Chapter Three: Wrestling the Mighty Bear, A Rainbow Pierces the Sun

Laughing heartily, Qi did not back down but faced the giant brown bear head-on, their palms meeting in a thunderous exchange. With each blow, the exhilaration grew, and Qi could not help but laugh aloud, “Approved! Delightful! Never before have I met a foe who could match my strength. Ha ha ha, let us drink to this!”

The girl watched in stunned disbelief. ‘What is going on here? A boy barely one meter sixty squaring off against a nearly four-meter-tall bear in a contest of raw power—is this some sort of science fiction film? Can humans truly reach such heights? Then again, I’m not even sure this is Earth anymore. No, wait, their language sounds somewhat like Chinese, but… but I don’t even know Chinese!’ The black cat beside her was equally bewildered.

The tide of battle shifted below. Realizing that close combat would not bring a swift victory, the great brown bear raised its head and let out a furious roar. Suddenly, a faint yellow glow emanated from its body, its fur bristling as it seemed to swell even larger. With a mighty swing, the bear’s paw struck toward Qi.

Startled by this bizarre spectacle, Qi dared not be careless and swiftly dodged back, making full use of his speed.

With a deafening crash, the bear’s paw smashed into the ground, splitting the earth with sheer force. Yet Qi was not frightened; rather, he was delighted. That blow must have carried at least five thousand jin, nearly twice as much power as before.

Qi too let out a mighty shout, “Open!” Controlling his muscles and tendons with perfect mastery, he doubled his strength. His body swelled, muscles rippling as he laughed again and threw himself once more into battle with the giant bear. Though their clash appeared similar to before, the intensity had risen a notch. Trees and underbrush were effortlessly shattered, the clearing around them expanding rapidly.

The giant bear, shocked that even after unleashing its full power it could not prevail, grew furious and resolved to use its ultimate technique. After a collision with Qi, the bear slammed its massive paws into the earth. Yellow light flared, and jagged stone spikes erupted from the ground, shooting skyward in a deadly barrage.

For the first time, Qi’s expression changed. There was no time to think. With a flick of his wrist, a flying dagger flashed into his hand. In that hair’s breadth of a moment, the sound of sharp impacts could be heard from within the cloud of dust and debris that engulfed him.

After three heartbeats, the ground grew quiet. The brown bear lifted its paws from the earth and let out an excited roar.

“…A mere magical beast, and yet it dares to show off before me,” the girl tried to force a smile, but failed. If the hand-to-hand combat could be dismissed as choreography and special effects, the yellow light and stone spikes were nothing short of supernatural. Her worldview, though shaken, held firm. She was the Night Witch Queen, after all.

The giant brown bear paid no heed to the girl’s dramatic musings, its gaze fixed on the dissipating dust. “Yellow light enveloping the body, stone spikes from the earth—could this be one of the legendary spirit beasts? Excellent. If I’m to climb the mountain and visit the immortals, I ought to bring a worthy gift.”

Its pupils contracted as the dust settled, revealing Qi entirely unscathed—his clothes not even torn, only dusted with a little dirt.

Qi slowly opened his eyes, a hint of silver flickering in the darkness. He glanced down at the flying dagger in his hand, its edge now curled. It was with this strange blade that he had deflected every stone spike, focusing his senses so intently that not a single one escaped his sight.

Staring at the brown bear, Qi adjusted his stance. In a blink, he hurled the dagger with all his might; it became a streak of crimson light, shooting straight for the bear’s brow. The dagger was so fast that it blazed through the air, friction painting its arc in splendid hues.

Qi had designed and forged these daggers himself—each half a foot long and one finger wide, ten in total. They lacked handles to maximize their piercing power. The blades were streamlined, with serrated backs and curious curves, allowing them to change direction mid-flight and catch enemies off guard. In the hands of a true master, a single dagger could twist several times midair, perfect for assassinating heavily guarded targets. At the end of each dagger was a groove, the key to Qi’s signature technique, the “Rainbow Strike.”

The giant brown bear sensed mortal danger, but the dagger was too fast to evade. With a desperate roar, the yellow light around it brightened, but blood spattered as the dagger embedded itself an inch deep in its brow. The blow had punched through the protective glow, but the bear’s thick hide and flesh prevented a fatal wound.

‘So the yellow light not only enhances strength but also defends?’ Qi mused. ‘Well then, let’s test that move I’ve been developing. I’ve never used it against a real enemy—this clumsy bear will do nicely.’

The bear howled in pain, fear and wrath flashing in its eyes. If not for the reinforced defense, the dagger would have pierced deeper. It shot Qi a look of pure hatred, then, instead of fleeing, caught sight of the delicate girl perched on a branch. In that instant, it changed its mind.

The giant bear charged at the girl, yellow light radiating even more fiercely than before.

She gazed blankly as the enormous beast closed in. It wasn’t that she wanted to be stunned—there was simply nothing else she could do. Supporting herself with one hand on the branch, a bitter, self-mocking smile crossed her face. “So I couldn’t escape after all? May I see my sisters’ sweet faces when I open my eyes again.”

Qi did not pursue the bear. Instead, he quietly drew the remaining nine daggers, eyes grave. A flicker of twisted silver glinted in his gaze. He seemed to move—and yet not—and then nine crimson streaks shot forward in nine different arcs.

The giant bear was instantly gripped by an unprecedented sense of mortal peril. Without hesitation, it crossed its glowing paws before itself, yellow light blazing.

For a split second, time seemed to freeze. Red and yellow light intertwined as the bear’s paws went numb from the tremendous force, pushing it back ever so slightly. ‘I blocked it,’ the bear thought—only for another wave of impact to crash into its already numbed paws. In the span of a single breath, nine such impacts struck in rapid succession. And then, the bear knew nothing more.

From the girl’s vantage, she saw nine crimson beams streak across the sky, converging before the bear’s paws into a single rainbow. This rainbow pierced both paws, passed straight through the bear’s skull, then continued on, boring through more than ten tree trunks before embedding itself two feet deep in a trunk a meter thick. Only then did the shrill whistle of the blades reach her ears.

From her angle, she could see clearly: at the point where the rainbow struck, the flying daggers had combined into a long sword. With a thunderous crash, the giant brown bear fell, dead and unwilling, a gaping hole in its head plain for all to see.

As her tension melted away, the girl slumped onto the branch, her eyes filled with the joy of survival—and a hint of confusion about what the future might hold.