Shout-out to Tanner Good and Johnny Gonzalez foe supporting the novel.

***

The moment Nie Li returned with the news that the duskgold dreadclaw bear marked this area, color left from Chen Linjian's face, and he instantly mobilized the group by sending out the scouts. This expedition was not revealed to anyone from his family, so there would be no reinforcements and when it comes to the duskgold dreadclaw bear. Not to mention the fact that the bear itself portrayed a cruel nature, and its battle strength reached the levels of the ten-thousand-year-old beasts! What was this concept? Usually, to subdue a ten-thousand-year-old beast, a team of Spirit Ancestors (4 rings) is required. 

"Grrrrooooouuuugghhhhhhhhh!"

A roar shook the entire patch of forest as countless bird-type spirit beasts flew in panic, leaving their nests without an ounce of hesitation. This time, even Ray shivered slightly and stood up, ready to use his full capabilities should the situation demand. The roar managed to pull the entire group together in a few minutes as Ye Hong rushed towards Ray's and the Nik's apprentices before standing ahead of them with his body crouched low. 

"It's too late," Chen Linjian whispered and used his spirit energy to spread his words in the surroundings, "running away would thin our forces. We will try to battle it out. If we are incapable, then escape towards the city's direction. Healers, get ready."

Hearing Chen Linjian's words, the body of the students tensed up while Ye Ziyun and three other spirit masters mobilized their martial spirits. The nine-headed ice phoenix is a rare support type spirit that allows nine forms of support right from the start! These supports were the primary ability of the spirit, and Ye Ziyun did not require any spirit rings. 

In two breaths, there was an unbearable sound of metal clashing, and instantly, a figure flew up a few meters above the tallest tree in the vicinity. Seeing the grizzly figure wearing a tattered blue tunic, Ryu'er's eyes widened. Not only her, Ziyun and Ning'er's heart trembled, too.

Korra!

Phew!

The feeling of Korra's body stopping midair retracted and her bulky body flew down. 

"Hahahaha, this is it!"

Korra roared. Her voice was no longer feminine but as hoarse as a spirit beast's growl. Showing her plentiful creativity, Korra adjusted her body midair and extended the warhammer downwards. Her fall grew in speed by a notch as the soul-shaking roar resounded once again.

"I need to help her!"

Ryu'er hissed and broke through the perimeter with a jump.

"Wait a minute!" Chen Linjian shouted in anger, but much to his and every spectator's surprise, Ryu'er's body flashed dark blue, and her speed turned inhumane. Her tiny body zipped forward, and she disappeared into the forest in the direction where the clangs of battle echoed.

'I know about Korra. In my previous life, she became the underground arena's queen and dominated every single warrior even with her low cultivation... but when it comes to duskgold dreadclaw bear, it isn't just cultivation. The beast's reflexed, battle talent, ferociousness, and even its flexibility if off the charts!'

Nie Li exclaimed inwardly, but at this time, two figures rushed out and followed Ryu'er. While their speed was relatively slow, the surrounding spirit masters still failed to react.

"You two!"

Xiao Xue was the one who screamed in surprise and called them, alas, Ning'er, and Ziyun didn't slow down. Instead, their speed only grew by a notch, and they disappeared into the forest once again. Seeing this, Chen Linjian trembled before he gritted his teeth and snarled, "We follow!"

The heir of the Divine Family had no choice but to follow! After all, if Ye Ziyun is harmed, who could answer to Ye Zong's wrath, better yet, who even dare confront the person who defeated Ye Zong— Nik? Although Nik acted as the best teacher one could ever ask for, Chen Linjian wasn't naive enough to take that behavior in its face value. 

Alas, Chen Linjian's order didn't receive the enthusiasm it should as many remained rooted in their positions. Why must they battle a duskgold dreadclaw bear just because of hot-headed girls? By now, Lanruo's expression was quite complicated. Even though all of these girls were her apprentice sister, she still felt the instinctive need to protect her own life.

Not to mention even Nik...

No, there was no point in justifying her wish to survive by pushing the blame on others.

"Shit!"

Lanruo wasn't the type of girl to cuss, but today she had to! It was a good thing that she wasn't wearing her sandals, and she infused her spiritual energy into her shoes. The pair of leather shoes were a gift from her father. The surface of the soles of these shoes were inscribed with speed-boosting patterns, and Lanruo, too, instantly took off!

"I said, MOVE!"

Chen Linjian roared while Nie Li was already getting anxious. 

