Stranger Danger

Chapter 552: My Name Is Big Bear, and I Am Not Embarrassed

The next moment, shock rippled across the crowd like a tidal wave, but it was a different kind of shock.

There were neither flying limbs nor spraying blood. The cruel murder they had envisioned did not happen at all.

Instead, they saw two fingers catching the falling blade like it was a feather.

Have you ever seen a child holding up a mountain with two hands?

It was like that. As stunning as it was ludicrous.

The big man was no ordinary person. He was the gang boss of the Blood Axe Gang and an early-stage Spirit Master, Big Bear. And no, he did not have a younger brother called Little Bear. What kind of family would that be?

If cultivation was all Big Bear had, then he wouldn’t be as feared as he was. He was also a Strangerkin with the bloodline of the Mountain Flipping Bear. A Phenomenon-class Stranger famed for its physical strength and tenacity, it was said to be capable of flipping over a mountain like it was a toy. In fact, the feat was how it got its name in the first place.

Since Big Bear possessed the Mountain Flipping Bear’s bloodline, he naturally inherited its abilities as well. He was tall and muscular, tough and strong. His strength in particular completely exceeded what a normal human warrior should be able to achieve. Once upon a time, he had physically torn a middle-stage Spirit Master in half with his bare hands. To call him monstrously strong would be an understatement.

But now, a young man had caught his full-powered strike with two fingers. Two. Fingers.

Was this not shocking?

Was this not ludicrous?

Something even more shocking and ludicrous happened then. As Big Bear let out an angry roar, black fur grew out of its arms, and a pair of fangs from the corners of his mouth. His muscles swelled, and his clothes were ripped apart as he grew an entire size bigger. A violent, terrifying aura washed out into the surroundings, and the ground beneath his feet split into cracks. Right now, he looked just like a demonic, man-eating bear.

“RAAAAAHHH!!!”

Big Bear roared again and pushed down again with a savage snarl. A ring appeared around their feet before the earth abruptly exploded and formed a deep pit.

Still, the fingers holding the massive axe did not so much as tremble.

Still, Big Bear’s axe could not push an inch closer toward Ye Qing.

“This cannot be happening!”

Big Bear’s eyes turned bloodshot as his right hand released its grip on the axe. Then, he raised a fist high into the air before punching the butt of the axe with all he got.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave kicked up a ton of dust and knocked countless people off their feet. For a time, chaos reigned across the entire street.

When the chaos finally settled down a little, and the dust clouds had subsided completely, the people saw a massive pit at the center of the street.

Big Bear was the only one in the pit, however. Ye Qing was nowhere to be seen.

Right now, Big Bear was panting heavily and looking as white as a sheet. The axe was now just a stick since the blade had been completely obliterated by the punch.

Is he dead?

Did Big Bear punch that poor man into oblivion after all?

Similar thoughts were crossing everyone’s mind, but they immediately wondered why they couldn’t find a sign of the young man anywhere. Even if they assumed that the attack had obliterated the young man completely, surely he would have left behind at least a drop of blood, right?

Big Bear’s ugly expression did not resemble an expression of victory either.

Suddenly, one of Big Bear’s subordinates cried out, “Huh? Where’s the invitation letter? How did it vanish all of a sudden?”

He was the guy holding Ye Qing’s invitation letter. The item had suddenly gone missing after that big attack. How was that possible?

“Where’s that boy, boss? Did you evaporate him with your punch or something?” Someone asked.

“Shut up!”

Big Bear wheeled around and glared at his subordinate furiously like a wounded beast.

Had he won?

Of course not. Not even close.

He had thrown every ounce of strength he possessed into that punch. It was as strong as the full-powered attack of a body-tempering middle-stage Spirit Master. However, the axe was unmoved, and the young man’s fingers remained as stable as a mountain when his fist smashed into the back of the blade. For a moment, he felt as powerless as an ant trying to topple a mountain.

The next moment, his eyes widened in horror. The young man tightened his grip just a bit, and the giant axe—a Strange Artifact he had forged using Blood Copper—shattered into pieces almost as if it was made of rust.

The young man disappeared after that. He had no idea where he went.

