In the next few weeks, Cloud is focusing on recovering and training.
A few days after the beasts tide, when Cloud fully recovered he made a breakthrough to the Martial Body Realm Stage Five.
It was a life and death situation after all and Cloud completely pushed past his limit to fight at that day.
After one month, Hong move back to the courtyard. He looked like he has completely recovered but he said that he hasn't fully yet.
Before he came back, he went to the chief's courtyard first. At that time his injuries are still severe. But he managed to walk there with some help.
It's only after he came out from the chief's courtyard that he look so much better. Cloud speculate that the chief probably gave some precious medicine to Hong.
But he didn't know for sure and Hong isn't saying anything even when asked so Cloud didn't press.
Instead, Hong tell him an interesting story. It's the story of the chief.
Apparently the chief told Hong the story when he was there. The chief didn't asked him to keep it a secret so Hong thought that it's probably okay to tell.
The chief is a Qi Gathering Realm Cultivator.
But when he broke through to the realm, he understand that it is his limit.
He also only break through successfully not too long ago. He was already way too old back then.
So there are no place or community that would accept him.
If there are, it would be a useless position that is a dead end.
The chief doesn't want to live the rest of his life doing insignificant work and his heart still hasn't let go of his further cultivation path.
So about three years ago the chief spend his saving to gather some people and go to this mountain to build a village.
It was then that he also invited Hong.
Yes, Hong and most people here have been in this village since the first day.
But at the time when they go up this mountain and build the foundation of the village there are some mercenary guards that the chief hired so the chief never need to show his strength.
That's why nobody knows the chief's strength until the beasts tide.
A few other villagers came later, either through chance encounter like Cloud or through invitation when the people here occasionally go into the city.
The story about the village is not a secret and Cloud has already knows this too.
It's just the story of the chief and the reason he built this village that nobody knows until now.
Anyway the chief build the village in hope of making it his source of income.
He then would use those income and exchange it for resources to cultivate further.
But this is a gamble. If he successfully build a thriving village then he would get a pretty decent income but if he fail then he would spend all his saving for nothing.
Even though the chief can't give up on his further cultivation path yet he doesn't have much confident in improving further either.
He would need an astronomical amount of resources to successfully do that.
So if he is not successful then his backup plan is to make this village his retirement place.
That's the whole story of the village.
Hearing that Cloud understand everything.
He also realize that it made sense for the chief to have such a strength to build a village.
Because if he doesn't have some strength then he would only be building a village for others.
For example if he was weak then a bandit group can easily take over the village.
An already prepared place that is secluded enough like this would be the favorite place for bandits.
But with the chief's strength that chance would be unlikely.
It's also why the chief chose this barren mountain to build the village.
Because nobody important would target this village.
People that are stronger than the chief wouldn't have any interest in such a place and bandits that are stronger than him would also not linger around this barren area.
That's why this is the perfect place for the chief.
Since this is a barren mountain, there would only be some low level bandits in the Martial Body Realm that would use it as a hiding place.
And there shouldn't be any beasts beyond that realm either because the mountain wouldn't be able to sustain them.
But apparently the unlikely has happened.
The bear spirit beast must have been a local beast that manage to break through.
The reason that it target the village must be because it was lacking resources.