Forgetting the forest for the trees!
Ling Yun never liked to engage in any unnecessary trouble if he could help it.
In his experience being involved in pointless fights was utterly foolish especially when the only purpose it served was to cause all sorts of repercussions that affected the needful work later on.
His conclusion could be very aptly summarised in a single sentence
"Forgetting the forest for the trees ".
The irony in this statement couldn't be more appropriate when associated with his former accomplices from the Wu Lin .
Even though their lives were associated with the 'Martial Forest " all they could think of wasting their time , youth and even their precious lives squabbling away in sight of trees of momentary prosperity whilst forgetting the true forest of dreams that lay just beyond.
What they did hadn't affected him directly still the sheer idiosyncrasy of it all had contributed to his early 'departure' to a more saner world that lay on the other side.
He sighed.
Now was not the time to immerse in reminiscence especially when danger loomed over the horizon.
He calmly assessed the amount of qi he possessed .
It wasn't enough.
Not enough to allow him to escape at any rate.
He may be fast if he put his mind to it but the beast was faster consequently all he would be doing is consuming himself in a game of tag where he had no hope.
He didn't need to explicitly state the ending he expected in such a scenario.
Therefore the only possibilities that remained were to hide or to fight.
He didn't have much confidence towards either of them .
He didn't knew any 'camouflage' spells and the only hiding techniques were those that he learned in his time in the 'Wu Lin ' .
They could be used to trick human , ordinary beats even but did not stand a chance against a demonic beast whose strongest advantage was its abnormal sense of smell.
Regarding his prospects in a fight .
He didn't have much information about the bear apart from its name and how it looked facts which Meng Yun had gained from reading a book regarding common knowledge of beasts which he had bought in ZiLin city.
The book didn't have much more to say.
The only advice it had was to run .
Well , running wasn't an option for him now.
Fine he would have to head into the flight blind without his usual weapon by his side.
Any factors he had on is side that could affect the outcome ?
Let' see.
He did not know any effective ways of using his Qi and apart from a Psychokinesis spell which could be used to animate inanimate objects situated at a short radius and a Fireball spell which could be used to project a fireball he didn't know any spells .
He did possess some symbols though. But he wasn't sure regarding their operation and efforts so using them in the heat of battle wasn't feasible.
He did have some knowledge of bears though which he had got from his time spent hunting them years ago .but he just wasn't sure if it was applicable to Demonic Beasts .He could find that out .
Maybe.
What else ?
He had a nimble mind and above all his vast experience .
That was a big plus.
Honestly this wasn't looking favourable at all.
But compared to the other passive options this one held the maximum amount of uncertainty in his favour as a result he didn't have much choice.
He had to grab the bear by the paws.
He wasn't sure how that would work out .
Time to find out.
He leapt down from the tree in a single fluid movement , his feet making no sound when they gently touched the floor below.
In his experience bears were rarely nocturnal mostly preferring to carry out their operations by day the only exceptions being those that stayed close to human settlements.
Which meant that if the Demonic Beast was anything like its 'normal' counterparts if he attacked now he would possess an advantage in his favour.
He took a deep breath as his body began to transform.
His heart gradually grew more and more calm till it almost became still and silent.
His limbs repeatedly tensed up and then loosened till the point that he was confident that they would be able to support his movements.
His legs slowly extended till he was standing only on the tips of his toes , ready to fly at a moment's notice.
He slowly began to circulate qi in the only manner he knew.
Thump ! Thump !
His senses exploded as if they had been infused to the root with drugs .
The darkness of the night was no different than day for him now.
He took flight.
Taking to the air like a ghostly wraith he glided through the forest heading onward to the beast's lair which was hardly a few paces away.
He hardly had the time however to view his new surroundings , as suddenly a pair of crimson lights emerged from the shadows and then -
'Whoosh !'
The very air shook in front of his eyes as in the nick of time Ling Yun took to the air even as a massive paw appearing out of thin air nearly cleaved his head in two.
"Sh*t !" , Ling Yun couldn't help but let out of a curse.
The Demonic Beast was incomparable to a normal wild beast !
Both its awareness and abilities were off the charts !
Ling Yun had by this time managed to leap to the top of a conveniently situated rock just as he assessed the situation that he found himself in.