From the start until the end, he wasn’t able to gain any sort of advantage over the young man whatsoever. No, it was worse. It was like the battle between a child and a full-grown adult. It wasn’t even a fight. It was a one-sided beating, and he was the child on the receiving end of the whip.

He had never lost so horribly since he awoke his Mountain Flipping Bear bloodline; had never been humiliated this badly until now. But more than his rage and shame, it was overwhelming despair that dominated his thoughts.

The young man was like an insurmountable mountain. He would never be able to reach its peak, much less overcome it for as long as he lived. There was just no hope for him to defeat the young man whatsoever.

So, what was he going to do now?

He wasn’t going to do shit, of course. The young man had already shown him mercy by letting him live. He would have to be crazy to harass him further.

He might be simple-minded, but he wasn’t stupid!

After waiting for a while and receiving no further comments from Big Bear, one of his subordinates asked carefully, “What do we do now, boss?”

“What else? We find a place and drink some wine to celebrate all the invitation letters we got! C’mon!” Big Bear slapped his chest and took off in a random direction.

Did something happen just now? No, not at all.

He didn’t feel embarrassed either. Embarrassment could only infect you if you allowed it.

“What are you looking at? Get lost!”

Big Bear waved for the crowd to get out of his way and left with his men just like that.

As for what happened to Sixth Mouse, again, he did not know who that guy was. If someone wanted to take a gander at that disgusting pool of gore, then that was their prerogative. He wanted nothing to do with it.

After Big Bear’s group was gone, the crowd suddenly exploded into loud murmurs like a pot of boiling kettle. Everyone was discussing the short battle, taking guesses at Ye Qing’s background and more. It would be a long, long time before the gossiping finally subsided.

The main character of the incident had no idea about this though. He was already on the way up to the peak of Blissful Mountain.

Ye Qing did not want to blow up the matter. That was why he left immediately after teaching Big Bear a lesson and reclaiming his invitation letter.

Besides that, he had also stolen the Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact known as the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma. He couldn’t possibly walk away from a fight without claiming some loot, right?

He wanted it because of its ability to traverse space and conceal both itself and its user. Sure, it was a little disgusting to use, but it was absolutely one of, if not the best escape-type Strange Artifacts he had seen so far.

Earlier, he had lost track of Sixth Mouse completely after he used the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma. He had no choice but to employ his full strength and force him back into the open.

If Sixth Mouse had used this Strange Artifact while he was still a distance away from him, if he hadn’t activated it right in front of his face, he might actually have succeeded in running away.

Unfortunately for Sixth Mouse, what ifs only existed in fiction.

Since Sixth Mouse was dead in reality, it seemed only right that he, his killer, claimed his legacy.

Back in the present, Ye Qing was pondering how best to utilize the Stomach of the Finger Eating Grandma while admiring the scenery of Blissful Mountain.

Blissful Mountain was both massive and beautiful. Clear streams were flowing down the mountain behind the cover of a lush, green forest, and Buddhist temples, towers, pavilions and more were everywhere. It possessed both the solemn dignity of Buddhism and the natural wonders of nature. Picturesque was the perfect adjective to describe it.

He was about halfway up the mountain when he arrived at a spot where both sides of the road were filled with statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and celestial women. A giant gate with the words “Buddhist Hall of Joy” hanging at the top loomed over him, and he could tell that the calligraphy was imbued with the air of Buddhism. Profound and potent, one glance was enough to strike him with illusions flying celestials, the endless desires of the red dust, and whispers of joining the Buddhist Hall of Joy to attain ultimate bliss.

A weak-willed person could have lost themselves to this illusion and convert into a worshiper of the Buddhist Hall of Joy. Advertisement with a dose of mind control? They’re a demonic sect alright.

If the area before the gate counted as the border between Joy Town and the Buddhist Hall of Joy, then the area past the gate definitely counted as the sect’s territory. There were even more pavilions, halls, towers and temples in this area, and the smoke rising from the buildings and the natural mist shrouding the place gave it the appearance of Kingdom of Buddha on earth.

That said, there were noticeably more people past the gate than before as well. Wherever he looked, he saw disciples welcoming the guests and jianghu warriors greeting their hosts and their fellow people. The noise of humanity greatly diminished the divinity of the place, but also made it feel a lot more comely and warm.