Chapter Ninety-Four: Let Us Discuss It

Clan Chief Zhang, who had been listening nearby, looked at Li Sibai with gratitude. “Young Hero Li…”

Though he longed to fight the Crimson-Gold Bear to the death, he also knew that with his own strength victory would be nearly impossible. He had only urged Li Sibai to flee first because he did not want everyone to die here.

Now, seeing Li Sibai so utterly resolute, he felt deep gratitude, and his fighting spirit only burned brighter.

Caiyao also nodded. “If that is the case, then I will stay with my brother!”

“Good. Let us defeat it together!” Li Sibai encouraged everyone.

“You think the lot of you can defeat me?” the Crimson-Gold Bear said.

Li Sibai’s confidence instantly collapsed. “It... it can talk!”

Beast-monsters were divided into four ranks: heaven, earth, mystic, and yellow, each further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.

The venomous crocodile Li Sibai had slain on Jade Void Peak had been a mystic-rank upper-grade beast-monster, while the wolf spider he had encountered in the forest of Jade Pearl Peak had been an earth-rank lower-grade beast-monster.

As for this Crimson-Gold Bear before him, Li Sibai could not see its cultivation level, but by his estimate it had to be at least an earth-rank beast.

He had never imagined it would speak the moment it opened its mouth, and that truly startled him.

Li Sibai had read in the Records of Rare Creatures that when beasts reached the heavenly rank, they could take human form. Caiyao, for instance, was heavenly-rank. To speak human speech, however, one had at minimum to be upper-grade earth-rank. It was said that only after reaching that level could a beast truly awaken its intelligence and begin learning more methods of cultivation.

This Crimson-Gold Bear before him was exactly such a being.

Li Sibai quietly told Caiyao of his doubts. Caiyao nodded and said, “Brother, your guess is correct. I can sense that this Crimson-Gold Bear is already an upper-grade earth-rank beast, with more than two thousand years of cultivation. Though my rank is higher than its, I cannot defeat it. You two must be extremely careful.”

Li Sibai nodded. This Crimson-Gold Bear was indeed terrifyingly strong. If it had merely been a middle-grade earth-rank beast, then with his own cultivation newly raised to the Qin Heart Realm, and with the Clan Chief, who was also at the Qin Heart Realm, assisting him, they might still have had a chance.

But now they had encountered an upper-grade earth-rank Crimson-Gold Bear. To hope for victory was not impossible, but the odds were truly grim.

As Li Sibai’s mind raced, searching for a way to face the dilemma before him, Clan Chief Zhang had already clashed with the Crimson-Gold Bear.

Seeing that things looked bad, Li Sibai hurriedly swung the Profound Heaven Sword in his hand and rushed over to help.

The Crimson-Gold Bear did not seem concerned at all. It let out a cold snort. “Two together? Perfect. It has been a long time since I had a proper fight. Let me see what the two of you are worth.”

This Crimson-Gold Bear was famous for its immense strength, yet its body was not clumsy in the least; on the contrary, it was quite agile. Even under the siege of two men, it still seemed entirely at ease.

In terms of raw power, even the Profound Heaven Sword, with its thick, heavy body, could be met head-on by the bear. The sword had no blade; it relied entirely on overwhelming force and could not wound the bear, much less the sword in Clan Chief Zhang’s hand.

And if it chose not to meet their attacks directly, it could simply evade with its footwork. Even if their blows grazed it, it paid them no heed.

Before long, the Crimson-Gold Bear had seized complete initiative, driving Li Sibai and Clan Chief Zhang left and right until neither could get anywhere near it.

Li Sibai felt frustrated. Their opponent now held an overwhelming advantage; even if the two of them joined forces, they still could not contend with it. What were they to do?

His anxiety flared for a moment, but he quickly guided the true energy of the Profound Heaven Art into his mind and soon regained his calm. After breaking through to the Qin Heart Realm, his state of mind had improved greatly.

