C17 The Furious Demon Bear King
Qin Buyi quickly caught up with the fleeing Short-legged Beast Demon King. Gripping the Killing Saber, his speed surged as he struck at the demon king.
"Damn it, that fool of a Wolf Demon King couldn't even kill him!" the Short-legged Beast Demon King muttered under his breath, eyeing Qin Buyi as if he were the grim reaper himself.
"Short-legged Beast Technique: Death Substitute!"
"Chi!"
The saber cut through the demon king's form, and a cloud of smoke exploded into existence. When it cleared, nothing remained but a severed tail.
"Cough! How has this accursed human's strength increased so drastically!"
With the demise of the Wolf Demon King, Qin Buyi's power grew as he gained more attribute points.
Despite a swift reaction, the Short-legged Beast Demon King couldn't fully dodge the blow.
The Killing Saber inflicted a gash that ran the length of her back.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"
To the Short-legged Beast Demon King, Qin Buyi's voice was as terrifying as a devil emerging from the depths of hell.
"Chi!"
The saber's edge tore through the demon king's belly, splitting it open as blood gushed forth.
Staring at her own entrails, the Short-legged Beast Demon King's resolve hardened. Through clenched teeth, she vowed, "Human, I will remember you! Someday, I will have my revenge and flay you a thousand times over!"
"Short-legged Beast Technique: Thousand Miles Away!"
She expelled the vital blood essence from her heart, igniting it in a desperate act. This escape technique, which would severely deplete her life force, was reserved for dire moments.
"Whoosh!"
After the technique was cast, the Short-legged Beast Demon King's speed tripled, vanishing from Qin Buyi's view in an instant.
Unhurried, Qin Buyi tracked the demon king by the blood trail she left behind, as if toying with his prey.
A quarter-hour later, he caught sight of the now slower Short-legged Beast Demon King.
His icy tone reached her ears, "There's no need to wait for another day. We end this today."
The Short-legged Beast Demon King's eyes widened in terror as Qin Buyi rapidly closed the distance between them, fear threatening to wrench his soul from his body.
"How... How did he catch up so quickly?" The Demon King's mind was in utter disarray.
He pushed down the rising tide of panic and bolted forward.
"Brother Bear, save me!" he cried out while in flight.
"Who's there?" A somewhat muffled voice called out from ahead.
A massive black bear, standing five meters tall and two meters wide, emerged from the forest.
"My dear, save me!" The Short-legged Beast Demon King pleaded desperately.
Desperation clawed at her; with a pursuer on her heels who might kill her at any moment, she clung to the sudden hope before her like a lifeline.
"Stay calm. There's no need to panic with me here," came the reassuring response.
"Huh? A human at the Nascent Infant Middle Period?" The Demon Bear King expressed mild surprise.
Observing the severely wounded and faintly breathing Short-legged Beast Demon King, and Qin Buyi, who bore the aura of the Wolf Demon King, the Demon Bear King quickly grasped the situation.
"A black bear? Could this be the Demon Bear King who has ascended to the Deification Stage?"
From his Probing Eye, Qin Buyi could tell that the Demon Bear King was in the early phase of Deification and had no doubts about his identity.
As the Short-legged Beast Demon King addressed the Demon Bear King, Qin Buyi's thoughts drifted to the deceased Wolf Demon King, musing internally, "I wonder if that Wolf Demon King would have fancied wearing a green cap, frolicking across the verdant meadows."
The Demon Bear King stood with an air of assurance, ready to defend the Short-legged Beast Demon King, prompting Qin Buyi to question the demons' sense of beauty once more.
"The Demon Circle is such a mess..." he mused to himself.
Shaking off his stray thoughts, Qin Buyi observed the Short-legged Beast Demon King, who seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Think she's safe with you here? Not even the King of Hell could protect her today," Qin Buyi declared, his voice laced with lethal intent.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"
His speed surged, and the Killing Saber, humming with deadly vibrations, swung down toward the neck of the Short-legged Beast Demon King.
"Human, you dare defy me! You're seeking your own death!" bellowed the Demon Bear King in a rage.
