Chapter 55: Black Bear Demon Great Commander

The scene of hundreds of arcing blade lights wildly slashing indeed startled many demons.

"Get out of the way!" the Black Bear Demon Commander roared, his cold gaze fixed on the human 'little one'. The demons nearby, terrified, scrambled to get as far away as possible. They knew full well how terrifying their commander could be when he unleashed his full power; anyone caught too close would be caught in the crossfire, which would mean certain death.

Meng Chuan watched the demons flee from the Black Bear Demon Commander's side. He immediately became more cautious, but still charged at the commander with maximum speed.

Below the Godfiend Demon King level, no one could make him fear.

The Black Bear Demon Commander stood, coldly observing Meng Chuan's charge. When Meng Chuan was about ten zhang away, the commander suddenly opened its mouth and roared.

"ROAR!" The sound was like a clap of thunder, sending a fan-shaped wave of sound forward. Nearby houses shuddered under the sonic impact, rumbling and collapsing one after another.

The moment the roar erupted, Meng Chuan instinctively used his true essence to seal his ears.

Even with his ears sealed, the sonic wave hitting his body caused Meng Chuan's entire body to go numb, his head to spin slightly, and blood to involuntarily trickle from his nose.

"Boom." As it roared, the Black Bear Demon Commander took a step forward, charging like a mountain. Its massive foot came down directly towards Meng Chuan.

Despite the impact, Meng Chuan remained clear-headed.

Within his ten-zhang domain, he "saw" every move the Black Bear Commander made.

With a swift flash of movement, Meng Chuan evaded the massive foot stomp. At the same instant, his blade flashed, cutting towards the black bear demon's head.

But Meng Chuan's vision was suddenly obscured as a gigantic bear paw, accompanied by a howling black wind, struck directly at him.

"Not good," Meng Chuan thought. His true essence circulated rapidly, and subtle bolts of lightning shimmered across his body. In mid-air, he twisted again, evading to the side. The huge bear paw swung dangerously close past Meng Chuan, though the black gale still swept over him.

"Die!" the Black Bear Demon Commander roared, slamming both bear paws down simultaneously. Its terrifying might stirred the forces of heaven and earth, causing a howling black gale to rage around them.

Even with his movement technique, Meng Chuan found it difficult to maneuver within the black gale.

The bear paws were huge and struck rapidly, possessing an unimaginable force. Although Meng Chuan's Godfiend foundation was much stronger than that of other humans at the same level, his strength was still far inferior to the Black Bear Demon Commander's. He mused, "Yan Jin is better at direct combat; his strength is far greater than mine. Perhaps he could withstand this Black Bear Demon Commander head-on. If I don't use my Soul Force, being hit just once would mean I'd lose the ability to fight back, even if I didn't die."

Meng Chuan thought to himself.

However, he wasn't flustered.

Because his speed was truly astonishing!

"Whoosh—" Bolts of lightning flickered around Meng Chuan's body. In two flashes, he was behind the Black Bear Demon Commander.

"Kill."

Meng Chuan attacked from behind the Black Bear Demon Commander.

The Black Bear Demon Commander immediately turned, simultaneously swinging its two massive bear paws.

Meng Chuan, a lightning-wreathed figure, flashed repeatedly through the black gale.

"This human is so fast," the Black Bear Demon Commander thought, stunned. In terms of movement techniques, it was far inferior to Meng Chuan. Although it had trained its bear paws to be both fast and flexible, and capable of generating a black wind to suppress enemies, it had initially been very confident. But now, it was flustered; its bear paws simply couldn't touch the human.

"Puff."

Finally, the Black Bear Demon Commander's paw swung wide again. Meng Chuan seized the opportunity and struck the commander with a flash of his blade.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle." Meng Chuan's expression changed.

The Black Bear Demon Commander's fur alone was half a zhang thick and incredibly tough. Meng Chuan's blade light painfully cut through the half-zhang thick fur, then through the thick bear hide, before its power was exhausted. A thick layer of membrane beneath the hide completely blocked the attack.

The strike didn't even draw blood.

"Too thick."

"Half a zhang of fur, and three chi of hide... I can't even wound it," Meng Chuan immediately realized.

The Black Bear Demon Commander was immensely strong, incredibly tough, and its bear paws wielded fearsome power, accompanied by howling winds.

"ROAR!"

As Meng Chuan's strike failed to draw blood, the Black Bear Demon Commander's eyes flashed with cold light. Due to their close proximity, it immediately opened its mouth and roared again.

Meng Chuan, sensing with his ten-zhang domain, immediately detected its movement.

