Chapter 7: Eldritch Anger

POV: Song Guang

For the last few months, things have been heretic for him. After a touching moment with his son, he learned of the bear and the threat it posed.

He had quickly informed his group of things before they had a meeting with all the other people who could somehow help. They had decided on not telling the people of the threat, not wanting to cause panic. Instead, they put out more guards on patrol.

The thing they were scared about is the cultivation of the bear. It's a known fact that beasts were stronger than humans on the same cultivation levels and the bear being in Spirit Profound was concerning, even if they had multiple people themselves in the higher end of the level.

Guang couldn't see this going well for them, especially with Elders of the Xiao Clan being greedy idiots. They didn't think of the human life that would be lost, only what they could take away from the bear.

They haven't even contacted their Main Clan in the capital asking for help, instead wanting to do this themselves to get more achievement, thinking that the Main Clan would actually care about them.

It was frustrating and he wasn't the only one who lashed on them being stupid. The only one not included in that list being Elder Lie, who actually wanted to contact the Main Clan but had been stopped by the other elders.

Guang was frustrated because he knew that they would lose people when they either found the bear or when the bear found them. He really hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

Having the bear find them was…bad to say the least. They would be caught off guard, not being able to respond correctly. Them finding the bear would at least have them ready for it and hopefully a sound strategy on how to kill it.

That was of course all just thoughts, they first needed to spot the bear which they haven't done in a good 6 months since it was first reported. Just a few tracks of it, nothing on the bear itself.

Some think that the bear went back to its territory, others think the bear is hunting for food, especially now when its hibernation is close.

He didn't think those theories were correct, he had another one. They were just lucky that the bear hadn't run out of food to be concerned about finding a new source.

Though he didn't know how lucky they were because with every passing day, the Xiao Clan elders are getting more and more smug about not needing the Main Clan, not realizing that just the bear being in their area was a threat.

This is what happens when you sit on your ass all day and don't experience real threats, I guess.

Worse of it all, he had to lie to his son about the threat, not wanting him to worry. Guang really didn't like lying to his son, it felt wrong. He has always tried to be honest with his son but he thought it was for the best that he didn't tell him anything concerning, only that there was a bear that was in the Nascent Profound Realm and that they were worried it might attack the city.

Right now he was sitting in a meeting with his group. Someone had spotted another track, this one being too close to the city. They've been discussing what they should do, now that the tracks have finally begun reaching close to the city.

"I think," He began talking, silencing dissections,"We should call an expedition, go hunt the bear down now before it comes any closer to us" He could see some nodding in agreement.

"Of course, it's not just going to be us, we'll get anyone that can fight and be of help." That got almost everyone nodding in agreement, some of the weaker once looking frustrated.

He could understand them, they weren't going to be allowed to go fight and defend their city, having to sit back and guard it instead. He had things like that happen to him before too, when he was young.

He waited for a few seconds to see if anyone had anything to say but when it was clear that they didn't, he stood up, "Great, I'll go talk with the Xiao Clan elders personally. I want people to inform the other groups and get them to agree. If they want to negotiate, have them come and talk to me."

People quickly stood up and nodded, everyone had work to do. He had a bunch of idiot elders to talk to. He could only hope that he doesn't need to knock some sense into them.

—

It took a while but everything was done, they were ready to hunt down the bear. It would be hard but in the end that was better than the bear attacking and destroying the city.

He looked over everyone in their party, they had about 50 people in the True Profound Realm and 7 people in the Spirit Profound Realm. The 5 elders of the Xiao Clan, Hou Kang who is another leader of a hunting group and a close friend, he is in the 3rd stage of Spirit Profound.

Then there is him, a 9th stage Spirit Profound, the second-strongest person in this group, right behind Elder Lie.

He stood in front of the group, having been elected as a leader because of how much he knows the forest and no one trusting the elders of the Xiao Clan to actually lead.