"Brother Bear, save—"
"Shhht!"
The Short-legged Beast Demon King's plea was cut short as the razor-sharp edge of the Killing Saber swept across his neck.
With the short-legged beast's head at his feet, Qin Buyi mused aloud, "So, were you the social butterfly of the demon realm?"
Ding! The reward for slaying the Short-legged Beast Demon King has been granted.
Having allocated all the attribute points to his cultivation, Qin Buyi's profile now read:
Name: Qin Buyi
Desolate Body, Primary
All attributes increased by 5%.
Cultivation: Third Rank, Nascent Infant Late Period (89/100)
Strength: 89
Speed: 89
Physical Strength: 89
Attack: 89
Defense: 89
Fortune: 89
...
Killing Saber - Third Rank (89/100)
Attack: 89
Killing Saber Technique - Second Rank (50/50, unable to advance further)
Attack: 50
With the attribute points gained from defeating the Short-legged Beast Demon King, Qin Buyi's cultivation soared to the Nascent Infant Late Period.
"Human, your insolence has enraged me! I will rend you asunder!" the Demon Bear King thundered.
"Bear Art - Earthquake!"
Earthen-hued light gathered in the Demon Bear King's massive paws as he lifted them high and brought them crashing down towards Qin Buyi.
"Clang!"
Qin Buyi chose not to meet the blow head-on, instead wielding the Killing Saber to strike at the descending paws and using the force of the Demon Bear King's own attack to shift aside.
"Boom!" The ground shook with a resounding impact.
The Demon Bear King's paws struck the earth, leaving twin craters two meters deep.
"Truly, a Demon Beast of the Deification Stage is formidable. Even a Nascent Infant at the peak of perfection would likely be reduced to mush under such an assault," Qin Buyi observed, eyeing the massive pits.
"Eh? He dodged it?" The Demon Bear King expressed his surprise.
"Bear Art - Mountain Flip!"
The Demon Bear King's paws dug deep into the earth.
"Roar!"
With a mighty bellow, he uprooted a sphere of earth three meters in radius, complete with clods of dirt and chunks of rock.
Under the Demon Bear King's formidable power, the mud and stones on the sphere swiftly coalesced into a solid mass.
"Go!"
The sphere, now like a small mountain, hurtled towards Qin Buyi as the Demon Bear King launched it with ferocious force.
"Not good!"
Qin Buyi's low shout echoed as he pushed his speed to the limit, narrowly evading the Demon Bear King's crushing blow.
"Whoosh!"
The makeshift mountain whizzed by, grazing Qin Buyi's body before detonating in a distant explosion.
"Boom!" The ground trembled violently.
The impact site was marked by a deep crater, ten meters across.
Qin Buyi, surveying the perilous attack that had nearly spelled his doom, couldn't help but feel a pounding headache.
Throughout the battle, Qin Buyi had discerned that the Demon Bear King's Achilles' heel was its lackluster speed.
"I can't afford a direct confrontation. I must exploit its vulnerability if I'm to stand any chance of defeating it," Qin Buyi strategized.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"
Wielding the Killing Saber, Qin Buyi initiated his offensive.
"Demon Bear Technique: Mountain Crumbling and Earth Shattering!"
"Clang!" "Dang!" "Dang!"
"Chi!"
Dozens of exchanges later, the Demon Bear King bellowed in frustration, "Human, is dodging all you're capable of?"
Qin Buyi regarded the Demon Bear King with a look reserved for imbeciles and retorted, "Fool!"
"You're seeking your own demise!"
Provoked by Qin Buyi's taunts, the Demon Bear King flew into a blind rage.
"Demon Bear Technique: Rock Shattering!"
"Bang!"
With a mighty swipe, the Demon Bear King's paw struck a nearby boulder, reducing it to rubble.
"Try escaping this time!"
"Go!"
The Demon Bear King thrust its paw forward, sending a barrage of stone shards rocketing towards Qin Buyi.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Extermination!"
The Killing Saber's crescent moon formed a protective barrier, shielding Qin Buyi.
"Dang!" "Dang!"
"Dang!" "Swish!"
...