"ROAR!" At such close range, the roar was like thunder, and the sonic wave surged towards him.

"Boom."

In an instant, Meng Chuan willed his Soul Force to merge with every part of his body.

At that moment, the surging sound of his blood, the beating of his heart, the whistling of wind in his lungs... every muscle fiber, every bone, every tendon... pure true essence flowing through his meridians... the sense of control suddenly became overwhelmingly strong.

Meng Chuan was usually reluctant to integrate his Soul Force throughout his body, as it consumed too much; he could only unleash it five times before needing half a day to recover. With battles raging everywhere in Dongning Prefecture, he naturally had to conserve his Soul Force as much as possible, in case of unexpected situations.

Otherwise, in a desperate situation, without Soul Force, he could lose his life.

However...

After that last strike, Meng Chuan understood that the black bear demon's "tough hide and thick flesh" was simply too exaggerated; he couldn't wound it. He had to use his Soul Force to elevate his strength to another level to kill it. If he could kill the Black Bear Demon Commander, the situation at Mirror Lake Dao Academy would improve significantly.

"Whoosh."

In an instant, Meng Chuan's physical body and true essence combined flawlessly. His explosive power and speed underwent a massive leap; his strength increased severalfold, and his speed reached a new level.

Lightning and electricity around Meng Chuan's body intensified tenfold, making him appear like a Thunder God.

He stepped on the black bear demon's body, leaving behind an afterimage.

Then came a single strike!

"Boom—" The blade light, condensed like water, stretched ten zhang long and swept directly across the Black Bear Demon Commander's neck, cutting through the thick fur, the bear hide, the membrane layer, and the muscle layer... everything.

The speed was so immense and the blade light so sharp that it surpassed the Black Bear Demon Commander's level. Its proudly impenetrable body could not withstand such a strike.

The Black Bear Demon Commander's head, much larger than a house, flew directly into the air. In its eyes, there was still a look of disbelief. It likely couldn't comprehend how, despite having the upper hand just moments ago, the opponent suddenly killed it with a single strike. Just one strike... too fast to block, too sharp for its body to withstand.

The Black Bear Demon Commander was dead.

"Go." Meng Chuan didn't stop. Lightning and electricity pulsed around his body as he transformed into a streak of lightning, continuing to rush towards the Blazing Sun Dao Academy.

The large groups of demons surrounding them from a distance watched, full of confidence in their commander.

When they saw Meng Chuan's strike fail to wound their commander, many demons laughed.

"This human is truly laughable."

"The commander possesses the Black Mountain Demon King's bloodline; his body is like a mountain. Throughout the entire Jiuzhao territory, among those below a Demon King, the commander's physical body is one of the strongest."

"His blade is just tickling the commander."

"He got hit by the commander's roar. At such close range, he's dead for sure."

The demons watched, laughing.

But then, the lightning-wreathed figure unleashed a terrifying strike! The blade light, like water, sliced off the black bear demon's head, silencing all the demons.

The Black Bear Demon Commander was dead?

Killed in a single strike?

Watching the lightning-shrouded figure rapidly disappear into the distance, no demon dared to block its path! They were utterly terrified.

If ordinary greater or lesser demons went forward, they would be shredded by hundreds of blade lights. What if a commander-level demon approached? Even their great commander was killed in a single strike; wouldn't a regular commander just be sending themselves to their death?

"The commander is dead, what do we do now?" The remaining eight commanders hesitated.

"Attacking human cities always involves casualties. Even though the commander is dead, we must continue our advance and attack Mirror Lake Dao Academy," one of the snake demon commanders immediately declared.

"Human Dao Academies are the most heavily fortified, and reinforcements will arrive from all sides. With the commander, we could have forced our way through. But now it's not worth it. We should go elsewhere and slaughter humans there instead."

"Go to the Dao Academy; that is our most important target."

"What's the point if we go and can't kill anything? Let's kill other humans within the city instead!"

The eight commanders began to argue.

The demon race strictly adhered to the principle of "the strong reign supreme." None of the eight commanders could completely control their peers.

Consequently, the demon army began to disperse.

Some continued forward, intending to check on Mirror Lake Dao Academy, to see if other demon armies were attacking so they could join.

Others completely abandoned the attack on Mirror Lake Dao Academy and began hunting humans throughout Dongning Prefecture.

"I've done all I can. With one less commander threatening it, Mirror Lake Dao Academy should be able to hold," Meng Chuan thought, transforming into an afterimage and speeding along. "Now I must find Qiyue."

He had already wasted some time.

He couldn't afford to waste any more.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

He traveled at full speed.