20: Chapter 20 Lin Shiyun's Thoughts

The day after the Ancestral Spirit Altar was built, Wang Sheng decided to increase his training.

The cultivation bonuses of the Sanctuary Domain were too tempting; spiritual power recovery speed increased by 20%, and combined with the Moonlight Affinity talent, cultivation efficiency at night doubled.

With the threat of a Barbarian General-level dark attribute user hanging over his head, he had to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

Early in the morning, in the open space in the center of the camp, Wang Sheng was shirtless, practicing the Holy Light Slash within the Sanctuary Domain.

Golden light condensed on his fists like a scorching sun; every punch he threw generated a searing airflow, evaporating the morning mist into white vapor.

As a Rank 2 Barbarian Warrior Holy Light Warrior, his total spiritual power had tripled since awakening, but there was still a significant gap before reaching the bottleneck of a Rank 3 Barbarian Warrior.

"Again!"

He punched out, the Holy Light Slash cutting through the air. The golden light blade struck the Savage Beast bone target opposite him, leaving a half-inch deep cut—two points deeper than yesterday.

"You've improved." Murong Xue stood to the side, critiquing him. Her brown ponytail swayed gently behind her, and the morning dew that had condensed on her silver armor slid off as she turned.

"But your timing for exerting force was 0.3 seconds late. There was a momentary pause when the spiritual power condensed in your right arm."

"You have a keen eye."

"Of course." Murong Xue patted his shoulder, smiling breezily. "I am a knight, after all; close-quarters combat is my specialty. If you want to practice the rhythm of exerting force for the Holy Light Slash, I can spar with you."

"Alright."

The two began sparring in the open space, Holy Light against silver spear. Golden light and silver radiance clashed, the aftermath of their colliding spiritual power scattering the surrounding fallen leaves.

Murong Xue's combat style matched her personality: straightforward and fierce, thrusting straight ahead without any detours.

Wang Sheng also gradually found a smoother rhythm for exerting force during the sparring.

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun stood on the rock wall on the east side of the camp, looking down at the sparring in the open space.

Her silver-white hair fluttered like snow in the morning breeze, and her ice-blue pupils coldly watched Wang Sheng's bare upper body. The physique of a Rank 2 Barbarian Warrior was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

The muscle lines on his shoulders and back were as distinct as if carved, shifting with the flow of Holy Light. Every punch he threw caused his tendons to ripple, and sweat slid down his spine, shimmering like crushed gold in the morning light.

Her gaze lingered just a little longer than necessary.

"What are you looking at?" Zhao Linger had hopped up at some point, hugging her bamboo flute and squatting beside her, her doll-like face full of mischievous smiles.

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun withdrew her gaze expressionlessly. "Observing the training progress of the combat team; it is the duty of a military officer."

"Oh," Zhao Linger drew out the tail of the word, her big eyes sparkling. "Then why is the military officer only looking at the Chieftain? Xiao Yuqing and the others are training too."

The tips of Frost Mage Lin Shiyun's ears turned slightly red, but her expression remained ice-cold.

"Xiao Yuqing's archery does not require my supervision. The Chieftain's close-combat ability is the key to the tribe's defensive line, and I must master his combat data."

"Yes, yes, combat data." Zhao Linger suppressed a laugh, jumped off the rock wall, and ran to the spiritual field to find Su Mengyao.

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun remained silent for a moment after she left, then cast her gaze back to the open space. Wang Sheng had just been forced back by a spear thrust from Murong Xue, stumbling two steps.

Her fingers tightened unconsciously on her staff. Ice-blue spiritual power flowed at her fingertips, and frost flowers bloomed silently on the tip of the staff.

Then she relaxed her grip.

"...Idiot." She whispered the two words, her voice scattered by the morning breeze.

Over the next two days, Wang Sheng's schedule was packed.

He practiced the Holy Light Slash during the day, patrolled the camp's defensive line in the evening, and meditated within the Sanctuary Domain at night.

Shen Xun'er performed star divination at the Ancestral Spirit Altar every night, monitoring spiritual power fluctuations in the direction of the beast path.

Liu Ruyan disappeared every half day to mark the entrance of the beast path on the outskirts of the Savage Beast Forest.

She confirmed traces of someone regularly passing through the beast path, with a frequency of about once every three days.

Everything was proceeding methodically until an incident occurred on the morning of the fifth day.

The Sanctuary Domain of the altar suddenly emitted a piercing alarm.

