God-Tier Awakening: The Dead Can Still Level Up

Chapter 21: Black Stone Armored Bear

Just then, a massive tree not far from them crashed down, making the ground beneath Xingluo’s feet shake.

Heavy footsteps came from the direction of the fallen trunk, and Shen Wuxia’s expression changed before the dust even settled. "Climb now."

Xingluo did not waste time asking anything, she kicked against the nearest trunk, grabbed a thick branch and pulled herself into the tree as quickly as she could.

Almost the next moment, another tree fell much closer, smashing into the open ground where she had been standing a few breaths earlier.

Broken branches, snow, and dust scattered outward, and four staggering figures rushed into the opening while still trying to run.

All four of them looked badly injured, one even had a broken arm hanging uselessly at his side, another was bleeding from the shoulder, and even their leader was barely keeping his balance.

Before Xingluo could take a proper look, a massive beast stepped out from behind the fallen tree with a crushed body hanging from its mouth.

One of the girls among the four screamed a name, but the sound broke in her throat when the beast threw the body aside.

Seeing this, Shen Wuxia and Xingluo immediately understood the situation, these people had provoked something far beyond their level.

As Xingluo focused on the beast, a system panel appeared before her eyes.

[Beast: Black Stone Armored Bear]

[Level: 90]

[Grade: Elite Beast]

Xingluo’s expression tightened at once Armored bears were already massive and strong by nature, and elite beasts were much harder to deal with than normal beasts of the same level.

From the way this one was moving, with bloodshot eyes and cracked armor plates, it was clearly already crazed.

Below the tree, the remaining hunters tried to fight again, but they were not really fighting anymore, they were only trying to survive long enough to run.

The man who had died seemed to be their tank, and without him blocking the front, their formation had already collapsed.

Just then, the bear slammed through a desperate attack and reached the girl who had screamed earlier.

She tried to retreat, but its paw came down faster than her legs could move and her body was pinned to the ground as the bear crushed her chest before she could even scream again.

The remaining two men and their leader turned pale at once, but just as they were about to scatter, the leader’s eyes suddenly landed on Xingluo’s tree.

Shen Wuxia saw that look, and a sense of foreboding rose inside him immediately. "Jump down!"

Before his voice fully fell, the leader pulled something from his waist and threw it toward Xingluo without hesitation.

Xingluo kicked off the branch and jumped down at once, but the object struck the tree behind her and burst open with a soft pop.

The next moment, a rain of dark red liquid splashed across Xingluo’s cloak and armor.

Xingluo had only just landed when the fleeing hunters froze for a moment, clearly not expecting someone else to appear from the tree.

Even the Black Stone Armored Bear stopped for half a breath, its bloodshot eyes shifting away from the leader and locking onto Xingluo instead.

Seeing this, the leader’s terrified face twisted into relief, and then he actually laughed. "Run!"

The remaining two hunters reacted at once and followed him into the forest without looking back.

Xingluo’s expression changed as she finally understood what they had done.

The Black Stone Armored Bear let out an even fiercer roar, and this time, its whole body turned toward her.

Shen Wuxia’s gaze turned cold at once. "Beast-attracting solution."

Xingluo’s grip around her sword tightened. "What?"

"They threw beast-attracting solution on you," he said, staring at the direction where the leader had escaped. "It is used during beast tides and large hunts to pull monsters in another direction."

The bear lowered its head, its claws tearing into the snow as it began moving toward Xingluo.

"Using it on another human is the same as murder," Shen Wuxia said quietly. "But in the wild, there are no rules."

Xingluo looked toward the forest where the leader and his subordinates had vanished, then turned back toward the approaching bear.

Seeing the massive beast rushing toward her, her face turned pale, but she still raised her longsword and forced herself into position.

The Black Stone Armored Bear reached her almost instantly, its paw smashing down with enough force to crack the ground beneath the snow.

Xingluo hurriedly dodged to the side and slashed across its foreleg, but the blade only scraped against the thick armor hide and left behind a shallow mark.

Seeing this, Shen Wuxia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Even though universities had combat classes and controlled beast fights, wild beasts were different. Their bodies were tougher, their attacks were dirtier, and they did not move according to training patterns.

More importantly, Xingluo was already nervous while fighting a crazed elite beast more than twenty levels above her.

The bear roared again and swung its paw sideways before she could adjust her stance.

Xingluo barely blocked with her sword, but the impact still forced her back several steps, and her arms trembled from the weight behind the strike.

Shen Wuxia floated closer to her side and spoke in a low voice. "Relax, do not tighten your whole body."

Xingluo gritted her teeth and kept her eyes fixed on the bear. "Easy for you to say."

"Think of it like normal combat practice," Wuxia said calmly. "The moment you panic, your body becomes slower than your eyes."

