High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Earth-Split Bear

”ROAR!”

The Earth-Split Bear was the first to attack, charging straight toward Xu Wuyi with heavy steps.

Its speed wasn’t great, but every step carried a world-destroying momentum, as if it would shatter the very ground it walked on.

Xu Wuyi didn’t dare to face it head-on. He executed the Instant Shadow Step, his body dodging to the side.

At the same time, he thrust his spear, the tip glowing with scorching Qi and Blood as it aimed straight for the Earth-Split Bear’s eye.

The Earth-Split Bear reacted with extreme speed, swatting at the spear with a giant paw that whistled through the air.

”CLANG!”

The spear was knocked away. Xu Wuyi felt an immense force travel up the shaft, making his arm go numb and nearly throwing his Qi and Blood into disarray.

He used the recoil to fly backward and land steadily, his gaze fixed solemnly on the Earth-Split Bear.

This Earth-Split Bear’s strength far exceeded his expectations. He had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

Having landed a successful blow, the Earth-Split Bear became even more frenzied and charged at Xu Wuyi again.

This time, it opened its great maw and spat out a black Energy Ball. The Energy Ball shrieked through the air at incredible speed.

Xu Wuyi’s pupils shrank. He once again used Instant Shadow Step to dodge. The Energy Ball landed where he had just been standing and exploded with a deafening BOOM, blasting a crater several meters deep into the ground and sending rubble flying.

’I can’t just keep defending passively!’

The thought flashed through Xu Wuyi’s mind. He knew that if this continued, he wouldn’t be able to harm the Earth-Split Bear at all and would only fail when time ran out.

He had to go on the offensive and find the Earth-Split Bear’s weakness.

He carefully observed the Earth-Split Bear’s movements and discovered that while its strength was immense, it was slow to turn and change direction.

This was a weakness he could exploit.

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath and pushed his internal Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace to its limits. His Qi and Blood began to churn like boiling magma, a scorching heat radiating from his body as a faint red glow appeared on his skin.

He integrated the True Intention of the ”Mountain” into his Spear Technique. His spear seemed to transform into a mountain itself, carrying a heavy and majestic aura as he charged the Earth-Split Bear.

Faced with the Earth-Split Bear’s pounce, Xu Wuyi didn’t dodge. Instead, he sidestepped to avoid a fatal blow and simultaneously swept his spear horizontally, smashing it into the joint of the beast’s hind leg.

That was the key point for the Earth-Split Bear’s power transmission, and also a spot where its defenses were relatively weak.

THUD! With a muffled sound, the joint of the Earth-Split Bear’s hind leg was struck, and its movements clearly faltered.

Xu Wuyi seized the opportunity. His spear shot out like lightning, the tip piercing several inches deep into the muscle of the Earth-Split Bear’s hind leg.

The Earth-Split Bear let out a pained roar. Its hind leg went limp, and it nearly collapsed.

It turned in fury, its giant paw swiping at Xu Wuyi.

Xu Wuyi pulled his spear back and retreated to evade the attack, then immediately charged forward again to continue striking the Earth-Split Bear’s hind leg.

He knew that if he could just break its hind leg, he could limit its mobility, which would make it much easier to find an opportunity for the kill.

However, the Earth-Split Bear’s defense was just too formidable. Even a weak point like the joint of its hind leg was difficult to fatally injure.

Xu Wuyi attacked several times in a row. Although he managed to make the Earth-Split Bear’s movements more sluggish, he still couldn’t completely break its hind leg.

Time ticked away, and the ten-minute limit drew closer. Xu Wuyi’s consumption of Qi and Blood was also mounting; the recent barrage of attacks had already used up nearly half of it.

Though injured, the Earth-Split Bear’s ferocity didn’t diminish. On the contrary, its attacks grew even more frantic.

It stopped chasing Xu Wuyi and instead began to madly destroy its surroundings, flinging massive boulders at him.

Xu Wuyi dodged the boulders while searching for an opening, his situation becoming increasingly difficult.

He knew that at this rate, it would be difficult to kill the Earth-Split Bear within the time limit. He might even be severely wounded by it, leading to the failure of the challenge.

’I have to risk it all on one strike!’

A ruthless glint flashed in Xu Wuyi’s eyes as he made his decision.

*Melting Furnace Boiling Blood*—activate!

He focused all his Qi and Blood into his spear. The shaft began to radiate a dazzling red light as he thrust it toward the Earth-Split Bear’s head with world-destroying power.

This was the strongest attack he could currently muster. Everything depended on this one move.

The Earth-Split Bear sensed the mortal threat. It roared and swatted at the spear with all its might.

”CLANG!” With a tremendous crash, the spear was knocked aside. It grazed the Earth-Split Bear’s head and flew past, embedding itself halfway into a nearby rock.

The massive recoil sent Xu Wuyi’s Qi and Blood into turmoil. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth as his body was thrown backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

The Earth-Split Bear seized the chance, lumbering over with heavy steps and bringing its massive foot down on Xu Wuyi.

Xu Wuyi wanted to dodge, but he found his Qi and Blood in chaos, preventing him from executing his Body Technique in time.

”THUD!”

Xu Wuyi was crushed under the Earth-Split Bear’s foot, his figure instantly dissolving into white light.

”Challenge failed.”

The cold system notification echoed in his mind. The next second, his consciousness was forcibly pulled from the Star Beast Hunting Ground and returned to the Virtual Pod.

The pod door slowly opened. Xu Wuyi’s eyes snapped open, the sensation of pain from moments ago still lingering in his body, incredibly real.

He sat up and rubbed his chest where he had been stomped. A dull ache still throbbed there.

He looked at the Virtual Pod’s screen, which displayed the challenge results: ”Fourth Trial Challenge: Failed. Time elapsed: 8 minutes and 13 seconds.”

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, calming his disordered Qi and Blood.

His eyes, however, showed no trace of dejection. Instead, they shone with a sharp resolve, growing stronger with every setback.

The failure just now had not been meaningless.

The Earth-Split Bear’s strength, defense, attack patterns, and even its weakness of turning slowly were now all clearly imprinted in his mind.

The key to his failure wasn’t a lack of strength, but a strategic error.

’I shouldn’t have gone for broke and forcefully activated *Melting Furnace Boiling Blood* when my Qi and Blood was already half-depleted.’

’And I shouldn’t have tried to break its leg in one fell swoop, underestimating the Earth-Split Bear’s counterattack speed while it was enraged.’

”If I’m just a bit more careful, whittle down its Qi and Blood and stamina first, then wait for its condition to decline before looking for a chance to break its leg... the fourth trial isn’t impossible to pass.”

Xu Wuyi muttered to himself, his palm tightening slightly into a fist.

He never feared failure. His past half-year of training had been a process of constant repetition and correction.

He didn’t immediately re-enter the Battle Network. Instead, he got up, walked to the training room’s hydration area, twisted open a bottle of room-temperature Nutrient Liquid, and chugged it down.

The cool liquid slid down his throat, rapidly replenishing the Spiritual Power he had consumed in the virtual battle. The flow of Qi and Blood within him grew even more stable.

”Anna.”

Xu Wuyi spoke into the empty air, and a blue light converged.

Anna’s virtual projection appeared before him, still in her simple, elegant long dress. Her electronic voice was calm and even. ”Xu Wuyi, how can I help you?”

”Pull up the recording of the fourth trial battle. I want you to specifically mark the intervals between the Earth-Split Bear’s attacks and the fluctuations in its Qi and Blood.”

Xu Wuyi, self-taught, had already figured out the proper way to use a High Tier AI.