Chapter 151: An Eye Opener

Xiong Da cautiously glanced at Nora, who was still intently reviewing their spar, before whispering, "Boss, your girlfriend Nora isn't human. She's a vampire. I've got a sharp nose, so there's no way I'm mistaken."

Yu Xian looked at him with a faint, knowing smile. "What about me, then?"

Boss?

Xiong Da gave him a puzzled look and sniffed hard before shaking his head. "You don't smell like anything else. Boss, you're definitely human."

Xiong Da was rather shrewd. Before answering, he had secretly listened to Yu Xian's heartbeat.

Yu Xian merely smiled. Once Nora finished reviewing the match, he walked over to her. "Shall I take you to your mother's place now?"

Nora nodded. "Mm. This will also give me time to think carefully about what other weapons and equipment I should buy so I can perform better next time."

She looked at Xiong Da and smiled. "Goodbye, Xiong Da. Let's spar again when we get the chance!"

Xiong Da had absolutely no desire to fight her again. "Can I refuse?"

There was nothing to gain from winning and only humiliation in losing. He had no intention of sparring with Nora again.

Nora tempted him. "If you win against me, I'll give you a bottle of top-grade royal jelly."

Xiong Da's eyes immediately lit up, and he began to drool. "Top-grade royal jelly? What kind of delicacy is that? How does it taste?"

Nora chuckled. "There's a Tiger-rank Insect Tamer in Hibiscus City. His strongest insect companion is a Tiger-rank queen bee, and every year, he sells a limited amount of top-grade royal jelly. They say everyone who's tasted it can't stop thinking about it and considers it the finest honey in the world!"

Xiong Da had to admit that he was tempted. He gulped and began bargaining. "No. Even if I lose, I still want a bottle of top-grade royal jelly. Otherwise, I'm not doing it."

"Then it's settled. If you win, I'll give you three bottles. If it's a draw, you'll get two. And if you lose, you'll still get one."

This had been her plan from the start. She knew Xiong Da would bargain, so she had offered only one bottle at first, leaving him some room to negotiate.

Xiong Da beamed. "It's a deal. No going back on your word."

"All right. I'm taking Nora back. Wait here and don't wander off," Yu Xian said before teleporting back to Ice City with Nora.

Xiong Da froze. They really just left? Aren't they afraid I'll change my mind and run away?

He looked around suspiciously, wondering whether they had hidden nearby to test him, but even after quite some time, he could not detect anyone watching. A night breeze swept past. He plumped down on the ground and gazed at the brightly lit Ice City in the distance. Tears gradually welled in his round, dark eyes.

"Mom, it looks like I've met good people too."

His mother had been an enormous brown bear. A human had once saved her when she was young, so she remembered humanity's kindness for the rest of her life. From the time Xiong Da and his younger brother were little, she had taught them never to harm humans. Tragically, she had died protecting an injured human herself.

***

Yu Xian brought Nora to the front door of her mother's home. He still did not know how to face Nora's mother, so after watching Nora enter through the gate, he teleported back outside the city. The next instant, he appeared beside Xiong Da. He took out a chair, sat down, and handed him a jar of honey.

Taking out a bottle of honey water from his spatial ring, he looked up at the star-filled sky and smiled. "Your great-great-great-grandfather, Xiong Guan, was actually an incredible man. After suffering cultivation deviation, he realized he might unconsciously hurt others, so he left the city at all costs. Let's raise a toast to him."

Xiong Da clutched the jar of honey and stared at Yu Xian in astonishment. "Boss, are you one of those legendary immortals who never age?"

Yu Xian frowned. "Huh?"

Xiong Da said with a serious expression, "Otherwise, how would you know about my great-great-great-grandfather?"

Yu Xian rolled his eyes at him. "Being smart is a good thing, but letting your imagination run wild will only cause trouble. Just eat your honey."

Xiong Da popped open the jar and happily licked up the honey. In no time at all, he had polished off the entire thing.

Yu Xian looked at him, and his tone turned serious. "It seems you haven't just developed human intelligence. You've also retained some of your beastly instincts. You need to be mindful of that. Keep those instincts under control in daily life and save them for when you need to unleash them in battle."

That was actually Eternal Purity's assessment of Xiong Da. Yu Xian had merely rephrased it slightly before passing it on to him.

Xiong Da patted the white crescent on his chest. "Okay. I'll listen to you, Boss."

Yu Xian noticed that the white crescent on Xiong Da's chest was emitting a faint white glow, seemingly resonating with the moon in the sky. Earlier, he had used Super Smell to learn about Xiong Da. However, that did not mean he fully understood everything about him. With a flicker of thought, he cast Appraisal on Xiong Da, and Xiong Da's attribute panel appeared before him.

[Basic Information]

True Name

- Xiong Da

Codename

- Cassock-Stealing Bear

Race

- Human / Black Bear / Polar Bear / Brown Bear / Panda / Red Panda

Gender

- Male

Age

- 66

Vitality

- 6,666 / 6,666

Lifeforce

- 50 / 50

Power

- 0.08

Fortune

- Blessed by Auspicious Stars

Theoretical Lifespan

- 3,648,922,477 years, 3 months, 24 days, 12 hours, 53 minutes, and 12 seconds

Rank

- Middle Tiger Rank

Universal Rank

- Earth Rank

Affiliation

- Neutral

Cultivation Techniques

- Black Wind Scripture, Black Cassock Scripture

[Abilities]

Divine Ability—Black Wind

- A divine ability inherited from its ancestors. With a mere wave of the hand, summons a sky-blotting, dark demonic wind capable of scraping bone, flaying flesh, melting gold, and dissolving stone.

Divine Ability—Blackheart Flame

- Uses demonic energy to drive the Blackheart Flame nurtured within the heart. Explodes upon contact with water.

Great Bear Black Sigil

- Channels demonic energy into the Lunar Eclipse Black Sigil, greatly enhancing strength.

Waning Moon Demonic Sigil

- Automatically accumulates demonic energy under moonlight. Once per year, doubles the demonic energy.

Black Bear Pure Yang Physique

- Grants the user a body of pure yang that naturally counters all ghosts and evil spirits. Doubles the efficiency when cultivating fire-attributed techniques.

Polaris Yang-Pole Physique

- Grants the user vigorous yang energy, immunity to coldness, and imperviousness to both high- and low-temperature attacks from opponents of the same rank.

Bear's Brute Strength

- Continuously enhances strength through training. Increases physical power by twofold for every rank gained. This effect ceases to function upon reaching Dragon rank.

Impervious to Blades and Spears

- Through body-refining, turns the body as solid as stone and impervious to blades and spears. Increases defense when protected by demonic energy.

Bronze Skin and Iron Bones

- Tempers the body with Black Wind. Upon mastery, grants the user bronze skin and iron bones and continually increases defense alongside physical strength.

Demonic Cassock

- Draws demonic energy and refines it into a black cassock capable of reducing damage from enemies of the same rank by fifty percent.

Yu Xian's eyelid twitched as he stared at Xiong Da's Race entry. What kind of crazy, mixed-breed hybrid is this?

This was the first time he had ever seen someone with such a bizarre mix of races. Until now, he had always assumed that any living being could belong to only one race. This, especially that last entry, red panda, was an eye-opener for him or, rather, a mind-blower.

He glanced at Xiong Da, who looked like a mountain even while sitting on the ground, and desperately wanted to ask his ancestors, "Are you guys for real?"