Looking at the heaven-tier inner core before him, Ye Guan fell silent.
It was far too precious.
A book in exchange for a heaven-tier inner core?
Ye Guan shook his head slightly, refusing. “Bear King, this pill is too precious.”
The massive black bear smiled. “You do not want it?”
Ye Guan shook his head. “Gifting the book was my sincere intention, but your inner core is overly valuable. If I truly accepted it, that would be quite immoral.”
Though he was tempted, since a heaven-tier inner core was worth a fortune, his principles as a person told him some bargains were better left untaken.
The massive black bear watched Ye Guan for a moment, then smiled. “Human, you are a bit different. You did not treat me like a fool, unlike others.”
Ye Guan was stunned.
The massive black bear suddenly smiled. “I will accept your book.”
With that, it raised its bear paw. “Let them pass.”
Hearing this, the bear demons behind it immediately parted to both sides.
Ye Guan clasped his fists. “Thank you.”
With that, he led Nalan Jia onward.
At that moment, the massive black bear suddenly called out. “Human.”
Ye Guan turned to look at the massive black bear. It smiled. “Ahead is the territory of the heavenly demon wolf clan. If you want to avoid too much trouble, you can take a small detour around them.”
Ye Guan smiled faintly. “Thank you.”
As the two left, Nalan Jia glanced back. In a corner behind a massive rock, she spotted over a dozen human corpses.
Seeing this, Nalan Jia’s brows furrowed slightly.
After Ye Guan and Nalan Jia departed, a black bear beside the bear king suddenly said, “Bear King, why let them go?”
The massive black bear looked into the distance. “Though this man also tried to take a shortcut through this pass, he is different from others. He did not truly treat me like a fool.”
The black bear said gravely, “Just because of that?”
The massive black bear said calmly, “Facing our entire clan, he showed no fear at all. Instead, he spoke calmly and composedly. Such a person, if without trump cards, I would not believe it even if beaten to death. In that case, rather than risk a fight, why not build some goodwill for the future?”
With that, it glanced at the black bear, then said, “Whether as a person or a bear, one must learn to read the situation, observe words and expressions, avoid recklessness, and not fight mindlessly.”
The black bear nodded. “Simply put, fight if you can win, but if you feel you cannot, make friends, right?”
The massive black bear laughed heartily. “A quick learner indeed.”
…
After Ye Guan and Nalan Jia left the canyon, they followed the bear king’s advice, changing direction and heading another way.
Take a detour.
Nalan Jia suddenly said, “That bear king is not simple.”
Ye Guan smiled. “To become king of a clan, how could it be ordinary?”
Nalan Jia glanced at Ye Guan and smiled. “At first, I thought you would accept that inner core.”
In that moment, she had also been somewhat tempted.
But Ye Guan had refused.
Ye Guan shook his head. “Those who greedily take small advantages often lose much more, and besides, such actions are somewhat immoral.”
Nalan Jia nodded slightly. “Indeed.”
Ye Guan glanced around, then said softly, “I wonder how Xiao Ge and Sun Xiong are doing now.”
He was still somewhat worried. This place had more heaven-tier demon beasts than he had imagined, and most lived in packs.
Encountering such a pack would truly drive one to despair.
Even he, if surrounded by over a hundred bears, could only flee.
He was not afraid of one-on-one, but group attacks made him wary.
Nalan Jia said gravely, “Those who pass this time will likely be few and far between.”
Ye Guan nodded. “The academy’s assessment is indeed a bit perverse.”
Nalan Jia shook her head. “From what I know, the admission standards in Zhongtu Divine Continent are even more terrifying.”
Ye Guan was curious. “How so?”
Nalan Jia looked at Ye Guan. “Do you know how many they are recruiting in the Upper Realm this time?”
Ye Guan shook his head.
Nalan Jia said gravely, “One.”
Hearing this, Ye Guan was astonished. “One?”
Nalan Jia nodded. “Only the one who becomes first in the martial examination qualifies to be taken by them.”
Ye Guan fell silent.
Only first place qualified for Zhongtu Divine Continent. The condition was simply perverse.
Nalan Jia said gravely, “And that is not all. Apparently, the main Guanxuan Academy’s admission standards are even more terrifying.”
With that, she shook her head with a smile. “For those from the bottom to climb up, it truly is harder than ascending to heaven.”
Ye Guan smiled faintly. “Precisely because of that, we without strong family backgrounds or support need to work even harder.”
Nalan Jia smiled. “Let’s work hard together.”
Ye Guan nodded.
The two quickened their pace.
Before long, Ye Guan and Nalan Jia bypassed the heavenly demon wolf clan’s territory. Now, they were getting closer to the Guanxuan Academy flag.
Ye Guan looked towards the distant mountain and smiled. “Once we cross this mountain, we reach our destination.”
Nalan Jia nodded, and the two sped up further.
Though both were worried about Xiao Ge and Sun Xiong, there was no way around it. They could not search everywhere for them. Finding people in these vast mountains was too difficult.
Soon, the two reached the mountaintop. Now, they were less than a few li from the flag.
Smiles appeared on both their faces.
Just then, a laugh suddenly came from the side. “Here come two more.”
Hearing this, Ye Guan and Nalan Jia turned to look. Not far away, a man slowly approached.
The man wore a black long robe, tall and sturdy, with a full beard, looking quite rugged. His gaze was somewhat lewd.
The first impression was that he was not a good person.
Upon seeing Nalan Jia, his eyes lit up. He smiled. “Such a beautiful woman. This king has never seen one so lovely, tsk tsk…”
Ye Guan glanced at the man. This man was not human, but a demon beast, and a heaven-tier one at that.
The demon beast man’s gaze remained fixed on Nalan Jia. He grinned. “You must be Ye Guan and Nalan Jia, right? Someone paid a high price for me to eliminate you. But I did not expect Miss Nalan to be so stunning. Not to mention this king, even a eunuch would be moved, ha.”
Just then, an afterimage suddenly rushed before him.
The demon beast man’s pupils contracted sharply. His heart filled with shock. Such terrifying speed.
He could only passively raise his arms to shield his head.
But at that moment, Ye Guan’s foot kicked directly into his crotch.
Bang.
“Ah.”
The excruciating pain from his groin made him scream instantly. The sensation of shattered eggs was indescribable.
The instant he lowered his arms, Ye Guan punched straight at his throat.
Bang.
The demon beast man flew backward. As he did, Ye Guan grabbed his right hand and slammed him fiercely to the ground.
Bang.
The demon beast man smashed the ground apart.
Ye Guan looked down at him. “I originally thought that whether human or demon, one should have manners. But I was wrong.”
The demon beast man glared at Ye Guan with venom. “Look around you.”
At that moment, a large group of demon beasts suddenly appeared around them, numbering in the hundreds.
The demon beast man sneered. “If I die, the woman you like will be trampled ten thousand times by my barbarian demon clan.”
Ye Guan grinned. “After today, there will be no barbarian demon clan in this world.”
With that, he punched fiercely. In an instant, the demon beast man let out piercing screams.
His entire body’s bones were shattered by Ye Guan in that moment.
The demon beast man roared madly. “Kill him, kill him, leave the woman…”
The demon beasts charged straight at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan stared at the oncoming demon beast horde. Killing intent surged in his eyes. Not only that, but the edges of his pupils took on a strange faint red…
…
