"If I'm not mistaken, this thing in front of us has probably been cultivating for over four hundred thousand years. It's strong enough to rival a Level 98 Titled Douluo!"
In Dou II, with the emergence of Soul Cores, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's combat strength was roughly equivalent to that of a Level 97 Titled Douluo.
But back in Dou I, unless you had a powerful domain to suppress it, even someone like Golden Crocodile Douluo might not have been its match!
A Titled Douluo's realm was a series of sheer cliffs, with each level representing a major obstacle!
She Long's foundations were shaky to begin with, and he was three levels below the bear. There was absolutely no way he could defeat it.
But just as everyone on the continent, including the people of Spirit Hall, was about to assume that She Long would abandon Qian Renxue and flee on his own...
He held out his hand, and his Martial Soul coalesced. A Eighteen-Foot Snake Lance appeared in She Long's grip.
Then, after removing his gold-and-green armor, She Long fixed his gaze and declared,
"Young Mistress, go on ahead. I can handle things here!"
"You can't possibly beat it!"
"Then I'll die here. I've already taken a look around, Young Mistress. The scenery here is quite nice, so I've decided this is where I'll make my stand!"
He smiled at Qian Renxue. As his Seventh Spirit Ring lit up, She Long's figure swelled rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, a giant silhouette formed from Soul Power appeared before Qian Renxue, nearly as large as the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
This was She Long's Seventh Spirit Skill: Martial Soul Avatar!
And he wasn't just using his Martial Soul Avatar. To hold off the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear and carve out a chance for Qian Renxue to escape, he had to give it everything he had.
Thunder surged around him and gathered on his Snake Lance. She Long was clearly fighting at full strength.
He looked ready to fight to the death without taking a single step back!
But...
She Long was being so heroic. Did that make Qian Renxue a coward?
My sword is no less sharp!
Instead of fleeing at She Long's urging, Qian Renxue cast a Buffing Soul Skill on him.
She wanted to test herself against the legendary Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, too!
"W-wait... If that woman's right and it's a four-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, how can those two possibly hold it off?"
"She Long's an idiot. Wouldn't it be better to stay alive and be useful than die here?"
"That blond woman's an idiot, too. A Titled Douluo's ready to sacrifice himself to buy her a way out, and she still won't leave!"
"Heh, they're in the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest. Ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts are as common as dirt here, and a thousand-year one's barely worth mentioning.
"If no expert is guarding the place, how does she expect to get out on her own?
"Better to fight alongside a Titled Douluo and try to carve out a path to survival!"
Spirit City, Palace of the Pope!
Watching Qian Renxue trapped in a desperate situation, Bibi Dong said nothing, but her grip on her scepter tightened without her realizing it.
It was true that Qian Renxue was the child Bibi Dong had given birth to after Qian Xunji had imprisoned her in that secret chamber. Their relationship had always been strained; they had never even called each other mother and daughter.
But blood was thicker than water!
Across the entire continent, apart from Gang Zi, the only person who could stir Bibi Dong's heart was Qian Renxue!
The girl clearly had a chance to escape. Why was she foolishly waiting to die?
Still...
As expected of my little sis... No, as expected of my child. She really does have some fight in her!
"Teacher, do you know the two people in the video? Is that why you're worried about them?" Hu Liena asked.
"Some people just can't see the forest for the trees. If they were dead, would they still have appeared on the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking?"
Whether it was the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking or Spirit Hall's intelligence network, Bibi Dong could confirm one thing.
She Long and Qian Renxue were both still alive.
The reason she'd been tense just now was nothing more than a mother's instinctive reaction.
Besides...
"I didn't expect there to be other hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest besides that rabbit, the Titan Giant Ape, and the Sky Azure Bull Python.
"With proper planning, a four-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast might not be impossible to hunt.
"Once I succeed, never mind the Soul Bone and the External Soul Bone that the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear is bound to drop.
"Just that Spirit Ring alone would be enough to help me complete the Rakshasa God Trial!"
At the thought, Bibi Dong's eyes filled with greed as she looked back at the video!
"No wonder he's a Titled Douluo! His Ninth Spirit Skill just blasted a small mountain apart!
"If he were on a battlefield, he'd be an army all by himself, mowing down everyone in his path!"
"That woman's no slouch either. She looks young, but she's already a Soul King.
"Once she gets a Spirit Ring, she'll probably become a Soul Emperor and set a new record for the continent!"
"Uh-oh, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear looks furious. There's no way they can dodge that move!"
"Roar!"
With another roar, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, enraged by She Long's attack, stopped holding back.
Its claws swept through the air, and three razor-sharp slashes tore through the earth, felled trees, ripped open space, and shot toward She Long's head!
Sky-Tearing Claw!
An attack that could even injure Beast God Di Tian was no ordinary strike. No typical Titled Douluo could withstand it.
"Is this where it ends?"
She Long had no confidence he could take the oncoming slashes. But believing it was better to die on his feet, he still raised his Snake Lance on instinct.
But...
One second, two seconds, three seconds!
A full three seconds passed. When She Long finally opened his eyes in disbelief,
he felt himself all over, checking that no pieces were missing. Just as he began to think the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's attack might have missed...
"Whoosh!"
A Cyan-Gold Long Sword dropped from above.
She Long, Qian Renxue, and even the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear across from them were stunned.
Through the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking, everyone watched as a figure rode in on a sword, appeared out of nowhere, and severed the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's Sky-Tearing Claw with a single strike. Their mouths all fell open!
"There's another expert?"
"Wasn't this supposed to be a feature about She Long? How come this guy's stealing the show?"
"Heh, can you control what the audience likes to watch, any more than you can control the heavens and the earth?"
Spirit City, Worship Hall!
Watching the Green Robe Figure arrive riding the wind on his sword, suppressing a disaster with a single strike, the burly Qian Jun Douluo couldn't help nudging his elder brother, Jiang Mo Douluo, with his shoulder.
"Brother, could you have blocked that move just now?"
"Maybe if the two of us joined forces, we'd have a chance. But he erased the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's Sky-Tearing Claw so effortlessly...
"Forget the two of us. Even the Great Enshrined might..."
Jiang Mo Douluo didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already clear.
As for Qian Daoliu...
Watching the Green Robe Figure in the video, even Qian Daoliu—who had long since reached Level 99, the Limit Douluo realm—couldn't help feeling immense pressure.
Amateurs watched for the spectacle; experts saw what was really going on!
That single strike was already no weaker than Tang Chen, once Invincible on Land.
The emergence of another Limit Douluo was clearly bad news for Spirit Hall.
But...
"He did save Xiao Xue's life, after all!"
"No matter who he is, we'll have to pay him a visit afterward and thank him properly for this kindness!"
The Golden Ranking Video.
Qin Yun pressed down with one hand. It expanded into a colossal palm that seized the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. Then he casually tossed it into the Soul Tool at his waist.
While the two of them stood there, still shaken, Qin Yun put away the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords and slowly landed on the ground.
"I let my guard down for a moment and almost let the little guy get away. I nearly hurt you two, too!"
Little guy?
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear?
Heh. So this was the world of the strong!
Before you continue