"BWAHAHAHAHA!!!" The voice laughed as Big Bear trembled. Lorne was outside the chamber and couldn't hear what was happening.

The whole chamber was blocked, and his tremendous sensing powers couldn't penetrate the isolation of the chamber. Big Bear was truly on his own.

"I'M JUST KIDDING, IF YOU'RE HEARING THIS I'M ALREADY DEAD! HAHAHAHA!!!" said The Bear King. "I GUESS THERE'S STILL THIS LITTLE SLIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS I LEFT HERE."

Behind a wall stood two men watched Big Bear facing the Bear King's consciousness. The wall provided one-way viewing. They could see out, but no one could see in.

"At last, this 'inheritance' chamber you had me set up seven thousand years ago is being used," Tie Long said.

The man he was speaking to, was a ghostly holo-projection of BS42. BS42 had the ability to send out a holo-pod to create a holographic version of himself so he could interact with the world. He could only talk with those on the outside and enjoyed getting out of the pod occasionally even if all he could do was pretend to be a ghost.

"How did you know the young Lord would make friends with the bear kid seven thousand years ago?" Tie Long asked.

"I didn't know anything. Remember, I had you set up several different inheritances throughout the forest. The young lord is bored playing kid games. This gives him something to do, and since he tends towards being selfless I knew he would pass these inheritances to his new friends. This will build a lot of goodwill in the forest and will be important later on," said BS42.

"Do you think the young lord will buy all of these coincidences?" Tie Long asked.

"He should, the young lord is very intelligent but not a deep thinker yet. This is a clear weakness for a King who should always be able to perceive the hidden agendas and manipulations of others.

“Of course, the young lord is still a kid so his shallow thinking is to be expected. My real hope is he can see through this plot. Until that happens we at least have an entertaining show to watch!" BS42 said with a smile.

"HEY, THERE LITTLE BEAR CUB! WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HERE?" the Bear King asked.

"Ancestor, I want to become strong sir. I want to go beyond the limits of this world. I have a little dragon brother who I know will need my strength one day. I also know without something special I'll never be of help to him," Big Bear said.

"OH, THIS DRAGON KID SOUNDS PRETTY INTERESTING BY GETTING ONE OF MY BEAR CUBS TO WANT TO BE HIS STRENGTH. WHAT MAKES HIM WORTHY, HMMM?" the Bear King asked.

"Ancestor, my instincts tell me this brother of mine is special. I also know he's a true friend. He could have kept the discovery of this place to himself and we bears never would have known. Instead, he immediately sent for me to give me a chance at acquiring this inheritance.

“Grandpa Bear once told me if I wanted to have a successful life I should find someone with a greater destiny and hold onto that person. I think that person with the greater destiny is my little dragon bro," Big Bear finished.

"IT SOUND INTERESTING. WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, BUT IF THIS IS THE PATH YOU CHOOSE YOU MUST NEVER TURN FROM IT. I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE INHERITANCE I LEFT HERE AND GUIDE YOU IN A PATH OF STRENGTH. THIS WILL TAKE SOME TIME. ARE YOU READY?" the Bear King asked.

"Yes, Bear Ancestor!" Big Bear said.

"THIS IS GOING TO HURT A LITTLE, JUST BEAR WITH IT!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" The Bear King laughed. A light descended from the ceiling and began to remold Big Bear's body. Simultaneously, cultivation and fighting techniques were taught to Big Bear.

In the adjacent room, BS42 and Tie Long continued their discussion.

"Is this Bear King someone real?" Tie Long asked.

"No, but it is based on a real person. A few million years ago an enormous beast cultivator invaded our Empire. At the time the Empire was still pretty small. He ran amuck and tore through everything while he laughed. He called himself: 'Xiǎochǒu Xióng: The Clown Bear.' He loved to laugh as he fought through our Empire. Eventually, it took the Emperor himself to catch this laughing bear and kill him. We raided his materials. We could never figure out which universe he was from.

