Chapter 4: Reversal
The slight increase of “0.1” made Ning Xuan feel a subtle improvement in his strength, stamina, and even reaction speed.
Coupled with the panel that appeared before his eyes, he naturally drew a conclusion.
His life, meaning physique and spirit, was only 1 point. During the fight with that Bear Demon, he had wounded it and thus plundered part of its strength. This strength was external, which explained the words “extra increase from Heavenly Demon Scroll” and “1 (1.1)”.
His true life was 1.
After attaching the Mountain Crushing Bear, it became 1.1.
Ning Xuan recalled the scene of his previous battle with the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon.
As the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon suffered wounds, black smoke transferred to him, making him stronger while weakening the demon.
Although he didn’t understand how, it was definitely related to the “Heavenly Demon Scroll.”
‘So, the key lies in how to deal more damage to the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon more efficiently.’
Ning Xuan’s eyes showed deep thought.
‘In a head-on confrontation, I would be instantly sent flying by the enraged Mountain Crushing Bear Demon, and my bones would shatter in an instant.’
He recalled the scene from [Ten of Four].
He exerted all his strength, employed all his learned skills, mustered all his courage, and with the resolve of facing death, unleashed that fiercest, most potent saber strike.
That strike landed on the swiftly charging black mountain.
He was sent flying backward, his arms shattered, and he even managed to take his own life by shifting and dragging his neck across the upward-facing blade, narrowly succeeding.
As the memories flashed by, Ning Xuan concluded.
‘Avoid direct confrontation as much as possible.’
He abruptly stood up and put on his boots. He remembered that the manor’s storehouse contained an armory.
He didn’t know what his father did, but the armory actually contained Rapid-fire Crossbows, which were strictly forbidden by the dynasty.
Such items, along with armor, were classified as contraband. Private possession was punishable by beheading.
Yet, his father had hidden many.
Before dawn, Ning Xuan reappeared in the hanging basket.
He tilted his head, looking at the narrow mountain pass, at the mountain mist churning with uncertain grey light and shadow.
He had only woken up this early when he trained martial arts with Master Zhang Wu, and never since.
At this time, he would typically be embracing a beautiful woman in a warm, fragrant bed, contemplating what to do for the day.
Would it be a feast? Visiting courtesans? Hunting? Beast fighting? Horse riding? Appreciating paintings? Valuing jade? Or perhaps visiting the Fugui Chamber of Commerce, which pleased him every other day, to see if there were any novelties from afar, especially from the Western Regions.
He had never imagined that one day he would have to fight for his life like this.
He didn’t know how.
He was a pampered idler, the only son of Master Ning. How could he fight for his life? Why should he fight for his life?
He could throw a handful of silver, and there would be plenty of people willing to fight for him.
But now, he had learned how.
He stood completely alone, facing this terrifying Demonic creature, alone in this inferno, “enjoying” it in a cyclical manner.
He stood quietly in the hanging basket, eyes slightly closed, body relaxed, to avoid any meaningless expenditure, anticipating that he could exert his full strength in the upcoming battle.
His heart should have been pounding, but it was forcefully suppressed by a profound calmness, beating with a rhythmic tranquility.
Through the narrow gap of his eyelids, he finally perceived a sliver of light.
A pale white light.
The sound of dripping water finally reached his ears from above.
The Bear Demon’s slobber.
Ning Xuan suddenly sensed that the Bear Demon seemed to have weakened slightly. This was an unexpected joy, as it meant that in the “Ten Cycles,” as long as he plundered the Bear Demon’s strength, he would be permanently enhanced, while the Bear Demon would be permanently weakened.
Almost instantly, time seemed to accelerate.
The Bear Demon grabbed the hemp rope, attempting to drag its prey.
Ning Xuan leaped out of the basket, grasping a dagger in one hand, suspended on the cliff face.
The Bear Demon climbed down like a gecko.
Ning Xuan let go.