"Alright men," Everyone looked at him, their eyes sharp,"What we're about to attempt is dangerous, I won't lie to you. But we need to do it, for our families and our City. Because if we don't do it, no one else will!"

He let that sink in for a moment, nodding when he saw the fire burning in their eyes. "We have a plan to deal with the bear, it's our best bet against such a powerful foe" Not having a plan would be suicidal, notably because this group doesn't have the experience of fighting with each other.

In their own groups? Yes they could fight together.

In this group? No, they couldn't. They weren't used to it.

"Does anyone have any questions before we depart?" No one said anything after a few moments, making him nod. "Alright then, let's go!"

They already had people tracking where the bear is so they just need to get there and fight it.

Their plan was also simple: distract the bear from the heavy hitters, let them do the work by sneak attacking because otherwise they would lose. The people in the True Profound realm just couldn't do enough damage.

It took a few hours to find the bear, their trackers coming and pointing them in a new direction every 15 minutes or so but they finally had found its hideout. It was deep in the forest, a place not everyone would dare wander into, even the Spirit Profound practitioners.

They soon came across the hideout of the bear, it was in a cave, there weren't any trees near the place which means that they could move easily and not bump into trees.

They stayed away from the cave for now, regrouping and making sure everything was ready before they began their battle.

"Is everyone ready?" He asked, getting nods in return. He took a deep breath before nodding himself, "Alright then, let's kill that monster so we can return to our families!"

With a shout, everyone began running towards the cave, now's the time to make sure that he and the 6 other Spirit Profound practitioners were ready to strike the bear and hopefully kill it in one blow.

Should this become a battle of attrition, they were more than likely to lose. Profound Beasts were stronger than humans in the same realm, it has always been this way.

With the sound they were making, the bear was already on the move. He could feel it, the monster was coming out of the cave with heavy steps. "Everyone, remember the plan!"

With his final shout, they came face to face with the bear, it was huge. When the monster saw them it immediately tried to scare them off by standing on its hind legs which could have probably worked on other animals. Being 3 meters tall, there weren't many animals that would have dared to fight it.

What's more, the pressure it was oozing off was that of a Peak Spirit Profound practitioner.

Crap, this will be harder than we thought it would be.

He looked around himself, he could already see his fellow men beginning to falter from the pressure. This wasn't good, he had to do something.

"Don't back down now! We've only got this one chance! If we back down now, that monster will follow us to the city!"

His speech seemed to have woken the group up, great. "Now! Kill that beast!" With a final war cry, everyone began to charge. This was their moment.

Guang locked eyes with Elder Lie, he nodded. They both immediately began to lower their cultivation pressure, they didn't want the bear to spot them after all.

The bear itself looked confused for just a few seconds before it began running towards them with the intent to kill. The clash was imminent, just a few more moments before they reached each other.

He began to lower his cultivation pressure even more, almost suppressing it. It was time to begin the plan.

With a few quick steps, he was to the left side while Elder Lie was to the right, they would attack as soon as the bear was occupied with defending itself from the hunters.

The moment the Second Elder, Xiao Bo, attacked, all hell broke loose.

Guang regained his focus quickly though, he didn't have time to be distracted. Spotting Elder Lie, he quickly nodded his way. With both of them ready, they quickly ran to the back of the animal.

They had to be fast before it noticed that someone was attacking from the back. He quickly readied his gauntlets, reinforcing them in his energy, Elder Lie doing the same to his sword.

When they saw the opportunity, they jumped together, aiming for the head. Their attack was perfect, just one strike and the monster would be down.

That, however, didn't happen sadly. The bear noticed at the last second and avoided the more deadly weapon, the sword, instead it moved towards him making his own attack not have the full effect when he did land it.

Guang quickly used the bear's body as a springboard and jumped back, he couldn't afford to be taken down now. He looked up and saw that the attack still continued, his group weren't faltering just because the attack failed.

Though this was still bad news because they might not get the chance again but he couldn't think about it now, he had to return to the fight and try and take down that bear.

