Everyone in the Harper Camp unconsciously developed a concept in their hearts:
Bruce is powerful and wields some mysterious force.
Not only can he hunt Cold Beasts, but he can also defeat and repel Mimicking monsters; he's generous, willing to allocate more Crystal Fruit for everyone to be full; and fair, willing to share the Cold Beast Meat to enhance everyone's strength;
Following this concept, everyone reached a consensus without asking:
Only by having Bruce as the leader can they live longer and better.
Bruce wasn't a mind reader, so he couldn't know what people were thinking, but from the way others looked at him, he could easily discern two points:
One point was that his status in the hearts of these people was rapidly increasing at an alarming rate.
The other point was that all the people in the camp, whether his younger brother Charlie and the Axeheart team members or the other civilians, from the middle-aged to children, gradually had a yearning for life and hope for the future in their eyes.
---
In the following days, Bruce did not lead any more teams to Redwood Ridge.
Even though upgrading to an iron refining furnace doubles the daily burn rate of wood, consuming 4 units of wood per day, Bruce's current wood resources were already surplus.
With 470 units of wood resources, it's enough to consume for more than three months without going out; adding the accumulated Crystal Fruits from before, there's still over ten thousand kilograms left, so there's absolutely no problem staying in temporarily.
Bruce had thought about going over to Tower Mountain to see if he could find the location of Taylor Camp and check on their situation.
But considering that Mimicking monster might be nearby, he abandoned the idea.
Firstly, although it's confirmed that Taylor Camp is over by Tower Mountain, the camps tend to be well-hidden.
Even if he went, he probably wouldn't find it, and even if he did, if their camp hadn't encountered any issues, he wouldn't be able to explain himself, which could easily cause conflicts.
Secondly, out of dread for that Mimicking monster.
The last time, it seemed to lurk in the shadows, manipulating the fake Thomas, so strictly speaking, Bruce still hasn't seen what that Mimicking monster looks like.
Although there are now means to deal with Mimicking monsters, the lack of knowledge about that particular one would certainly be detrimental if he approached rashly.
With all these reasons combined, Bruce could only patiently stay in camp, training with everyone while researching ways to cope with Mimicking monsters.
"Practicing Long Fist with me, besides helping you absorb the Cold Beast Meat essence more efficiently, has another crucial role: enhancing your combat ability!"
By the furnace, the bare-chested Bruce was punching with limited movement, and as he unleashed sharp forceful punches, he explained the essentials of the Grand Ancestor Tyler Fist to the people gathered around.
"Whatever martial arts, in essence, practice two things: reaction force and explosive power. These two aspects are your greatest reliance and confidence in opposing enemies. Reaction force refers to the foresight of danger.
Using Cold Beasts as an example: before it raises its paw, if you can predict which side it will attack from and respond timely, it won't be able to harm you.
And explosive power is producing the maximum force in the shortest time and at the fastest speed. This is the strongest means to inflict damage on enemies, whether barehanded or armed, the principle is the same."
Bruce's punching sped up slightly, and the powerful punch wind made the furnace sound loudly, meanwhile, he continued:
"The basic strength of the Axeheart Realm is five thousand kilograms, but that's the static basic strength.
Being able to lift something five thousand kilograms doesn't mean you can punch with five thousand kilograms force.
In actual combat, due to bodily reactions and movement limitations, you can't easily exert five thousand kilograms of force, so constant practice is necessary to continuously enhance muscle and get used to punching, allowing you to harness your maximum strength."
"The greater the movement amplitude, the more muscles are mobilized, affecting punch speed and force more; thus, the Grand Ancestor Tyler Fist's four routines—small combat, large combat, freehand, integrated combat—start with the simplest small combat short strikes."
Even though Bruce's punch speed was fast, the range of movement was confined to a small space, yet the friction with the air still produced intense wooshing sounds.
"You haven't been practicing the small combat routine for long, so at most you can exert half of your basic strength, but with diligent practice, you can achieve 80% punching force like me.
Once you master small combat, I will teach you the large combat routine, merging punches, kicks, and waist actions into one, allowing you to exert 100% punching force effortlessly, and even erupt beyond the physical limits when mastered to a profound level."
Charlie and the others nodded in excitement.
They had all gone out with Bruce and witnessed firsthand his demonstration of small combat, large combat, and freehand strikes, so they clearly understood the power of this martial technique.
"In reality, the most powerful aspect of Tyler Fist is when combined with weapons…"
Thud, thud, thud…
As Bruce was speaking halfway, suddenly, a series of tremors came from the ground under his feet, and his face changed at once as he looked towards the cave entrance.
