Translator: CinderTL
Xu Sanyan weighed his options, calculating how to maximize his own gains.
The battle on the mountain path had reached a fever pitch. The middle-aged woman had entered the fray, slaughtering Bear Clan warriors with ruthless efficiency. Xiong Shan watched in agony; each fallen warrior represented a vital pillar of the clan's strength, and every loss pained him deeply.
"Aaaah!"
Xiong Shan's eyes turned bloodshot as he succumbed to primal fury. His fists crashed down like iron hammers, ignoring the Seven-Headed Dog lunging at his side as he charged relentlessly toward the Old Clan Chief.
He would trade injury for fate, breaking the stalemate at any cost!
A fierce gust of wind swept through the chaos, scattering the Old Clan Chief's disheveled hair and revealing her aged face. Her clouded eyes burned with unwavering resolve, devoid of fear.
She didn't fear death; she feared dying without purpose.
The Old Clan Chief crossed her arms, bracing herself against the crushing blow.
A sickening crack echoed as her arms snapped at unnatural angles. Her frail body visibly trembled, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"What are you waiting for?!" the Old Clan Chief roared, her voice strained. She was on the verge of collapse.
Hidden in the shadows, Xu Sanyan knew it was time to act. The moment was perfect. With a thought, he conjured three sharp spikes from the void, channeling the Lu Clan's Spirit Refining Force.
The instant the divine soul spikes materialized, Xu Sanyan's face turned deathly pale. The massive drain on his soul power caused a splitting headache and his heart to pound violently. But with a single, decisive strike his only chance, he couldn't afford to hesitate.
"Go!"
Xu Sanyan hissed, and three streaks of light shot through the void, hurtling toward Xiong Shan's head.
Xiong Shan's eyes burned crimson as he re-coiled his iron fist, raising it high to strike.
If that fist landed, the Old Clan Chief would have no chance of survival. She was already on the verge of collapse, her strength nearly exhausted.
Whoosh!
The divine soul spikes pierced Xiong Shan's skull in an instant. His fist, poised to strike, instead clutched his head as a earth-shattering scream echoed through the mountains.
"Aaaah~!!"
Two streaks of blood streamed from Xiong Shan's eyes, tracing paths down his nose. His crimson pupils seemed about to burst. He pounded his head violently, as if trying to alleviate the excruciating pain.
Xu Sanyan stood pale and bloodless, drenched in cold sweat, leaning against a tree trunk and gasping for breath.
He had expended nearly eighty percent of his divine soul power. A searing pain in his mind warned him that continuing to use his divine soul power would likely lead to his own death.
The Old Clan Chief's arms hung limply at her sides, her broken limbs utterly useless. Her feet were buried in the earth, but she lacked the strength to pull them free.
Before her, Xiong Shan's agonized cries grew fainter. Blood streamed from his nostrils and mouth, staining the beast hide covering his chest crimson. His eyes stared blankly at the sky, his chest still rising and falling weakly. Despite Xu Sanyan's full-force strike, he clung to life.
But it was clear he was drawing more air than he exhaled. Xu Sanyan, a Soul Refining Realm expert, possessed abundant divine soul power, far surpassing Xiong Shan's.
Xiong Shan's screams drew everyone's attention. They couldn't understand what had happened. Just moments ago, he had been overwhelming the Old Clan Chief, on the verge of victory. Then suddenly, he let out a bloodcurdling scream, blood gushing from his seven orifices before collapsing, clearly on the brink of death.
The situation had reversed with such shocking speed that everyone froze in place.
With Xiong Shan's death, the battle's outcome was now certain: the Bear Clan's defeat was inevitable.
"Kill them all!"
The middle-aged woman reacted first, charging back into the fray with renewed ferocity, determined to capitalize on their surging morale and crush the enemy in one final push.
The Seven-Headed Dog stood guard before the Old Clan Chief, allowing no enemy to approach.
Xu Sanyan closed his eyes tightly, the piercing pain in his head consuming his every thought. All he wanted was to sleep.