His Purple Light Divine Eyes swept over the Crimson-Gold Bear from head to toe and immediately discovered several weak points on its body.

But even so, there was nothing they could do, because they could not get close at all. Long-range attacks could not land, so discovering those weak points was useless.

“What now?”

Li Sibai gave a sharp cry. “Stop!” He grabbed Clan Chief Zhang and leapt aside.

Seeing that the Crimson-Gold Bear was about to strike at once, he hurriedly said, “Stop, stop, stop. I have something to say.”

“Hm?” The bear’s descending palm did not fall. It remained suspended in the air as the beast looked at Li Sibai with a puzzled expression.

“What do you have to say? Why all the nonsense? Hurry up and fight me, boy.”

Li Sibai did not get angry. Instead, he beamed with a broad smile. “Esteemed expert, there is no need to rush. Fighting and killing are so ugly. What grievance do you have with this Clan Chief Zhang? Though I am unworthy, I would be willing to mediate between you. What do you think?”

“Mediation?” Clan Chief Zhang stared at Li Sibai in disbelief. In his heart he thought, I have an irreconcilable blood feud with it. How are you going to mediate? Didn’t you just say we would kill it together? It is a beast-monster, after all.

Li Sibai knew he was confused and gave him a quick look. Since Clan Chief Zhang knew Li Sibai was full of ideas, he said nothing more and quietly watched from the side, wanting to see what Li Sibai was really plotting.

The Crimson-Gold Bear also looked at the young man before it with curiosity. “Mediation? By you, little brat? What a grand boast. Can you even make that decision?”

It was not that the Crimson-Gold Bear refused to believe him. No one would have believed him.

The two humans and one bird before it—this Clan Chief Zhang, who had launched the first attack, was only at the second level of the Qin Heart Realm, even higher in cultivation than this boastful youth. And that bird, though the bear could not see its rank, had been pursuing it for days; it knew the bird’s cultivation exceeded its own, and that it was not skilled at offense either. In any case, it was not something this youth could compare with, so doubting him was entirely natural.

Li Sibai, however, did not know what it was thinking. He nodded confidently and looked toward Clan Chief Zhang and Caiyao. “My word still counts, does it not?”

Both of them nodded in agreement.

Seeing that they all took their cues from this young man, the Crimson-Gold Bear found it strange, yet it believed him all the same. “Very well. So long as you satisfy my conditions, I will spare you.”

“Oh?” Li Sibai was also surprised. He had only meant to stall for time, never expecting the Crimson-Gold Bear to cooperate so readily and truly negotiate terms with him.

“Cough... may I ask what those conditions are?” Li Sibai could only steel himself and play along.

“The conditions are simple. There are only two. First, I want to eat this man.” As it spoke, it pointed at Clan Chief Zhang.

“Eat him?!” Li Sibai shook his head helplessly. He had not expected the Crimson-Gold Bear to be so shameless as to propose such absurd terms. Could it be that it had seen through his delay tactic?

The Crimson-Gold Bear ignored him and continued, “Second, I want to eat that one as well,” and it pointed at Caiyao.

“To put it simply, if you can let me eat those two, I will certainly not treat you poorly. I will not only help you get out of here, I will also help you raise your cultivation. Think it over.”

Li Sibai’s expression darkened. What kind of conditions were those? So this was what you meant by conditions—you want me to sell out my companions and sow discord among us.

Then he thought of the Crimson-Gold Bear saying it wanted to eat Caiyao, and Li Sibai’s anger flared at once. Have you no shame? I let you talk, and now you are making up conditions at random. Do you really think I am afraid of you?

Though displeased, he still kept smiling and said, “Hero, please allow me to discuss it with them. Would that be acceptable?”

The Crimson-Gold Bear waved a paw. “No matter. The lot of you little riffraff cannot stir up much trouble.”

With that, it sat down to rest, though its eyes remained fixed on them without blinking.