"Giant Cave Bear," whispered Quan. "Sounds ominous, fill me in please."

"It's also called a Great Spirit Bear. It will actively hunt cultivators. They can be very dangerous if they get your scent," Qin supplied while Tram was still recovering from the long run.

"Bears aren't known to chase prey this long though? We ran for a good hour there," Quan wondered.

"You're right, and the distraction Junjie dropped might have worked too. But spirit bears have been known to track for days too. Even if we escape it will need to be dealt with," Qin said.

"By whom?" Tram asked nervously.

"Let's wait to see what the twins say," Qin replied.

"We just spent the last hour running, and you're thinking of fighting it now?" Quan said, "Isn't that a bit crazy?"

"There is a world of difference between fleeing when caught off guard and luring that same target into a trap," Qin said. "We put safety first, now we reassess if we can do the job we are meant to do."

"Go back to the arrays," Quan said.

"Protect the people," Qin replied seriously.

Tram began meditating as they talked, but Quan was too on edge to even consider it. He looked around at the forest. It was still mostly an open forest floor with the large tree canopy above, but the spots of brush, where something could be hidden, now seemed to loom larger.

"I've seen other bears in the woods. These are just bigger and meaner?" Quan asked.

"Spirit bears feed on Ki as much as they do normal food. Normally they look for areas of higher Ki than you see here." Qin answered. "Mountain tops, mystic caves are big attractions to them. It's why some have viewed them as treasure guardians to test the unworthy. I don't know why one would be wandering around down here."

Quan nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Tram if the Ki level was rising in the area would that explain why your spirit stones weren't used up like you expected?"

Tram opened his eyes and gave a slow reluctant, "Yes, but Ki levels don't just rise and fall like that."

Unless an ancient remnant was no longer stealing all the Ki to stay alive. Is this my fault?

After about fifteen minutes two figures dropped out of the tree above him nearly causing him to scream in panic as he swung his spear around at the twins. “Don’t bloody do that!” he said as loud as he dared.

“What did you find out?” Qin asked as he stepped close.

“It’s a juvenile, probably just left it’s mother and is probably looking to establish its own territory."

"You made us run like that from a juvenile?" Tram said, clearly annoyed as he still hadn't fully recovered from the run.

"If It had caught us unprepared it could easily kill us juvenile or not." Qin stepped in, "They made the right call."

"Well right now it's about thirty minutes behind us travelling in our general direction if nothing changes." Junjie said.

"What do you think?" Qin asked.

"The border arrays likely detected it. There's a good chance a party is forming for it." Tram said.

"Taking who knows how long to track it. We have it here, we could lure it into an ambush and get some great points." Junjie said.

"Not to mention, first claim on the corpse. There could be some nice weapon upgrades in it for us," Zao added. "We could lure it into you three at the ambush.

“Are we sure this is wise?” Quan asked. “I’ve gotten myself into trouble for not considering the downsides before.”

“Honestly, if it’s just a juvenile, we’d probably get more grief for not killing it than running,” Quan said, “but it is a close call.” He added reluctantly.

“Well, you are the leader,” Quan decided, “So if you think we can do this safely, tell me what you need from me."

"This clearing should work fine." Qin decided. "Tram, what options can you give us?"

"I have a slowing array, and a paralyzing array. They might not have full effect on something as large as a bear, but they should do the trick if we can get them in it."

"Okay, set up the slow and then the paralyze array in order. With any luck the twins can lure it in properly. When it runs through the slowing array we can hit it with arrows then the paralyze will hopefully last long enough we can get a spear into its heart."

"Simple plan, but that's the best kind." Zao said.

Tram began laying out the markers and items he needed for the arrays, as Junjie disappeared to keep an eye on their quarry. Quan suddenly had several spears, a couple of bows and quivers beside him. "You didn't think I only had cooking supplies hidden in storage did you?" Qin asked when he saw Quan's look. "Do you have anything hidden that can help? I'd be shocked if your two masters hadn't hidden a small storage device on you."

Quan looked inward at his ring but he knew there were no weapons. But he did note the healing potions if it went bad, and the unknown concoctions if things went desperate. Really desperate, I don't even know if they are meant to help or hurt. I wish this damn computer in my head had an identity and inventory feature. He mentally prodded the internal direction of his mind he had come to determine was the where the system resided.

Inventory file error 37% corruption.

Grant permission to storage device - finger.ring.1?

Yes

Building Inventory of ring..

What the hell? Now after all the times I've tried to issue commands. I need a damn manual. But still at only 37% he didn't expect much.

Qin handed him a bow and showed him where he wanted him to stand. "You're gonna be my backup. As it comes in we will all fill it with arrows. Aim for the legs if you can. Then when it hits the paralyze array it should be slow and hurt enough we can rush in and spear it's heart."

Two spears rested on a tree beside him as he waited with an arrow nocked. Soon enough he saw the twins dashing through the forest floor towards them, he aimed towards the rushing figures waiting for the right moment to shoot.

They rushed towards where Qin and Quan hid on either side of the ambush array. As they got close to the first array, Junjie leaped up into the trees leaving Zao to run the bear through the final area. Quan was stunned a moment as he saw the size of the beast charging them. Juvenile my ass! It was well over a meter at the shoulders and must have weighed over 600lbs. It's fur was dark black and and oversized teeth hung from its jaw that made Quan think saber tooth bear.

Zao danced over the array using his movement art and Tram made a final motion to activate them as Zao passed. Bits of ice flew at the bear clinging to its fur and slowing it down. Its leg frosted over and turned white. Arrows flew from Qin and Quan, followed moments later by shots from the twins. The bear's thick fur blunted much of the damage, but a couple shots had pushed through on its right foreleg. It roared in pain and raised up on its hind legs as it stepped forward some more. Now electric sparks flew as more arrows struck it and the electricity briefly paralyzed it. Qin dashed forward with his movement art and was instantly before the bear. With a well practiced thrust he struck straight through to the heart.

The group cheered as it fell to the ground with a thud. They all moved cautiously closer to it until Quan was able to reach down and cut its throat.

"Well done, perfect," Qin declared.

That was when they froze in fear as a roar rocked them. They turned as a larger bear burst into view. They had clearly just killed its cub as it began to charge the group.