Chapter 3: The Ultimate Couple (Part 2)

There was a series of crackling sounds, mixed with the bear’s fearful roars. Goha laughed, “This guy seems pretty impressive, hehe.” The others were skeptical—after all, the killing power of a talismanic staff wasn’t as great as that of a knife, unless Halchi’s staff could shatter a bear’s head in one strike.

Halchi, seemingly acting on some impulse, roared and attacked frantically, wielding his staff in a variety of moves—smashing, slashing, tapping—creating a spectacular display. His speed was especially astonishing; he moved around the bear like a whirlwind, his staff becoming almost invisible, forcing the bear to let out agonized screams.

Guo Shier said in surprise, “It still isn’t dead? Old Hal… has he eaten anything? Why doesn’t it have any strength?”

Yao Zebu Song added from the side, “Everyone, look carefully… the bear’s fur is emitting a faint yellow glow. Could that be its defense?”

The others suddenly realized why Halchi couldn’t kill the bear. After all, Halchi was a high-level professional—his staff could shatter ordinary steel. If it couldn’t even harm the bear, it meant the bear must have some special defense mechanism. Indeed, whenever Halchi’s staff struck the bear, its fur would glow yellow, blending in so well with its color that it was hard to notice without close attention.

Despite being a high-level professional, Halchi found it unbearable after relentless attacks, his breathing becoming uneven. He cursed, “Damn it, this thing’s skin is too thick! No matter how hard I hit, it doesn’t work…” His hand trembled slightly as he retracted his staff and pulled out a two-meter-long, narrow talismanic sword. Roaring, he said, “I’ll cut you to death!”

The sword emitted a glowing light as it slashed at the bear’s front limb. With a hiss, the bear let out a deafening roar. The strike broke through its defense—although it didn’t sever the limb, it created a deep gash.

Boom!

A burst of yellow light suddenly erupted from the bear’s mouth, instantly forming a huge rock that rushed toward Halchi with a howling sound. No one had time to react—the change was too fast, and no one could have imagined the bear possessed such power.

Bang!

Unprepared, Halchi was struck hard by the circular boulder. The rock was peculiar, resembling a perfectly shaped sphere, about 1.5 meters in diameter. In Guo Shier’s eyes, it looked like a round shell—though it wouldn’t explode, its impact force was immense.

Halechi was flung away. This guy truly was the most tough and resilient professional; even after being hit by a boulder the size of a cannonball, he only spat out a mouthful of blood. But the moment he was sent flying, it enraged the other person. Meili roared and rushed forward. The moment she saw Halechi get hit, she went wild.

No one expected Meili to lose control like this. Guo Shier flew to Halechi’s side, grabbed him, and pulled him up, asking, “Are you hurt?”

Halechi coughed repeatedly, his gaze fixed behind Guo Shier, as Meili was in a fury.

Meili charged straight at him. She was even heavier than the round stones fired by her bear. With a loud crash, the four-meter-tall bear was sent flying, knocking down over a dozen giant trees before rolling hundreds of meters before lying on the ground, letting out a pitiful roar. Dazed from the blow, it barely managed to get up unsteadily before Meili attacked again.

Halechi stared in shock, muttering, “Violence… How can this woman be so violent…”

Meili grabbed one of the bear’s legs and swung it with force. Boom! It hit the ground. Boom! Crack! It then struck an ancient tree. After being battered relentlessly, the bear was barely alive, spewing blood and shattered internal organs, with no trace of that faint yellow light left on its body.

Li Ran said, “What kind of defense is this? So resilient…” He was surprised—the bear’s defense was incredibly strong. He knew Meili’s strength well; even he had to be cautious when dealing with her. Yet this bear could withstand such attacks for so long without dying. It was clear that this defense was on par with a professional’s defensive artifact.

Meili slashed down with her claw. Without the yellow light shielding it, her claw pierced through the bear’s skull. “Dead!” she said. She glanced at Ezekiel, as if asking if he wanted to eat it. She raised her claw, licked the blood on it, and smacked her lips. “The taste… so strange…”

Ezekiel stepped forward, tore open the bear’s skin, cut off a piece of meat with his claw, and put it in his mouth to chew. After tasting it carefully, he said, “It’s average. Not very tasty.”

Everyone lost their appetite. These two top-notch individuals were truly unrestrained. Halechi was sweating profusely. He silently hid behind the crowd, not wanting to draw Meili’s attention again.