—

*Pant Pant*

Dammit all. Why wouldn't this fucker just go down? They've been at it for almost an hour now, half their group lost.

The good news is that the bear had also taken a lot of damage, just not enough to put it down for good. The bad news is that everyone was tired and out of energy, they couldn't keep this up for much longer.

He knew that he had to do something, for his own city, his home and friends and most importantly, his son.

I'm sorry Yun, I might not make it home today.

"Elder Lie, can you make a distraction?" Elder Lie looked at him for a moment before nodding his head.

"Whatever you plan to do, make it quick. We can't last for long" It was his time to nod. He had a plan, just needed to gather his energy. It was his last stand-off.

He closed his eyes, gathering all his energy in one place, deep in his stomach. More, he needed more to pull that technique off. He was becoming desperate, they didn't have anything strong left that could take out the bear.

He needed to make this count for good.

I really hope that you'll forgive your stupid father, Yun.

"Everyone, get away!" He began to run towards the bear, he needed to make this count otherwise everything would have been for naught.

This was his only chance.

*Roar*

The bear with a roar also began running against him, probably seeing him as the biggest threat here. He smirked, this is what he wanted after all.

With a cry of his own, he jumped forward.

I'm sorry I couldn't watch you grow up to be a strong man, Yun. I really hope that you understand that this is for you and our city.

—

POV: Song Yun

"So, has Xiao Che always been this motivated?" I was quite dumbfounded, Xiao Che is buried in a mountain of books, I didn't think he would be this motivated to actually become a doctor.

"Ever since you talked to him, he has buried himself in books. He wants to become good enough so that Doctor Seto will take him in as a disciple" I look at Lingxi for a sec before turning my attention back to Xiao Che.

Huh. Isn't this great? I wanted to help him have a goal and becoming a doctor seemed like a great thing, especially when he might be able to fix his own Profound Veins.

Either way, I'm glad he has so much motivation for studying.

"Did Elder Lie ask Doctor Seto to take Xiao Che in?" I wouldn't be surprised if he did to be honest, though I don't disapprove either. Using what you can to help your own people is a good thing.

Lingxi nodded, "Yeah, dad asked Doctor Seto and he agreed on the term that Che'er can stand up to his tests"

Well, that's not too bad. I'm pretty sure Xiao Che will pass, he's a smart kid. "What're you doing then? Just watching him?" When she nodded I could only sigh. This girl needs a life outside of Xiao Che.

I stood up from the grass patch, we were sitting outside of Xiao Che's quarters. It was nice weather today, probably the last before winter comes. I look down on Lingxi and give her a hand, "Come on, let's go do something fun, let Xiao Che continue studying."

She looked hesitant for a minute, looking between me and Xiao Che before finally taking my hand. I give her a smile and drag her up, "What do you do for fun?"

—

We ended up just sitting at the bottom of a tree and me telling stories, the ones I remembered from my old world. Lingxi liked them, especially about the princesses who managed to stand up for themselves and the ones where the princes saved them.

She liked them enough to fall asleep on my lap.

Hmm, I wonder. Hey Ling, is it possible to stream memories for other people with sound and stuff like that?

[It is possible. You would need to become a master in the mind arts I gave you first, we can then work on the memory sharing]

Thanks, just wanted to know if it was possible. I can hopefully one day be able to show my friends the good shows I used to watch.

Looking down on Lingxi, I couldn't help but chuckle a little. Not too long ago she was afraid of me, now she's willing to sleep in my lap.

Patting her head, I couldn't help smile to myself. I really love my new life.

Hmm, maybe I should take a nap too?

*Foosh*

Holy Crap! What was that?

[I believe that was an energy signal, somebody must have used a high consumption energy technique]

There are only so many people in this city who are strong enough to actually use techniques that have enough energy for even me to sense it. Could dad's party be in trouble?

[I'm not sure. We will have to wait for them to return from the forest]

I really hope everything's alright.

