Serendine Stone
Ran drifted peacefully in slumber, exhausted from the intense battle with the three-headed bear. Suddenly, his mother Mei's terrified screams jolted him abruptly awake.
"Hong! Come quick! There's a monster's corpse in our yard!"
Still groggy, Ran scrambled out of bed and hurried outside, his heart pounding. Had some new threat appeared?
Instead, he found both his parents frozen in shock, gawking at the massive bear carcass he had hauled home last night. In the brightness of morning, the beast's sheer size and hideousness was even more apparent.
Ran's father Hong tore his gaze away from the hulking creature to stare incredulously at his son. Then he threw back his head and bellowed with hearty laughter.
"No need for alarm, dear wife! This is our son Ran's handiwork, isn't that right?"
Ran nodded, relief washing over him now that he understood his parents' fearful reaction. "Yes Father, I tracked and defeated this bear as part of the combat training Uncle Meng granted me permission to begin."
Hong's broad chest swelled with pride as he examined the three-headed beast. "Ha! My boy has already grown into a true hunter-warrior without my guidance!" He grabbed Ran into a back-slapping embrace.
Mei wrung her hands anxiously. "Heavens, is cultivating such a dangerous path truly wise? I know you must strengthen your skills Ran, but please promise you'll be cautious."
Ran hugged his mother reassuringly. "Do not worry, I will focus only on enemies I know I can handle at my current level. Each victory shall build my experience."
After calming his parents, Ran spent several hours meticulously harvesting every usable part of the bear - its thick pelt, razor-sharp claws, dense bones and potent organs. All would fetch premium prices at the village market.
The meat he set aside to share with the villagers later. This first triumph seemed an auspicious omen, securing resources to support Ran's continued training.
When the sun reached its peak, Ran loaded everything into the wheelbarrow and headed toward town. Along the way, he kept an eye out for Uncle Meng's dwelling, hoping to inform his master of the victory. But there was no sign of the old man.
The marketplace was bustling when Ran arrived. Merchants called out their wares, housewives haggled vigorously, and craftsmen hawked tools and trinkets. The bear parts instantly drew crowds of fascinated onlookers.
Ran's best friend Yan pushed her way to the front, eyes wide. "Ran! Is it true you really defeated Old Scarface?"
When Ran confirmed, she threw her arms around him. "You're incredible! I've always known you were destined for greatness!" The swell of adoration flustered Ran, still not used to such attention.
For the next hour, Ran slowly made his way through the marketplace, carefully selecting the vendors offering the fairest prices for the hard-won spoils. His purse grew heavy with coins.
One task remained - visiting the cluttered curiosities shop run by the eccentric old man known as Wei. Ran had heard Wei sometimes sold rare cultivation treasures.
The dim shelves were crammed chaotically with odd artifacts, strange stones, and mysterious vials. One object caught Ran's eye - a fist-sized stone pulsing with faint crimson light veined through glossy black rock.
Ran reached out to examine it, but the instant his fingertips made contact, the stone flared bright sapphire and dissolved into shimmering vapor!
Ran jerked his hand back, heart racing from the shock. Wei chuckled at his reaction. "No need for alarm, those volatile Serendine Stones react unpredictably to certain energies."
Unsure what to make of this oddity, Ran simply paid Wei for the worthless stone and made for home as the sun dipped low, eager to regain his strength so training could begin anew at dawn.