The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!

She Long was tall, standing a full two meters high. Combined with the unpredictable Eighteen-Foot Snake Lance in his hand, he looked every bit as imposing as a tiger, and people hardly dared look directly at him!

As for the person She Long was protecting—

A head of golden hair, a graceful figure, and peerless beauty!

Although she seemed a little immature between the brows, she was clearly still quite young.

Yet the aura around her was anything but ordinary. She was clearly someone of wealth and status.

Besides, anyone accompanied by a Titled Douluo was hardly an ordinary person.

However, since she rarely appeared in public on the continent, not many people recognized her.

After repelling more than a dozen Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in a row, She Long had made it clear that the big man was not to be trifled with. The ordinary Spirit Beasts didn't dare test him.

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Unlike the few people in the Worship Hall who already knew the truth, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had no secrets to keep about Xue Qinghe being Qian Renxue.

On the contrary, when they saw the video appear, the higher-ups of Spirit Hall were eager to find out why one of their Titled Douluos had suddenly become a member of Qingyun Sect!

But when Ning Fengzhi saw the woman in the video, a rare look of confusion appeared on his face.

Gu Rong said, "Fengzhi, what's wrong? It's rare to see you make that face!"

"Uncle Bone, you're too kind. To be honest, this woman's every gesture feels strangely familiar to me.

"I've always been confident in my memory, but oddly enough, I just went over everything I could recall and still couldn't think of who she was.

"If I had to say, she bears a three-part resemblance to one of my students!"

Ning Fengzhi's student?

"Fengzhi, don't tell me you mean His Highness, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of the Heaven Dou Empire?

"But isn't he a man?"

"Exactly!"

Ever since Emperor Xue Ye had invited him to become Xue Qinghe's teacher, Ning Fengzhi had gotten to know his student quite well.

He was certain that the woman in the video was not Xue Qinghe!

His student was most definitely a man.

"Perhaps it's because of their noble upbringing that they have so much in common.

"After all, someone accompanied by a Titled Douluo must come from an extraordinary family. Naturally, their education would be second to none."

Noticing Chen Xin's slight frown, Ning Fengzhi asked with interest, "Uncle Jian, what's wrong? Did you notice something?"

"I think the two of you are making too much of this.

"True, having a Titled Douluo as a guard means they must come from an extraordinary background.

"But did you notice Snake Lance Douluo's Soul Ring Configuration?"

Soul Ring Configuration?

Chen Xin's remark prompted Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong to take a closer look. They quickly spotted what was wrong.

His fifth Spirit Ring was only at the thousand-year level?

That was no good!

According to the rules Soul Masters on Douluo Continent had worked out over many years, the first two Spirit Rings were generally hundred-year, the next two thousand-year, and the fifth Ring onward had to be at the ten-thousand-year level.

Of course, if they had the means, it would be even better to have a hundred-thousand-year ninth Ring like Tang Hao.

Two yellow, two purple, and five black!

That was essentially the standard configuration for a Titled Douluo, and it was also considered the optimal configuration!

But what was going on with this Snake Lance Douluo?

The twelve-thousand-year threshold was certainly difficult to judge, but for someone at his level, it shouldn't have been a problem.

Yet his fifth Spirit Ring was only at the thousand-year level. That was truly strange.

Gu Rong asked, "What on earth is going on?"

"Perhaps he came from a commoner Soul Master family. When he was cultivating, he had no way to obtain a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring, so he settled for one at the thousand-year level instead.

"What a pity!"

Just because it was so easy for the protagonist group to obtain optimal Spirit Rings, that didn't mean it was easy for everyone.

Across the whole continent, most Soul Masters without the backing of a family or powerful faction had no choice but to settle for less.

Take Xiao Chenyu, the son of Nuoding City's lord; Li Yusong, the Soul Emperor instructor at Shrek Academy; and Qin Ming, publicly recognized as the youngest Soul Emperor on the entire continent.

Even their Spirit Rings weren't optimally configured, let alone those of ordinary Soul Masters.

Chen Xin said, "It really is a pity!"

"He reached level 94 at such a young age. With his talent, an optimal Spirit Ring Configuration might have given him a chance to become a Super Douluo.

"But as things stand, unless the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking intervenes, level 94 is probably the limit of what he can achieve in this lifetime!

"His potential is spent. There's no point in continuing his cultivation!"

A commoner Titled Douluo whose potential was already spent—there was a lot to unpack there.

Certainly, with a Titled Douluo in its ranks, the upstart Qingyun Sect could be considered a powerful force.

But if that was all it had, it wouldn't earn the attention of an old power like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Chen Xin had already put it delicately. If Gang Zi saw this Spirit Ring Configuration—

He wouldn't call it pointless. He'd call it useless!

While they watched, She Long continued deeper into the forest with the girl, looking for a suitable Spirit Ring for her.

"Roar!"

A furious roar rang out from the forest, making every beast bow its head. Not one dared even breathe too loudly.

Then a fierce gale swept in, covering a distance of several hundred meters in an instant. By the time She Long reacted, a giant bear fifteen meters tall, its body like a mountain, had appeared in front of them.

They looked closely.

Its fur was dark gold, thick and dense, as hard as armor and gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Its shoulders rose like hills, its muscles knotted;

Its arms were exceptionally long and thick, reaching past its knees and stretching more than ten meters.

Its enormous claws were especially striking, each three meters long and dark gold as well, razor-sharp.

As its claws moved, it seemed they could tear the very space around them apart!

This beast was clearly no ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. If nothing unexpected happened, it might even have reached a hundred thousand years!

But strangely, this beast that should have reigned supreme in the Star Dou Great Forest was covered in wounds.

And judging by the way it was fleeing in panic, it almost looked as though someone were chasing it!

Across the entire forest, who could possibly hunt down a beast as mighty as an emperor?

She Long couldn't identify the Spirit Beast before them, but as the young mistress of Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue had far more knowledge than ordinary people.

After a brief look, she recognized it at once: the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!

Like the Titan Giant Ape, it was a special kind of existence: a thousand-year-old one could kill ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts, and a ten-thousand-year-old one could rival a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast.

In terms of sheer attack power, its pair of Dark Gold Dreadclaws made it even stronger than the Titan Giant Ape!

As for its cultivation level...

Judging by its size and the length of its claws, even the usually composed Qian Renxue couldn't stop cold sweat from beading on her forehead.