Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear

Wang Jinxi used his first soul skill, Dark Sky Curtain, to shroud the two of them. Yet the young man did not abandon the Maiden. Instead, he followed his memory and retreated several steps, shielding her behind him.

Xie Xie could tell that the young man was taking especially good care of the Maiden, so he switched his target to the Little Girl with light blue hair.

Having temporarily lost his vision, the young man showed no sign of panic. Though he could not see Xie Xie's movements, he could judge Xie Xie's target from the fluctuations of Soul Power around him. His second Soul Ring flashed, and a cluster of bluish light radiated from the tip of his ice staff, forming a barrier that covered both of them.

Tang Wulin's hammer and Xie Xie's dagger struck the barrier almost simultaneously. Not a sound was made; they merely sent ripples across its surface.

"Brother, I can't see! What do we do?" the Little Girl cried.

The young man gently patted the Little Girl's shoulder. "Don't worry. It'll be fine soon."

As he spoke, he crouched down and picked up the Little Girl, then rapidly retreated. In an instant, he had left the range of Wang Jinxi's soul skill. These people work together pretty well. At the same time, he sensed enormous energy fluctuations coming from all around and above him. One Ice Pillar after another rose up, almost instantly forming a cage around them, while dazzling lights flickered overhead.

It was An Ping's Ice Prison and Gu Yuena's Elemental Fusion. Feeling the biting chill of the Ice Prison and the violent elemental fluctuations above, the young man knew he had no chance left. He decisively slapped the Rescue Devices on himself and the Little Girl, and the two vanished from the spot in flashes of light.

With a boom, a thunderous sound rang out. The dazzling lights crashed onto the ground, triggering a massive energy explosion. Blocked by the Ice Prison, it did not harm any of them. When the Ice Prison dispersed, only an extremely deep crater remained.

Everyone stared at An Ping and Gu Yuena in shock. As if struck by a Petrification Technique, they stood motionless and gawked at the two of them, utterly stunned by the effects of those two skills. The Elemental Fusion skill and the Ice Prison's ability to withstand the energy explosion were profoundly shocking.

They all had only one thought: if it had been them, they definitely would not have been able to withstand the explosion or break through the Ice Prison. They had thought the strength An Ping and Gu Yuena displayed during training was already formidable enough. They had never expected that the two had still been holding back when training with them.

Xie Xie in particular, who loved to shoot his mouth off, felt a wave of lingering fear. He had often joked around with An Ping and Gu Yuena, and it was fortunate that neither of them had held it against him. He solemnly bowed. "Big Brother, Big Sister, I'll never make jokes carelessly again. Please be magnanimous and don't hold what happened before against me."

Gu Yuena shook her head to show that she did not mind, and An Ping casually waved it off as well. Then she took An Ping's hand and headed toward the Spirit Power Halos the two had left behind earlier. "All right, hurry up and absorb the spirit power. This should be enough for us to reach our current limits."

Tang Wulin was the first to recover. "Right, hurry up and absorb the spirit power."

The Spirit Power Halos left behind by the other two swiftly shot toward the approaching group. An Ping and Gu Yuena received the most, followed by the others.

The group then began evading other Soul Beasts and Soul Masters while digesting the Spirit Power Halos surrounding them. However, Spirit Power Halos did not only attract Soul Masters; they also held an enormous allure for Soul Beasts.

Unlike Soul Masters, the Soul Beasts within the Spirit Ascension Platform seemed to possess sharper senses. Although the group kept evading them and searching for safe places, many Soul Beasts still found them.

At last, Wang Jinxi was the first to reach the limit of what he could currently absorb. After informing everyone, he pressed the button and exited the Spirit Ascension Platform. The Spirit Power Halos he left behind flew toward the remaining people.

Next came Zhang Yangzi and Xie Xie, who reached their absorption limits one after another. Tang Wulin followed afterward.

After they exited, they stood with Wu Changkong and the Spirit Receiver, staring at the screen as they waited for An Ping and Gu Yuena to come out. Time slowly passed, but the others did not think much of it.

Tang Wulin, however, was somewhat puzzled. Although his Spiritual Power was far inferior to theirs, he was still considered strong among his Peers. His physical condition should have been much better than An Ping's and Gu Yuena's. Besides, the limit of how much spirit power a Spirit Soul could absorb was not determined solely by Spiritual Power. How could the gap be so large?

Wu Changkong had also thought that, with several teammates gone, An Ping and Gu Yuena would soon withdraw, whether because they encountered Soul Beasts or because their spirit power absorption had reached its limit. He had not expected the two to persist for so long. These two were far more talented than he had imagined, and he resolved to bring them into the Tang Sect no matter what.

At that moment, the two were strolling through the forest of the Spirit Ascension Platform. An Ping looked at Gu Yuena and said, "There's a powerful Soul Beast nearby, but its condition is strange. It's different from the other Soul Beasts. It seems to have a physical body, yet not quite."

"Not quite? I want to take a look," Gu Yuena said.

"All right. This way. Let's go see." An Ping nodded. He was also curious about what was going on. After concealing their auras, he carefully led Gu Yuena toward the strange Soul Beast.

After passing through a patch of towering bushes, they spotted it from a great distance through the trees: a giant bear covered in dark golden fur, lazily leaning against a massive boulder. It stood over three meters tall, and its enormous paws occasionally scratched at its fur.

"A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear? A Soul Bone?" An Ping muttered softly. He understood the source of that strange, half-real sensation—it came from the Soul Bone in the Dark Gold Dreadclaws.

"A Soul Bone?" Gu Yuena asked.

An Ping nodded slightly. "In my perception, its soul is attached to a bone that possesses the aura of life. That bone should be a Soul Bone."

"A Soul Bone? Do you want it?" An Ping found Gu Yuena's tone somewhat strange.

An Ping shook his head. "Huh? It's useless to me. Do you want it?"

An Ping thought Gu Yuena would refuse as well. After all, in his impression, she should have no use for it. Yet Gu Yuena stared at him seriously and said, "I hope you can obtain it."

The people outside, staring at the screen, also saw the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. They cried out in unison, "A Thousand-Year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!"

This was a king among Soul Beasts, a powerful Soul Beast said to rival a Giant Dragon. Everyone involuntarily held their breath, hoping the two would not be discovered.

What no one expected was that, before their astonished eyes, Ice Pillars rose around the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, rapidly forming an Ice Prison that trapped it inside.

Xie Xie cried out, "What are they doing?!"

The others also looked shocked. They actually dared to provoke this king of Soul Beasts. Wu Changkong found it the hardest to understand. In his eyes, An Ping and Gu Yuena were the two least likely to make such a reckless move.