The extraordinary journey begins with the Ouroboros Stele.

Chapter 53 The Pavilion of Top Scholars

"Bang!"

A gunshot ripped through the night sky, and Lin Ye, who was about to charge with his halberd, stopped in his tracks.

Looking into the distance, Zhou Yi stood on a boulder and fired at the black bear.

"roar--!"

The black bear roared in pain, turned and ran away, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye.

Lin Ye was taken aback. He glanced at Zhou Yi but didn't say anything. He then picked up his halberd and chased after him.

A dozen minutes later, Lin Ye ran wildly through the jungle, searching for traces of the killer bear.

"Whoosh!"

With a horizontal slash, he cleared the bushes ahead, and his steps gradually came to a stop.

A quick glance revealed that the bushes in every direction were almost identical, and the killer bear's tracks had vanished.

A few minutes later, footsteps sounded from behind, and Zhou Yi ran over, rifle in hand, looking tense.

He approached Lin Ye, holding his gun and cautiously surveying his surroundings, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Expert Lin! Are you alright? I panicked and fired a shot!"

Lin Ye shook his head. "I'm fine. The black bear has already escaped."

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Yi and asked, "Why did you come along? Hopefully, something's wrong back in the village."

Zhou Yi became somewhat reserved. "Xiao Sun has the high-explosive grenades you gave me. That beast shouldn't dare to go over there."

Lin Ye frowned slightly. "This black bear releases a toxic gas that can cause dizziness in people for a short period of time."

Zhou Yi's expression changed slightly, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, we didn't rashly organize any more manpower to hunt them down, otherwise we might have been wiped out, and perhaps a dozen people would have died!"

"Expert Lin, perhaps we should take a longer-term view. We can set a trap and then catch them off guard!"

"Or, we could just bury high-explosive grenades in the trap and blow it up!"

Lin Ye shook his head. "It's no use. It has already developed some intelligence. Ordinary traps are useless against it."

Zhou Yi's eyes widened. "It's really become a spirit?!"

Lin Ye raised his halberd and nodded. "That's roughly the idea."

After saying that, he glanced around and said, "Don't go back yet. Search this area for me. It disappeared as soon as it turned around. The bear's den might be here."

The two split up to search, and after a short while, Zhou Yi called out.

Lin Ye hurried over and saw a cave entrance hidden behind weeds under a huge rock on a hill.

He frowned slightly. He was too short, less than 1.5 meters tall. He wouldn't be able to move around freely inside.

As you approach the cave entrance, a faint, foul odor wafts out, and you can vaguely hear a muffled breathing sound.

Looking down into the cave entrance, Zhou Yi took a searchlight and shone it inside.

Even with the aid of weak night vision, the innermost part is pitch black, deep and bottomless, and no light can penetrate it.

It's hard to imagine how long this bear cave is, leading straight into the interior of the mountain.

"Let's go," Lin Ye said.

There's no way to maneuver properly in this cave. If you recklessly go in, it's not a question of whether you can win or not, but whether you will die.

Zhou Yi was taken aback. "Not going to pursue them?"

Lin Ye shook his head. "Its breathing is getting weaker and weaker; it has crawled deeper into the area."

"Let's go back first, lest it sneak into the village through another tunnel."

The two then returned along the original route, marking the way by cutting open tree bark with their halberds.

Not long after, the two returned. Zhao Min and Sun Lang stood guard outside the square, facing the mountain, looking tense.

Upon seeing the two return, they suddenly lost their energy and sat down on the ground.

"I just saw that beast watching this area from the mountain outside the village. If you hadn't come back, it would have rushed in."

Sun Lang looked terrified; it was too frightening.

Knowing that the beast wasn't actually afraid of rifles, I didn't feel safe even holding a gun in my hand.

Zhao Min sat to the side, blinking repeatedly to ease her fear.

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "Where did that black bear appear?"

Sun Lang took a few breaths, raised his hand and pointed to a certain spot in the mountains, covered by dense jungle.

Looking around, Lin Ye realized that they were already close to the halfway point of the mountain.

"Director Zhou, are there any cavities or caves inside this mountain?"

He looked at Zhou Yi. If there was a cavity, with his weak night vision, it wouldn't be impossible for him to enter the mountain.

The assessment period is only three days, and one day has already passed. Time is of the essence.

Zhou Yi shook his head. "Probably not. If it were, it would have been developed into part of the scenic area long ago."

Lin Ye nodded, feeling heavy-hearted. "Let's go, let's go to the square first."

Back in the square, the village chief greeted Lin Ye, shaking his hand with some excitement.

"Expert Lin, how is it? Is that beast alive or dead?"

Lin Ye shook his head. "It escaped."

The village chief was somewhat disappointed upon hearing Lin Ye's words and let out a heavy sigh.

Zhou Yi stepped forward and said, "Village chief, don't worry. Expert Lin is very capable. That beast has already been injured."

Hearing that he had been injured, the village chief's mood improved considerably; if he could be injured, it meant there was still a chance to kill him.

Moreover, Expert Lin didn't seem to be injured much, so his strength should be much greater than that beast's.

Lin Ye looked at Zhou Yi, "Director Zhou, the trap probably won't work, but we can lure it over here and deal with it alone."

Zhou Yi frowned, his expression serious. "Expert Lin, isn't this too dangerous? Should I take some men and hide in ambush?"

Lin Ye shook his head. "No need. I'm confident. Your presence would only be a hindrance."

Tonight's situation is special; the jungle terrain is complex and mostly muddy, making it unsuitable for combat.

In addition, he did not expect Zhou Yi to follow, and that shot made him pause for a moment, which allowed the black bear to escape.

If it were in a plaza, with his halberd in hand, he would be absolutely certain of killing it single-handedly.

"Alright, let's go prepare some raw meat. There aren't any large animals in the nearby mountains, and that beast hasn't eaten anyone for the past two days, it definitely won't be able to resist!"

As he spoke, Zhou Yi pulled the village chief away to prepare to slaughter the pig, and the villagers also left.

After everyone left, Zhao Min handed over a thermos cup. "Expert Lin, are you thirsty? The temperature is just right."

Sun Lang also took out a bag of instant biscuits from his pocket. "Brother Lin... uh... bro... expert, the conditions are a bit poor, just make do with this, we'll be eating soon."

"Thanks."

After taking the water glass and biscuits and eating a couple of bites, Lin Ye sat down and felt the changes in his body.

In terms of physical strength alone, he is even stronger now than in his previous life, but his physical coordination is somewhat lacking.

After all, while agility isn't low, it's still significantly lower than strength and constitution.

However, it doesn't affect the battle. With his absolute strength, he can still achieve super speed; it's just that his agility is a bit lacking.

The moves of the Soul Whale Fist are wide and sweeping, and the halberdiers' fighting style is of the same type, so there is no problem in coordinating them.

He is now close to the peak of human physical ability.

"You all eat, I'm going to take a look at the Scholar's Pavilion."

Lin Ye spoke up, saying that he hadn't had a chance to go before because of the black bear's appearance, and wondered if there were any ingredients similar to "Martial Arts Champion's Marrow and Blood".

Walking towards the edge of the square, you'll find the Zhuangyuan Pavilion, an all-wooden building that forms the foundation for Zhuangyuan Village's tourism industry.

However, judging from the building's age, it must have been built in recent years.

The door wasn't locked, so I just pushed it open and went in.

A statue resembling a general sits upright in a niche, facing the main gate, with a halberd standing beside it.