"Du Ze, Lu Piao, you two run away! This place is no longer safe!"

Nie Li whispered while moving forward with a grim expression. Since he couldn't use the crowd as a cover to save Ziyun, then he'll jump in himself. 

"Oi, don't be absurd!"

Lu Piao tried to catch Nie Li's wrist, but he failed as the orange-haired youth broke past through the sparsely populated area.

"Leader, I propose that we continue the expedition. Why should we risk our lives?"

Chu Chang snorted as Chen Linjian's eyelids twitched. He would have ridden the same train of thought if a group of commoners was fighting the dreadful beast, but if something happens to Ye Ziyun, he will be the one responsible as the leader of the expedition. Just as he was thinking, two more members rushed to the scene and made Chen Linjian almost collapse in fear!

Ye Hong and Ye Ray!

"Hong, you bastard! Come back, now!"

Gritting his teeth, Chen Linjian finally moved while roaring, "Those who do not follow me right now, you better leave for the city. If I find anyone of you waiting to follow the expedition, I'll tear you to pieces!"

Before Chen Linjian could even complete, Lu Piao, Du Ze, and Xiao Xue had already rushed out. Finally, most of the members clenched their jaws. Meanwhile, a few youngsters from the aristocracies snorted and turned back and made their way into the city.

As the group was embroiled in internal conflict, Ryu'er, the first to reach Korra's location, was dumbstruck. She vividly recalled the same fierce expression and a maniacal gaze on another woman. She, too, like Korra, has dark-skin. Alas, with her torso clawed, and her body bloodied, Korra managed to look even more ferocious than the woman who Ryu'er had set her heart on surpassing.

Gojira.

"Aooooo!"

The group didn't know when the duskgold dreadclaw bear's growls were replaced by Korra's bestial roars. Once Ning'er and Ziyun arrived, they found Korra rotating her body and smashing the hammer right into the bear's head! Still, their hearts shivered as they looked at Korra's current condition. 

"Ziyun, can you heal her?"

Ning'er whispered, afraid that her voice might just interrupt Korra's concentration.

"I can... but in this fight, I may accidentally heal the bear."

"Don't worry about that," Ryu'er stated and pushed her thick locks above her head while gazing towards the bear. For a moment, it faltered and looked towards Ryu'er's direction in fear. The little girl's eyes looked just that ferocious with blood-red pupils turned into slits and her entire eye growing blight blue.

"Huh?"

Korra stopped inches away from turning the Bear's head into a paste and looked towards Ryu'er's direction.

"Oh, you guys!" Korra grinned, her voice still hoarse while blood continued to leak through her nose, "Don't interfere," She cackled loudly and swept her hammer towards the trio. Just the wind generated was enough to stop them in their tracks before her wide palms fell on the duskgold dreadclaw bear's head, who was uncharacteristically terrified of Ryu'er.

"Now, bear. Let's fight!"

She smiled widely without any hint of malice and stunned the terror-stricken bear before letting go of the hammer and punching straight on top of its head, making the bear's head buzz.

"This is for head-butting me out of nowhere!"

As the duskgold dreadclaw bear's body shook, Korra dragged the hammer from the ground before striking it on the bear's face and then used the momentum to reinforce her jump before swinging her hammer down!

*Bang*

The bear's head caved in, and Lanruo appeared only to witness this scene.

Once Nie Li arrived at the scene, he found the girls restricting others from getting close. Even Ye Hong made a group of girls surround the area as everyone else could only remain in mystery about the sudden change.

***

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Korra hissed as Ziyun cleaned Korra's body with a light hand. Even if the purple-headed girl was quite uncomfortable with the scent of smell, she gazed at Korra's current form with unconcealed admiration. Korra's large bust was wrapped in bandages since the bear managed to claw at her chest while Ziyun continued to clean the area of wounds and apply first aid. She was using the rapid healing elixir to make sure Korra's injuries don't hinder her for long.

"Thanks a lot, Yun," Korra grinned and raised her arm to pat the cute junior's head only to wince. Since her jaws, nose, and forehead was bandaged, the sudden change in expression created a chain of pain.

"Please don't overdo things from now on," Ziyun pouted while stating sourly. She was well aware that Korra wouldn't listen, but she had to try at least. Ziyun then looked at the glowing purple ring midair and later recalled the treasures of the duskgold dreadclaw bear.

"Aye, aye, who knew that you would be the most uncompromising out of us all," Korra still had some time before absorbing the spirit ring and lied dawn while extending her limbs, sprawling with a delightful expression.

