Chapter 51: A Perfect Harvest, Advancement Through Consumption

The figure seemed to be waving.

Li Xian frowned. The rain was heavy, and the dense rain, the misty fog, and the swaying branches all obstructed the view.

The characteristics of "hearing from all directions" and "walking on snow" are all hindered by the environment.

"In the hunting forest, humans are more dangerous than wild beasts."

Li Xian glanced away the water droplets on her face and shaded her forehead with her hand. She gazed intently at the figure, her eyes focusing on one spot.

During the past two days of hunting, Li Xian has been trying his best to avoid human presence and conceal his movements.

The first time I met someone.

"It's Zhang Dan, a Class C nurse."

Finally, they recognized him. Zhang Dan had patrolled the side of the deserted house with Li Xian before, so they naturally knew each other.

Our relationship was very superficial; we barely exchanged a nod.

He waved repeatedly, greeting Li Xianlian. Elsewhere, Li Xianlian wouldn't have ignored him, but here, he didn't want to cause any trouble.

He made a gesture, then turned and left.

After walking several miles, I felt that the atmosphere was not right and I felt uneasy. I kept thinking back to what had just happened.

"A Class C guard only has ten Feather Arrows. A Class C guard can only leave the mountain at most in a day."

"Could that order also be for someone like me, who wants to hunt a three-headed bear beast in order to advance in rank?"

Based on Li Xian's impression of him.

It's more like it than not.

Then, the bill reappeared in his field of vision. This time, he seemed to have fallen into a trap, was injured, and let out a painful howl.

It seems they want to get Li Xian's help.

"No, if he really wanted to ask for help, he would have spoken up."

"Could it be..."

Li Xian narrowed his eyes, recalling a mountain legend, and immediately took out his bow and arrow, aiming at the document.

There is a type of bear in the mountains that is extremely cunning and treacherous. They often appear in pairs, usually a mother and a cub.

The mother bear is large and ferocious, while the cubs are small and wiry, about the size of a human.

This bear has sharp teeth and a tongue several feet long with fine barbs. It can tear open human skin, insert its tongue into the body, and use the barbs to grind the prey's flesh and internal organs into minced meat before putting it into its mouth.

In this way, the prey is eaten clean, with all its internal organs gone, but its skin remains intact.

The bear cubs dressed in human skin to lure the mother bear, who then waited for her chance to strike.

Named: Pointed-nose, Long-tongued Bear

Li Xian's mind raced, and in that instant, he realized he was in grave danger. A warning bell rang in his mind, and suddenly, he heard the sound of a tree branch snapping overhead.

The mother bear had silently approached without anyone noticing, and pounced down from above.

"The heavy rain masked the sounds and weakened my hearing."

"To encounter such a ferocious bear again is truly bad news!"

Li Xian noticed in time and reacted swiftly. While dodging to the side, he fired two arrows at Zi Xiong. His movements were fluid and his aim was excellent.

However, it has one fatal flaw: mountain hunters rarely hunt in the rain.

Heavy rain weakens the arrows and affects their accuracy; these two arrows only grazed the skin but did not kill the bear cub.

The bear cub shuddered, its human skin tearing apart to reveal its true form. It was a dwarf bear the size of a human, and the two bears, one large and one small, attacked simultaneously.

A critical moment.

Li Xian cursed, "Good thing you've come! I was just worried about not finding any prey!" He stood still and aimed his arrow at the mother bear.

One step, two steps, three steps…

Just as the mother bear closed in, Li Xian suddenly fired an arrow. A glint flashed in the mother bear's eyes, revealing a cunning look, and she actually rolled away to dodge in a human-like manner.

Meanwhile, the cub from the other direction had already pounced close.

However……

The one who fell to the ground and died was not Li Xian, but Zi Xiong.

It turns out that Li Xian's arrow just now used the principles of "Four Directions Fist". The Four Directions Fist is a style of boxing that allows one person to fight against many.

When outnumbered and attacked simultaneously, ordinary martial artists are no match for four legs with their fists; brute force alone cannot turn the tide.

Psychological games are played during this process.