''In the end, I couldn't do anything other than worry until the hunting group returned. It was hard, the time left really slow-going. I also finally understood how mothers feel when you're out late at night and don't message or text.

It was agonizing but I knew that my dad would be fine, he was the strongest in the city. I'm sure he will return safe and sound then we can return home and have some nice dinner.

I woke up Lingxi when I heard the commotion outside. We quickly made our way towards the center of the clan compound, it's where the noise was coming from.

The closer we got, the worse the sinking feeling in my stomach got. I don't get the reason why I feel this way, everything should be fine.

Right?

We enter the clearing and I see about 20 people, though only half are injured, the other half seems to be nursing them.

I look around but I don't see the one I care about the most here, where is my dad? I spot Elder Lie and quickly walk towards him. Was dad left behind for security?

"Elder Lie, where's dad?" He looked pained at the question. W-what's going on? Did something happen? "Elder Lie?"

"I-I'm sorry to say this, Little Yun. Your father sacrificed himself to save us from dying. That monster was too strong for us."

What…

[Yun. Run! I might be able to save your father!]

Before I could even acknowledge anything, I felt myself already running. Ling, I don't know where my father is.

[Don't worry, I can still feel the energy from the attack before, just run, I'll give you instructions. You have to hurry though or your father's soul will disappear forever]

"No, Yun. You shouldn't go into the forest" I ignored Elder Lie's calls and rushed forwards towards the forest, through the civilians, through everything I could see. I was already in the forest running down a path with Ling's instructions.

Flashbacks begin to come to my mind as I was running, things my dad said to me, things I did with my dad. All the games we played, the training, cultivating. I can't just let it end like this.

My Profound energy was being drained at a rapid pace, I wasn't in a high enough realm so I didn't have much energy left. But that doesn't matter, what matters is that I get to dad before anything happens to his soul.

[Come on Yun, just a little more]

I'm almost there, I can feel it.

The moment I entered another clearing I saw something that made me despair. There were corpses everywhere, laid down at random.

I gulped before quickly checking where my father was, I'll get everyone back home. They should deserve a proper burying.

I found my father's corpse or what was left of it. He was missing an arm and the legs, his face was almost completely burned. But I knew this was my father, his clothes told me so.

L-Ling, you can save him, right?

…

Ling?

[I'm sorry Yun. Your fathers soul has moved on, there is nothing I can do. He's dead now]

O-oh.

I couldn't keep myself standing, I fell on my knees.

*Roar*

Looking back, I saw a bear. It was hurt, an entire arm was missing from its left side. I could also see it bleeding all over the place.

Was this the thing that killed dad?

I saw its eyes, they had a smug look in them. "It was you."

I felt a tear go down my cheek before everything went completely blank.

—

POV: Lai Ling

She closed her eyes. She couldn't save Yun's dad, his soul had already moved on.

It was going to be hard on Yun but he had to move on, get stronger from this. She, of course, would be there to help him, give him support as much as she could. But in the end Yun had to move on.

He was in shock right now, not sensing his surroundings. She wasn't, she could sense the beast in that cave but it was injured so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Hearing the roar and seeing that smug look in the bear's eyes, she had a bad feeling.

Which came true when suddenly, that chaotic energy in Yun's soul began to act up making her quickly evacuate his soul.

She saw it then, black tentacles began to emerge under Yun's feet. What's more, his body began to blur. She could tell what she was looking at but it was making her mind and soul hurt.

It was just like when she first tried to poke into his soul. That chaotic energy made her have the same reaction.

"Yun!" She screamed his name, hoping that it would make him stop but she knew better, Yun was enraged. He would stop at nothing until that bear died.

That was also the best case. Worst case, he could kill himself and everyone around him.

He began to walk towards the bear and she quickly took distance. She couldn't come near him when he was in this state, her soul would be destroyed. Making things worse, the world itself is also trying to destroy her soul now that she didn't have Yun's soul as protection.

