Chapter 3: Heavenly Demon Record

In the midst of excruciating pain, a thought suddenly stirred in Ning Xuan’s mind. He swiftly turned the dagger he was hacking at the bear demon with and plunged it into himself.

In that instant, a line of red, bloody words suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Three of Ten]

Pfft!

The dagger plunged into his throat.

It was very painful.

But it was nothing compared to the pain of being gnawed on by the bear.

Ning Xuan twisted violently, and the sharp dagger cut through his throat as if it were tofu.

He lay on the ground, blood gushing from his neck, and his consciousness quickly faded.

When he opened his eyes again, he was much calmer.

He subconsciously touched his neck. It was completely intact.

He lay on his back on the bed, looking at the hanging white gauze curtains, then slowly sat up.

The room was still a shade of gray.

He murmured:

“Suicide works. At least it can alleviate the suffering of being eaten by the bear.”

“But what does ‘three of ten’ mean?”

After a brief silence, he rushed out of the room, went to the guard’s room, took the dagger and long saber, and then quickly placed the dagger against his neck.

The bloody red words appeared again:

[Four of Ten].

He focused his gaze, and after [Four of Ten], another line of small words slowly appeared: If you do not succeed after seven more times, the outcome will be unchangeable, and the nightmare will never end.

So “ten” was the maximum number of cycles, and “four” represented the current number of cycles. When he wanted to commit suicide, this information would appear, reminding him not to do anything foolish.

A sense of powerlessness immediately rose in Ning Xuan’s heart.

He couldn’t imagine how he could succeed in the remaining seven cycles.

“At the very least, I have to injure that bear demon first.”

Ning Xuan thought, and then brandished the long saber in the moonlight.

At first, his saber was dull and clumsy, but soon the long saber became light and agile, and in one instance, it even burst forth with the “brilliance” unique to a trained martial artist.

His body was as light as a swallow, and then he suddenly slashed, creating a saber light like splashing snow. When he retracted it, he drew a beautiful arc, like the trajectory of an elegant swallow soaring back through the air.

This was the “Wind-Chasing Swallow Saber.”

Since transmigrating here, Ning Xuan had once thought that this world might have some extraordinary powers. He had pursued them, searched for them, but had found nothing. So he had also been engrossed in martial arts, not seeking to become a great master, but only to be able to protect himself.

He had practiced the three core forms of this “Wind-Chasing Swallow Saber” to a decent degree.

The first form: Flying Swallow Chasing the Wind, seeking the word “fast.” If you can kill with speed, why bother with a second strike?

The second form: Swallow Piercing the Raging Waves, seeking the word “fierce.” By stacking the speed of the first form and coordinating it with strength techniques, this strike was exceptionally powerful and heavy, like a swallow piercing through a raging tide.

The third form: Deft Swallow Soaring Back, seeking the word “retreat.” Although it was a retreat, it still concealed a killing intent, like a feigned retreat and a surprise attack, striking back while retreating, making it impossible to defend against.

He spent half an hour reviewing this saber technique that he had almost forgotten, activating his “muscle memory,” and then hung the saber at his waist.

Ning Xuan also remembered that there was actually another expert in this mountain villa. That expert was an old man, kind-faced and benevolent, but those fierce guards were particularly respectful of him, a respect that was written on their faces.

He recalled for a moment, then went to the old man’s room and rummaged through it.

An incense stick’s time later, he had a dark and cold metal long tube in his hand. This was found in a secret box under the old man’s bed.

The bottom of the black long tube had a simple and clear strap, obviously for fixing it to the arm. The mechanism was at the top, obviously triggerable with one hand.

Ning Xuan fixed it to his left arm, then slightly bent his arm, flexed it, and continued to adjust it until he was sure it was completely unobstructed.

“It’s not enough.”

Ning Xuan recalled the previous few times.

The first time, he had no weapon, and the bear demon just started gnawing.

But from the second time he had a weapon, the bear demon always gnawed on him with its back to him.

The bear demon’s hide was extremely thick, like heavy armor, and even sabers and spears could hardly penetrate it. Even if this metal long tube contained powerful hidden weapons, it was unlikely they could pierce through.

The young man stood in the courtyard in the night wind, deep in thought. He looked up and saw that the moon had passed its zenith, and it was not long until dawn.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

At least he could give it a try.

In the hanging basket…

Ning Xuan stood quietly.

He had changed into a robe with wide sleeves.

He had done his best to calm down and conserve his energy.

His eyes were filled with sharpness, focus, bloodlust, and madness.

There was great terror between life and death, not to mention he had died three times!

Not just died, but eaten alive!

Three times!!

The sky slowly brightened.

The deathly pale scorching sun cast a deathly pale light, illuminating the mountains and the sea of mist in a deathly pale hue.

A drop of fishy bear saliva dripped from above.

Ning Xuan raised his head and met the bear demon’s mocking smile.

The next moment, the bear demon grabbed the hemp rope of the hanging basket, and Ning Xuan jumped out of the hanging basket.

Swoosh!!