If these mother and cub bears were just ordinary wild beasts, incapable of scheming, then Li Xian would indeed be in trouble. With both bears attacking simultaneously, Li Xian, in his current state, would have no chance of resisting.

Unfortunately, these two bears were quite clever.

Although the mother bear was large and approached quickly, she deliberately amplified her imposing presence with each step. It was a feint designed to attract attention.

Although the cub was small, it deliberately made little noise; this was the real trick.

The mother and cub bears worked together seamlessly.

The large is the illusion, the small is the reality; there are several layers of game theory involved, containing truth and falsehood.

Seeing these two points clearly, Li Xian took a gamble and chose to stand still, turning the tables on the scheme.

Seemingly aiming at the mother bear, it was actually a "hit-and-run" maneuver. The instant the finger released the string, the ankle twisted, and the body turned in the opposite direction at top speed.

The bullet hit the bear cub.

The near-perfect "Four Directions Fist" is skillfully applied at this moment. The principles of the fist are applied to arrows, allowing one to remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses before them.

Upon seeing this, the mother bear let out a mournful howl and picked up the body of her cub.

I can't tell if it's tears or rain.

Li Xian distanced himself, climbed a large tree, hooked his feet on the branches, his bowstring taut like a full moon, and his eyes cold and indifferent.

"It seems that even wild beasts have true feelings."

"Unfortunately, if I don't kill you, you will kill me; that's just how the world is."

Li Xian shot an arrow, which shot down and pierced the top of the mother bear's head.

The mother and cub bears were shot dead on the spot.

Then he took out the Lingyu Arrow and shot another arrow into each of the corpses.

Hunting in the rain is far too dangerous.

Li Xian landed on the ground, letting out a heavy sigh. That was truly a brush with death.

Even more dangerous than Ghost Patterned Biao.

Although Gui Wenbiao was formidable, Li Xian had made prior preparations, scouted the terrain, and had a plan in mind, allowing him to handle the situation with ease.

This time, things really changed in an instant, completely unexpected.

"The bond between mother and cub is so strong; otherwise, this mother bear would have given me a real hard time."

This mother bear's fighting prowess is likely far superior to Guiwenbiao's. If her cubs hadn't died, the mother bear wouldn't have wanted to live any longer.

Amidst this heavy rain, a fierce battle is yet to come.

After gathering the two bears together, Li Xian counted the prey.

One deer, three tigers, three bears... it's already perfect.

"That's enough. On the way back, if we're lucky, we can use the remaining three Feather Arrows together."

Li Xian smiled broadly.

Suddenly remembering something, he walked in one direction.

There were several fragments of human skin on the ground, which came from "Zhang Dan, a Class C guard".

Winter hunting is risky, and deaths are not uncommon.

But this solitary death must have been incredibly gruesome. Because the long-tongued bear, with its pointed snout, has always eaten its prey alive. Only by eating it alive can it maintain the toughness of its skin.

"The bears on this mountain are even more cunning and treacherous."

"And there are even more wild beasts and exotic species."

"Ordinary brown bears, compared to them, are as cute as cats."

"A three-headed bear, a three-headed tiger... Promotion is a done deal, no need to venture any further!"

Li Xian was thrilled.

Hard work pays off; my efforts were not in vain!

Despite the heavy rain, the marks Li Xian left along the way remained. Following the red cloth marks, we returned along the same route.

They soon reached the inner edge.

Li Xian did not turn back in a straight line. Since he had rarely entered the mountains, he wanted to make the most of the arrows in his hand.

Instead of hunting tigers and bears, they avoided them from afar and only hunted wild deer, roe deer, and other wild animals.

When I come across sweet berries, I pick them and eat them. They're delicious and make me feel great.

Around noon.

After eating some venison and dried tiger meat, Li Xian finally accumulated enough proficiency to break through the [Consuming Food] skill barrier.

[Skill: Ingestion]

[Proficiency: 12/1000 Mastery]

[Description: Food is paramount in martial arts; mountain delicacies, wild game, and even the finest flavors are all at my disposal. You possess remarkable digestive and absorption abilities; anything you consume can be amplified by 30%.]

(End of this chapter)