The Bear Demon reached for him.
Ning Xuan’s left hand unleashed hundreds, even thousands, of Pear Blossom Needles from the black metal tube. The needles struck the Bear Demon’s eyes, and simultaneously, the demon’s claws grasped his waist, piercing his flesh.
Ning Xuan swung his saber, a Flying Swallow Chasing Wind, to expand his advantage.
The Bear Demon, in pain, released its grip.
Ning Xuan plummeted, then sharply drew another dagger, and with all his might, jammed it into a rock crevice. He had observed this crevice, which contained the remnant roots of a dead pine tree, for a long time.
His waist was dripping blood. He jammed his saber into the rock crevice as well, then flipped himself up, standing, and looked up, once again facing the Bear Demon from a distance.
The Bear Demon roared in anger, abandoning all restraint. It brandished its claws, each strike cracking the rock, and climbed towards him. However, its speed was not as fast as on the ground.
He took out two Rapid-fire Crossbows from behind him and continuously pulled their triggers upwards.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
The crossbow bolts cut through the air, whistling furiously.
Slight wisps of black smoke appeared on the Bear Demon’s body, and his own body seemed to possess a suction force, drawing the black smoke towards him.
He was growing stronger; the Bear Demon was growing weaker.
In a flash, the Bear Demon was upon him. He stopped attacking and leaped off the cliff, appearing in his bedroom.
He took a few breaths, and from afar, the sound of everything shattering once again echoed, that rumbling thunderous drumming approaching from the distance.
He took out the Rapid-fire Crossbow he had prepared in the bedroom and aimed it at the door.
Boom!!
The door shattered!
Dust billowed, and he pulled the trigger.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh! The bolts shot into the dust, but their effect was minimal.
Bang!
He felt a crushing force impacting him.
He drew his spare dagger and quickly slit his own throat.
[Ten of Six]
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crushing Bear (17/100)]
[Ten of Seven]
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crushing Bear (30/100)]
[Ten of Eight]
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crushing Bear (46/100)]
[Ten of Nine]
Cliff, pre-dawn, hanging basket.
But there were now more than one hanging basket; many were suspended in mid-air.
By [Ten of Eight], Ning Xuan found that his physique was comparable to the Mountain Crushing Bear, even slightly surpassed it. Thus, he planned a head-on battle, but… he was still paralyzed by a single collision with the Mountain Crushing Bear, his muscles engorged from the second impact, and his bones crushed by the third.
He understood a truth: this Mountain Crushing Bear Demon not only possessed immense physique and life, but also likely had its own demonic arts.
Even if his physique was on par with the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon, if the demon unleashed its arts, he would still be no match.
The enhancement of his physique had made his previous tasks much easier. What once took him most of the night to design a hanging basket now resulted in… at least ten hanging baskets already suspended on the cliff face.
The enhancement of physique wasn’t just stamina, but also strength and speed, including running speed, reaction speed, and so on.
When he practiced the “Swallow Chasing Wind Saber,” he had already trained in footwork.
The first stance, “Flying Swallow Chasing Wind,” required coordination with footwork.
Now, with the improvement in his physique, his movements became even more agile.
The sky finally brightened.
Ning Xuan mechanically looked up, meeting the ferocious face of the Bear Demon, his eyes filled with fear.
The familiar scene replayed itself.
But what was unfamiliar was that after one hanging basket was ruined, Ning Xuan, like a nimble ape in the mountains, quickly leaped to another by using daggers and rock crevices.
And each hanging basket held two Rapid-fire Crossbows.
The bear like a gecko, the man like a nimble ape.
The hanging baskets swayed back and forth, and the crossbow bolts cut through the air with a piercing whistle.
During the back-and-forth combat, the Bear Demon suddenly seized an opportunity, lunged, and pounced at Ning Xuan, who was running towards the next hanging basket.
“Got you!”
Ning Xuan looked up fearfully, then drew the saber from behind him.