She needed to do something and fast otherwise both of them could die.

Looking towards him, she saw him walking slowly towards the bear. The bear being frozen in fear, it wouldn't move from that spot.

Y̴̨͖̞̰̥̗͔̻͒̏́͛̆̑͊̾̈́͜͝o̴̧̳̫̮̦͉͖̙̝̮̝̳͑͑͐͌̒͜u̴̗̹͙̲̙͚͖͙̖̬͕̼̞̾̑̎͐͜ ̴̳̙̼̩̮͖̭̙̬̅̋̐͆̇̑̓̀͛̕̕͜b̷̢̢͎̭̝͚̱̬̙̀̔̐͆͊̄̆͗̅͘̕͝ă̶̢͈͓̫̤͇̘̫̥̹̞̹̻͍s̷̢͒̈̓t̴͕̼̮̝̾̌͑̀̉͗͠a̴̫̳̦͎̫̅͆͌͗̿̈́͜͜ŗ̴͍̺̗̬̀̃͗̒̆̀̿̈̈́̿͋̎̅̇͗d̴̨̰̪̲̱̤̘̹͚̙̯͋̈̓͋̾̏͑͂̽̒̕̚͠ͅ

Ack

She held her head, that hurt her and she wasn't the receiving end. Whatever Yun said, it was beyond her and she didn't understand a thing from that. Though looking at the bear, whatever Yun said made it just drop dead. Probably attacked the soul.

He stopped for a second, looking at the dead bear before walking closer towards it and touching it. The shadows and tentacles began to envelop the bear before it disappeared.

She felt it then, the spike in Yun's power.

Oh no, this was bad. If he continued to absorb things then this whole universe might get destroyed. She had to do something, anything to stop him.

Looking around herself, she saw Song Guang's corpse still laying down on the ground. She could use that, yes. She just needed to make Yun stop by reminding him that everything that he cares for would be destroyed.

Closing the distance between her and Yun, she slowly floated towards him. She needed him to hear her, even if she's in agony right now from all that chaotic energy. "Yun, please! You'll destroy everything!"

She was ignored, or not heard would be better, Yun was just standing there, but the black tentacles were devouring everything around them. Trees were consumed in seconds, the dirt underneath them was dying.

Ling herself could feel some of her powers get absorbed but she was keeping a tight leash on them, for now. Should this go on for longer, she was certain that she too would be devoured.

"Yun, please! You will destroy everything you love!" She shouted again while getting even closer. "Your father wouldn't want to see you like this!"

That had a reaction, the black tentacles stopped moving for a second, she took this chance to get as close as she could. "He wouldn't want to see you become a monster, Yun!"

Yun turned towards her and she saw his glowing red eyes. It hurt, it really hurt her to get this close to him but she still moved on. She wouldn't, couldn't, see Yun destroy himself and everything around him.

"Please, Yun. Don't do this to yourself. Your father doesn't want to see you become a monster." She was close to him, so close. She just needed to hold him. "I know it hurts, I really do but you can't do this"

She finally took hold of him, taking him in a hug. "Your father deserves a proper burial, not to be left out like this"

She was biting back a scream, Yun was absorbing some of her soul. But she didn't care right now, not when someone she cared for was in need.

"L-Ling?" She finally heard him say before he fell unconscious. She saw the black tentacles go back into Yun and sighed in relief. They just avoided a crisis.

Though she herself couldn't stay awake for much longer, the pain of Yun taking some of her soul and the world attacking her took a huge toll on her as well.

Making sure Yun was alright, she went back into his soul for some rest.

—

POV: ??????

That idiot envoy. He almost destroyed everything.

Was he really that unprepared for the use of his powers? Why would those destroying her body send him then?

She needed more information but she couldn't get any.

Worse, the girl she had planned to use became friends with that idiot envoy. She needed to plan for the future because her power wasn't reliable anymore.

—

Chapter 7 end