The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?!

"Clang!"

The blade collided with the forepaw, producing the sound of metal clashing.

"Such tough fur."

Liu Zheng looked at the Dragon Scale Blade shaking in his hand, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"Such a sharp blade."

The giant panda was similarly astonished as it looked at the streak of blood on the back of its paw.

It was an ancient variant, trained since childhood with medicinal baths to cleanse and refine, honing martial arts to strengthen muscles and bones, reaching the realm of bronze skin and iron bones.

Not to mention a normal blade; even if using a chainsaw for a trim, the teeth would need replacing several times.

The random opponent's strength wasn't great, yet managed to hurt it, clearly due to the knife.

"First kill this guy, then snatch the knife."

Having resolved this, the panda's round belly squeezed out a few folds, then bounced back like a compressed rubber ball, transforming into a blur that pounced at the retreating Liu Zheng.

"So fast! Truly worthy of being called a 'cat'."

Seeing the massive paw clawing towards his face, Liu Zheng felt a slight alarm.

Luckily, he had the movement speed boost provided by the Wind Empress Bamboo Leaf Tea, otherwise, he might not have reacted in time.

Seeing the airflow swirling at the paw's tip, Liu Zheng dared not block directly with his body, opting to parry with the knife.

The giant paw struck the Dragon Scale Blade, causing it to bend dangerously but ultimately, being true to its perfect quality, it withstood the blow.

"Aow!"

Fueled by fervent rage, the giant panda instinctively withdrew its paw, while Liu Zheng used the paw's impact to quickly retreat.

"Damn wretch!"

Realizing what happened, the giant panda was furious and embarrassed, with a single swipe of its paw sending five air blades at Liu Zheng's limbs, seemingly intending to chop him into six pieces.

However, its efforts were in vain.

After all, even if Liu Zheng stood still and let it chop, he still had four tentacles and two hooves.

Moreover, Doctor Nile would never just stand by.

With a horizontal slash of the Gem Curved Knife, a golden blade qi turned the five air blades into mere air.

Then Doctor Nile swiftly moved between Liu Zheng and the giant panda, swinging the scepter to block the bear paw bearing down.

"A considerable amount of strength."

Doctor Nile retreated several steps, bringing Liu Zheng along, bumping him aside.

"I must see whether the strength of the Scarab surpasses the strength of a bear."

He seized one of Liu Zheng's tentacles and swiped it over the Blue Sapphire Sacred Beetle, which immediately absorbed the blood and emitted a brilliant light.

Doctor Nile didn't even glance at Liu Zheng's resentful look, sheathed the Gem Curved Knife, and charged forward, wielding the scepter with both hands.

"Clang!"

The scepter struck the crossed bear paws, sounding like a mighty bell.

This time, Doctor Nile didn't retreat but instead pressed the bear paws down three inches.

"Not bad, better at withstanding blows than the Nadi Bear."

Doctor Nile said with satisfaction.

The Nadi Bear was a terrifying creature, descended from Ra, with an ugly appearance, mysterious behaviors, enormous strength, especially fond of attacking and consuming humans raw, a major local nuisance.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, most spells or divine powers were ineffective against it, so it could only be killed by force.

Those who kill a Nadi Bear were considered heroes and received substantial rewards; if someone managed to kill one alone, regardless of their original status, they would be elevated to basic nobility or be made a priest apprentice.

Doctor Nile, of course, didn't become a priest this way, but he had indeed killed three Nadi Bears single-handedly, earning an audience with the Pharaoh, and subsequently rising in status.

This memory of his was suppressed by City Hall, but the Sun God Ra had recorded it and revealed part of it to him.

This was one of the benefits of faith; after all, whether alive or dead, human memories were limited, whereas a god's memory was nearly infinite, only constrained by their willingness to remember.

"Stop for a moment."

With this thought, Doctor Nile retracted the scepter, signaling to cease action.

"Why? Are you willing to pay now?"

The giant panda asked suspiciously.

If these people were willing to pay, that would be great. It preferred finding a comfortable spot to relax and eat rather than fight.

"This bear, do you know magic or spells or the like?"

Doctor Nile asked.

"Do you take me for a fool? How could I possibly tell you that?"

The giant panda rolled its eyes.

"Then you do know. Here's the deal: neither of us uses extraordinary abilities or items, just pure martial skill, head-to-head. If you win, I'll give you a million. If you lose, you'll become my mount, how about that?"

Doctor Nile proposed.

"Impossible, my master said that no one else can ride me except him."

The giant panda refused outright.

"Uh..."

Liu Zheng hesitated.

With the customs and practices of the Metropolis, he was afraid of inadvertently asking something that would shatter his worldview.

"Then let's change it, if you lose, during our time in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, you must be my bodyguard."

Doctor Nile changed the wager.

"If you can beat me, why would you need me as a bodyguard?"

"Your master should be stronger than you, right?"

Doctor Nile countered.

"Of course, my master is really powerful."

The giant panda said proudly.

"So when it's time to fight, does your master go in, or do you?"

Doctor Nile asked again.

"When I was younger, it was my master, but now that I'm grown, it's me."

The giant panda thought for a moment.

"See? You're weaker than me but stronger than the enemy, so you should be the bodyguard."

"Ah? When you put it that way, it does seem reasonable."