In the throes of agony, Ning Xuan's thoughts stirred. He quickly turned the dagger he'd been aiming at the bear demon and plunged it into himself.
In that instant, a line of red, bloody characters suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Three out of Ten]
Pfft!
The dagger pierced his throat.
It hurt.
But nowhere near as much as being eaten by the bear.
Ning Xuan suddenly twisted, and the sharp dagger sliced through his throat as easily as it would cut tofu.
He lay on the ground, blood gurgling from his neck, his consciousness quickly growing hazy.
When he opened his eyes again, he was much calmer.
He instinctively felt his neck. It was completely healed.
He lay on his back on the bed, staring at the white gauze curtains hanging overhead, then slowly sat up.
The room was still gray.
He murmured:
"Suicide works. At least I can ease the pain of being devoured."
"But what does 'three out of ten' mean?"
After a brief silence, he dashed out of the room and into the guardhouse. He took a dagger and a long saber, then quickly held the dagger to his throat.
The bloody red characters appeared again:
[Four out of Ten].
He focused on them. Beneath [Four out of Ten], a line of small text slowly emerged: If you have not succeeded after seven more attempts, the ending will become unchangeable, and the nightmare will never end.
So "ten" was the maximum number of loops, and "four" represented the current loop. Whenever he tried to kill himself, this information would appear to warn him not to do anything foolish.
A wave of helplessness rose in Ning Xuan's heart.
He couldn't imagine how he could succeed in the seven loops he had left.
"At the very least, I have to wound the bear demon first."
Thinking this, he swung the long saber beneath the moonlight.
At first, his blade was dull and clumsy, but it soon grew nimble. Then, with one more stroke, it burst into the dazzling flourish unique to a trained martial artist.
He moved as lightly as a swallow, then suddenly struck, unleashing a blade flash like splashing snow. As he drew back, his saber traced a brilliant arc, like the elegant path a swallow carved through the sky as it wheeled back.
This was the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.
After traveling to this world, Ning Xuan had once thought it might hold supernatural powers. He had pursued them and searched for them, but found nothing. So he had devoted himself to martial arts instead—not in hopes of becoming a grandmaster, but simply to protect himself.
He had mastered the three core forms of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.
First form: Flying Swallow Chasing Wind. It sought speed. If you could kill with speed, why bother striking a second time?
Second form: Swallow Piercing Raging Waves. It sought ferocity. Building on the speed of the first form and combining it with full-body power, this strike carried tremendous force and momentum, like a flying swallow cutting through raging, surging waves.
Third form: Skillful Swallow Returning to Roost. It sought retreat, though danger still lurked within it. Like a returning spear or a dragging-blade feint, the saber struck back as its wielder withdrew, catching the enemy off guard.
He spent half an hour refreshing his memory of the saber art he had nearly forgotten, reawakening his "muscle memory," then hung the saber at his waist.
Ning Xuan also remembered that there was another expert at the mountain estate. The man was an old fellow with a kindly face, yet the fierce guards held him in awe—their reverence was written plainly on their faces.
After thinking it over, he went to the old man's room and rummaged through everything.
A joss stick's worth of time later, he had a long, dark metal tube in hand. He had found it in a secret compartment beneath the old man's bed.
A simple strap at the bottom of the black tube could clearly secure it to an arm, while the mechanism was at the top, apparently designed to be triggered with one hand.
Ning Xuan secured it to his left arm, bent and extended it, then kept adjusting it until he was certain it fit perfectly.
"Still not enough."
Ning Xuan recalled his previous attempts.
The first time, he had no weapon, and the bear demon had immediately started eating him.
But starting with the second time, when he took a weapon, the bear demon always turned its back to him as it ate.
The bear demon's hide was as thick as heavy armor. Even blades and spears could barely penetrate it. Even if this metal tube held powerful hidden weapons, they probably wouldn't pierce the beast.
Standing in the courtyard beneath the night wind, the young man racked his brains. When he looked up, he saw that the moon had passed its zenith. Dawn was not far off.
Suddenly, an idea came to him.
At least he could give it a try.
Inside the hanging basket.
Ning Xuan stood still.
He had changed into a robe with wide sleeves.
He had done everything he could to calm himself and restore his strength.
His gaze was sharp, focused, bloodthirsty, and crazed.
There was great terror between life and death—especially when he had died three times!
And not merely died. He had been eaten alive!
Three times!!
Slowly, dawn came.
The pale sun cast pale light over the mountains and sea of mist, bleaching everything white.
A drop of foul bear drool fell from above.
Ning Xuan raised his head and met the bear demon's mocking grin.
The next instant, the bear demon seized the hanging basket's hemp rope, and Ning Xuan leaped out of the basket.
Whoosh!!
