The Nine-Hundred-and-Ninety-Nine-Year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear

It was night.

All was silent. Dots of starlight glittered across the pitch-black sky, the Milky Way hung high above, and meteors trailed flaming tails as they descended upon this unknown land.

Ye Tianxing remained inside the tent, activating his Spiritual Skull. His powerful spiritual power spread outward, and everything around him appeared perfectly within his mind.

Qian Jun and the other two Titled Douluo sat cross-legged on the ground. Though resting with their eyes closed, they remained alert to the unknown dangers around them.

"Spirit Beasts are neither easy to kill nor easy to find. In a forest this vast, finding one that suits you is incredibly difficult!"

Ye Tianxing lay with his hands behind his head, voicing this lament after arriving in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Tianxing, hunting Spirit Beasts requires patience. Don't worry, you'll find one that suits you," Douluo Qian Jun said with a smile.

"I know that, but..."

Ye Tianxing poked his head out of the tent and looked at the three meditating men. "The Star Dou Great Forest is too huge. Finding a Spirit Beast that suits me is no different from searching for a needle in the ocean."

"Hahaha..."

The three of them laughed. They had all come this far themselves and understood only too well the frustration of searching for a suitable Spirit Beast.

Sometimes, one had to stay in the forest for an entire month just to hunt one down. There were even bold souls who dared to complete a kill amid a herd of Spirit Beasts.

"Rumble!"

Just then, a thunderclap exploded, shattering the silence of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Ye Tianxing sprang out of the tent. After undergoing Heavenly Thunder Tempering Body, he had become extremely sensitive to natural lightning. He knew very well that this bolt was far more powerful than the thunder in Wind Thunder Gorge.

"Good heavens! It's using the power of natural lightning to temper its body and make itself even stronger once it enters the thousand-year level!" A cold gleam flashed through Douluo Qian Jun's eyes. With his vast experience, he spotted the enormous, hazy figure ahead at once.

"That is... a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear?!" Douluo Demon Bear recognized the colossal creature at a glance. Though his martial soul had nothing to do with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, they belonged to the same category.

"Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears are extremely rare. Every one of them is exceptionally powerful. It's said that some thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears can even contend with Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts. This one is preparing to break through to the thousand-year level. Strictly speaking, it is a nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear."

As soon as Douluo Ghost Leopard finished speaking, the sound of a bow being drawn reached their ears.

The Ice Bow appeared in Ye Tianxing's hands, along with an arrow formed entirely from solid ice.

"It's decided. It'll be him!"

Ye Tianxing fixed his gaze on the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. You'll be the target for my second Spirit Ring, Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!

Douluo Qian Jun and the other two had no objections. Before they came, Qian Daoliu had instructed them to save Ye Tianxing only in moments of danger. Other than that, they were to let him do as he pleased.

"Whoosh!" The Ice Arrow tore through the air and struck the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's left claw.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

Its left claw was completely frozen and gradually lost all feeling.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear widened its eyes. Its blood-red gaze fixed fiercely on Ye Tianxing's position, only to discover that it was a little brat shooting at it.

Although the auras of the three men beside the child were terrifying, and it was no match for any one of them, the child himself was weak enough.

Yet Ye Tianxing actually took the initiative to charge forward. Fire Arrows and Lightning Arrows flew toward the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear one after another, dealing it considerable damage.

Enraged by the pain, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear no longer cared about the three men standing beside the child. Wrapped in lightning, it charged directly at Ye Tianxing.

The ground trembled and mountains shook as trees collapsed. To Ye Tianxing, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's massive body was like a towering mountain.

One claw came crashing down, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear howled. Upon closer inspection, Ye Tianxing was holding the Azure Dragon Sword and had effortlessly pierced its right claw.

That filled it with fear. The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's most formidable weapons were undoubtedly its twin claws. Those sharp golden blades had never failed it; they could tear through mountains and split rocks, sever gold and take heads, allowing it to roam the Star Dou Great Forest for nearly a thousand years without defeat.

Yet now, this little brat's sword had wounded it!

The wind is picking up—run! Retreat now!

"Trying to run? Not so easily!"

Ye Tianxing chased after it. His arms moved faster and faster as countless arrows tore through the air, some even piercing the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's body.

"Let's follow."

Douluo Qian Jun, Demon Bear, and Ghost Leopard closely followed Ye Tianxing.

Ye Tianxing's performance had exceeded their expectations. With his nimble movements and the sharpness of the Azure Dragon Sword, he had forced a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear on the verge of reaching the thousand-year level into such a miserable state that it fled for its life. Among those his age, he could be considered unbeatable.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was saying, Don't bully a bear too far!

"I can't understand you. Speak human!" Ye Tianxing could not understand it. He was not a bear.

"..."

Intense lightning erupted from the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's body. It had originally intended to use the power of natural lightning to guide it through its entire body and break through into a thousand-year Spirit Beast.

Suddenly, it stopped. Raising its head to look at the lightning about to descend from above, it charged at Ye Tianxing with bloodshot eyes!

"Are you planning to detonate the lightning and perish with me?"

Ye Tianxing wanted to laugh. You want to play with lightning against me?

But with a powerful enemy before him, Ye Tianxing did not dare be careless.

He tightly gripped the Withered Wood Bow in his left hand. With his right, he placed the Azure Dragon Sword across the bow and drew the string.

A sonic boom rang out as the Azure Dragon Sword shot forward, dyeing this ruined forest blood-red.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was split into two. The Azure Dragon Sword pierced straight through it, and blood soaked the earth. Ye Tianxing stood with his sword in hand, looking at the yellow hundred-year Spirit Ring before him as purple demonic patterns gradually appeared upon it. Then he glanced at the lightning about to descend from the sky, and a bold idea came to him.

Ye Tianxing sat cross-legged, laying the Azure Dragon Sword across his knees and carrying the Withered Wood Bow on his back. He allowed the lightning above to descend upon him without moving in the slightest. Drawn by his Soul Power, the Spirit Ring flew straight toward Ye Tianxing and firmly settled around his waist.

The expressions of Douluo Qian Jun and the other two grew solemn as they watched. Even they had never seen anyone absorb a Spirit Ring in such a manner.

A Spirit Master had to avoid all disturbance while absorbing a Spirit Ring. If something unexpected happened, all previous efforts could be wasted, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Ye Tianxing, however, was different from others. A bolt of lightning as thick as a water barrel struck directly down. One part hit Ye Tianxing's body, while the other struck the Spirit Ring.

"Boom, boom, boom!!!"

"Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!"

With every strike, Ye Tianxing's brows furrowed tighter. Not only that, but the hundred-year Spirit Ring, once covered in purple demonic patterns, actually showed signs of transforming toward the thousand-year level.

"Worshipper Qian Jun, look!" Douluo Ghost Leopard's eyes widened as he watched this unbelievable scene unfold.

Under the cleansing of the lightning, the thousand-year Spirit Ring gradually turned purple. Ye Tianxing's upper garments were blasted apart and scattered through the air. His body was as smooth as jade, yet tremendous potential lay hidden within his small frame, like a young tiger descending the mountain.

"We've found a treasure!" Douluo Qian Jun smiled in relief. He knew Ye Tianxing had succeeded.