A strike in mid-air.
The saber light splashed like snow!
Crash!!
A deep gash, several inches long, was ripped open on the Bear Demon’s left arm. Black smoke poured out, being drawn towards Ning Xuan.
In that instant, the Bear Demon’s mind went almost blank, buzzing.
In its eyes, the agile prey’s eyes still held fear, intense fear, yet after that strike, it skillfully leaped away, grabbed a dangling rope, and like swinging on a swing, approached it again.
Ning Xuan’s eyes remained fearful.
The Bear Demon understood; this prey was bluffing.
This prey’s strength was by no means inferior to its own.
It no longer faced the prey, turned, and began to climb the cliff.
Its demonic arts could only be performed on flat ground, and it needed “running start” to activate them.
Just then, a heart-wrenching pain came from behind. It turned its head and saw the prey plunge the saber fiercely into the most vulnerable spot behind its buttocks.
“Aoooaoooooo!!!”
The Bear Demon let out an unimaginable scream.
It exerted all its strength, employed all its learned skills, mustered all its courage, and with the resolve of facing death, performed a fiercest, most potent leap.
It leaped onto the cliff, looking down below with lingering fear.
In its eyes, the prey seemed to inflate all over, swelling by a circle, while it became skinny like a deflated ball.
The Bear Demon showed fear, turned, and fled.
Ning Xuan glanced at the panel:
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crushing Bear (65/100)]
[Life (Physique): 1 (2.7)]
[Spirit (Mental): 1]
He grabbed a black protruding stone on the cliff with one hand, exerted force, leaped several yards, and landed steadily on the cliff top.
He rolled his neck, twirled his saber again, and felt an inexhaustible power surge through him.
Originally, he had arranged for a rapid-fire crossbow mechanism in his bedroom, which could fire multiple crossbows simultaneously with a single trigger pull. Now, it seemed it wouldn’t be needed.
He walked into the manor.
The manor was quiet now, so quiet that the skinny Bear Demon seemed to have vanished.
Ning Xuan concentrated slightly, listening.
His perception had become much sharper.
He heard an extremely suppressed breathing sound.
It was coming from the side courtyard direction.
He dragged his saber and walked over.
He saw a viewing rockery, and the faint breathing sound came from within.
He approached with light steps.
The Bear Demon was hiding inside. It didn’t know what had happened; it only felt sweat breaking out all over its body, and fear.
Suddenly, it felt something was wrong. It mechanically turned its head slowly, then met a ferocious saber light.
As the Bear Demon died, the manor shattered under the pale sunlight.
Ning Xuan suddenly felt a slight pressure on his left arm and a warm, sticky closeness to his body.
Ning Xuan opened his eyes and saw the beautiful maid lying on his left arm.
Glancing back, his pupils slowly constricted.
[Ning Xuan]
[Heavenly Demon Scroll]
[Life Attribute Gate 1: Mountain Crushing Bear] (Not yet summoned)
[Life (Physique): 1]
[Spirit (Mental): 1]
He looked closer, and some new information appeared.
[Mountain Crushing Bear]
[Life Attribute of Heavenly Demon Clan, Bear Order, Ordinary Class, Mountain Crushing Species (Physique): 3.2] (Only primary attribute displayed) (Can provide an additional Life Attribute of 2.7 after being summoned)
[Innate Demonic Art: Bear Demon’s Innate Technique (Bear Rippling Collapse Mountain): Its speed is like the wind, the faster it is, the more ferocious its momentum, shattering the physique of a human with one impact.]
Looking again.
Another piece of information appeared.
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Sensing the imminent arrival of the Heavenly Demon, observing the root of its life, forcibly refining the scroll. Failure to refine results in death and dissipation of the Dao, success in refining allows it to be used for oneself.]
Ning Xuan was stunned for a moment.
Did this mean that in the near future, the Mountain Crushing Bear would have to come again?
(End of Chapter)
