Chapter 27: Adding Fuel to the Fire

Seeing Lord Bear's face full of anticipation, Xu Xuan slowly raised his right hand, revealing a red bracelet on his wrist. With a thought, the bracelet burst into dazzling light, radiant and brilliant.

"What treasure is this? It's so bright!" Lord Bear's eyes widened with surprise and amazement.

"Patience, Your Majesty. Please watch closely," Xu Xuan replied. As he spoke, the red bracelet flashed once more and transformed into a three-inch sword, its blade shimmering with sharp, lethal energy.

"A flying sword! What a marvelous treasure!" Lord Bear exclaimed in delight upon seeing the Scarlet Mist Sword. He hadn't expected this impoverished scholar to possess such a magical artifact.

"Wait! How can you control a flying sword?" Suddenly, Lord Bear shouted, realizing he had been deceived. If Xu Xuan were truly just a common scholar, he would have no such ability.

But before he could react fully, Xu Xuan struck first. The Scarlet Mist Sword shot forward like a red bolt of lightning, piercing Lord Bear's right eye.

"Aaah…" Blood streamed from Lord Bear's eye, blinding him as he writhed in agony on the ground.

"It hurts so much! Who are you, really?" Lord Bear roared, clutching his wounded eye and shouting furiously at Xu Xuan.

"Hahaha, old man, I am the one who will kill you!" Xu Xuan laughed loudly. The unexpected attack had struck the black bear demon's vital point, greatly diminishing his strength.

"You scoundrel! How dare you harm my godfather! I'll cut you down myself!" A sharp, feminine voice rang out from behind Lord Bear, unmistakably his goddaughter, Liu Ruxian.

Indeed, scholars are always full of cunning and wicked schemes—how else could he have devised such a venomous plan to harm him? Fortunately, with his goddaughter present, Lord Bear believed he would survive; wounded as he was, Liu Ruxian would surely protect him and see the scholar slain.

Just as Lord Bear felt relieved, he suddenly sensed a gust of force behind him, causing him to tense with alarm. He twisted to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, but a blade still struck his back.

Blood sprayed instantly, and Lord Bear howled in pain.

"Ruxian, how dare you help the villain hurt me?" Lord Bear shouted in shock and anger, his remaining eye burning with fury as he glared coldly at Liu Ruxian.

"Hehe, you really are a blind bear, unable even to tell who I am!"

Liu Ruxian's form twisted and blurred, revealing Zhao Jinqian's true appearance. At that moment, Lord Bear finally understood: he had been ensnared from the very start. If the enemy could disguise themselves as Liu Ruxian and fool him, then Liu Ruxian must have already fallen victim.

Shocked and furious, Lord Bear barely had time to react before Xu Xuan attacked again. Striking while the enemy was weakened, he could not allow the black bear demon any chance to recover.

Xu Xuan summoned a yellow talisman with one hand.

"Purple Flame Talisman!"

This was a spiritual charm bestowed by his master, the City God, for protection. Once activated, the talisman transformed into a ball of purple fire in the air, which struck Lord Bear directly.

Purple flames burned across Lord Bear's body. Although he wore armor, many parts were exposed. Instantly, his fur caught fire, sending him rolling and leaping wildly in pain.

Seeing the bear demon thrash so violently, Xu Xuan decided to intensify the attack. He pulled a jar of fire oil from his pack.

Pouring oil on fire!

The fire oil splashed over Lord Bear, and the small flames immediately surged into a raging blaze, causing Lord Bear to leap and howl even more desperately.

"Ah! Cursed dog, I will grind your bones to dust!" Lord Bear screamed, rolling on the ground and wailing, focused only on extinguishing the flames, forgetting Xu Xuan entirely.

At that moment, the commotion drew a swarm of lesser demons from outside. Xu Xuan paid them no mind; with a sweep of the Scarlet Mist Sword, he cut down several instantly. The remaining demons scattered in terror, fleeing in all directions.

Who would dare approach when their own lord was beaten senseless by a mere scholar? To challenge him now would only be suicide.

With the lesser demons dealt with, the flames still burned on Lord Bear, filling the cave with a charred stench.

"Monster, taste my club!" Xu Xuan shouted, swinging a golden spiked club down onto Lord Bear's head.

Already gravely wounded and scorched, Lord Bear suffered another heavy blow, collapsing rigidly to the ground, unconscious.

Seeing the black bear demon had fainted, Xu Xuan quickly extinguished the flames. If the demon were burned to ash, he wouldn't be able to enjoy its bear paw.

Once the flames were out, Lord Bear reverted to his true form. His body was pitch black, covered in burns, his fur scorched and patchy, blisters swelling everywhere—a truly miserable sight.

"What a massive bear!" In its true form, Lord Bear was at least thirty feet tall, with paws as large as basins. Xu Xuan had never seen such a giant bear before.

Fortunately, the bear paws were unscathed; otherwise, he would have cursed in frustration.

"Young master, what do you plan to do with this beast?"

"Hehe, of course, I’ll kill it and eat its meat. What else, save it for New Year's?"

With that, Xu Xuan summoned the Scarlet Mist Sword and severed the black bear demon's head in a single stroke.

In truth, the black bear demon was unlucky—possessing great power but never the chance to use it, cut down by Xu Xuan without resistance.

All’s fair in war; his only fault was his stupidity.

One careless move, and the entire game was lost. Xu Xuan gave him no chance to recover, finishing him with a decisive combination.

After slaying Lord Bear, Xu Xuan took out the Merit Treasure Mirror. A beam of golden light flashed as he aimed it at the bear corpse, and the numbers inside the mirror instantly increased by five hundred.

Seeing the mirror’s new total—one thousand three hundred—Xu Xuan was quite satisfied. Now was not the time to exchange for treasures; he still had important tasks ahead.

He and Zhao Jinqian split up, searching every corner until they found the imprisoned villagers in an underground cave.

The captives were gaunt and ragged, as wretched as beggars—seven or eight in all. Not only villagers from Peach Blossom Village, but also some traveling folk, all taken by the bear demon for their blood.

While Xu Xuan freed the prisoners, Zhao Jinqian discovered two blood pills hidden nearby, likely refined by the black bear demon.

With the monster destroyed and the people rescued, Xu Xuan demolished the cave and dragged the bear corpse, leading the villagers back toward Peach Blossom Village.

On the road, Xu Xuan played with two wisdom beads, taken from Liu Ruxian and Lord Bear. The latter, having cultivated for over five centuries, had a much larger bead than Liu Ruxian’s. Had Lord Bear been given more time, his bead might have become a demon core, greatly increasing his power.

Xu Xuan took out the Merit Treasure Mirror again, flashing it at the beads. The golden light absorbed them both, and the mirror's total jumped to seventeen hundred, another increase of five hundred.

Slaying evil demons increased merit; absorbing their wisdom beads with the mirror granted even more. It was truly a double reward.