Chapter 18: Beneath the Black Pines
Far beyond the watchtowers of Mistforge...
Beyond the hunting grounds where ordinary beasts roamed...
Past the frozen cliffs that even experienced hunters avoided...
The mountain changed.
The snow became darker.
The wind quieter.
Even the wolves refused to howl there.
Among towering black pines stood the abandoned ruins of an ancient fortress.
Its walls had long since collapsed beneath centuries of snow, yet its underground halls remained intact.
The old stone corridors stretched deep beneath the mountain, lit by eerie green flames that never flickered despite the wind.
No birds nested there.
No insects crawled through the cracks.
Only silence...
And men who had long ago stopped fearing monsters because they themselves had become worse.
This was one of the hidden camps of the Black Bear Bandits.
Not their headquarters.
Merely a temporary den.
Even so...
Nearly two hundred elite bandits occupied the ruins.
Some sharpened weapons.
Some maintained crossbows.
Others polished armor stained dark by years of blood.
No laughter echoed through the chambers.
Professional killers rarely needed to boast.
Their scars spoke for them.
At the center of the underground fortress stood a massive stone table carved from a single block of black granite.
A map of the surrounding mountains lay spread across it.
Small wooden markers represented patrol routes.
Monster territories.
Supply caches.
Hidden tunnels.
Even Mistforge itself.
A giant of a man stood before the map.
He appeared barely thirty.
Broad shoulders.
Arms thicker than many men's waists.
His beard was neatly braided.
A cloak fashioned from the hide of a massive mountain bear rested across his back.
Two enormous combat axes crossed behind him.
Each looked heavy enough that an ordinary warrior could barely lift one.
His name was...
Xiong Ba.
The Black Bear King.
Leader of the Black Bear Bandits.
Peak Third Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
One step away from Spirit Transformation.
One step...
That had remained beyond his reach for nearly twenty years.
He was now one hundred years old.
Cultivation had preserved his youth.
Time...
Had not preserved his patience.
Around the table stood the true backbone of the Black Bear Bandits.
Not the thousands scattered across mountains and valleys.
Only the ones required for this operation.
The best.
The most trusted.
The most dangerous.
To Xiong Ba...
Quality mattered more than numbers.
The first was a thin middle-aged man dressed in dark scholar's robes.
His eyes constantly shifted as though calculating ten different futures.
A folding fan rested in one hand.
At his waist hung no sword.
Only scrolls.
His name was Mo Ce.
The Black Strategist.
No one knew how many cities had fallen because of plans drawn by those calm fingers.
Beside him stood a woman wearing a crimson cloak over fitted leather armor.
Her long black hair was tied into a single braid reaching her waist.
Countless throwing knives decorated her belt.
She smiled often.
No one had ever mistaken that smile for kindness.
Ye Hong.
The Crimson Widow.
Assassinations.
Poison.
Infiltration.
Entire merchant caravans had disappeared after accepting her hospitality.
Near the entrance leaned a mountain of muscle.
He carried an iron club instead of a proper weapon.
Why?
Because he claimed swords were "too thin."
His bald head reflected the firelight.
His nose had clearly been broken more than once.
His laugh shook dust from the ceiling.
Tie Niu.
The Iron Bull.
Powerful.
Fearless.
Hopelessly slow at understanding complicated discussions.
He compensated by hitting things until they stopped being complicated.
A scarred archer quietly inspected arrows nearby.
Each arrowhead shimmered with faint green poison.
His left eye remained permanently closed.
The right missed almost nothing.
Han Du.
The Poison Hawk.
Finally...
Standing silently beside Xiong Ba himself...
Was an elderly man with white hair reaching his shoulders.
Unlike everyone else, he wore clean gray robes.
His wrinkled hands rested atop a polished wooden cane.
No visible weapons.
Yet every other core member unconsciously kept a respectful distance.
Gu Yan.
Rune Master.
Formation Master.
The old ghost who made impossible things happen.
Tie Niu scratched his head.
"So..."
He looked around the table.
"...Why exactly are we attacking this little mountain city?"
Several people sighed simultaneously.
Ye Hong pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You really haven't been listening."
"I was."
"You were sleeping."
"I was listening with my eyes closed."
Mo Ce calmly unfolded his fan.
"I shall explain."
Again."
He pointed toward the map.
"Mistforge is isolated."
"No nearby cities."
"Limited communication."
"If it falls..."
"Help arrives too late."
Tie Niu nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"You don't."
"I don't."
Mo Ce continued as though expecting exactly that response.
"Our true target is not the city."
"It is..."
He looked toward Xiong Ba.
"...Lord Shen."
The giant bandit leader finally spoke.
His deep voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"I need his blood."
Silence followed.
"I need his Ki Core."
His eyes burned with naked hunger.
"I need everything."
His fist slowly clenched.
"I've remained trapped beneath Spirit Transformation for too many years."
"My body has reached its limit."
