"Gu Yue Clan…." Xiong Li stood halfway up the mountain, eyes fixed on the distant Gu Yue Village, his face clouded with complex emotions.
A cool autumn breeze swept past, rustling gently.
The season had painted the mountain in its hues—leaves turned shades of yellow and red, and wild fruits dotted the landscape.
Only the Qing Mao bamboo stood tall and green, untouched by the changing season.
"Not long ago, Gu Yue Clan was like these Qing Mao bamboo, evergreen all the year, the overlord of Qing Mao mountain. Now, they are actually falling behind," Xiong Li's lips curved with a cold mocking smile.
But his thoughts quickly shifted to Bai Village.
The curve on his lips faded as his expression turned solemn.
The Bai Village uprising had disrupted the long-standing balance on Qing Mao Mountain.
The once-dominant Gu Yue clan was now weakened.
Xiong Village's internal affairs were in disarray.
All signs pointed toward an impending upheaval. Xiong Li understood that this turmoil hadn't erupted yet only because of the looming threat of the wolf tide.
For now, the three villages had no choice but to cooperate. They set aside grudges and maintained a fragile peace in order to survive.
"Once the wolf tide is gone, Qing Mao mountain's old structure will be shattered. Bai Ning Bing has already reached Rank three in only a couple of years. It's really terrifying….." Xiong Li recalled the figure of a white-clothed youth, and he felt stifled as if he was pressed down by a huge rock.
He, Xiong Li, stood at the peak among all Rank two Gu Masters in Xiong Village.
Having experienced countless battles and claiming victory in most, he had earned a solid reputation.
With the Grand Bear Gu in his possession, he could unleash a bear's explosive power.
Many regarded him as the strongest cultivator on Qing Mao Mountain.
He had already stepped into the spotlight and witnessed with his own eyes the meteoric rise of Bai Ning Bing.
Thus, more than anyone, he understood just how terrifying that youth truly was.
"Group leader, that is Gu Yue village! It's still far away, why are we stopping here?" From the side, Xiong Lin raised his two hands and clasped them behind his head as he curiously asked.
Among the five, Xiong Lin was the youngest—a newcomer making his first appearance.
He was the same age as Fang Yuan and hailed as Xiong Village's most talented youth of the year.
Short in stature, his freshly shaven head gleamed under the sunlight.
Xiong Li looked at this new talent of the clan, his heavy mood eased up a little. He answered in a deep voice, "We are here on a diplomatic mission and not on a scouting mission. This area is already the warning area of the Gu Yue clan, and we will probably be treated as enemies if we boldly enter."
"Oh, so it was like that." Xiong Lin realized.
"We have two objectives this time. One is to hand the clan head's personal letter to Gu Yue's clan head. Another is to investigate the matter regarding the River Swallowing Toad. Gu Yue village is not our area, so make sure to keep your temper in check when we get there. However, you absolutely can't degrade the prestige of our Xiong village, understood?" Xiong Li's gaze swept all around and shouted.
The rest of the Gu Master's expressions all turned serious and silently nodded.
"Group leader, someone's here," the scouting Gu Master in the group suddenly spoke.
"We have revealed our movements for so long, they should be here by now. But who would it be...hmm? So it was Chi Shan." Soon after, Xiong Li also discovered Chi Shan group; his eyes flashed.
"Wow! That person is so tall, is he Chi Shan? He is even taller than the group leader. Such muscles, piece by piece…group leader, isn't he the guy born with super strength who has been trying to seize the title of the strongest person of the Qing Mao mountain?" Xiong Lin immediately looked straight at Chi Shan.
"Hmph, it had to be him….." Xiong Jiang spoke gloomily and twisted her lips in disdain.
"Xiong Li!"
"Chi Shan."
The two groups were fifty steps apart from each other. The two group leaders came face to face, their gazes clashed in the air and seemed to form sparks.
"Looks like you are Xiong village's special envoy this time," Chi Shan snorted coldly; he had fought many times with Xiong Li.
"That's right. Has the special envoy from the Bai village arrived?" Xiong Li's expression steeled up.
"Why ask so much? Follow me," Chi Shan cautiously turned and invited.
After a few moment
At the village gate, a bout of strength contest had concluded.
Xiong Li's group was proudly standing whereas Chi Shan's group along with the Gu Masters guarding the gate had heavy faces.
