Fighting the Black Demonic Bear

Lin Lan still took his leave of Xiong Ba. Since he had brought the man out with him, he had to be responsible for him. That was the most basic principle.

If he had not been extremely familiar with this area and known there were no particularly powerful Magical Beasts around the outer perimeter, he would not have come running to Xiong Ba's place.

Over there, Zhao Li hurried as fast as he could and stepped into the Black Demonic Bear's territory.

Zhao Li began releasing his aura without restraint, then let out a long howl, provoking the Black Demonic Bear.

Sensing the slight tremors in the ground, Zhao Li quickly controlled his qi and blood, restrained his aura, and hid in the place he had chosen earlier.

Zhao Li was no reckless fool. What he had done before was merely to lure out the Black Demonic Bear. As the art of war said, "Thus, one skilled in battle draws others to him and is not drawn by others. Those who can make the enemy come of their own accord do so by offering advantage."

Zhao Li had only just hidden himself when he heard a roar. Soon, a pitch-black ball of light gradually grew larger in Zhao Li's field of vision. At last, he saw a rough, three-meter-tall black bear standing where Zhao Li had been earlier, like a decorative little hill in a park, and it let out another roar.

"Is that really a bear? Ordinary Tier 4 leopard-type Magical Beasts aren't even as fast as it! I just don't know whether that's its top speed. Better be careful and probe it a bit."

Zhao Li observed for a while and gained some confidence. Although he had never fought it before, in terms of the attribute of speed alone, Zhao Li could also easily reach that level.

Since he had decided to probe it, Zhao Li no longer hid. He walked out from behind the rock, picking his ear as he said unhappily, "Stinking bear, what are you roaring blindly for? This isn't your mating season either."

A Tier 4 Magical Beast already possessed considerable intelligence. At a glance, it understood Zhao Li's provocation and contempt toward it, and it roared at Zhao Li again.

Zhao Li watched the black bear roar, and a sense of déjà vu from old videos he had seen surged up in him. When an iron gate was between two dogs, they barked fiercer than each other, but once the gate opened, both lowered their flags and stopped barking. Zhao Li thought, If only there were something to record this, that would be perfect.

With his interest piqued, Zhao Li was in no hurry to attack. He crooked a finger at the Black Demonic Bear.

"Don't just roar. If you're not convinced, let's clash for real."

How could the Black Demonic Bear endure such grievance? It immediately swiped a bear paw at Zhao Li, preparing to press this little thing that had provoked it to the ground and properly teach him a lesson.

Zhao Li, who had been keeping his attention on the black bear, naturally would not be struck so easily. He dodged the palm-leaf-fan-like bear paw with a flash, while his mouth still did not stop.

"Oh my, so you're a bear who's ruthless and doesn't talk much. You have no martial virtue, launching a sneak attack. I advise you to quit while you're ahead."

Its first swipe accomplishing nothing, the Black Demonic Bear roared again and charged at Zhao Li once more.

After their first exchange, Zhao Li had a grasp of things and relaxed.

The Black Demonic Bear's subsequent attacks were all dodged by Zhao Li one by one. From time to time, Zhao Li even struck it a few times. Although the blows were neither painful nor itchy, they seemed to enrage the black bear. With a roar, the already towering physique of the black bear grew even thicker by another size.

Zhao Li had just adapted to the rhythm of the battle when the Black Demonic Bear went berserk, catching him off guard. One careless moment, and he was slapped by the Black Demonic Bear, crashing into a small hill and stirring up a cloud of dust. His Dou Qi Armor was nearly scattered, and his qi and blood churned. If not for his sturdy physique, he likely would have died here.

Zhao Li looked at the ferocious black bear. A wise man did not fight when the odds were against him, so he quickly left.

The Black Demonic Bear saw that Zhao Li could still run so fast after taking a solid bear-paw strike and was a little stunned, then chased after him. In this region, it, Young Master Xiong, had always had everyone make way when they saw it. When had it ever suffered such provocation? It would definitely make this person pay the price.