"My cultivation has reached its limit."
"But..."
His smile looked more frightening than any roar.
"...his has not."
"Consume the blood."
"Refine the Ki Core."
"Absorb the remaining essence."
"I ascend."
No one questioned him.
They had followed this plan for months.
Every elite member understood their role.
Only Tie Niu still looked puzzled.
"...Couldn't we just challenge him?"
Every head slowly turned toward him.
Mo Ce sighed.
"Lord Shen would kill you before your club reached halfway."
"Oh."
"...Fair."
The strategist pointed toward another section of the map.
"Direct battle is impossible."
"So..."
"We remove every advantage."
A small carved snake appeared upon the table.
"The Shadow Python."
Ye Hong smiled.
"It has already begun."
"The beast has killed enough hunters."
"It spreads fear."
"It remains unseen."
"When the Young Lord next leaves the city..."
"The python strikes."
"Poison."
"Retreat."
"No prolonged battle."
Lord Shen will personally hunt the creature."
"He cannot ignore an attack upon his son."
Han Du calmly continued.
"While the City Lord searches the mountains..."
"Our infiltrators activate the preparations."
He placed several tiny pouches upon the table.
Inside...
Dark herbs filled the air with a strangely sweet scent.
"Monster Attraction Herbs."
Gu Yan tapped his cane once.
"My formations will spread their scent across the city."
"The beasts won't know why."
"They will simply come."
"Wolves."
"Bears."
"Tigers."
"Everything hungry."
"Everything angry."
Ye Hong's smile widened.
"The city burns."
"The Young Lord dies."
"The people panic."
"And when Lord Shen returns..."
She slowly dragged one finger across her throat.
"...he returns to ashes."
Xiong Ba finished the sentence himself.
"A grieving father."
"A broken ruler."
"A wounded cultivator."
"Easy prey."
His fingers tightened around one of the axe handles.
"We don't defeat him through strength."
"We defeat him through despair."
Even among hardened killers...
The room felt colder.
This wasn't merely an attack.
It was the patient destruction of a man's entire world.
Mo Ce carefully rolled up the map.
"Our spies inside Mistforge continue watching."
"They will inform us the moment the Young Lord leaves with the Frost Wolf Cavalry."
Xiong Ba nodded once.
"Good."
His gaze settled upon the tiny wooden carving representing Lord Shen.
Then...
Without warning...
His massive hand crushed it into splinters.
"I have waited twenty years."
"I will wait a few days more."
"When the time comes..."
He smiled.
"...I shall drink the blood of a Spirit Transformation cultivator."
"And when I awaken..."
His voice echoed through the ancient ruins like distant thunder.
"...the mountains themselves will learn the name of Xiong Ba."
Outside...
Somewhere within the endless darkness of the frozen forest...
A pair of crimson eyes silently opened.
The Shadow Python had begun moving once more.
---------------------------------------
A week passed.
Seven days of bruises.
Seven days of hammering steel.
Seven days of cultivating until every breath seemed to naturally fall into the rhythm of his new incantation.
The changes were gradual.
Almost impossible to notice from one day to the next.
Yet by the end of the week...
They had become undeniable.
The synchronized breathing remained stable.
The forging movements had become second nature.
Most importantly...
The words of the incantation no longer felt like something Yun Che recited.
They felt like part of him.
Whenever he stood before an anvil, his heart naturally settled into that familiar rhythm.
Whenever he forged, his Ki circulated almost instinctively.
The improvement had doubled.
What had begun as a ten percent increase from the mindset had slowly stabilized into nearly twenty percent.
Combined with the improvement from synchronized breathing...
His cultivation had advanced noticeably.
His Ki reserves had grown.
The quality of that Ki had become denser.
Sharper.
Even Yun Jian admitted that his son's aura felt different.
More refined.
Today was Monday.
Unlike every other Monday...
Yun Che wasn't heading toward the smithy.
His father had ordered him to take the day off.
"You'll be working hard enough before sunset."
Yun Che hadn't argued.
He had spent the morning making final preparations instead.
Lined neatly across a sturdy wooden table rested one hundred carefully crafted rifle rounds.
Each bullet had been painstakingly inscribed by Lin Xia.
Speed Rune.
Explosion Rune.
Durability Rune.
Three runes.
The maximum she could safely combine.
It had taken both patience and determination to finish all one hundred.
Yun Che smiled faintly.
"I owe her another favor."
His rifle rested beside the ammunition.
The weapon itself had also changed.
Its body now bore three carefully engraved runes.
Durability.
Ki Storage.
Speed.
The improvements were modest.
But they transformed the rifle from an interesting invention into a genuine battlefield weapon.
His armor had changed even more dramatically.
Originally...
He hadn't intended to replace it until reaching Foundation Establishment.
The encounter with the Snow Tiger...
And his training with Tianyu...
Had changed that decision.
The new armor stood proudly upon its rack.
Black from head to toe.