Everyone gathered around the furnace also stood up collectively at once, turning to look at the cave entrance in unison.
"Is something charging over?"
"Such commotion, it sounds like Cold Beasts?"
"We've sealed the cave entrance, how could a Cold Beast find us?"
"It's daytime now; if a Cold Beast finds us, we're doomed!"
---
The faces of most people in the camp were instantly filled with despair.
"Tony, Jordan, go extinguish the fire. Charlie, Clark, you five follow me to the cave entrance. Everyone else, retreat inside, quickly!"
In the face of sudden danger, Bruce quickly made arrangements.
The Cold Beast was already very close to the cave entrance, running outside was not realistic.
Moreover, it was still daytime, and even those at the Axeheart Realm couldn't withstand the extreme cold outside, let alone the others in the camp.
The cave wasn't big, but moving the group back ten meters wouldn't be a problem.
"It's daytime now. Extinguish the fire, they won't last long…"
Tony was perplexed upon hearing the order, but the situation was urgent, and he didn't have time to ask.
After extinguishing the fire, he finally asked a question.
"Have you forgotten? The small torches we used when hunting with the leader came from this fire pit."
Hearing Jordan's answer, Tony's face immediately changed.
They had all seen firsthand the Cold Beast's frenzy towards the small torches.
This fire was burning so fiercely; if the Cold Beast discovered it, it would be disastrous.
"Luckily, the leader reminded us, otherwise it would have been a disaster. I remember that the torches can not only heal the Cold Beast but also enhance its power."
"Tony, Jordan, once the fire is out, come quickly to help!"
Upon hearing Charlie's voice, the two quickly rushed toward the cave entrance.
"Quickly bring the wood over to block the entrance, just in case."
The ground was still trembling, and Bruce ordered everyone to move all the stored timber in the cave to the middle of the entrance.
He then went to the side of the cave and dug a small hole to see what was happening outside.
The moment the small hole was opened, a beam of light shot inside.
There was no longer any fire illuminating the cave, and it was pitch black.
It was daytime outside, so it was normal for sunlight to shine through the hole.
However, along with that beam of sunlight, a bone-chilling coldness also penetrated into the cave.
Bruce, who was closest to the hole, could even see with the naked eye the dust and tiny particles in the middle of the sunlight condensing at an extremely terrifying pace.
In just three or four breaths, they condensed into snowflakes out of thin air, fluttering to the ground.
Bruce's pupils trembled as he tentatively extended his palm into the sunlight.
Ssssss…..
Almost the moment the sunlight touched his palm, a piercing cold shot from the palm straight to his head.
That part of his palm quickly turned blue, and even the blood inside ceased to flow.
Realizing that his palm was becoming numb, and the numbness was spreading to other parts of his body, Bruce's face slightly changed.
He hurriedly withdrew his hand, rubbing it dozens of times before the numbness gradually disappeared.
"The daytime temperature can drop to such an extent. No wonder they say humans can only survive in the shadows. Even with Earthripper Realm cultivation, one probably can't walk freely in the sunlight."
Bruce shook his hand to fully recover, then aligned his eyes with the small hole to look outside.
Sunlight attacking the skin was this bad; it was even worse when it hit the eyeballs directly.
The moment his eyes met the small hole, a sharp pain shot to his head.
Bruce endured the pain and hurriedly checked the situation outside.
At this sight, Bruce's heart sank to the bottom.
A colossal creature with six horns and four limbs, resembling a goat and measuring five or six meters long, seemed startled and was charging wildly toward the hillside.
The enormous creature's shoulder height was at least over two meters, and as it charged fiercely, it plowed through not just trees but even small hills along the way.
"It's that goat-like Cold Beast, charging toward us!"
Bruce's eyes reached their limit, and he quickly pulled back and sealed the small hole.
Upon hearing this, Charlie and the others' faces changed instantly.
They had seen that goat-like Cold Beast before.
But it was always at night, and they saw it while it slept on the Golden Frost Tree.
The goat-like Cold Beast was enormous, and since they didn't understand it, Bruce always avoided it during hunts.
"Don't worry, although it's heading towards the hillside, it may not find our cave. Let's wait and see."
The Cold Beast was already close to the cave entrance; worried about being discovered, Bruce didn't open the small hole again but kept everyone on both sides of the entrance.
Everyone hoped the Cold Beast wouldn't find the cave and would retreat.