“However, now I'm about eighty percent sure he came from this Universe. All the treasures in the chamber are replicas of Xiǎochǒu Xióng's treasures he had on him when he was killed. I've tweaked some of the items and cultivation systems to make them easier to utilize and increase their power," BS42 said.

"How did you do that?" Tie Long asked.

"You know the young lord's mother is a member of the Wu Di clan. I made a few pureblood Wu Di members. I'm having them go through all of our cultivation techniques right now to help perfect them," BS42 said.

"It's unbelievable, having people who can perfect any cultivation technique. Just imagine what would happen with a truly powerful technique," Tie Long said.

"There are limitations. I've taken to heart all of the warnings the young lord's mother gave. One of those exhortations was to never completely perfect any cultivation techniques, arrays, or pill formulas. According to her it would be a complete disaster for whoever practice or used such items," said BS42.

"I wonder why that is?" Tie Long asked.

"I don't know but my policy is safety first. If an expert tells you not to do something, don't do it unless you become a higher-level expert," BS42 said.

"Hmm, makes sense," Tie Long said.

Anyway, this legacy and its treasures have greater potential than the originals we took from that old bear. I wasn't going to give this bear cub such powerful techniques, but if he truly wants to be the young lord's strength then we should help him. The young lord will need as many strong helpers as he can get both now and later," BS42 concluded.

"Indeed," Tie Long said.

After several days Big Bear finally finished his transformation. When he stood up he felt the power coursing through his body. Somehow, he entered the Ascended realm. Just a few days ago he was a consolidated realm warrior cub. With his current strength, he could be added to the veteran hunting teams!

"NOT BAD LITTLE CUB! YOUR STRENGTH HAS GREATLY IMPROVED. YOUR BODY WAS MODIFIED BY ME SO THE BOTTLENECKS YOU'LL FACE IN THE FUTURE WILL BE GREATLY REDUCED. YOU ALSO REQUIRE FEWER MATERIALS TO LEVEL UP IN THE BODY STRENGTHENING ARTS I'VE TAUGHT YOU. NOW YOU NEED WEAPONS!" the Bear King said.

A wall opened opposite Big Bear and he found many different kinds of weapons. The weapon that caught his eye was a large Khanda sword. The sword looked like someone took a human-sized door made out of metal and attached a sword hilt to it. This sword was perfect for Big Bear. This wasn't a weak stabbing sword. It was a sword that crushed its enemies.

Big Bear grabbed the hilt of the sword and held it for the first time. He could feel his energy being drawn into the sword, and it connected the two as if by destiny!

"GOOD CHOICE LITTLE CUB. I USED THAT MOUNTAIN SPLITTER WHEN I WAS YOUNG LIKE YOU," the Bear King said.

"What about the rest of the weapons?" Big Bear asked.

"YOU WANT THEM FOR YOURSELF? SEEMS A LITTLE GREEDY," The Bear King said.

"No, for my tribe." Big Bear said.

"TAKE THEM ALL, I DON'T NEED THEM, I'M DEAD! HAHAHA!!!" The Bear King roared with laughter.

"DON'T FORGET TO FIND ARMOR AND STORAGE RINGS AND OTHER SUNDRIES AS WELL. BY THE WAY, WHEN YOU GIVE THESE GIFTS TO YOUR BEAR TRIBE YOU MUST TELL THEM THESE WEAPONS CAN ONLY BE USED BY THOSE WILLING TO SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR DESIRE TO BE THE STRENGTH OF THE LITTLE DRAGON YOU MENTIONED. IT WAS YOUR DESIRE TO BE HIS STRENGTH THAT INSPIRED ME TO BE SO GENEROUS AFTER ALL!" the Bear King said.

"Do they need to go with me?" Big Bear asked.

"NO, THEY CAN STAY IN THE TRIBE OR GO ADVENTURING. IT'S JUST WHEN YOU CALL THEY MUST ANSWER OR I WILL TAKE THOSE TOYS BACK!" the Bear King said.

"Toys?" Big Bear asked.

"THOSE ITEMS ARE FROM WHEN I WAS AN ADVENTURING CUB. I DON'T THINK THE BEARS HERE CAN HANDLE MY STRONGER TREASURES," the Bear King said.