"Oh, here," Ziyun said while taking out a blanket and a pillow.

"Hey, did teach ever say how cute you are when you act like this?"

Korra smirked as Ziyun carefully placed the blanket to cover her exposed body.

"W-what?"

Ziyun stammered with a soft flush on her face. She turned her head away while placing the pillow over Korra's face, "Don't say things like these... besides..."

Ziyun recalled the embarrassing conversation she had with her aunt.

"Yep, keep on acting like that."

Korra cackled.

After a few minutes, she sat up and wore another pair of tunic and baggy pants before sitting below the spirit ring and absorbing it.

Ziyun thought for a while before calling for her friends. She alone wouldn't be able to salvage the situation if things turned awry. Lanruo, Ning'er, and Ryu'er arrived only to see a patched up Korra absorbing the spirit ring.

"She really is different from me..." Lanruo muttered absent-mindedly. Strangely, she held no shame in admitting that she treasured her life selfishly. Maybe, she became shameless under Nik's company? Meanwhile, Ryu'er silently stared at Korra. 

'No... she isn't a beast...'

Ryu'er confirmed once again, but the thought of Korra acting even wilder than her mother didn't sit right with her.

"I think every one must be t-thirsy. I prepared this yesterday," Ning'er spoke with a timid expression before taking out a giant vat from the spatial ring. Just the size of it made the girls speechless. But recalling Ning'er's talents, the idle girls took out cups of varying sizes from their spatial rings and extended them towards Ning'er.

"Right!"

Ning'er brushed the strand of hair while smiling brightly. Since the vat was too huge, there was a tap in between on the three levels of the vat. 

Taking Lanrou's cup, Ning'er rotated the cap before honey-colored juice rushed out of the opening of the tap. 

"What flavor is this?"

Lanruo inquired curiously. Once they had gathered together, Lanruo sent a message to Chen Linjian and Ye Hong to ease on the perimeter. The only reason they even asked the duo to make the girls secure the area was that Korra's condition at the time was extremely pathetic, and her body was indecently exposed. Now that the problem was tackled, there was no need to surround the area.

The unnatural fragrance of the liquid enticed many, but when they found the source, the group of people stopped in their tracks.

"This is blizzard honey," Ning'er softly blushed as she saw the other people eyeing the vat of juice while she passed the cup to Lanruo. Once Ning'er poured a cup for everyone, she stored the vat once again.

"So good~"

Ziyun purred while sipping on the cup as Lanruo and Ryu'er showed a pleasant expression, too. Seeing them, Ning'er finally smiled widely, "I am glad that you all liked it. Oh, where is Xiao Xue?"

Ning'er inquired while Lanruo spoke up, "That kid was pulled away by her fiance. The Lu family's kid."

"Lu Piao?"

Ning'er muttered with a frown. Honestly, even though her friendship with Ziyun wasn't the best of all relationships she has, it was still something, and after learning Ziyun getting harrassed by Nie Li, Ning'er now held a strained opinion for Nie Li and his group. If she could pull Xiao Xue away, then she would, but Lu Piao is her fiance. It wasn't hard to understand that if she let her opinions motivate her into taking action, she might ruin her budding friendship with Xiao Xue.

"Another round..."

While Ryu'er didn't show any particular reaction, she extended her cup with a soft flush. But seeing this, Ning'er smiled apologetically, "I am sorry, Ryu'er... more than one cup of blizzard honey overheat the body. I'll pour another cup, two hours later, okay?"

"Fine..."

Ryu'er mumbled as Ning'er unconsciously patted Ryu'er's head. Since she had a petite stature when compared to all the bust jiggling around the training, Ryu'er was usually very passive. But she had her lines, too. Except for Xiao Xue, she did not like anybody else touching her head. Even Gojira had to force herself!

But today, unexpectedly, Ning'er accomplished the task, and when she realized what she had done, the remaining two girls stared at Ning'er slack-jawed. Before Ryu'er could even evade, Lanruo extended her hand and placed at the back of Ryu'er's head.

"So soft," the pinkette muttered as Ryu'er suddenly fell over onto Ziyun's laps, snoring softly.

"Eh? EH!"

Ziyun felt like everything was finally glowing brightly for her.

***

"So, this is Saint Judgement Hall, huh," Nik mumbled while gazing at the jade covered building. Even though the edges looked slightly crude, Nik couldn't fault such the city for it. After all, this building managed to withstand the passage of time since the first city lord is the one who constructed this building with his own hands!