My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Just as Zhao Tieshan was about to continue speaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.

The footsteps were hurried and chaotic, thumping on the bluestone slabs, like someone running or chasing.

Everyone in the council chamber looked up at the door.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

A young man stumbled in; he was a patrol guard from the village, surnamed Wang, and everyone called him Little Wang.

His face was deathly pale, his lips were trembling, and his clothes were covered in mud and grass clippings, with several cuts from tree branches.

His eyes were wide open, his pupils shrank to small, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

"Captain... Captain!" he gasped, his voice trembling, "Bear... Bear!"

Zhao Tieshan frowned: "What bear? Explain yourself!"

Xiao Wang swallowed hard, pointed outside the door, his finger trembling like a leaf: "Outside...outside the village, a bear has come...it's huge...so huge...as tall as a three-story building!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Then Sun Dayong chuckled, "Three stories? Are you seeing things? The biggest bear is only a little over a person's height, where did you get a three-story building from?"

Xiao Wang panicked, his voice changing tremor: "It really is! I'm not seeing things! It really is as tall as a three-story building!"

It was all black, with shiny, oily fur, and its eyes were red and glowing!

It rushed down the mountain, snapping several large trees in its tracks, and nearly trampled Liu Laosi to death!

Zhao Tieshan's brows furrowed even more.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Xiao Wang; he just felt the whole thing was too suspicious.

How could there be such a huge monster on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains?

A bear demon of this level must be at least a hundred years old.

They should be entrenched deep in the mountains, occupying their own territory, and rarely come out.

They've been operating this ginseng-picking village for decades, regularly sending people to patrol the mountains.

To ward off evil spirits and monsters in the vicinity, a special medicinal powder was prepared and sprinkled on the main roads and ridges around the village.

The powder was made from several special herbs, and it had a very strong smell. It was pungent enough to make even humans nauseous, and demons would feel like vomiting just from the smell and would avoid it from a distance.

This medicinal powder is very effective. In recent years, even large wild animals have been rarely seen near the village, let alone monsters of this level.

"Are you sure it's a bear?" Zhao Tieshan stared at Xiao Wang. "You're not mistaken? Maybe it's a big rock, or a tree shadow?"

Xiao Wang was almost in tears: "Captain, I've checked several times! It's still moving! It's heading towards the village gate! You guys need to go out and check!"

Zhao Tieshan and the four Blood Exchange Realm experts exchanged glances, but no one spoke.

Then Zhao Tieshan grabbed the knife hanging on the wall and strode towards the door.

Sun Dayong followed closely behind, and Qian Laosan, Liu Heizi, and Zhou Xiaoqi also picked up their weapons and followed.

As they walked out of the council chamber, people were running and shouting in the alley, and the muffled cries of children came from inside the houses.

An old man stood by the roadside, leaning on a cane, looking in the direction of the village gate. His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Zhao Tieshan did not stop; he walked very fast, the scabbard slapping against his thigh, making a "clattering" sound.

His mind raced: if such a huge bear demon really came, the stone walls at the village gate wouldn't be able to stop it at all.

Lin Wusheng has been in seclusion for a year; it's unknown whether he will be able to emerge.

If not, the five of them would be the last line of defense for the village.

He gripped the knife handle tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

The village gate is getting closer.

He could already hear the bear's movements—not roaring, but breathing.

It was very heavy, like a giant bellows being pulled.

With each breath, the ground trembled slightly.

He also heard the sound of stones breaking, "crackling," as if something was forcefully pressing against the mountain walls on both sides of the village gate.

Zhao Tieshan paused for a moment.

He glanced back at his four brothers, whose faces were solemn, but none of them backed down.

He nodded, turned around, and strode towards the gate of the village.

He knew that this hurdle would be difficult to overcome.

No matter how difficult it is, he has to get through it.

Because he was the captain of the guard, and because his home was behind him.

Soon, they arrived at the gate of the village.

"Get out of the way!" Zhao Tieshan shouted.

The two guards quickly stepped aside from behind the door.

Zhao Tieshan led the four men to the gate. Instead of opening it, they climbed over the walls on either side of the gate.

The mountain wall wasn't high, only three or four zhang high, and for a martial artist at the Blood Exchange Realm, it was just a few leaps to the top.

They stood on the mountainside, looking down at the bear.

The bear is still banging on the door.

Its head was pressed against the door panel, and its front legs were pawing the ground, sending dirt and gravel flying everywhere.

It let out a low growl, not of anger, but something indescribable—like madness, or perhaps hunger.

"You beast! Stop!" Zhao Tieshan shouted, leaping down from the mountainside and slashing at the bear's head with his sword.

A flash of light, and the blade struck the bear's forehead.

Sparks flew everywhere, as if it had struck a metal plate.

The bear's head remained motionless, but the knife chipped.

Zhao Tieshan landed and staggered back several steps, his hands and feet numb.

His expression changed.

He used all his strength in this strike; even an iron plate would have been cleaved with a mark.

But this bear's hide is harder than an iron plate.

The other four people jumped down and surrounded the bear.

They used all sorts of methods: slashing with knives, stabbing with guns, punching, and kicking.

The bear stood there, neither dodging nor flinching, letting their attacks fall on it.

The attacks struck it like hitting a stone, producing a dull thud, but they did not harm it in the slightest.

But the bear's attention was drawn to them.

It stopped banging on the door and turned around to look at the five little people surrounding it.

Its eyes were red and dark, with the bloodline in its pupils trembling slightly.

Its mouth opened, revealing its gleaming white teeth. Saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth, making a hissing sound on the ground, like acid corroding the soil.

Zhao Tieshan's heart sank.

This bear is beyond their capabilities.

He could tell that this bear had at least a hundred years of cultivation, and no one but a Martial Saint could defeat it.

They are at the Blood Exchange Realm, and there is an insurmountable chasm between the Blood Exchange Realm and the Martial Saint.

But they cannot back down.

Behind them is the village, their home, their parents, wife, and children.

"Hold it back!" Zhao Tieshan whispered, "Wait for Lin Wusheng to come out!"

The other four nodded, gritted their teeth, and charged forward again.

This time, they didn't confront the bear head-on, but instead used speed and agility to maneuver around it.

The bear has a huge body and moves quickly, but it has no set pattern.

It didn't seem like a sentient being; it was more like a wild beast that had lost its mind.

Its attacks are entirely instinctive—claw swings, bites, and charges. There are no patterns, no techniques, yet every strike carries immense force.

While dodging, Zhao Tieshan observed the bear's movements.

He noticed that the bear paused briefly after each swipe of its paw.