Qi Wuzhen walked over to the round rock, reached out, and lifted it with her hands, examining it curiously. Guo Shier walked over, touched the rock, and said, “What a strange rock. I don’t know what kind of force created it… I saw it being spat out by a bear at the time…”
Li Ran also came over and asked, “Xiao Zhenzhen, have you found anything?”
Qi Wuzhen rolled her eyes. She had no energy to argue with Li Ran, and after being called Xiao Zhenzhen for so long, she had gradually gotten used to it, though it still annoyed her. She snapped, “I can’t tell by myself!”
Li Ran stepped forward and touched the rock as well. With his extensive experience, he said, “This wasn’t formed naturally. It’s a rock created by a strange combination of forces. Hmm, this thing probably won’t last long…” Before he could finish speaking, the rock suddenly became soft. Qi Wuzhen quickly withdrew her support, and the moment it hit the ground, it collapsed into a pile of dirt.
Guo Shier picked up some dirt and said, “This is quite simple dirt… loess. This world… is different from ours.”
Li Ran said calmly, “There’s more than just one small world… That’s finally confirmed. I used to wonder if there were other small worlds. Hehe, this accidental entry has completely proven it.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Brother Li Ran, to be honest… I still don’t understand what a small world is. According to scientific principles, I can understand the larger world, but small worlds… I simply can’t comprehend them.”
Qi Wuzhen glanced at Guo Shier and said, “What scientific principles? What you’re talking about, I can’t understand either.” Of course, she couldn’t understand the knowledge Guo Shier had learned in his past life.
A simple sentence from Li Ran made Guo Shier stop pondering. He said, “Existence is reasonable.”
Guo Shier thought it made sense. After all, since he had seen it, felt it, learned about it, and possessed it, there was no need to worry about how it existed. As long as he could live, that was good. If he could also master the powers of this world while alive, even better.
Halechi asked softly, “Should we keep moving?”
Guo Shier said, “Wait a moment.” He turned to Ezek and said, “Ezek, Mei Li, do you guys want this bear?”
Ezek dismissed the bear, which was only four meters tall and had unappetizing meat, and said, “No.”

Meili shook her head. Like Aizek, she had no interest in the carcasses of wild beasts that couldn’t be eaten. Guo Shieru knelt beside the bear with a smile, examined it briefly, first drawing out the blood, then skinning and stripping the muscles to collect the meat and bones. After cutting open the bear’s chest, he found a yellow crystal inside the heart.

Guo Shieru exclaimed, “Hey, what’s this? I can sense immense vitality!”

Li Ran came over to Guo Shieru, took the crystal, and examined it carefully. He was also surprised—such powerful vitality meant it would be a treasure for a professional with a strong soul. Such things were extremely rare on the Spellcraft Continent; only the essence of advanced mutated or aberrant spellbeasts could produce something similar, but it still fell far short compared to this crystal.

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Let me see it.”

Li Ran tossed the crystal, and Qi Wu Zhen caught it, feeling the surging vitality. A hint of astonishment flashed in her eyes as she said, “It’s a pretty good crystal… This means if there are people here, there must also be experts.” Her judgment was agreed upon by everyone.

Guo Shieru said, “In other words, the wild beasts on this continent have extremely strong vitality. Heh, this is great stuff. If used properly, it could have the same or even better therapeutic effects as the spell pills we make.”

After the crystal went around among Halechi, Zhen Wuji, Goha, and Yao Zebusong, it returned to Guo Shieru’s hands.

Li Ran said, “We can’t give up this resource. Any opinions?” Finding such a rare resource, from a professional’s perspective, it had to be acquired. As the team leader, he had the responsibility to give orders while also seeking everyone’s input.

Guo Shieru raised his hand first: “I agree.”

Qi Wu Zhen nodded and said, “I’m also curious about how to use this. I agree.”

Zhen Wuji, Goha, Yao Zebusong, and Halechi all agreed. Aizek and Meili hesitated slightly before nodding in approval, though the couple still didn’t understand its significance—they had never shown interest in any materials.

Li Ran said, “The wild beasts here are quite strong, especially in terms of defense. Of course, they’re useless to us. With our strength, these beasts would be finished the moment they encountered us. Well, scatter and collect resources. Return here in ten days, mark the location, and then go your separate ways.”

Guo Shier was very interested. Given his collecting obsession, how could he give up such a great find? He was well aware that once they left, no professionals would be able to enter this continent. Without Li Ran’s ability to break through boundaries and the strength of Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen, it would be impossible to move from one small world to another.

Ezek and Meili didn’t move; they had no interest in collecting these crystals at all. They sat lazily on the roots of a big tree. Ezek said, “We’ll just wait here. You guys go collect them.” After all, he had plenty of food in his space, so he didn’t have to worry about hunger. With their temper, they would only go hunting when the food in their space ran low—otherwise, they preferred to sleep.

Guo Shier took off into the air and said to the handsome old man, “Let’s get to work!”