The silver-blue light dome suddenly shone with blinding light, and the silver patterns on the Spirit Rune stone on the main altar flickered rapidly like a breathing light.

Shen Xun'er rushed out of the Chiefs Tent. Her moon-white ritual robe's belt wasn't even tied yet, her long black hair was scattered over her shoulders, and her apricot eyes were full of vigilance.

"The Sanctuary Domain has detected a spiritual power intrusion, northeast direction, quantity..."

Before she could finish, the ground began to tremble.

"Boom."

In the dense forest to the northeast of the camp, an ancient tree that required three people to embrace crashed down.

Amidst the rising dust, a Savage Beast rushed out from the broken forest wall.

It was a Black-Maned Iron-Armored Bear.

Its size was like a moving small mountain, its shoulder height exceeding two zhang, and its entire body was covered in iron-gray coarse, hard fur, shimmering with a metallic cold light in the morning sun.

Each of its four giant claws was the size of a millstone, and every step it took made the ground tremble.

The most terrifying thing was its eyes; a strange light that did not belong to a Savage Beast surged in its dark red pupils, as if it were being driven by something.

Rank 4 Barbarian Warrior, Black-Maned Iron-Armored Bear!

Stronger than any Savage Beast encountered before!

"Combat team, assemble!" Murong Xue was the first to rush out, her silver armor flashing coldly in the morning sun. Her long spear was held horizontally in front of her like a silver barrier.

"Xiao Yuqing, suppress from a distance! Wei Lanzhi, front-row defense!"

Xiao Yuqing had already drawn her bow to the full, and the arrow shot through the air. The arrow tip, infused with spiritual power, exploded into a ball of fire on the Iron-Armored Bear's shoulder.

But it only left a shallow white mark on its iron-gray fur.

The defense of the Black-Maned Iron-Armored Bear far exceeded the penetration limit of her archery.

"Damn it!" Xiao Yuqing gritted her teeth. "The skin is too thick; ordinary spiritual arrows can't penetrate it!"

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun jumped down from the rock wall, her silver-white hair fluttering like a snow waterfall in mid-air, her ice-blue pupils as cold as deep-sea ice.

She swept her staff, and a Frost Nova exploded under the Iron-Armored Bear's feet. The ice-blue spell froze the ground into a slippery ice surface.

The Iron-Armored Bear's pace was slowed for an instant, but its brute force directly shattered the ice layer, and its dark red pupils turned towards Frost Mage Lin Shiyun's direction.

"Roar."

With a roar, the Iron-Armored Bear rushed towards the camp. Its target was not the combat team, but the core of the Sanctuary Domain—the Ancestral Spirit Altar!

"It wants to destroy the altar!" Shen Xun'er's face turned pale, and she pressed both hands on the main altar to urge the Moonlight Shield, enveloping the altar in silver-blue light.

But how long could the shield withstand the impact of a Rank 4 Barbarian Warrior?

Wang Sheng stepped out.

Holy Light exploded across his entire body like a golden sun. He infused his fists with spiritual power, the instincts of a Holy Light Warrior tensing his muscles to the limit.

Rank 2 Barbarian Warrior against Rank 4 Barbarian Warrior—a difference of two small ranks. A direct frontal collision was suicide.

But if he didn't block it, the altar would be destroyed, the Sanctuary Domain would collapse, and over sixty people would lose their final barrier.

"Holy Light Slash!"

The golden light blade slashed towards the front of the Iron-Armored Bear, exploding into a ball of golden light on its iron-gray nose bridge.

The Iron-Armored Bear roared in pain, its head tilting to one side, but it did not fall.

Its giant claw swept across. Wang Sheng dodged sideways, but the wind of the claw still grazed his left ribs.

"Hiss."

The sound of tearing fabric accompanied the sharp pain of skin being ripped.

Three claw marks, deep enough to see bone, ran diagonally from his left ribs to his waist. Blood gushed out in the morning light, staining the golden Holy Light a glaring red.

"Chieftain!" Murong Xue thrust her silver spear out, forcing the Iron-Armored Bear back half a step.

Wang Sheng knelt on one knee, his left hand covering the wound on his left ribs, blood continuously spilling from between his fingers.

The constitution of a Holy Light Warrior was far superior to ordinary people, but the claw attack of a Rank 4 Barbarian Warrior had made a wound that was too deep.

The Power of Holy Light circulated frantically within his body, attempting to repair it, but the repair speed could not keep up with the blood loss.