The bear demon yanked the basket upward. Empty, it flew backward like a stone hurled from a catapult.
Ning Xuan's left hand moved, driving the dagger into a crack in the rock. He had tested it repeatedly and made sure of the spot; the dagger went in with ease.
The man and demon faced each other again, far apart.
The bear demon's mocking grin froze, turning to anger.
Ning Xuan hung in midair, gripping the dagger with one hand.
The next instant.
Smack!
The empty basket hit the ground. The bear demon hunched over, wrapped its legs around the old tree, and reached down with both claws as if trying to scoop the moon from a pond. It stood several yards tall; by all rights, it should have been able to reach Ning Xuan.
Unfortunately, this time Ning Xuan's basket had been lowered much farther.
He had lowered himself down the cliff, seemingly with no intention of climbing back up.
And yet, if he wanted to return, all he had to do was leap onto the cliff.
The bear demon apparently didn't know that.
It reached down several times, but failed to catch Ning Xuan.
Once more, amid the swaying, the man and demon locked eyes.
The bear demon said, "A clever brain like yours must taste delicious. A body this sinewy must have a real chew to it."
Ning Xuan reminded it, "This cliff is deep."
The bear demon asked, with an almost human air, "How deep?"
"Jump down and find out."
Just then, the bear demon suddenly leaped. It plunged headfirst, its sharp claws shooting out several inches, like a weapon fitted with steel talons.
Screech!!
Its claws dug into the cliff face.
The bear demon secured itself again, hanging upside down on the cliff like a giant gecko. It was now very close to Ning Xuan.
"Fool. Bears can climb trees. I've cultivated until I became a demon. What makes you think I can't climb a mountain?"
As it spoke, it quickly crawled toward Ning Xuan.
Its huge, bulky body, armored like a tank, pressed down with a terrifying weight. Its face drew closer and closer, its eyes glinting coldly.
Those eyes crept closer and closer to the hand Ning Xuan had hanging in midair.
When it drew near enough,
Ning Xuan suddenly let go with his left hand.
The bear demon froze. Naturally, it didn't want its prey to slip away, so it quickly reached down with both hands, scooping as if to catch the moon.
Its face came closer still. Ning Xuan lay back, facing upward, his sleeve falling open to reveal the dark, chilling metal tube aimed at the bear demon's face—or, rather, the bear demon's face lunging toward his left hand.
He triggered the mechanism.
In an instant, like a sudden summer downpour, a rain of long and short needles erupted in a ceaseless stream, sweeping upward in a vast flood. These were specially made Pear Blossom Needles, now transformed into a sudden downpour of streaking lines that blanketed the bear demon's entire face.
The bear demon had no time to shut its eyes. Needles pierced both pupils.
But Ning Xuan's waist was also hit hard by the bear demon's grasp.
Sharp claws stabbed into his flesh.
Ning Xuan gave a muffled groan of pain. Then his right hand seized the long saber and flung it out, striking the bear demon's face with another heavy blow.
The bear demon cried out in pain. Wisps of black smoke drifted from its wound and passed into Ning Xuan, while the beast itself seemed to grow a little weaker.
Its claws loosened as a result, letting Ning Xuan fall.
Thump!
Ning Xuan landed back in the bedroom.
His waist burned with pain, but then he was astonished to discover that his arms had grown thicker. His spindly arms, once those of a "pretty boy," had become the muscular limbs of a "brawny man."
"The bear demon's power came to me through the black smoke. As long as I can wound it, I can seize its strength. I don't understand what this is, but this nightmare loop is strange to begin with. This has to be the key to breaking it." Ning Xuan understood.
At that moment, an enraged roar sounded in the distance.
The buildings began to collapse, the walls crumbled, and the black bear demon came charging from afar like a black whirlwind, smashing everything in its path.
Ning Xuan gripped his long saber, left the bedroom, and stood in the courtyard.
His speed and strength were both far inferior to the bear demon's.
Still, at least he now had the resolve to die fighting.
"Flying Swallow Chasing Wind! Swallow Piercing Raging Waves!"
He charged at the bear demon, rushing toward death as he swung that most fierce and forceful strike.
With the strength he had just gained, the blow exploded in midair with the crack of thunder.
[Five out of Ten]
On the bed, when Ning Xuan hooked five fingers around his neck, words flashed before his eyes.
His gaze shifted sideways, taking in his now-strong arm.
The enhancement he had gained from the bear demon's blood seemed to have survived the loop.
Then—
Lines of information abruptly appeared before him:
[Ning Xuan]
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crashing Bear (7/100)]
[Life (Constitution): 1]
[Nature (Spirit): 1]
Just then, the "1" in the [Life] column slowly shifted forward, becoming "1 (1.1)," with a small note beside it: Additional increase from the Heavenly Demon Scroll.
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