The bear slowly crawled out of the hole in the middle of a hillock that it had made its den.
Its actions were lethargic yet forceful with each step forward shaking the ground.
Ling Yun got the message all right.
It was demonstrating the disdain it held for him while simultaneously trying to intimidate him through a show of strength.
Even if it was just a First Rank , initial tier beast its intelligence couldn't be underestimated.
As for its strength it could easily go toe to toe with a middle period Refining Qi cultivator.
"Interesting" , Ling Yun thought , a smile appearing at the corner of his lips in anticipation of the struggle that would ensue .
Surprisingly the bear did not charge towards him to drive its advantage home . Instead it stood still at its place , grinning maliciously at him.
The bear's red eyes flashed signalling something ominous.
Suddenly it stood upright and let out a deafening roar.
"Whoosh!"
"What the f*ck ! " ,this time Ling Yun was truly flustered even as he watched as the world collapsed around him.
Massive spikes erupted spontaneously from the earth all around with the momentum of the attack surging like a wave as it covered the entire battlefield shredding the forest earth to shreds .
The ever alert Ling Yun however managed to dodge in time , his movement as gentle and elegant as a feather in the wind.
If there had been any of the famous masters from the Wu Lin they would have been astonished at the sight of this movement .
This was simply the Lightweight art used to the pinnacle .
When the body was as light as a feather , with each step traversing a league !
Ling Yun however didn't have the time to consider that he had with the use of qi managed to pull off a move that would have been impossible for the old him.
His feet alighted on top of a nearby tree trunk barely for a second before he took off on.
He had to bring the momentum on his side.
The enemy had already used this move and was waiting for him to cover down and wait .
He had to then do the exact opposite .
Create an opening where none existed.
Attack at the time and place an attack was unexpected and unwelcome.
Midair he managed to pull of a small , short sword from his person . His speed didn't change a bit though on the contrary it become more and more fast
His figure a blur as it leapt from tree to tree with an agility that would have put the most agile and fleet-foot of primates to shame.
He let loose the sword just at the right time .His qi shall take care of it from now on.
He was so fast that the world appeared still.
The wind had long stopped whistling through his ears as at his speed the wind was irrelevant.
Even so those red eyes were shining without any reduction in their brightness.
The massive head turned and the even more dangerous paws came over with a momentum that seemed as if they could grasp the vast heavens high above.
Time stopped.
One of the paws grazed his hand and the other grazed past his chest.
"Ba-Bump!"
A strange beat pulsated from his heart.
A mystical wave passed through all of his limbs .
His still eyes moved.
His body screamed in an uncontrollable joy.
He leapt.
His feet landed gently on top of the humongous forearms of the bear ascending for the skies a moment later.
His body flipped midair .
His hands touched those tremendously huge shoulders leaping backwards , his legs landing with a tremendous force on the back of the bear.
It was enough.
Enough to push the bear backwards.
Even as his body fell towards the earth his hand waved in a signal to the skies.
"Whoosh!"
The sword flew screaming in the air with an almighty momentum like the coming of a lightning bolt.
"ROARRRR!"
A tremendous roar of rage came from the bear.
But it didn't make Ling Yun joyous at all.
Instead it made him horrified .
He watched on in trepidation as the bear began to stand up .
The sword fell down soundlessly from its back.
Massive spikes emerged throughout its back like a crude suit of armour .
Its red eyes were finally gleaming with a different emotion.
They glowed with the madness of hate.
Both of them felt that their mutual games had gone on for far too long.
They surged over towards each other in a race of rage that would determine the ultimate victor !
He who would land his strike first would be the ultimate victor !
Even then they didn't stop their attacks.
The bear sent wave after wave of spikes along Ling Yun's way and Ling Yun retaliated by sending the sword flying around in a bid to prick the bear if it were foolhardy to let out an opening.
The stars shining bright in the sky bore witness to an extraordinary scene in the land of mortals below.
A solitary man jumping helter skelter over a path that bubbled and frothed sending killer spires rising into the sky accompanied by a rampaging bear that raged towards him thunderously constantly being pestered by a sword that looked like a toy in comparison to its massive form.
With an almighty heave the bear plucked the sword off its flank and threw it aside.
