Wangyue Pi's black bear appeared clumsy but moved with surprising speed. Its four paws kicked up large dust clouds, instantly covering the distance and reaching Xue Qiming in no time.
The beast was ferocious, roaring as it ran, saliva splattering, and even the small bits of meat stuck to its teeth were visible to Xue Qiming.
Xue Qiming crouched slightly and braced himself. Although he spoke dismissively of Wangyue Pi, he was fully alert and had already adopted a ready stance because he knew the man was no easy opponent.
When they were only a yard apart, the black bear roared, pushed off the ground with its hind legs, and leapt toward Xue Qiming with its massive mouth wide open. Two rows of sharp teeth bit down on his head.
"What a beast!" Xue Qiming exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t expected the bear to jump so far. Even with his immense strength, the black bear that was easily over a thousand pounds, would have crushed him if it landed directly with all of that momentum.
Xue Qiming didn’t want to engage in a direct clash. In a split second, he dodged out of the way.
The black bear, having fought many battles alongside Wangyue Pi, was quick to adapt. As soon as its front paws hit the ground, it immediately turned its head, trying to bite down on Xue Qiming’s thigh. If it bit down hard, not even Hua Tuo could save him.
"Go to hell!" Xue Qiming wasn’t one to sit idly by. As the bear’s mouth neared, he raised a lightning-fast punch that left multiple afterimages, striking the bear’s head with immense force.
Just as his punch was launched, Xue Qiming caught a glimpse of Wangyue Pi suddenly drawing what looked like two long cleavers and charging toward him without hesitation.
Unfortunately, Xue Qiming had already thrown his punch. It was too late to pull back now.
His powerful punch landed squarely on the bear’s mouth, forcing the massive creature to kneel.
The moment his punch landed, a powerful gust of wind whipped past his ears. Xue Qiming knew Wangyue Pi’s deadly follow up was imminent.
He quickly bent down and placed his hands on the ground, trying to dodge to the bear’s side. He thought that hiding under the beat would be the best option to avoid Wangyue Pi’s long weapons.
Before the thought even fully formed in his mind, Xue Qiming felt a sudden shock to his back, as if he was struck by a massive log. Caught off guard, he nearly collapsed from the blow.
Then, excruciating pain surged through his back, quickly spreading through his body. A hot rush of blood rushed up from his stomach, and Xue Qiming clenched his mouth shut, swallowing the blood. His mouth was filled with the taste of iron.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Wangyue Pi thought his killing blow had succeeded when it landed, but he was surprised to see Xue Qiming remain standing. Xue Qiming's body shook with the blow and then went still.
Wangyue Pi froze in surprise atop his ursine mount. While he was distracted, Xue Qiming suddenly pushed off the ground with both hands and performed a somersault, legs shooting out like siege missiles!
In a hurry, Wangyue Pi hastily raised his arms to block, and there was a dull thud as Xue Qiming's right leg heavily collided into his arms.
Wangyue Pi felt the tremendous force from the incoming leg and was thrown off balance, causing him to lean backward. The black bear also stumbled back a few steps.
Using the momentum from his leg strike, Xue Qiming flipped and jumped up, landing steadily on the ground. Gasping for breath, he faced Wangyue Pi and the bear, locking eyes with them in turn.
After a moment, Xue Qiming suddenly coughed a few times, wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He spat a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva onto the ground and stared feverishly at Wangyue Pi.
Wangyue Pi was unnerved by the intensity of Xue Qiming's gaze, and couldn’t help but swallow. He rubbed his aching arm.
The black bear beneath him seemed dazed from the heavy punch it had taken earlier, shaking its head and spitting out a few broken teeth. Its mouth was a mess of blood and flesh, with a gaping crimson wound at the corner.
"Ruen Dynasty scum, you have a strong constitution," Wangyue Pi admitted, licking his dry lips and returning the compliment to Xue Qiming.
