The dirt underneath his feet exploded from the sheer force of Youxiong's jump. The closest rider didn't even have time to react before his fist exploded their head like a bursting melon. Nor the second, the third, or the fourth.
It wasn't until Youxiong killed the seventh rider that the alien army reacted. Immediately, they released arrow after arrow from their bows at Youxiong. However, like a mad beast, he charged straight into the rain of arrows.
The arrows bounced off his steely yet supple skin, leaving only white marks in their wake. When he neared one of the riders, the rider panicked and tried to steer his horse away, but the animal only froze in place, too fearful to take any action.
Youxiong punched, turning the rider and his animal into blood splatters.
He was like a god of death, an unstoppable force against the invading army. In their minds, his figure grew over a hundred times and loomed over them. Blood coated his face and arms, a testament to his ferocity and horror. Youxiong released another feral howl and charged again, executing any enemy he reached.
The alien army halted in their steps, fear on their human-like faces. Their bodies were stockier and burlier than the average human of the Three Realms, but at this moment, they were trembling atop their horses. At this moment, they all wanted nothing but to flee from the reaper.
At this moment, a thunderous crack drew all their attention. A spindly elderly woman with straw-like hair wearing a wolf pelt had slammed her staff onto the ground. She pointed her skin-covered finger at Youxiong and spoke in an unknown language. "Үхээрэй, тэнгэрийн дайсан аав!"
Blue energy streamed from the far west and merged into the shaman. Her aura billowed, her saggy skin grew taut again, her peppered hair turned into a luscious dark brown, and her body fleshed out as she returned to her youth. A bright blue orb appeared atop her staff.
The alien army's morale rose as they chanted, "Бөө, бөө, бөө, бөө!"
Youxiong, who had awakened from his berserker rage, carefully observed the now-youthful woman. He couldn't feel any cultivation from her, but she carried the unmistakable energy of a strong power.
Still, he wasn't one to sit still. Youxiong charged at the shaman, fist raised. In response, the shaman swung her staff at him. Fist met staff, and both sides were knocked back from the clash.
The shaman crashed into the ground, rolling several times before she came to a stop by digging her staff in the ground. Her dignified aura disappeared, and rage filled its place. In contrast, Youxiong stood with his feet planted firmly in the ground, though he had left two trails before he had stopped.
Youxiong didn't give the shaman any time to catch her breath as he charged toward her once more. This time, the shaman didn't clash head-on and attempted to slip through Youxiong's defense with her staff. Youxiong unleashed tens of punches and kicks using techniques learned from the Eight Source Ascension.
At first, his attacks were too rigid, but as time passed, his movement and flow became fluid. Youxiong’s advantage grew the longer time passed. After some time, the shaman’s staff no longer bruised him.
The shaman also sensed Youxiong’s rising combat prowess, and she quickly shouted something. At first, nothing happened, but Youxiong soon discovered the reason for her cry.
The alien army was charging at them, or more specifically, him, with their scimitars and notched arrows. As they reached him, drawing his attention, the shaman retreated. Youxiong growled and started massacring all the aliens.
At a safe distance, the shaman stabbed her staff into the ground. She knelt before it, forehead touching the ground, and started praying. The blue orb's radiance increased in intensity, and the shaman's body also started radiating a dim blue light.
Youxiong naturally sensed the growing energy from her; he knew that he couldn't let her continue whatever she was doing. He inhaled, sucking in air so strongly it resembled hurricane winds, shocking the alien army.
But their shock was far from over.
Then, Youxiong bellowed a roar unlike any other. The air he had inhaled instantly exploded outwards, causing a visible sonic boom that made those nearby grab their ears in pain and fall from their horses. Blood bled from the ears of all those within a hundred meters, but the unluckiest ones were those within ten meters of Youxiong.
Blood leaked from their nose, eyes, ears, and even mouths. They frothed at the mouth as their eyes rolled into the back of their head. They laid still on the ground, dead to the world, except for the occasional muscle twitches.
Youxiong huffed, coughing as he hacked bits of blood out. The roar was a technique described in the Eight Source Ascension known as Lion's Roar. The user would suck in a large amount of air and infuse it with essence before expelling it.
If the user wasn't careful, they could cause serious damage to themselves and their lungs. From the side, there was a hint of red poking out from Youxiong's ears. Still, he didn't have time to care as he ran toward the shaman.
But then his head pulsed and his vision split. He tripped over a pebble in that moment of weakness and stumbled onto the ground. That moment was all the shaman needed as her prayers finished.
The shaman stood and raised her hand toward the sky. The wolf pelt she wore started merging with her body, turning her into a half-human, half-wolf lifeform. The blue orb disappeared, and the staff withered.
