High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices-Chapter 110: The Right Way to Use the Smart Brain
"Acknowledged. Retrieving data... Analysis report generated."
A light screen unfolded, displaying the interval between each of the Earth-Split Bear’s attacks and a curve showing the decay of its Qi and Blood Strength over the duration of the battle.
Xu Wuyi’s eyes swept over the data, and the strategy in his mind grew clearer.
Strictly speaking, Star Beasts didn’t have "Qi and Blood," but human Martial Artists were accustomed to using the term, so it had become a convention.
The Earth-Split Bear’s Qi and Blood Strength would begin to decline around the five-minute mark of the battle. By the eighth minute, its explosive power was only seventy percent of what it was at the start.
Its attack interval was short, but after each swipe of its paw, there was a brief period of about 0.3 seconds where its Qi and Blood would stagnate. This was the perfect opportunity to strike.
This was the analysis summary from the AI. If Xu Wuyi had to observe it himself, it might have taken him a dozen or more fights to find the pattern.
After all, the Earth-Split Bear wasn’t going to just stand still and let him attack it relentlessly at maximum frequency for the sake of his observations.
"That’s enough."
Xu Wuyi closed the light screen and walked toward the Virtual Pod on the basement level again.
As he lay down in the Virtual Pod, the sensation of the neural connection returned. The light and shadows before his eyes shifted, and in an instant, he was back in his personal space on the Star Martial Battle Network.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he directly selected the "Newcomer’s Challenge" and once again found himself in that vast, empty valley. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"Fourth Level Challenge Target: Earth-Split Bear (1). Clear Condition: Kill the Earth-Split Bear within ten minutes."
"Challenger’s Life Energy Level for this stage is fixed at: Level 16."
The moment the system prompt faded, a deafening roar echoed from deep within the valley.
Xu Wuyi remained completely unfazed. He silently activated Instant Shadow Step, his figure darting toward a pile of rocks on the left side of the valley.
He didn’t attack first. Instead, he chose to create distance and observe the Earth-Split Bear’s initial state.
"ROAR!"
Seeing this, the Earth-Split Bear charged straight for him with heavy strides. Each step made the ground tremble violently, sending loose stones bouncing into the air.
Halfway through its charge, it opened its great maw and shot a black Energy Ball at Xu Wuyi.
Xu Wuyi was prepared. He changed his footwork, and his body abruptly shifted sideways, the Energy Ball grazing the corner of his clothes as it flew past.
He didn’t take the opportunity to counterattack. Instead, he continued to weave around, always maintaining a distance of about twenty meters from the Earth-Split Bear.
This distance was perfect for staying outside the range of its Energy Ball attacks while also allowing him to react in time to the bear’s close-range lunges.
The Earth-Split Bear fired three more Energy Balls in succession, but Xu Wuyi dodged them all with ease.
Having its attacks miss several times made it even more frenzied. It roared, quickened its charge, and swung its massive paws through the air, trying to smash Xu Wuyi to a pulp.
Xu Wuyi’s eyes were focused, locked onto the Earth-Split Bear’s movements.
The instant the Earth-Split Bear lunged forward with another swipe of its paw, he pushed off forcefully. Instead of retreating, he advanced, shooting toward the bear’s right side like an arrow loosed from a bow.
He thrust his spear forward with the momentum, its tip suffused with scorching Qi and Blood, aiming straight for the joint of the Earth-Split Bear’s hind leg—still its weakest point.
"PSSH!"
The spear tip accurately pierced the gap in the joint, sinking more than three inches deep.
The Earth-Split Bear let out a pained roar. Its hind leg buckled, nearly causing it to collapse. But its reaction was incredibly fast; its other giant paw swung toward Xu Wuyi with devastating momentum.
Xu Wuyi’s heart tightened. He could feel that this strike was even stronger than the last.
He didn’t dare to linger in the fight. While pulling his spear back, he retreated rapidly, narrowly avoiding the swipe of the giant paw.
"BOOM!"
The giant paw slammed into the ground, creating a crater several meters wide and sending rock fragments flying. Xu Wuyi used his backward momentum to create more distance, his gaze fixed on the Earth-Split Bear’s hind leg.
Although his last spear thrust had caused damage, it hadn’t broken the bone. It had only made the bear’s movements slightly sluggish.
’So it’s not that easy.’
Xu Wuyi thought to himself, his resolve to stick to a strategy of attrition strengthening.
He continued to weave around, using the agility of Instant Shadow Step to constantly evade the Earth-Split Bear’s attacks. Whenever an opportunity arose, he would strike at its weak points, like the joints of its hind legs or its abdomen. Each attack was a quick jab; he never overcommitted.
Time ticked by, and the battle entered its fifth minute.
The Earth-Split Bear’s Qi and Blood Strength began to decline noticeably. Its attack speed slowed, its roars were no longer as thunderous, and the wound on its hind leg joint bled continuously, making its steps increasingly unsteady.
Xu Wuyi’s condition remained stable. Although his Qi and Blood were also being consumed, he still maintained eighty percent of his peak combat strength, thanks to the powerful endurance provided by the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace.
’Now’s the time!’
Xu Wuyi’s eyes narrowed. He seized the moment of stagnation in the bear’s movements, his body suddenly accelerating as he circled behind it. He thrust his spear violently toward the joint of its hind leg.
This thrust was faster and more ferocious than any before, the tip of the spear carrying a scorching heatwave that seemed to set the very air ablaze.
"PSSH!"
The spear sank several inches deep, and he clearly felt the sensation of bone shattering.
The Earth-Split Bear let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Its hind leg could no longer support its weight, and with a THUD, it knelt on the ground, its massive body losing its balance.
’This is my chance!’
Xu Wuyi was elated. Just as he was about to withdraw his spear and press the attack, he was caught off guard as the Earth-Split Bear used the momentum of its fall to roll backward, its enormous body bearing down on him with a gale-force wind.
The change in tactics was too sudden. Xu Wuyi couldn’t dodge in time and was grazed by the bear’s body. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string, landing heavily on the ground. His Qi and Blood churned within him.
Just then, the Earth-Split Bear suddenly opened its maw, and a black Energy Ball shot out at an unimaginable speed.
"Challenge failed."
The cold system prompt sounded. Xu Wuyi’s figure dissolved into white light as his consciousness was pulled from the Star Beast Hunting Ground and returned to the Virtual Pod.
He wasn’t discouraged; he just began to reflect.
His failure just now was because he had gotten impatient after gaining the upper hand, underestimating the Earth-Split Bear’s dying counterattack.
’Still not careful enough... Again!’
He lay down in the Virtual Pod once more.
"ROAR!"
The Earth-Split Bear attacked first, its charge even faster than the previous two times.
Xu Wuyi didn’t dodge or evade. He waited until the Earth-Split Bear was within ten meters, then pushed off forcefully, activating Instant Shadow Step to circle to the bear’s left side, avoiding its head-on charge.
In the time that followed, Xu Wuyi fully committed to his strategy of attrition.
Like the most patient of hunters, he always maintained a safe distance from the Earth-Split Bear, using the agility of Instant Shadow Step to constantly evade its attacks.
Whenever the bear’s Qi and Blood stagnated after an attack, he would seize the opportunity to strike once before immediately retreating.
The Earth-Split Bear’s roars grew more and more furious, but it could never touch Xu Wuyi’s figure. It could only waste its Qi and Blood, fruitlessly destroying the surrounding environment.
Time trickled away, and the battle entered its seventh minute.
