I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

The nest was an underground cavern, spacious and devoid of light, a pitch-black void. Yet, it posed no challenge for a cultivator with spiritual awareness. Ye Yong released his consciousness, and the darkness around him transformed into a kind of “brightness.” Rather than seeing, it was more accurate to say that Ye Yong’s “sight” could touch them.

Everywhere lay shattered beast bones, the ground stained with solidified black blood and pools of fresher, not yet congealed blood.

As his consciousness reached the deepest part, a colossal creature lay sprawled on the ground, behind it a dozen rare second-tier spiritual plants. After all, it was remarkable for anything to grow in this place devoid of sunlight.

The earth bear sensed Ye Yong’s spiritual awareness and immediately stood alert. Unlike humans, who are visual creatures, even cultivators prefer to judge existence through sight. The aura-dampening artifact could render Ye Yong inconspicuous, but it would not erase his presence.

Having lived in this cave for many years, the earth bear was familiar with every scent. Now, it caught a whiff of an unfamiliar yet incredibly enticing aroma. Spiritual beasts also possessed spiritual awareness; while their range might not match that of human cultivators, a crystallized seventh-layer earth bear could extend its awareness several dozen meters. It had discovered Ye Yong.

No fluctuations of spiritual energy?

The earth bear rejoiced! This was a delicious morsel delivered right to its door!

With a grandiose roar, it charged toward Ye Yong, each step sending tremors through the ground.

Later, there would be a competition among the sect’s newcomers. No matter how extraordinary their cultivation, they could not surpass the tenth layer of crystallization. Thus, Ye Yong regarded the earth bear’s tough hide and solid form as a far superior practice dummy compared to the energy body of a pseudo-Qiongqi.

Ye Yong also approached the earth bear.

Seeing Ye Yong draw near, the earth bear’s heart swelled with delight, planning to crush its prey with a single paw, hoping to end the encounter swiftly.

As the distance between man and bear closed, entering the attack range, the earth bear raised its massive paw, striking down with only a fraction of its strength, fearing that too much force would turn its prey into a puddle of blood.

Ye Yong, witnessing the bear’s confidence, raised a finger to intercept the attack: “Please, you’re quite weak.”

With that, a cold iron palm struck the earth bear’s chest, sending it staggering back a considerable distance. Stunned for a moment, it roared again, realizing that Ye Yong was no ordinary person. The icy pain in its chest, coupled with the humiliation, ignited its fury.

An enraged spiritual beast was different from an ordinary wild animal; while the latter would only resort to physical attacks, this earth bear clearly possessed some knowledge of techniques, understanding how to launch earth spikes.

It slammed its paw against the ground, and Ye Yong felt the tremors beneath his feet. In the next moment, sharp earth spikes shot up, but alas, they were always a step behind him, as he danced away with the grace of a dragon.

—

Avoiding the thorny leaves, Ye Yong pressed forward to the earth bear, launching a series of Five Tiger Fists aimed at its head.

The earth bear was struck into a daze, stars dancing before its eyes. Ye Yong offered no respite, unleashing a relentless barrage of techniques he had learned, one after another, upon the beast.

The earth bear had only ruled the first half of the secret realm; it had never faced such a scene before. It could not endure for long. After just ten moves from Ye Yong, it breathed its last.

“Why so fragile?” Ye Yong had only just warmed up, expecting the thick-skinned earth bear to withstand it all. He hadn’t anticipated its swift demise.

But then again, it wasn’t surprising. A perfected-level mystic technique unleashed upon it—unless one was at the Golden Core level, enduring more than ten strikes was already quite impressive. Just like that time when Ye Yong first tested his skills, slaying the black-armored bull, which had only withstood three blows.

“It seems during the competition, I must restrain my techniques to the minor completion level; otherwise, it’s too easy to cause accidental harm.” Ye Yong murmured to himself, then began to tidy up the battleground.

