Chapter Sixty-Five: Iron Fist

Branches stretched across the forest path, forcing the use of a curved blade to hack out a narrow, cramped trail just barely passable.

He had seldom ventured into this wooded area before; now it was overgrown with wild grass, vines clinging to every side, twisting and turning, making passage difficult.

Yet Chen Yu’s expression remained calm. His spiritual energy surged forth, hovering a foot around him, scanning the surroundings.

Some subtle traces, nearly invisible to the naked eye, were revealed through his keen perception. He followed these signs deeper into the forest.

The last time he entered the mountain, rain had washed away all traces, leaving almost nothing, forcing him to return empty-handed.

But this time was different. Outside the woods, sunlight poured down brilliantly; though the humidity among the trees was heavy, the trail of the black bear still lingered.

He pressed on, and gradually the trees grew thinner and scraggly, no longer tall and robust. A faint light filtered down from above, no longer obscured by foliage. Looking up, he realized he was near a rocky hill, where exposed stones piled atop one another, moss clinging here and there, grasses swaying in the breeze.

The trees here were sparse, nowhere near as dense and deep as behind him. Chen Yu circled around and found some fur stuck to the stone wall, along with spots of brownish stains.

They looked like dried blood, settled and darkened over time by wind and rain.

He lifted a finger, and the fur detached from the soil, floating up to hover two inches above his palm.

Examining it closely, the black strands were tinged with some brownish yellow—surely from the black bear. He smiled faintly and casually dropped the fur to the ground.

After searching for another while, he uncovered a shallow cave behind a shattered stone.

It was quite shallow.

Clearing away the rubble, Chen Yu stepped inside. A faint metallic stench filled his nostrils. He waved his hand, releasing spiritual energy from his fingers, stirring the outside air to flow inside, slightly easing the smell.

In the breeze, he saw more fur, decayed withered grass and broken branches, and some animal bones.

“An abandoned den,” he thought.

It was easy to imagine that not long ago, the black bear had made this its home, venturing into the woods to hunt. Perhaps a landslide or falling stones had collapsed part of the cave entrance, sealing it off, and since then the bear’s whereabouts had become unknown.

“The new den can’t be far.”

He exited the cave, lowering his gaze to linger a moment before choosing the freshest trail and following it onward.

...

The black bear was troublesome.

At least, recently it had been so. Though driven by instinct as always, somehow the air around this place smelled sweeter than the mountain ridge it once roamed. Sniffing more, its appetite grew larger. Where one prey used to fill it for two or three days, now it was hungry again after only a day.

Food on the mountain had become scarce. Several wild boars had been hunted to near extinction. In recent days, it resorted to chasing after pheasants and sparrows.

Barely enough to fill its belly.

But it was reluctant to leave...

For some inexplicable reason, it still wanted to savor the sweet air here a little longer.

Originally, the cave among the rocks behind the forest was the true resting place, closer to the edge of the woods where the air was far fresher.

But it had collapsed, so a change was necessary.

Not long ago, a deer appeared.

Taking advantage of the black bear’s snoring, it kicked hard at the bear’s face!

How dare it?

Naturally, the black bear became enraged. Provoked by food, its fury ignited, swinging its large paws that resembled mighty fans, charging fiercely.

Yet the deer, though not large, was exceptionally agile.

During the chase, it was kicked several times.

The black bear also noticed something odd: the deer’s fleeing body emitted a tempting aroma, somewhat like the scent hanging in the air here.

So it was even more unwilling to let the deer escape.

Back and forth, they reached the present situation.

The deer came often to graze nearby. Whenever it saw the bear, it would nudge and press against it, its heavy hooves stomping painfully.

But the black bear was no pushover. Several times it had chances to pounce and kill, but the deer always managed to dodge, leaving only scratches behind.

Afterward, the bear lingered nearby, waiting patiently. The deer, not the sharpest, continued to come to graze here regularly.

Until one day, chasing the deer to the other side of the mountain, it saw a bipedal creature. Instinct told it this foe was unbeatable.

It had no choice but to retreat.

Yet the foolish deer returned day after day, its hoofprints multiplying on the ground. The black bear raged but was powerless, hiding in the shadows, awaiting the next encounter.

In its small mind, only one thought churned:

“I must eat it!”

...

“Ah, hiding here, huh.”

Chen Yu opened the pressure points beneath his feet, circulating spiritual energy there. It wrapped around him like a layer of cloth, making his footsteps silent on the ground.

Freed from spiritual constraints, he found controlling his energy much easier, though some fine-tuning was still needed.

Liberated from mental effort, he felt far more composed facing this black bear.

He had smeared some herbal sap on himself as a slight disguise, which now proved effective. The large bear, crouched with its rear hidden in the shade of bushes and rocks, was completely unaware of his arrival.

Buzz buzz buzz—

With a sharp slap, a black paw swatted its own backside, driving away buzzing flies before scratching it.

Then it lay still, motionless.

The deer should be coming soon...

Chen Yu crept closer, standing behind the bear, observing it with amusement. Up close, he realized this creature was no small beast. Previously, he had only glimpsed it through the trees.

Now it appeared to be eight or nine feet long, with four heavy paws gripping the ground. Its bear paws were thick and solid—being struck by one would certainly be no pleasant experience.

Even Chen Yu’s current constitution did not invite such a trial. Smiling to himself, he drew his curved blade, then sheathed it again.

Killing was unnecessary. After all, the black bear had only ever tangled with the greedy deer and had not caused real harm to the Taoist temple. The one time it was lured into the chicken coop by the panicked deer, it was stopped in time.

Thinking this over, he clenched his fist.

Death penalty avoided, yet the Qingtai Mountain forest did not need another overlord. He was enough.

Whoosh—

A layer of jade-white spiritual energy emerged, weaving and intertwining in his palm. In moments, a pure white iron fist the size of a human head took form before him, seemingly forged by nature itself.

Scales emerged, wrapping it in an intimidating armor.

[Supplementary Note]

A simple application of spiritual energy he had been experimenting with during this time. Though progress in understanding the essence of spiritual energy was slow, he had explored several of its properties. After some trials, he gained practical insights into its use.

For instance, this iron fist, far larger than a sandbag, was no mere show of force.

He had already shattered many large boulders with this fist, formed by fusing nearly half of the energy within his body.

It could not be cut by blades, nor harmed by water or fire.

If not for the enormous energy drain, he would have liked to sheath his entire body in this layer. Even if the black bear raged and pounded for an hour, he would not fear a thing.

But for now, he could only barely form a fist, similar to the water ball he had summoned before—far from a great weapon.

Still, landing a single punch on the black bear was no problem.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the black bear seemed to sense something, turning its chubby head. Its black eyes met Chen Yu’s gentle smile.

Boom!

A roar echoed—

Beneath the forest shade, the spiritual energy on his fist quickly dissipated. His eyes flickered with thought: if only he could reclaim unused energy later.

That would save him vast amounts and make realizing some of his ideas much easier.