As the crescent moon faded, blood streamed down Qin Buyi's body.
Despite his full effort, the disparity of a Great Stage meant that three stones had eluded his defense.
The most treacherous shard skimmed past his temple, while the other two struck his abdomen and chest, leaving behind two gaping wounds.
Qin Buyi surveyed his bleeding wound with an unchanged expression, as though the injury was not his own.
"Human, try hiding again, haha."
The Demon Bear King, seeing Qin Buyi wounded, spoke with a tinge of glee.
"Demon Bear Technique: Shatter Stone!"
Observing the Demon Bear King resorting to the same tactic, Qin Buyi opted not to counter this time, instead turning and soaring into the dense forest.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"...
The high-speed barrage of stones missed their mark, pockmarking the trees and ground with deep craters.
"Human, if you're brave enough, stop running! Once I catch you, I'll flay you and strip your sinews."
The Demon Bear King bellowed, pursuing Qin Buyi in flight.
His massive frame now seemed cumbersome, and after a short chase, he could only watch helplessly as Qin Buyi vanished from sight.
"Curse you, human! You better hope I never encounter you again."
The Demon Bear King halted, cursing loudly in the direction Qin Buyi had fled.
After a moment, he turned and flew back to his domain.
En route.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"
A blade, gleaming with a chilling light and brimming with murderous intent, materialized noiselessly behind the Demon Bear King.
A premonition of danger washed over him. The Demon Bear King, his guard lowered, hadn't anticipated Qin Buyi's bold return and was too late to defend.
"Chi!"
The blade slashed across the bear's back, leaving a gash so deep the bone was visible.
The Demon Bear King bellowed in agony, "You're seeking death!"
But when he spun around, there was no sign of anyone.
Failing to locate Qin Buyi, the Demon Bear King let out a furious roar before cautiously making his way back to his territory.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Extermination!"
Once more, the sensation of impending peril struck from behind. The Demon Bear King roared in frustration, "Damn it, not again! Is sneaking around all you know how to do?"
The crescent moon cast the Demon Bear King's silhouette, but this time, forewarned, he sustained no injury.
Yet, as the moon's glow waned, his once sleek and lustrous fur looked as if it had been gnawed by a dog...
Although Qin Buyi's strike failed to harm the Demon Bear King, it did mar the beast's prized fur with unsightly cuts—a superficial wound, yet a deep affront to the Demon Clan's pride.
He turned to find Qin Buyi at a distance, seemingly admiring the handiwork he'd inflicted upon the Demon Bear King's hide.
Enraged beyond measure, the Demon Bear King's eyes blazed red as he bellowed, "Ah! Human, your life is forfeit! I will end you!"
The pursuit that followed saw the Demon Bear King accelerating, even faster than before.
After a relentless chase, he was forced to watch, powerless, as Qin Buyi vanished from his view once more.
"Ah! Cursed! Despicable!"
In a fit of rage, the Demon Bear King slammed his paw against a nearby tree.
"Boom!"
The tree, which would take three people to encircle, thunderously toppled under the Demon Bear King's wrath.
Having unleashed his fury on the tree, the Demon Bear King resumed his journey back to his domain, this time with caution, almost looking back three times with every step, as he made his slow return.
Unscathed along the way, he couldn't help but speculate, "Has that sly human abandoned the chase?"
Qin Buyi, of course, had no intention of giving up. Seeing the Demon Bear King's wariness, a direct attack would be futile.
Anticipating the Demon Bear King's path, Qin Buyi prepared an ambush, digging a hole large enough to conceal himself near the beast's territory and expertly camouflaging it.
He reduced his presence to the barest whisper and lay in wait.
As the Demon Bear King came into view, drawing ever nearer to the range of attack, Qin Buyi counted down internally:
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
The Demon Bear King, still jittery as a spooked bird, kept glancing back in paranoia, oblivious to the possibility of an underground assault.
"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"
Qin Buyi sprung from the earth, propelled like an arrow toward the Demon Bear King.
Channeling all his might into the Killing Saber, the blade arced from below, aiming to cleave the Demon Bear King from beneath.
"Chi!"