That brief moment was all it took for Ling Yun to gain on his adversary surging forward in a singular moment . Unfortunately he found out that he had lost the connection to his sword which meant that apart from his fists he had nothing with him right then.
Wait a minute .. nothing ?
He gritted his teeth as he decided to stake everything on a throw of the dice.
His strength ebbed in response , his responses dulled incomparably.
He reached the bear but the bear reached him first .
The power of its paw strike was fierce enough to drive a gash across his chest .
Its claws tore apart his dominant arm and blood sprayed from the wound like water from a fountain.
His body landed frail and broken on its paw.
Its hideous maw with its foul-smelling breath was all too close.
Had it been for nothing in the end ?
No , not yet . Visions from his past didn't cascade in front of his eyes.
Which meant he wasn't dead yet.
"Ba-Bump !"
His heart thumped once more and new strength surged once again inside again.
The bear gave a hideous smile to him .
He returned a hideous smile in turn.
Crash !
A sound akin to that of crackling glass rang out as the bear watched on in unprecedented shock as the majority of its sharp teeth shattered after being impacted by one of its 'own' spikes.
Before it could recover its senses Ling Yun surged upwards in one fluid movement and stuffed his uninjured arm inside its mouth.
He circulated the qi through his body.
The dark maw of the bear was set alight.
The bear looked stupefied as smoke billowed from the inside of its mouth.
Till the end it could never understand .
Victory was in its grasp wasn't it ?
Ling Yun smiled weakly in response.
"You forgot the Forest for the Trees , my friend . I didn't "
Light dawned finally in the bear's eyes as the last embers in its sockets were burnt .
It gave out a sigh before keeling over and falling to the earth.
Ling Yun gently extricated himself from the massive corpse that was as large as it had been in life.
His gamble had worked.
After observing the perverse defence of the bear he had to conclude that no weapon in his arsenal would work from the exterior which meant that he had to get 'inside' somehow .
As a result a bait was inevitable it was just that with the uncertainty of the gamble there was no way he could be sure .
Surprisingly however a mysterious strength had coursed right through him giving him the vitality that he had needed so sorely at that time.
It was even enough to allow him to use a Fireball spell so that he could finish the battle with absolute certainty.
But then if he wasn't wrong that same mystical energy had helped him earlier in the fight as well.
He frowned as he contemplated the possibilities unfortunately he didn't have too much time to think though for a sudden noise interrupted his thoughts.
"Clap ! Clap !"
'That was very well done indeed .Such agile movements ! I haven't seen anything like them in a while . Were they from the Wulin perhaps ? Certainly quite a famous sect in the martial world I'm sure !"
Ling Yun turned his head towards the voice and watched an old man approaching with a smile on his face.
Strangely though he didn't make a single sound as he walked towards him . It was as if he was gliding over the ground.
Even though the old man with his wrinkles and daft smile looked totally harmless Ling Yun's instincts were screaming for some reason.
He stared deeply at the approaching man .
Suddenly he couldn't help but recoil sharply from him.
Just a moment ago it felt as if he weren't staring at an old man but at a murderous beast that would make the bear that he had just overcome look like a joke.
"Oh ! Don't mind me . I'm just heading for a stroll. At my age you see, People are always reminiscing about some thing or the other .Really silly if you ask me but what can we do after all when the world flies past just so ..fast "
He took out a green fruit from inside his robes and took a bite chewing carefully as juices slid down his chin.
"Ummmm. It's really good. This year the ginkgo trees have outdone themselves . What a pleasant taste ! What a refreshing fragrance ! I'm sure that the young master would be terribly pleased."
The wary Ling Yun just stared at the intruder in silence .
At last he broke his silence in a bid to recover some answers
"What do you want ?"
"Nothing much . A talk if you're interested . After all us old men get really ..lonely without having many people to talk to .It would do good to get some of that clutter out . Don't you think ?"
He turned his back to Ling Yun and began walking without waiting for his response.
"There's no need to be so wary, little friend . In the words of your fellow practitioners from the Wu Lin , Always choose the right fight otherwise in sight of some fruit bearing trees you might just miss sight of the terrifying forest that lies just beyond."
Ling Yun said nothing in response and began following the old man quietly .
The old man was right indeed.
Sometimes it was better to just give up the shallow trees when a far more bountiful forest lay on the other side.