The helmet resembled the head of a dragon.
Two curved horns swept backward from either side.
The shoulders had become broader.
The chest plates overlapped like scales.
Despite the intimidating appearance...
It remained practical.
Heavy.
Very heavy.
Exactly how Yun Che preferred it.
Its runes were simple but effective.
Weight.
Durability.
Speed.
His older brother had spent countless evenings helping him reshape every plate.
Yun Ren wasn't the visionary.
But he possessed excellent craftsmanship.
Without his help...
The armor would never have been finished in time.
His sword rested beside it.
Again...
Three runes.
Durability.
Sharpness.
Ki Storage.
Simple.
Reliable.
His preferred philosophy.
The metal wires had also undergone extensive improvement.
Stronger alloys.
Sharper edges.
The storage mechanism itself now carried three runes.
Sharpness.
Durability.
And...
An Electric Rune.
Yun Che still wasn't entirely certain how effective the final addition would prove in real combat.
There was only one way to find out.
Against a real enemy.
Standing before the completed equipment...
Yun Che couldn't help smiling.
"I definitely didn't build this alone."
Over the past week...
He had thanked Lin Xia so many times that she eventually threatened to throw him out of the tailor shop if he apologized again.
His brother simply laughed every time.
"You've thanked me enough."
"Now use it properly."
Even Yun Jian looked genuinely pleased.
Running one rough hand across the new armor, he nodded approvingly.
"We're getting close."
Yun Che looked up.
"To what?"
"My level."
The older blacksmith smiled.
"Your craftsmanship."
"Still..."
He tapped the breastplate.
"...the metal itself remains the limiting factor."
"Iron has carried us this far."
"It won't carry us forever."
He folded his arms.
"The next lesson..."
"...is learning better alloys."
Yun Che nodded thoughtfully.
Another subject to study.
Another mountain to climb.
By late afternoon...
He reached Mistforge's western gate.
Fully armed.
Fully equipped.
Waiting.
Several city guards were already gathered there.
Among them stood one of Yun Ren's closest friends.
Gao Wei.
Twenty years old.
Still at the Peak of the Mortal Realm.
A cheerful guard despite his perpetually serious face.
He waved immediately.
"So."
"The little blacksmith finally joins the cavalry."
Yun Che smiled.
"I suppose I do."
Gao Wei looked over the armor appreciatively.
"Not bad."
"You made it yourself?"
"With help."
"As expected."
He leaned closer.
"Listen."
"This hunt isn't ordinary."
"The Frost Wolf Cavalry rarely targets weak beasts."
"You'll see monsters you've never imagined."
His expression grew more serious.
"If you're smart..."
"Bring back good materials."
"Hides."
"Teeth."
"Claws."
"Bones."
"The better the monster..."
"The better the equipment you can forge."
Yun Che nodded carefully.
"I'll remember."
They continued chatting while waiting.
The afternoon sun slowly dipped toward the western mountains.
Then...
A distant howl echoed across the valley.
Every guard immediately straightened.
The Frost Wolf Cavalry had arrived.
Dozens of enormous white wolves trotted through the city gates in perfect formation.
Each rider wore matching blue-and-silver armor marked with the crest of Mistforge.
At their head rode Captain Han.
His posture remained as straight as a spear.
His Frost Wolf moved with calm confidence born from years of battle.
To his right...
Rode Shen Tianyu.
Unlike during their sparring sessions...
He now wore his full battle equipment.
The custom-made Frost Wolf Armor fit him perfectly.
Elegant.
Powerful.
Ancient runes shimmered faintly across its surface.
At least six of them.
Perhaps more.
It wasn't merely armor.
It was an artifact.
One capable of allowing a Peak Mortal Realm cultivator to contend with ordinary First Stage Foundation Establishment opponents.
Tianyu spotted Yun Che immediately.
His gaze swept over the black dragon-like armor.
The newly forged sword.
The reinforced wire harness.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"...You've been busy."
"I had a productive week."
"I can see that."
There was unmistakable excitement in Tianyu's eyes.
He wanted to see those improvements tested.
Against monsters.
Against danger.
Against reality.
Captain Han guided his Frost Wolf forward and stopped before Yun Che.
His sharp eyes inspected every piece of equipment.
Finally...
He gave a single approving nod.
"Good."
He pointed toward one of the wolves waiting near the rear of the formation.
"Ride with Third Squad."
The massive white wolf calmly lowered itself.
Yun Che climbed onto its back.
The beast snorted once before rising smoothly to its feet.
The view from atop a Frost Wolf felt very different from riding a horse.
Higher.
More stable.
Far more alive.
Captain Han drew his sword.
"Move out."
As one...
The Frost Wolf Cavalry surged through the city gates.
Mistforge slowly disappeared behind them.
Ahead...
Only endless forests.
Snow-covered mountains.
And whatever waited within them.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon.
For Yun Che...
His first true hunt had begun.