmian as he approached.

"This is our business, it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to involve yourself in such danger for nothing," Mo Changhen added.

In his eyes, with Chu Fengmian's strength, getting involved was a suicidal act. At the Eighth Layer of the Bone Tempering Realm, he wouldn't even be able to withstand a single palm from the Rock Bear.

"It matters not," Chu Fengmian said with a slight smile.

Before Mo Changhen could speak again, Chu Fengmian's figure had already charged toward the Rock Bear.

"Ah!"

The two women were now afraid to watch, already imagining the tragic sight of Chu Fengmian being swatted away.

However, while a scream did ring out, it did not belong to Chu Fengmian, but to the Rock Bear.

*Sss!*

The Azure Profound Sword in Chu Fengmian's hand had accurately pierced into the Rock Bear's left eye. The beast let out a massive roar, completely enraged.

"Watch out!"

Seeing the Rock Bear go berserk, Mo Changhen couldn't help but shout a warning, but the scene that followed left him dumbfounded.

The Rock Bear's palm strike was actually easily dodged by Chu Fengmian.

Chu Fengmian moved around the beast, continuously thrusting the Azure Profound Sword into its body, yet the Rock Bear failed to land a single hit on him.

"What kind of movement technique is that!"

"So profound!"

"Is this level of strength truly possible for an Eighth Layer Bone Tempering Realm martial artist?"

The remaining youths were all staring in awe as they watched the battle between Chu Fengmian and the Rock Bear.

Every thrust and withdrawal of the sword was clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation or pause.

The Rock Bear was furious to the extreme, striking wildly at its surroundings like a madman, yet it failed to hit Chu Fengmian even once.

On the contrary, in less than a minute, Chu Fengmian had already delivered dozens of stabs to the Rock Bear's body.

"That's enough!" Chu Fengmian thought to himself.

The Rock Bear's defense was truly terrifying; Chu Fengmian could only pierce it with a full-strength strike, and even then, he couldn't hit a vital organ.

However, after dozens of consecutive stabs, the Rock Bear had bled out a significant amount and was losing its strength.

It was enough to deliver a killing blow.

"Phantom Shadow!"

Chu Fengmian intentionally left an opening, making the Rock Bear believe he had stumbled and fallen before it.

"No! Quick, save him!" Mo Changhen shouted urgently upon seeing this, but before he could act, he realized that the figure on the ground was merely an afterimage.

Chu Fengmian's true body had already arrived at the Rock Bear's neck.

"Ninefold Sword Strike!"

Chu Fengmian roared internally as he thrust his sword violently toward the Rock Bear's neck.

The strike appeared ordinary, but it contained the power of nine sword edges, severing the Rock Bear's head in one fell swoop.

The massive creature, five or six meters tall, fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Silence.

Beneath the steep cliffs, not a sound remained.

The five youths stared blankly at the fallen Rock Bear.

"It's dead!"

"The Rock Bear... was killed by one person."

They were all stunned. The five of them together had barely been able to scratch the beast, yet in Chu Fengmian's hands, it had been slain in less than five minutes.

"Can an Eighth Layer Bone Tempering Realm martial artist really do this?" one man swallowed hard, unable to believe his eyes.

In an instant, all their gazes converged on Chu Fengmian.

It wasn't until Chu Fengmian sliced open the top of the Rock Bear's head and retrieved its demon core that they finally snapped out of it.

"Thank you, friend, for saving our lives," Mo Changhen said, standing to the side and looking at Chu Fengmian with deep gratitude.

This time, had Chu Fengmian not intervened, it would have been impossible for them to escape unscathed; the best outcome would have been one person staying behind so the others could flee.

"My name is Mo Changhen, an inner disciple of Wusheng Academy. May I ask who you are, friend?"

(End of Chapter)