The Black Stone Armored Bear lowered its head and rushed again, but Wuxia’s voice reached her before the attack landed. "Step right and do not block."

Xingluo moved at once, and the bear’s shoulder brushed past her cloak before crashing into the tree behind her.

"Eyes and abdomen," Wuxia continued. "Its back and limbs are covered in tough hide. Cutting there is just wasting strength."

Xingluo released a short breath and tightened her grip again, but this time her stance became steadier. "I know."

The bear turned back toward her with a furious roar, and Xingluo rushed forward instead of retreating.

Its claw swept toward her chest, but she lowered her body, slid past the edge of the attack, and stabbed toward the softer gap beneath its front leg.

The blade finally sank in a little, and black-red blood spilled down the bear’s hide, even though the wound was not deep, but the beast clearly felt it.

It twisted its body violently and forced Xingluo to retreat before she could pull the sword out cleanly.

"Do not stay close after landing a hit," Wuxia said at once. "This thing is not a puppet."

Xingluo stumbled back and barely avoided another paw strike as snow burst beside her feet.

From that moment, Shen Wuxia’s commands became shorter, and Xingluo’s movements slowly stopped looking so stiff.

"Left."

She dodged before the bear’s claw fell.

"Low."

She bent under the second swing and cut toward its abdomen again.

"Back."

She retreated just as the bear slammed both paws down, shaking the nearby trees.

At the same time, Shen Wuxia used his soul force in small amounts, subtly disturbing the bear’s attacks whenever Xingluo was about to be caught.

He did not block anything directly, because his current soul body could not waste power like that.

But even a slight delay in the bear’s movement was enough to give Xingluo half a breath more, for Xingluo right now, half a breath was already enough to stay alive.

As the fight continued, the Black Stone Armored Bear finally showed a real opening.

Shen Wuxia caught it at once. "Now. Abdomen."

Xingluo moved before the bear could pull back, stepping under its swinging paw as her longsword cut upward with all her strength and this time, the blade did not scrape against the armor hide.

It tore through the softer flesh beneath the bear’s body, opening a deep wound across its abdomen as black-red blood poured onto the snow.

The Black Stone Armored Bear lurched to one side, its massive body shaking from the injury, but the crazed beast still forced itself back up.

Even with such a wound, it did not retreat, it roared again and rushed toward Xingluo, but its speed had clearly dropped compared to before.

Seeing this, Shen Wuxia’s eyes sharpened. "It is slowing down but don’t get greedy."

Xingluo nodded through heavy breathing and shifted back into position, her hands tightening around the hilt until her fingers hurt.

The fight continued, but the rhythm was no longer as desperate as before, even though the bear’s attacks were still heavy enough to kill her in one hit, yet its wounded body could no longer keep up with its own anger.

Each time it missed, Xingluo found another chance to leave a cut on its abdomen, shoulder gap, or lower jaw.

Her movements also became smoother with every exchange.

The High tier engraved equipment on her body finally began showing their real value, helping her survive impacts that would have broken her bones earlier.

At the same time, Shen Wuxia kept interfering from the side, using small bursts of soul force to delay the bear whenever its claws came too close.

Several times, Xingluo should have been struck head-on, but the bear’s movement slowed by half a breath at the last moment, that half breath saved her life again and again.

After several more exchanges, the Black Stone Armored Bear suddenly threw itself forward, trying to crush her beneath its whole body.

Xingluo reacted faster than before and rolled aside as the beast crashed into the ground, sending snow and broken branches flying around her.

Xingluo kicked off the ground without hesitation and stepped onto the bear’s lowered face before it could raise its head again.

The bear’s bloodshot eye widened and the next instant, Xingluo gripped her longsword with both hands and stabbed downward with all her strength.

The blade pierced straight into the bear’s eye and a piercing howl burst from the beast’s mouth as blood and broken flesh sprayed across Xingluo’s armor.

The sword sank halfway in, but then it met hard resistance and stopped, Xingluo’s arms trembled violently as the bear thrashed beneath her, almost throwing her off its head.

"Do not let go!" Shen Wuxia shouted. "Push it in!"

Xingluo clenched her teeth, lowered her body, and forced every bit of strength into her arms.

The bear shook harder, its claws tearing through the ground as it tried to rise, but Xingluo pressed down again with a hoarse shout.

With a wet sound, the longsword broke past the resistance and sank deeper into the beast’s skull. The Black Stone Armored Bear’s roar twisted sharply as the blade pierced into its brain.

Its massive body lurched to one side, and for a moment, it looked like it was finally about to fall, but before it collapsed, the bear released one last furious roar.

The next instant, its back suddenly burst open with a heavy boom.