When Youxiong managed to regain his bearings, he looked to the shaman, who stared back with a feral grin. Her teeth were sharp and jagged like a wolf's, but there was no joy in her eyes at her newfound power, only despair and fury.
The shaman's figure disappeared. By the time Youxiong reacted, she had already appeared beside him. "Gah!"
A single punch made Youxiong cough out a bloody glob of saliva. He cradled his stomach as the overbearing pain took over. The shaman coldly stared at him and kicked him while his guard was down, knocking him tens of meters into the air.
Before Youxiong could recover, she was already upon him. Her nails had transformed into claws, claws that raced toward his heart.
Youxiong quickly rolled out of the way, but not fast enough to fully dodge her strike. He bit back a scream of pain as a long gash appeared on his back. Quickly rolling back to his feet, he readied himself for the incoming attacks.
The shaman let out a bestial roar as she charged at him again with no semblance of technique, only instincts guided by the bare modicum of intelligence. Even so, Youxiong could only defend against her.
As the minutes passed, her attacks grew weaker and slower. The aura she emitted started to diminish too. Among the techniques that comprised the Eight Source Ascension, several forbidden techniques granted greater power in exchange for a price. It could range from momentary weakness to death.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Youxiong didn't know what technique the shaman was using, but it must have been a high price for such a drastic increase in strength. So, he bided his time.
Blood poured from the wounds that littered his body, and there was hardly a patch of skin that was not scratched. It wasn't just his exterior that were injured, but his internal organs too. He didn't know how many of his organs had ruptured or if his bones had fractured or broken.
Youxiong held on through pure will.
Finally, he detected a large lapse in the shaman's defense, one brought by the recession of the forbidden technique's boost and fatigue. "Hrah!"
He gathered every amount of essence left in his body into his right fist and punched. His fist slipped through her arms and punctured her chest, right where her heart was.
Clarity returned to the shaman's eyes as blood spurted from her lips. She stared down at the arm inside her chest and then at Youxiong. The shaman's hair started turning, or rather, reverted to its peppered state. Her muscles atrophied, and her skin wrinkled at a rapid pace, but she revealed a spine-chilling smile.
Youxiong pulled his hand away, or at least, he attempted to. He discovered that the shaman had wrapped one arm around him in an iron grip. Her atrophy quickened, but in return, her right arm strengthened. Fingers straightened, she stabbed her claws into his chest.
Almost like a mirror, Youxiong also spat out a mouthful of blood. The shaman grinned viciously at him and shouted, "Тэнгэрийн эцгийн хувьд!"
In front of Youxiong's disbelieving eyes, her body started to dissolve into blue particles that streamed toward the West. In her final moments, she closed her eyes, and a peaceful smile graced her lips.
The pain in his chest awoke Youxiong from his stupor. He poked the acupoints around his chest to stem the bleeding. Although the shaman died, the battle was not yet over. His eyes scanned the remaining alien soldiers.
They gripped their scimitars and clutched their bows tightly. Their eyes held fear but also excitement. Although their shaman died, she dealt a crippling blow to Youxiong before disappearing. Finally, one of them released an arrow.
Youxiong’s vision was hazy. His head spun, and he felt like he could collapse on the ground at any moment, but he knew that he couldn't, wouldn't. Using his remaining strength, he unleashed a ferocious howl that chilled the soldiers' hearts.
Instead of dodging or blocking the arrow, Youxiong charged straight at it and the archer who shot it. The arrow pierced his skin but quickly fell out from the force of his charge. With a single hand, he grabbed the archer's neck and twisted.
There was a sickening crack, and once more, he howled at the sky.
There was a single moment of silence as the soldiers watched on in horror. Then came the stampede as the soldiers fled in terror. In their fear, they didn't realize that Youxiong was on his last legs. His ferocity saw to that.
However, a few fleeing soldiers slowed down and looked back. They all saw a dreadful man over two and a half meters tall, covered in blood, running toward them like some devil from hell. That dissolved all suspicion, and they devoted everything to fleeing.
The slowest ones weren't lucky as Youxiong pounced on them, ending their lives. After that, Youxiong didn't continue to chase. He just stood there like a bloodstained but stalwart guardian, overlooking the land for any trespassers.
Anyone nearby would see the dimness in Youxiong's eyes. He had fainted standing up. Minutes later, his tattered body could no longer support his state, and he collapsed onto the bloodied ground.
----------------------------------------
Youxiong woke up with a hiss as he clutched his throbbing chest. He looked around and saw that he was in some sort of thatched tent. Youxiong knew he had to focus on healing himself, but he needed to confirm the safety of his surrounding first.