Seeing that the Black Demonic Bear refused to let it go and had chased after him, Zhao Li did not dare be careless. He restrained his aura, sped up, left the black bear's line of sight, and hid. Watching the black bear sweep past, Zhao Li also felt a burst of alarm.

"I really was careless. Those battles before were all crushing victories, so there was no real battle rhythm to speak of. I didn't expect that this time, I'd actually be led around by a bear and suffer a big loss."

"This Black Demonic Bear isn't ordinary either. Could it be some kind of Variant Beast? Its combat strength is powerful, and ordinary Tier 5 Magical Beasts are unwilling to provoke it. No wonder it can claim territory and reign as king while only being Tier 4."

While Zhao Li was summarizing, he also discovered what was special about this Black Demonic Bear. During that chase just now, there had been almost no Magical Beasts along the way. The few he occasionally saw were prostrated on the ground, trembling. Zhao Li took it that they had been overawed by the Black Demonic Bear.

As the sun gradually sank, only orange-red autumn clouds were scattered across the horizon. As the sky gradually darkened, the forest seemed to lose its vitality as well.

Zhao Li leaned against a tree, recalling today's battle in his mind, analyzing and summarizing it over and over again.

"An evenly matched opponent really is important. Today's battle was truly satisfying. After this fight, I can at least barely say I know myself. Sigh, if only I hadn't been so wretched at the end."

Zhao Li thought of how that slap from the black bear had made his qi and blood churn and left him in such a sorry state, and he sighed.

"Don't panic, Little Bear. I'll come find you again after some time. I'll definitely return that slap."

Zhao Li had quite a few insights he needed to digest, so for the time being, he was not prepared to go provoke that black bear again.

Several days later, Zhao Li absorbed and digested his insights, gaining no small improvement.

Full of energy and in peak condition, Zhao Li once again stepped into the Black Demonic Bear's territory. He still released his aura to provoke it, but this time he did not hide. He simply stood there, waiting for the Black Demonic Bear to come over.

The Black Demonic Bear had originally been sleeping soundly inside its Cave Dwelling. The moment it sensed Zhao Li's aura, it jolted awake and climbed up.

Thinking of what had happened a few days ago, Big Xiong let out a great roar and left the Cave Dwelling. This time, it would definitely let that annoying fellow know the consequences of provoking this bear.

Seeing the Black Demonic Bear appear, Zhao Li grinned and greeted it, "Hi, Little Bear, I'm back."

This time, Big Xiong no longer roared. Upon seeing Zhao Li, it used Bear Charge, stretching out its bear paw to slap Zhao Li.

After their fight last time, Zhao Li had a grasp of this bear's methods, strength, speed, and defense. He no longer kept blindly dodging either. Adjusting his Dou Qi Armor to focus its defense on vital points, he began an exchange of blows with it, fighting fist to flesh.

Big Xiong was naturally delighted to see Zhao Li no longer jumping around like a monkey.

Zhao Li actually had not mastered many Dou Techniques. Most of his attacks were with his fists, and he occasionally condensed Dou Qi into objects to interfere.

This fight sent sand and stones flying. Rocks, trees, and the forest all suffered undeserved disaster.

After a long time, the offensive of the man and the bear slowed. Seeing that the black bear's berserk state seemed to have ended, Zhao Li panted heavily, recovered a little, then turned and left.

"Little Bear, I'll definitely be back!"

Only the black bear's impotently furious roars remained in this place.

Zhao Li returned to the dwelling he had found earlier, investigated it, and found nothing unusual. He sealed the cave entrance and began cultivating.

After a long time, Zhao Li recovered. He carefully summarized things and felt that his offensive methods were ultimately still a little weak.

"Whew. Although I've comprehended a tiny trace of Momentum, and my punches and kicks can mobilize a certain amount of Heaven and Earth Energy, greatly strengthening their offensive effect, I ultimately don't have any powerful Dou Techniques or trump cards. That won't do. I must find some Dou Techniques to study. That can also improve my use of Dou Qi."