Suddenly, Xun Ancai's anxious voice rang in his ear, "What's wrong?"
Seeing Xu Sanyan's deathly pale face, Xun Ancai cradled him tenderly in her arms, her exaggerated chest muscles nearly suffocating him.
"Take me home," Xu Sanyan gritted out, each word sending a jolt of agony through his nerves, as if giant hands were twisting inside his skull.
"Okay," Xun Ancai glanced at the battlefield. The outcome was already decided; her absence wouldn't matter. She lifted Xu Sanyan and began carrying him down the mountain.
Halfway down, Xu Sanyan lost consciousness in her arms, his brow still furrowed even in sleep.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield,
More than half the Bear Clan warriors had fallen, and the survivors knelt in surrender.
A middle-aged woman helped the Old Clan Chief to her feet, asking anxiously, "Clan Chief, are you alright?"
"Cough, cough..." The Old Clan Chief coughed weakly, blood flecks spraying from her mouth. "I'm fine. Help me back."
"Yes." The woman turned to the Bear Clan prisoners. "Clan Chief, what should we do with them?"
"Bind them for now. Later, take a team to the Bear Clan's territory. Move quickly—we need to retrieve the artifacts before the Snake Clan can react."
"Very well."
The middle-aged woman knew exactly what the Old Clan Chief meant by "the things": the Earth Vein Stone and the Bear God's essence blood, both treasures preserved by the Bear Clan.
With these two items, the Dog Clan could once again nurture several powerhouses capable of receiving fourth or even fifth blessings.
Now that Xiong Shan, the Bear Clan Chief, was dead and a significant portion of the Bear Clan's core strength had been lost in this battle, their territory would undoubtedly be vulnerable—the perfect moment to sound the horn for a counterattack.
The middle-aged woman escorted the Old Clan Chief back to the cave, then swiftly made all necessary preparations. Leading her forces, she set out toward Bear Clan territory.
Xun Ancai followed along.
When Xu Sanyan opened his eyes again, the day was already bright.
Xun Ancai lay beside him, fast asleep, her chest tightly bound with animal hide. A faint trace of blood seeped through the makeshift bandage.
Xu Sanyan rubbed his temples, the needle-like pain having subsided considerably. Though some lingering discomfort remained, it no longer hindered his movements.
He glanced at the dirty animal hide covering Xun Ancai and frowned inwardly. Tearing a strip from the hem of his robe, he gently unwrapped the hide from her chest. Two soft mounds immediately sprang free.
Xun Ancai startled awake, her eyes darting around warily. Recognizing him, she relaxed and closed her eyes, drifting back to sleep.
Xu Sanyan examined the wound on her chest, located just below her right breast. A long, deep gash, likely inflicted by some sharp object, revealed the bone beneath. The wound looked gruesome.
Yet Xun Ancai seemed accustomed to such injuries, barely interrupting her sleep.
If the wound had been even slightly higher, her precious life would have been in danger.
Xu Sanyan rebandaged her wound. Xun Ancai showed no reaction, clearly exhausted.
Yesterday, after using the Lu Clan's Spirit Refining Force, he had fallen into a deep sleep. He didn't know what had happened afterward, but the wounds on Xun Ancai's body suggested further events had transpired.
Xu Sanyan stretched slightly, then rose and headed up the mountain. He wanted to check on the Old Clan Chief and confirm the timing for the third blessing.
Passing the battlefield from the previous day, he saw lingering signs of the fierce combat: vast stretches of fallen trees and bloodstains on the ground, all testament to the battle's brutality.
As Xu Sanyan approached the cave entrance, his expression froze. The middle-aged woman emerged from the cave, cradling the Old Clan Chief in her arms.
The Old Clan Chief had stopped breathing.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (HB) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c360. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $5.
💥Translated (6) Series, (4.6K+) Chapters, (6.7M+) Words.
📢MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT! Read more free chapters! To learn more please visit my pa. treon and see the pinned post.