With a grunt, Youxiong forced himself up. He steeled himself and walked out of the tent to see a flurry of people walking to and about. He was in an encampment full of tents like the one he had been in. More than that, hundreds of people with varying degrees of injury were lying on straw outside. Several healers, each carrying large containers of herbs on their backs, tending to patients. Most of the patients were men and a few women.
"Oh, you're awake!" Youxiong turned his head to see a woman carrying a basket between her arm and waist. She walked up to him and asked. "Are you okay? You shouldn't be walking; focus on healing yourself."
"Did you save me?" Youxiong asked.
The woman shook her head. "One of the hunters saw you all bloodied and injured. He brought you back, and we tried to use the herbs, but nothing worked. It's almost a miracle that you survived the invaders and your injuries."
Youxiong grunted. "Is this the Bear Tribe?"
The woman nodded. "It is. What about you? Are you from another tribe that fled those invaders?"
"No, I'm also from the Bear Tribe."
The woman's eyes widened in surprise. "How? I never saw you before, and I'm sure I would remember someone as strong-looking as you."
"I was away from the tribe for over a hundred years," Youxiong explained.
The woman suddenly became excited. "Are you a great immortal? Were you the one that drove away the invaders? Is that why you were so injured?"
"I'm not an immortal, I'm a martial artist." Youxiong slowly explained to the woman. By now, more people had noticed him, and hearing the excited woman's voice, they gathered and listened. Youxiong then learned about the tribe's situation.
The current Bear Tribe was the result of several small neighboring tribes merging together. During his hundred years of absence, the Bear Tribe had grown to nearly a thousand members, but most died because of the invaders. The ones who remained were mostly women. The woman he had spoken to was Xiongnu, the new matriarch after her grandmother and mother died under the alien army's blades and arrows.
Xiongnu kneeled, and the people gathered behind her kneeled. "Please teach us how to cultivate."
Youxiong quickly grabbed her arms and pulled her up. "There's no need for you to beg. As a member of the Bear Tribe, I'll teach to the best of my abilities."
"Thank you!" Xiongnu said. Her eyes contained happiness, yet the flames of vengeance were hidden behind them.
From then on, Youxiong stayed with the Bear Tribe. Because of his injuries, he suggested they move for their safety. Some were unwilling but most obliged. The slaughtering of their tribe still haunted them.
The exodus wasn't exactly peaceful as they encountered a cavalry unit from the invaders. Youxiong had to spare a vast amount of effort in order to obstruct the alien cavalry and protect the safety of the Bear Tribe. He succeeded, but not without new injuries.
After his injuries healed, Youxiong began to teach the Bear Tribe the Martial Ancestor's Eight Source Ascension. To his dismay, he discovered none of the tribespeople had the talent to cultivate the method. Like him, they found the Internal Art more esoteric than the External Art. Youxiong didn't want to forcibly unlock their Gate of Opening since the chances of them surviving were too small.
To remedy this, Youxiong began to develop his own cultivation method based on the Eight Source Ascension External Art. It took him ten years to develop an easier method to enter the Martial Novice Realm. He called it the Hasbear External Art.
Although it was the same realm as described in the Eight Source Ascension Art, those who cultivated his method were far inferior. Still, it was able to grant them enough power to defend and even repel the invaders. Strangely, most of the invaders seemed to stop at a certain threshold, not daring to intrude.
Thanks to this respite, Youxiong used it to perfect and improve the Hasbear External Art so that the cultivators could enter the Martial Student and Martial Practitioner Realm. This took him nearly a hundred years.
Youxiong entered the Martial Adept Realm in the Internal Art during this time, but more importantly, he entered the Martial Grandmaster Realm after opening the Gate of Limit. As the name suggested, the Gate of Limit unlocked the limiters placed on the human body, further increasing his potential and power.
The years passed, and Youxiong continued to focus on perfecting the Hasbear External Art. He gave up on creating an Internal Art version, focusing solely on the External Art he had the most talent in. After a thousand years, he finally perfected the Martial Adept and Martial Master Realm for the Hasbear External Art.
In these thousand years, the members of the Bear Tribe grew to over twenty-seven thousand members, over five thousand of which were martial artists.
Youxiong himself had also entered the Martial Sage Realm after opening the Gate of Life. The Gate of Life didn't drastically increase his power, but it gave him a potent life force and increased his longevity to three thousand and six hundred years. Now, he only needed to open the Gate of Death and enter the Earth Warrior Realm, the martial equivalent of the Earth Immortal Realm.
However, Youxiong didn't keep cultivating. No, he gathered the martial artist of the Bear Tribe. It was time to cross the war zone and reclaim their land from the invaders.