He couldn’t let Long Tian discover that a fight had taken place here. Stowing the earth bear’s corpse into his storage bag, Ye Yong cleaned up its blood, snapped the protruding thorns from the ground into fragments, and collected all the spiritual plants, leaving only a single spiritual flower. Crucially, he had even plucked the most valuable petals, leaving behind a bare flower disc…

Having completed everything, Ye Yong nodded in satisfaction and left the scene of the incident.

——

“They’re simply unreasonable! Long Tian, we should reveal the Tian Luo Sect’s waist token!” Qiu Li Gao was nearly exhausted from being dragged along by Long Tian, who had pulled him far away.

“Never delude yourself into thinking you can reason with the crude! They’re just looking for fun, seeking trouble with others, regardless of whether we are in the wrong or not.” Earlier, outside the secret realm, there had been too many people. Now, even near the entrance of the secret realm, there were still quite a few. Long Tian found it difficult to deal with them, so he had deliberately led Qiu Li Gao deeper in, knowing that once they found a deserted spot, they would teach those ruffians a harsh lesson.

“But…”

“Don’t be naive. In the world of cultivators, strength reigns supreme. You joined the Tian Luo Sect to strive for progress, to stand out, to avoid being looked down upon and trampled underfoot, didn’t you?”

“Well, not exactly…” Qiu Li Gao wanted to excel, to bring glory to his parents, which was not wrong. As for being trampled, he was self-aware, knowing he couldn’t grow much stronger. If he could take on some tasks, earn a few spirit stones, and make some money to support his parents in their old age, he would be quite content.

Long Tian understood Qiu Li Gao’s character and said no more. Just as they were about to burst out of the woods and reach the marsh, the fallen immortal elder suddenly called out, “Wait! Something’s been discovered!”

—

Standing before a hole no larger than two fists, Qiu Li Gao looked at Long Tian. “This must have been dug by some kind of spirit rabbit. You don’t think there’s treasure down there, do you?”

“Is there? You’ll know once you step inside.” Long Tian broke open the cave entrance, and Qiu Li Gao was surprised to find the space below unexpectedly spacious. His eyes lit up instantly: “I was wrong! There must be treasure inside!”

“But… there should also be danger…” Qiu Li Gao, only at the fourth level of foundation building, was a pure weakling. His excitement faded quickly, replaced by trepidation.

“Opportunities do not come without danger; can they still be called opportunities? Even the wealthy must risk themselves in the face of rare chances. We lack a good background, so we must rely on ourselves for everything. No one in this world can obtain treasures without paying a price.”

Qiu Li Gao found Long Tian’s words quite reasonable. With a firm resolve, he decided to follow Long Tian inside.

The two jumped into the pit, restoring the entrance to a less conspicuous state to conceal their presence. The passage was dim, shrouded in darkness. They extended their spiritual senses to navigate; the earthen walls had been reinforced, and anything below the fifth level of crystallization was impenetrable to their senses. Long Tian, being a chaotic body, had a stronger spirit than others at the same level, but even he could only barely penetrate a little.

Fortunately, the old immortal, with his celestial-level spiritual sense, guided them until they finally arrived at a spacious cavern.

“It stinks.” Qiu Li Gao immediately covered his nose.

Indeed, the cave was littered with bones. When the earth bear fed, it couldn’t possibly swallow everything whole; the splattered bits of flesh and rotting entrails, combined with the heavy scent of blood and the fragrant aroma of the bear’s excrement, created a medley of odors that was anything but pleasant.

Qiu Li Gao hadn’t learned to hold his breath, so he had to endure the stench, while Long Tian simply held his breath, unaffected.

“Be careful; this should be some kind of spirit beast’s nest.” Not sensing any demonic aura, Long Tian was certain this was not a place for demonic beasts. He led Qiu Li Gao forward slowly, nerves taut, and they walked to the end without encountering any danger.

“We’re lucky; the creature must have gone out hunting.” Long Tian sighed in relief, and his spiritual sense quickly noticed a solitary spirit flower sprouting from the ground, devoid of petals, resembling wild grass.