Reversal

Chapter 4: Reversal

With an increase of just "0.1", Ning Xuan felt his strength, stamina, and even reaction speed had slightly improved.

Combining this with the panel that appeared before him, he naturally made a deduction.

His life, meaning his physique and spirit, were both only 1 point. During the fight with the Bear Demon, he had injured it and thus plundered some of its strength. This strength was external, which was why it showed "Heavenly Demon Scroll extra increase" and "1 (1.1)".

His true life was 1.

After attaching the Mountain Crashing Bear, it became 1.1.

Ning Xuan recalled the scene of his previous fight with the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon.

As the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon sustained wounds, the black smoke transferred to him, making him stronger while the Bear Demon grew weaker.

Although he didn't understand how, it was definitely related to the "Heavenly Demon Scroll".

'So, the key is how to inflict more damage on the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon more efficiently.'

Ning Xuan's eyes showed contemplation.

'In a head-on confrontation, I would be sent flying by the enraged Mountain Crashing Bear Demon in an instant, and even my hand bones would shatter immediately.'

He recalled the scene from "[Ten Parts, Four]".

He poured all his effort, used all his martial arts knowledge, summoned all his courage, and with a will to die, swung that fiercest, most violent blade.

That blade struck the small black mountain that was charging at high speed.

He was sent flying backward, his arms shattered. He even managed to complete his suicide by moving his body and sliding his neck across the upward-facing blade beside him.

The memory flashed by, and Ning Xuan reached a conclusion.

'Avoid head-on confrontation as much as possible.'

He suddenly stood up and put on his boots. He remembered that the manor's storeroom had an armory.

His father's occupation was unknown, but the armory actually contained repeating crossbows, which were strictly forbidden by the dynasty.

These items, along with armor, were classified as contraband, and private possession was punishable by death.

Yet, his father had hidden many.

Before dawn, Ning Xuan reappeared in the hanging basket.

He turned his head, looking at the narrow mountain pass, at the mountain mist churning out a gray light that flickered unstably.

He hadn't woken up this early since he was training with Martial Master Zhang.

At this hour, he would usually be cuddling with a beautiful woman in a warm bed, contemplating what to do today.

Should he feast? Visit courtesans? Hunt? Watch beast fights? Go horseback riding? Admire paintings? Appraise jade? Or perhaps visit the Wealthy Merchant Guild, which pleased him for two to three days, to see if there were any novelties from other regions, especially the Western Regions.

He had never imagined that one day he would have to fight for his life like this.

He couldn't.

He was a pretty boy, the only son of Old Master Ning. How could he fight for his life? Why should he fight for his life?

He could throw some silver, and there would be plenty of people willing to fight for him.

But now, he was doing it.

He was alone, facing this terrifying demon, "enjoying" this infernal hell in a cycle.

He stood quietly in the hanging basket, eyes slightly closed, his body relaxed to avoid any meaningless consumption, anticipating that he could give his all in the battle to come.

His heartbeat should have been rapid, but it was forcefully suppressed by a sense of calm, beating with a rhythmic tranquility.

Finally, a sliver of light appeared in the gap of his eyes.

A pale white light.

Finally, the sound of dripping water came from above his head.

The Bear Demon's saliva.

Ning Xuan suddenly sensed that the Bear Demon seemed to have weakened slightly. This was an unexpected joy, as it meant that within the "ten cycles," as long as he plundered the Bear Demon's strength, he would permanently strengthen, while the Bear Demon would permanently weaken.

Almost the next moment, time seemed to speed up.

The Bear Demon grabbed the rope, intending to drag the prey.

Ning Xuan jumped 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's black metal tube shot out hundreds, even thousands, of Pear Blossom Needles. The needles pierced the Bear Demon's eyes, while at the same time, the Bear Demon's claws grabbed his waist, piercing his flesh.

Ning Xuan swung his saber, a "Flying Swallow Chasing Wind," to expand the damage.

The Bear Demon, in pain, loosened its claws.

Ning Xuan fell, then abruptly pulled out another dagger, and with all his might, plunged it into a crack in the rock again. There was a remnant root of a withered pine in this crevice; he had observed it for a long time.

His waist was dripping blood. He inserted his long saber into the rock crevice, then flipped himself upright and gazed back at the Bear Demon.

The Bear Demon roared in anger and stopped holding back. It waved its sharp claws, each swipe cracking the rock, and crawled towards him, though its speed was slower on the ground.

He took out two rapid-fire crossbows from his back and repeatedly pulled the triggers.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!!

The crossbow bolts cut through the air, whistling as they flew.

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 the time it takes to snap one's fingers, the Bear Demon reached him. He stopped attacking, leaped off the cliff, and appeared in the bedroom.

He took a few breaths, and in the distance, the sound of everything being shattered could be heard again. The rumbling thunder and drumming sounds approached from afar.

He took out the rapid-fire crossbow he had prepared in the bedroom long ago and aimed it at the door.

BOOM!!

The door shattered!

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, he pulled the trigger.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish! The crossbow bolts shot into the smoke and dust, but their effect was minimal.

Bang!

He felt himself struck by a shattering, immense force.

He drew his spare dagger and quickly slashed at his own neck.

