Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 663: A Week In The Inner Ring

Han Yu left the cave at dawn when the light was still weak and cold.

His robe was stiff from the chill, but the warming formation quickly softened it. He got down from the cliff with steady steps, halberd strapped to his back, and made his way toward the direction marked on his map.

It took him several hours of wandering between scattered ridges before he finally discovered the narrow route carved into the rock. Once he confirmed it matched the records from the sect, he followed it without hesitation.

He refused to wander freely now. He had already paid the price for curiosity earlier. His life was more valuable than shaving a few days off the journey.

According to the old map, this route skirted the very edge of the Inner Ring. It would loop around the central territory entirely, then emerge out the other side of the Harrow Mountains. It was the path with the highest survival rate among the sect disciples who had taken missions here in the past.

Han Yu intended to keep it that way.

For several days he experienced no major danger. More beasts appeared, true, but they were manageable. A few Core Condensation realm wolves, a spotted ice lizard, a pair of stalking white foxes, and even a lean ash-gray snow cat. All of them were aggressive, territorial, and hungry, but none were remotely comparable to the wyvern or the ram.

Han Yu cut them down and moved on, conserving stamina and avoiding unnecessary fights whenever possible.

At night, the mountains came alive with sound.

Long distant roars.

Bone scraping howls.

Heavy wingbeats somewhere above the clouds.

The first night he could barely sleep. The second night he forced himself to meditate through it. By the fifth night, he no longer reacted to the sound of Nascent Soul realm beasts calling to one another in the dark.

So long as the sound was far away and did not approach from his direction, he tolerated it and buried himself deeper into whichever cave he could find.

When no cave was available, he punched into the stone wall and hollowed out one. The Bolt God Fist sent cracks exploding across the stone face until a chunk of rock collapsed out of the mountain.

Han Yu dragged the loosened rubble aside and created a cramped alcove for himself. He refused to sleep under the open sky anymore.

A week passed like that.

Then, another three days.

Now he was certain he had passed the midpoint of the Inner Ring.

He only realized how close he was when he reached a cliff overlooking a vast valley. The Inner Ring ended several tens of kilometers ahead, and right beyond it rose a titanic chain of mountains encircling the center like a colossal crown.

The peaks were so tall they pierced the clouds. Thick sheets of ice covered the entire range. They glowed blue and white under the daylight, shimmering like crystal walls.

This was the gate to the Central Area.

And even from here, Han Yu felt dread trickle through him.

On the cliffs of those mountains, dozens of small silhouettes raced and clashed. Some flew in circles. Some launched themselves from icy ledges. Sparks and streaks of elemental light burst into the air.

Every single one of those dots moved at speeds only Nascent Soul realm beasts could achieve.

Han Yu swallowed dryly.

"If these are the ones on the outskirts… the center must be terrifying."

He felt the Ice Qi in the air growing thicker. It pushed against his spirit Qi whenever he circulated his cultivation technique. The concentration of cold made the warming formation in his robe heat up slightly to maintain balance and he had to provide more spirit qi to stabilize them when it got too rough.

The Ice Qi was dense enough that absorbing it gave him almost nothing in return. It was too impure, too heavily aligned. Converting it drained more energy than what he gained. Elemental Spirit Qi absorption was pointless here unless one had a cold or frost affinity.

He continued onward.

The tenth day passed.

Then the eleventh.

On the fifteenth day, he encountered a problem.

A loud crack echoed across the valley. Trees shook. Birds fled. The ground under Han Yu's feet vibrated slightly.

He froze immediately.

Something large was approaching.

RUMBLE

A heavy, rhythmic thudding struck the earth. Leaves trembled. Snow slid off branches. The sound grew louder, and then a massive shape lumbered out from between the trees ahead.

The beast was enormous.

A bear, but not like any ordinary grizzly.

It stood nearly five meters tall when it reared on its hind legs. Its brown fur shimmered with an earthy sheen, as if layers of condensed spirit soil clung to its skin. Its claws glistened, each one nearly a foot long and sharper than chiseled bone.

Its fangs protruded like stone knives, and its black eyes radiated raw aggression.

Han Yu recognized it instantly.

"Rumbling Mountain Grizzly Bear."

A Core Condensation realm beast at minimum. And judging by its oppressive aura, it was at the peak of the realm or even halfway through the threshold to the Nascent Soul realm. With enough time, this monster would evolve.

ROARRRRR

The beast spotted Han Yu and growled. Its roar shook the entire valley.

Han Yu clicked his tongue. He had hoped it would ignore him. Instead, the grizzly charged.

The ground trembled under its weight as it barreled toward him with surprising speed. Han Yu dove aside, letting the beast smash through a massive boulder where he had been standing moments before.

SHATTER

The boulder shattered like dried clay.

Han Yu rolled onto his feet and flicked a Soul Needle at the bear's forehead.

The beast shook violently as the needle landed, but it did not stop. It only slowed for half a heartbeat before resuming its charge, angrier than before.

"That thick skull and rich vitality… of course it resists it more."

It swung its enormous paw.