Second Patriarch: Rise Of The Liu Clan

On Yu mountain, besides the Yu Clan's manor, there were mines, large stretches of forest, and two rivers. At the edge of one of these forests more than 20 juniors were milling around, an old man watching over them.

These juniors were going on a hunting trip, and among them was Liu Zhu, who was currently chatting with Tian Ru. "I haven't gone very far into the woods yet. Anything out of the ordinary?" Tian Ru shrugged. "Not really. There's a few species of deer that are fast enough to make good sport. The weakest are as fast as Flesh Tempering cultivators, but the fastest can outrun someone at Meridian Opening. Besides that there are wolves, bears. and boars, what you'd expect from the forest. Some of the mutated bears are strong enough to kill someone at Meridian Opening, but most of them are slow so it's not too dangerous."

The old man, an elder from the Yu family, loudly cleared his throat over the din of the juniors talking, catching their attention. "Is everyone ready then?" Everyone responded in the affirmative, and the old man signaled for them to follow him. "I'll lead you into a good spot deeper into the forest, and then you're all free to split up into groups. Just don't go too far, or having me here to protect all of you will go to waste."

The trees were tall and overbearing, but not densely packed. Several people could stand ab.r.e.a.s.t between each tree, and the foliage wasn't thick so plenty of light reached the ground. Overall, it was a good spot for hunting. The elder from the Yu family led everyone deeper into the forest as they admired the scenery and chatted among themselves. After half an hour the group reached a massive red oak tree, which was probably several hundred feet tall. It dwarfed the other trees nearby, and it was so thick that it would take several people holding hands to reach all the way around it.

"This is our meeting spot. Come here or return to the estate after informing me before sundown. The forest is relatively safe, but we don't want you staying here after dark. Anyways, that's about it, so... split up as you wish." The elder pulled out a book and started to read as the juniors formed groups to go hunting.

A few groups of three or four formed, but more than half the juniors gathered in a single group, led by Yu Bai. Liu Zhu decided to join them, while Tian Ru went off on his own. In his own words, it was 'the manliest thing to do'. The largest group set off into the woods with Yu Bai and Liu Zhu chatting at the front, and a few juniors at Blood and Viscera Tempering or Bone and Marrow Tempering travelling just behind them. Most of the Flesh Tempering juniors hung out near the back.

Half an hour into the hunt, Yu Bai's group caught sight of a deer. Yu Bai made a signal with his hands and everyone silently dropped low to the ground, half of them pulling out bows while the other half flanked the deer in case it tried to escape. This plan went well until someone stepped on a twig and broke it, alerting the deer to their presence.

The deer tried to dart away, but was intercepted by Yu Bai's arrow. The arrow caused it to grind to a halt before being hit by two more arrows that were fired a moment later. Desperate, the creature continued trying to escape, but it was caught by Liu Zhu and two others. The deer did its best to charge past them, but someone at Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering grabbed it by the antlers, easily stopping its advance. This gave Liu Zhu a chance to disembowel it with his guandao, ending its life.

Everyone began politely exchanging compliments on archery and such, and Yu Bai mentioned being impressed with how fast Liu Zhu's guandao technique had improved. Before continuing their hunt the group hid the deer in a nearby bush, smearing some herbs on the corpse to make it harder for nearby predators to smell. After that they continued their hunt, leaving the task of retrieving the deer for their return trip.

Within the next hour the group had killed three more deer, although two more successfully escaped. They were in high spirits, and were pleased with how the animals were more active than usual that day. As they were talking, Yu Bai suddenly shushed everyone. Everyone quieted down as Yu Bai pointed to a brown figure in the distance- a mutated bear! Liu Zhu wasn't sure how strong the bear was, but it looked like it could be from Bone and Marrow Tempering to Blood and Viscera Tempering. That meant that it might be risky to fight it, but Liu Zhu wanted to test his strength. Even if the bear inflicted any wounds, he was confident that he could escape before the situation turned deadly. There were several people at Blood and Viscera Tempering here after all, so even if it was that strong they could hold it back if anything went wrong.

Still, there couldn't be any harm in reducing the risk further. Liu Zhu approached Yu Bai, whispering. "Do you want to fight the bear together?" "Sure. I've been wanting to see your full strength since you beat my brother, so this is a good opportunity." After settling the matter the two moved through the trees as quietly as possible, aiming to flank the bear from both sides before attacking. The rest of the group simply stayed silent and watched.

Once the bear was flanked the two gestured to each other, counted down with their fingers, and then jumped out of the trees simultaneously. The bear was caught unawares, and before it could react was struck by a slash of Yu Bai's sword and a thrust from Liu Zhu's guandao. The curved blade of the guandao made it harder to land a decent blow from the angle Liu Zhu was from, but in the end both of them pierced through the bear's hide and left behind significant wounds.

Liu Zhu's attack was almost as strong as someone at Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering, impressing everyone. Still, the fight wasn't over yet, and Liu Zhu and Yu Bai resumed their hit and run strategy. They'd jump out from the trees once the bear had lost track of them, leaving behind a single wound and retreating. This slowly wore the bear down while reducing their risk to a minimum, although it was still dangerous. At one point the bear nearly managed to catch Liu Zhu with a paw strike, but the two were able to react in time and counterattacked, weakening the blow with their own attacks. After being blocked by Liu Zhu's guandao and Yu Bai's sword the force wasn't enough to injure Liu Zhu severely, and he was merely slammed into a nearby tree.

It took 10 minutes before the bear was almost dead due to blood loss, and at this point Yu Bai was beginning to tire from continued high-intensity combat. Liu Zhu was still fine due to his overflowing vitality, and ended up landing the final blow when the bear finally tried to flee.

After slaying the bear Liu Zhu and Yu Bai exchanged compliments once again. "Ahaha, Brother Liu is really a dragon among men, possessing such strength at a young age. You still have a ways to go, but I'm sure you'll rise in the future." Liu Zhu chuckled as he gave a compliment back. "You flatter me Brother Yu. Your skill with the sword is extraordinary, and I appreciate your help back there- if I didn't have it I'd probably be bleeding on the ground right now."

With their friendship strengthened after a good fight and Liu Zhu's confidence boosted, the hunt continued.