[Six out of Ten]

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crashing Bear (17/100)]

[Seven out of Ten]

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crashing Bear (30/100)]

[Eight out of Ten]

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crashing Bear (46/100)]

[Nine out of Ten]

Cliff, just before dawn, hanging basket

But there was more than one hanging basket; many were suspended in mid-air.

At [Eight out of Ten], Ning Xuan found his physique had become comparable to the Mountain Crashing Bear, even slightly surpassing it. Thus, he planned to fight it head-on, but... he was still paralyzed by the first collision with the Mountain Crashing Bear. The second collision caused his muscles to swell, and the third collision shattered his bones and tendons.

He understood a truth: this Mountain Crashing Bear Demon not only possessed a powerful physique and great vitality but also likely had its own demonic arts.

Even if his physique was on par with the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon, he was still no match if the Bear Demon unleashed its demonic arts.

The enhancement of his physique had made his previous work much easier. What once took him most of the night to design a hanging basket now saw at least ten hanging baskets already suspended from the cliff.

The enhancement of his physique wasn't just stamina, but also strength and speed. This speed encompassed 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.

At this moment, with the enhancement of his physique, his movements became even more agile.

The sky finally brightened.

Ning Xuan mechanically raised his head, meeting the Bear Demon's ferocious face, fear in his eyes.

The familiar scene repeated itself.

But what was unfamiliar was that after one hanging basket was destroyed, Ning Xuan, like a spirit ape in the mountains, used his dagger and the rock crevices to quickly move to another hanging basket.

And each hanging basket contained two rapid-fire crossbows.

The bear was like a gecko, the man like a spirit ape.

The hanging baskets swayed, and the crossbow bolts pierced the air, emitting a piercing whistling sound.

During the back-and-forth battle, the Bear Demon suddenly seized an opportunity, leaped, and pounced towards Ning Xuan, who was running towards the next hanging basket.

"Got you!"

Ning Xuan looked up in fear, then drew the long saber from behind him.

A mid-air slash.

The saber light scattered like snow!

Splash!!

The Bear Demon's left arm was instantly gashed open by a deep, inch-long wound. Black smoke poured out and was 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, but after that slash, the prey nimbly dodged again, grabbed a nearby hanging rope, and swung like a pendulum, coming towards it once more.

Ning Xuan's eyes were still filled with fear.

The Bear Demon, however, understood that this food was trying to trick it.

This food's strength was in no way inferior to its own.

It stopped charging at the food and turned to climb the cliff.

Its demonic art could only be unleashed on flat ground, and it needed to "run up" to activate it.

And at that very moment, a heart-wrenching pain shot from behind. It turned its head and saw the food shove the long saber fiercely into the most vulnerable spot behind its buttocks.

"Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!"

The Bear Demon let out an unimaginable shriek.

It exerted all its strength, unleashed its life's learning, mustered all its courage, and with a will to die, it made the fiercest, most intense leap.

It leaped onto the cliff and looked down, still shaken.

In its eyes, the food seemed to inflate all over, swelling by a whole circle, while it itself became thin and weak like a deflated ball.

The Bear Demon's eyes showed fear, and it turned to flee.

Ning Xuan glanced at the panel:

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Mountain Crashing Bear (65/100)]

[Life (Physique): 1 (2.7)]

[Spirit (Mind): 1]

He grabbed a black protruding rock on the cliff with one hand, exerted force, and his body leaped up over a zhang, landing steadily on the cliff top.

He twisted his neck, flicked his saber again, and his whole body was filled with boundless power.

Originally, he had arranged for a repeating crossbow mechanism in the bedroom, where a single pull could fire multiple crossbows simultaneously, but it seemed unnecessary now.

He walked into the Manor.

The Manor was very quiet at this moment, so quiet that the thin Bear Demon seemed to have vanished.

Ning Xuan concentrated slightly, listening.

His senses had become much sharper.

He heard an extremely suppressed breathing sound.

It was coming from the side courtyard.

He dragged his saber and walked over.

He saw a viewing rockery, and the faint breathing sound was coming from within.

He approached lightly.

The Bear Demon was hiding inside. It didn't know what had happened; it only felt sweat breaking out all over its body, and it was filled with 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 under the pale sunlight shattered.

Ning Xuan suddenly felt a slight pressure on his left arm, and a sticky, warm closeness against his body.

Ning Xuan opened his eyes and saw the beautiful maid lying on his left arm.

He looked back again, and his pupils slowly contracted.

[Ning Xuan]

[Heavenly Demon Scroll]

[Life Attribute Branch: Mountain Crashing Bear] (Not summoned)

[Life (Physique): 1]

[Spirit (Mind): 1]

He looked closer, and some new information emerged.

[Mountain Crashing Bear]

[Heavenly Demon Life Attribute Branch, Bear Order, Common Class, Mountain Crashing Species (Physique): 3.2] (Only main attribute displayed) (Can provide an additional Life attribute of 2.7 after summoning)

[Innate Demonic Art: Bear Prowess Mountain Collapse: Its speed is like the wind; the faster it goes, the fiercer its momentum. A single charge shatters the body.]

Looking again.

Another piece of information appeared.

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Perceive the coming Heavenly Demons, observe their root of life, forcibly refine the scroll. If refinement fails, one dies and vanishes; if refinement succeeds, it is turned to one's own use.]

Ning Xuan was stunned for a moment.

Does this mean that in the near future, that Mountain Crashing Bear will have to come again?