Xiong Li wasn't as tall as Chi Shan but his gaze seemed to be overlooking everything at this moment.
He slowly spoke.
"Chi Shan, you are indeed blessed with super strength. But I have Brown Bear Innate Strength Gu and I possess the strength of a bear. You saw from the battle just now that you are still not my match."
"Hmph, wanting to get the title of the strongest in Qing Mao mountain, dream on." Xiong Jiang sneered from the side.
Chi Shan's face was ashen.
He knew the other party had intentionally challenged him and their conduct was filled with political intentions.
His loss now was no longer just his personal affair. Rather, it was tarnishing Gu Yue clan's name.
"What are you being proud over defeating me? You don't know that I am no longer the strongest person in the clan. If you have skills, then speak after defeating Fang Yuan."
Chi Shan had no choice but to mention Fang Yuan.
"Oh, Fang Yuan? I heard an A-grade genius emerged in Gu Yue clan and his name was Fang Zheng. But who is this Fang Yuan?"
Xiong Li asked, doubtfully.
Chi Shan sneered.
"Fang Yuan is Fang Zheng's older brother. He is also blessed with innate super strength and similarly possesses a strength-increasing Gu worm. Previously, he alone pushed the Rank five River Swallowing Toad over a hundred meters, finally driving it away. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone in the village."
Xiong Li group's expressions couldn't help but change.
Rank five River Swallowing Toad!
Fang Yuan!
This name was instantly engraved in their minds.
Time passed quickly, autumn went and winter arrived.
Early winter, the first snowfall had come.
The sky was grey, snowflakes floated and fell on Qing Mao mountain.
Food was scarce during the winter; the growing wolf packs started to increase their hunting scale to gather enough foods to eat their fill.
The surrounding wild beast groups had been largely purged, but this left behind chaos.
Small-scale beast tides began to erupt frequently, and crippled wolf packs also started to appear.
These crippled wolves had been driven from their original nests.
Now banding together, they moved as a group and began appearing more often near the village.
Though it had not yet reached the point of a full-scale wild attack on Gu Yue village, the situation was clearly deteriorating.
Hunter families no longer dared venture into the mountains, and from time to time, villagers were killed by wolves.
In response, Gu Yue village deployed a large number of Gu Masters to conduct a thorough sweep.
With so many people patrolling and numerous scouting Gu Masters present, Fang Yuan wisely reduced the frequency of his visits to the hidden stone cave.
Naturally, this sharply slowed his progress in the stone forest.
As the days passed, the cold winds intensified and heavy snow began to fall.
A deep beastly howl suddenly spread through the wind and snow.
Fang Yuan swiftly stopped and looked around, alert.
A small scale wolf pack with about twenty or more lightning wolves quickly appeared in range of his sight.
"Here we go again….." Fang Yuan muttered this was already the eighth beast group he had encountered this month.
However, this time was somewhat different.
"The wolf packs are starting to make their moves so near to the village. Next, the clan's Gu Masters will make their moves more often." Fang Yuan thought.
The wolf pack closed in on Fang Yuan.
They howled before charging at Fang Yuan, coming at him one after another.
"Moonglow Gu," Fang Yuan willed; a moonblade flew out from his hand.
The eerie blue moonblade sliced through the howling wind and swirling snow, cutting into the pack of sickly wolves.
It instantly decapitated three of them, but when it reached the fourth, that wolf suddenly rolled to the side and cleverly evaded the strike.
Though most of these crippled wolves were blind, tailless, or maimed, they possessed a wealth of combat experience and displayed a high degree of cunning.
For an average Rank two middle stage Gu Master, encountering such a group—especially when surrounded—would mean facing extreme peril.
But Fang Yuan remained unshaken.
His rich combat experience and the refined upper stage dark red primeval essence served as his foundation of confidence.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
He moved swiftly and deftly, slipping through their coordinated attacks, calmly avoiding danger and striking back with precision.
The wolves fell one after another beneath his hands.
In just a brief period, the number of lightning wolves in the pack had been reduced by half.
A mournful howl rang out from one of the wolves, and at once, the pack halted their assault and began to retreat.
It was a clear display of their cunning.
Once they realized Fang Yuan was not an easy target, they gave up on the idea of hunting him and decisively withdrew.
Though old, wounded, or sickly, these wolves had survived this long due to their sharp instincts and survival wisdom.