As he finished speaking, a light came from a gem in the ceiling and flew into Big Bear's Mountain Splitter.

"IF YOU EVER GET STRONG ENOUGH, A MAP WILL BE UNLOCKED FROM THE MOUNTAIN SPLITTER. YOU CAN USE THE MAP TO FIND MY TREASURES FOR THE BIG KIDS. WELL, IF NO ONE ELSE HAS LOOTED THEM YET! HAHAHAHA!!!

"YOU'VE TAKEN ALL MY THINGS, IT'S TIME TO BE ON YOUR WAY LITTLE CUB," the Bear King said. The chamber went silent.

Big Bear solemnly bowed towards the direction of the sound.

"Don't worry ancestor bear, I'll use these treasures well!" Big Bear vowed.

Big Bear finally stepped out of the chamber and Lorne was shocked. Big Bear looked like an ancient hero decked out in amazing armor and bearing formidable weapons. His presence even seemed different.

"Big Bear, you look so heroic!" Lorne commented.

Big Bear looked down at Little Bear.

"HAHAHAHA. It's all thanks to you little brother!" Big Bear said.

"I'm glad you were successful. I need to get home. Mom told me I had to come home as soon as you got out. I'll talk to you later!" Lorne said.

With that Lorne blurred away. Lorne's speed was getting faster and faster. It was closer to his speed on Earth. None of the animal kids could keep up with him when he let loose.

"I'll talk to you later as well, Little Bear!" Big Bear whispered.

Big Bear jumped up through the hole in the ground and landed like thunder. Everyone was startled. The six bear brothers were still there but astounded seeing the results of the inheritance on Big Bear.

"Come, little brothers, we've earned great merit for the tribe. We'll all be hailed as heroes. But don't anyone of you forget this merit is only because Little Bear is such a faithful brother!" Big Bear bellowed.

"Big Bear, what did you get? You were gone for six days!" the six bears said clamoring around Big Bear.

"I'll show you when we meet with Grandpa and the Elders," Big Bear said.

The band of bear brothers bolted for the bear tribe. Soon the entire tribe was thrown off balance by the incredible treasures Big Bear brought to the tribe. Even more, they were overwhelmed with gratitude by the great selflessness Little Bear showed their tribe.

BS42 and Tie Long quietly left the chamber in BS42's holo-pod. Inside the pod, the pair sat as they conversed.

"BS42, who did the sliver of will belong to for the Bear King if the whole thing was made up?" Tie Long asked.

"It was a formation. It imitated a sliver of will. If a more powerful cultivator had been there he would see through this trick, but for a bunch of kids, it was easy enough," BS42 said.

"Wow, our Empire's means continue to become exceptional. Sometimes I wonder who will be able to stand against us in the future," Tie Long said.

"Whenever I have those thoughts I remember all the terrifying existences and the Empires behind them, and then I wonder 'How are we still here?'" BS42 said.

Silence took over the pod as the pair thought about the truly ancient Empires that made their relatively young Empire seem like a bunch of ants. The Zimwarn Empire had only existed a few million years while some of the other Empires endured for billions of years. They still had a long way to go until they could feel even slightly secure.

The pressure and fear of these other Empires were partly responsible for BS42 getting used by being. He thought his brother was rushing their Empire to ruin. He desperately feared those other Empires.

That's why they needed to increase the strength of every Zimwarn from the top down. Finding this new universe with such diverse and new biological lifeforms made him hopeful for the future.

BS42 was amazed at how big a power boost mixing dragon DNA with Zimwarn DNA provided. The gift of the Wu Di DNA was another huge boost to the strength of their race.

Lorne thought his people were invincible, but he knew better. Lorne only knew his people were powerful in comparison to himself. In comparison to many other older Empires, they were nothing.

"We still have a long way to go." A sigh escaped from BS42.

"True." Tie Long said.

"Alright, enough of this, we have things to do," BS42 said.

"Thanks for the diversion it was quite entertaining," Tie Long said.