But as far as Henry Clark was concerned, he couldn't care less—as long as he could replenish his strength, that was enough!

Just as he was about to cut some more bear meat to roast, aided by the lights within Clark Village, he saw what seemed to be a human figure dashing toward him.

"That commotion just now must have attracted attention!"

His fight with the Iron-Arm Bear hadn't been too loud, but the latter's roar was deafening. With Clark Village right at the foot of the mountain, the younger generation might not have heard it, but his father and people like the Grand Elder, with their formidable strength, couldn't possibly have missed it.

If they saw him sneaking out in the middle of the night and killing such a huge beast, how would he explain it?

Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't explain—it was mainly that... his lifespan was almost up. If he really got caught, he might not even finish his explanation before he dropped dead...

"Go!"

Casting a reluctant glance at the bear's corpse, he grabbed four bear paws, darted out of the cave, circled around in a wide arc, and then sprinted madly toward Clark Village.

No good, running too fast—his lifespan was dropping again...

Time to keep bugging the system.

The next moment, a string of wild laughter echoed through the valley.

Hahahahahahaha...

Chapter 011: Too Arrogant

Inside Clark Village.

"Someone broke into the manor, ate several large bowls of leftovers, and no one noticed?"

In the clan leader's courtyard, Thomas Clark suddenly stood up, his eyes full of disbelief.

After receiving a definite answer from James Clark and also checking the recording crystal, Thomas Clark's gaze grew grave: "If someone snuck into the manor, it can't just be to eat leftovers. Did you check the treasury, the library, the martial arts hall, and the armory? Did anyone sneak in?"

"All were checked carefully—nothing was found!"

Said Grand Elder Robert Clark.

Upon hearing the news, he had gathered all the elders in the clan and checked all the important places. It seemed... only the dining hall had been forcibly entered; everything else was completely untouched.

Thomas Clark still didn't believe it: "Nothing at all?"

Robert Clark gave a wry smile: "Yes, except for some houses where the juniors and family members live, even the stables were searched. Not to mention outsiders, there wasn't even an extra mouse!"

"A grandmaster-level expert with mid- or even high-third-grade true qi, went to all that trouble to sneak into Clark Village at night, violently broke into the dining hall, and didn't even get to eat any meat..."

Thomas Clark scratched his head.

He felt that either the other party was crazy, or he himself was going crazy.

He just couldn't make sense of it!

Roar!

Just as he and the other elders were staring at each other, unable to guess the intruder's true intentions, an angry roar came from the distant mountain.

"It's the Iron-Arm Bear!"

Pupils contracting, Thomas Clark hurried out of the room and into the courtyard.

Living at the foot of Yundan Mountain and often dealing with wild beasts, he naturally knew what animal that roar belonged to. But... wasn't this creature supposed to live deep in the mountains?

Why had it come here?

"Yesterday's hunt already felt off—there were way too many Wind Wolves. Maybe... something happened deep in Yundan Mountain!"

Robert Clark frowned deeply.

In the past, if the juniors managed to hunt a dozen Wind Wolves, it was considered a great result. But yesterday, the total was over fifty!

Thomas Clark's expression grew grave: "Now's not the time to discuss this. Since we can hear the Iron-Arm Bear's roar, it means it's not far from the manor. Let's all move out and kill it first. Otherwise, if it breaks into the courtyard, none of the younger generation will be able to stop it!"

Everyone realized the seriousness of the situation, and with solemn expressions, they all rushed quickly toward the direction of the roar.

They had barely left the manor when the roar sounded again, this time filled with anger and unwillingness.

Thomas Clark analyzed, "The Iron-Arm Bear seems to be fighting—and it's injured..."

Robert Clark: "That thing has the strength of a sixth-level martial artist, and its defense far surpasses that of humans. Even some elders would struggle to defeat it. Who could have wounded it?"

Thomas Clark said, "Whoever it is, whether human or beast, it can't be simple. Everyone, be careful and be ready to fight at any moment..."

Before he finished speaking, another sound came from the distance: "Hahahahahaha!"

"???"

The elders looked at each other in confusion.

Hearing laughter at a time like this felt a bit eerie...

After a moment's hesitation, James Clark said, "It sounds a lot like... that expert who stole the food!"

Thomas Clark nodded.

He heard it too—it was at least seventy or eighty percent similar to the voice on the recording crystal. To be able to make the Iron-Arm Bear wail so miserably... this expert's strength was probably even greater than they'd guessed!

"Whether friend or foe, everyone, don't act rashly..."

When they were still a short distance from the valley, the laughter rang out again.

"Hahahahaha..."

It turned into a loud, clear voice that quickly faded into the night.

"Gone?"

"Seems like it. Never mind, let's go check it out first, then decide what to do!"

Also completely baffled, everyone leapt forward, and a few minutes later, they arrived at the cave where the Iron-Arm Bear had wailed. Before even entering, in the dim light of the dying campfire, they saw the blood-soaked corpse lying on the ground.

Everyone's faces grew grave.