The bear demon yanked the hanging basket, and the empty basket flew backwards like a stone thrown from a catapult.

Ning Xuan moved his left hand and inserted the dagger into a crevice in the rock. This dagger was extremely fast, and he had repeatedly tested and confirmed the crevice.

The man and the demon once again faced each other from a distance.

The bear demon’s mockery froze and turned to anger.

Ning Xuan, on the other hand, hung in mid-air, gripping the dagger with one hand.

The next moment…

Thud!

The empty hanging basket landed on the ground. The bear demon’s body hunched, its two bear legs wrapped around the old tree, and its two claws swooped down like it was trying to scoop up the moon. It was ten feet tall, so it should have been able to reach Ning Xuan.

Unfortunately, this time Ning Xuan’s hanging basket was lowered very deep.

He had lowered himself from the cliff, seemingly with no intention of going back up.

However, if he wanted to return, he just needed to jump into the cliff.

The bear demon, it seemed, did not know.

It repeatedly tried to grab him a few times, but failed to reach Ning Xuan.

The man and the demon once again met each other’s gaze as they swayed.

The bear demon said, “Such a clever brain must be delicious. Such a strong body must be chewy.”

Ning Xuan reminded it, “This cliff is very deep.”

The bear demon said in a very human-like way, “How deep?”

Ning Xuan said, “You’ll know when you jump down.”

And just then, the bear demon suddenly jumped. Its body plunged downwards like a diving onion, its sharp claws suddenly shot out, several inches long, as if it had a weapon of fine steel claws.

Tear!!

The sharp claws dug into the cliff wall.

The bear demon re-secured its body, hanging upside down on the cliff like a large gecko. It was already very close to Ning Xuan.

“Fool, bears can climb trees. I’ve already cultivated into a demon. How could I not be able to climb a mountain like this?”

As it spoke, it quickly climbed towards Ning Xuan.

Its huge, fat, armored body exuded a terrifying pressure. Its face got closer and closer, its eyes flashing with a cold light.

And those eyes were getting closer and closer to Ning Xuan’s hanging hand.

When it got close enough…

Ning Xuan suddenly let go with his left hand.

The bear demon was stunned. It didn’t want its prey to escape, so it quickly reached down with both hands like it was scooping up the moon.

Its face got closer and closer. Ning Xuan was facing upwards, his sleeve rolled up, revealing the dark and cold metal long tube, aimed at the bear demon’s face, or rather, the bear demon’s face was lunging towards his left hand.

He pulled the trigger.

In an instant, like a sudden summer downpour, a continuous stream of long and short needles swept upwards, covering the sky. These were specially made pear blossom needles, and at this moment, they turned into a sudden, violent rain, covering the bear demon’s entire face.

The bear demon didn’t have time to close its eyes, and its eyes were instantly pierced by the needles.

But Ning Xuan’s waist was also fiercely struck by the bear demon’s claws.

The sharp claws pierced into his flesh.

Ning Xuan grunted in pain, then grabbed the long saber with his right hand, swung it, and this strike heavily slashed at the bear demon’s face.

The bear demon cried out in pain, “Aooo,” and wisps of black smoke scattered from the wound and flew towards Ning Xuan, while the bear demon itself seemed slightly weaker.

Its claws also loosened, letting Ning Xuan fall downwards.

Bang!

Ning Xuan fell back into his bedroom.

He felt a burning pain in his waist, but was suddenly surprised to find that his arms had become a circle thicker, from the small arms of a “pretty boy” to the muscular arms of a “strong man.”

“It’s the bear demon’s power transmitted through the black smoke. As long as I can injure it, I can plunder its power. Although I don’t understand what this is, this nightmare cycle is already strange. This… must be the key to breaking the deadlock.” Ning Xuan understood.

And at this moment, an angry roar sounded in the distance.

The houses began to collapse, the walls began to shatter, and the black bear demon, like a black whirlwind, crashed in from the distance, shattering everything in its path.

Ning Xuan gripped his long saber, walked out of the bedroom, and stood in the courtyard.

His speed and strength were much worse than the bear demon’s.

However, he at least had the will to fight to the death.

“Flying Swallow Chasing the Wind, Swallow Piercing the Raging Waves!”

He charged towards the bear demon, swinging his most ferocious and fierce strike towards death.

This strike, with the enhancement of the power he had just obtained, actually exploded with a thunderous roar in mid-air.

[Five of Ten]

On the bed, when Ning Xuan placed his five fingers on his neck, words flashed before his eyes.

His gaze shifted slightly, and he glanced at his strong arm.

The enhancement he had just obtained from the bear demon’s blood did not seem to have disappeared with the cycle.

And then…

Lines of information suddenly appeared before his eyes:

[Ning Xuan]

[Heavenly Demon Record: Mountain-Crashing Bear (7/100)]

[Life (Constitution): 1]

[Nature (Spirit): 1]

And just then, the “1” in the [Life] column slowly moved forward and became “1 (1.1),” with a small note next to it: “Heavenly Demon Record additional increase.”