Xue Qiming grinned. "Heh, it's your strength that's too weak."
"Is that so?" Wangyue Pi hefted his weapon and sneered at Xue Qiming. "Then try this!"
Xue Qiming's eyes narrowed as he finally took note of the weapons Wangyue Pi was wielding. The weapons that looked like a pair of cleavers were actually a pair of tiger-headed Wu Hooks.
These Wu Hooks were long and wide, with the back of the hook being thicker toward the base. He didn’t know what metal they were forged from, but just by looking at them, he could tell they were extraordinarily heavy.
The Wu Hooks were nearly as tall as a person. Most people wouldn't be able to wield them, but in Wangyue Pi's powerful hands, they fit perfectly.
The Wu Hooks weren't sharpened, but that only made Xue Qiming more cautious. The edges were as thick as a full finger, so it was unlikely slice through a hair with precision, but on the battlefield, it was a deadly weapon in Wangyue Pi's hands.
If an ordinary person were to be struck by it, they would likely be hewed apart. Even if it didn't kill, the wounds it caused would be far more terrifying than those from ordinary swords or knives.
In contrast to the thick edge, the hook at the front of the weapon seemed to concentrate all its sharpness into that single point. The blade curved back and gradually tapered to a fine, narrow tip, which eventually formed a hook that looked like a stinger of a venomous wasp. Just looking at the chilling gleam of the iron hook would send a shiver down anyone's spine.
Wangyue Pi noticed the change in Xue Qiming's expression and proudly raised the Wu Hooks and boasted, "A single hook weighs two hundred and forty four pounds. Together, the pair weighs four hundred and eighty eight pounds. Mr. Bodhi, do you dare to take another blow from me?"
Xue Qiming shook his head upon hearing this. He took a gourd from his waist and said, "I was wondering what kind of fearsome weapon it was. Turns out it’s just a child’s toy, like a rattle drum..."
"Arrogant!" Wangyue Pi's eyes widened in anger, and with a swing of the Wu Hooks, he once again directed the giant bear to charge at Xue Qiming.
Just as the two were about to collide, Xue Qiming yanked on the iron chain and suddenly threw the gourd to the ground with a loud crash!
An even more intense sound echoed through the air, and dust was lifted up to a height of three meters! Even the city wall trembled. An oil pot resting on the battlements fell with a crash, spilling sizzling oil everywhere. The iron pot rolled a little at the base of the wall and came to rest, upside down on the ground.
When the wind blew, the dust dispersed. Xue Qiming and Wangyue Pi stood motionless, just a person’s distance apart. The gourd, resembling an iron lump, was embedded deep into the ground. Around them, the ground cracked inch by inch and, within a ten-zhang radius, the ground had sunk by more than five inches.
The gourd was only a hair’s breadth from the black bear’s nose. Had it been even a little faster, the black bear would have met a grisly end. The black bear trembled, too scared to move.
When Wangyue Pi regained his composure, he started beating the bear’s back with the flat side of his hook, trying to urge it forward. The bear shook with the beating but refused to budge.
In his frustration, Wangyue Pi increased his force, and the bear, suddenly in pain, disregarded everything. It carried Wangyue Pi on its back and ran backward, not daring to look at Xue Qiming again.
"How dare you run, beast!" Xue Qiming shouted.
The black bear abruptly stopped running, standing still once again, trembling in place, too frightened to keep running but also too scared to confront the man with the gourd.
In a fit of rage, Wangyue Pi scrambled off the black bear and turned to glare at Xue Qiming, anger burning in his eyes.
Xue Qiming remained unfazed, pulling the gourd out of the ground with the iron chain, the chain clinking . He grinned at Wangyue Pi and said, "This gourd weighs seven hundred and thirty-four pounds. Mr. Wang, do you dare to take my blow?"
Wangyue Pi ground his teeth in frustration and snarled, "You forget your place, Ruen Dynasty ground jackal! I am Wangyue Pi!"