True Fragrance (Part 1)

As everyone knows, hunting beasts isn't like a nine-to-five job; their movements are unpredictable.

Thus, Wang Chuan and his companion wandered around for a long time before finally spotting a cave at the foot of a small hill.

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up instantly, and the impatience caused by all the detours vanished in an instant.

Golden Scale let out a couple of triumphant chirps, as if asking Wang Chuan for credit.

Wang Chuan affectionately stroked Golden Scale's back, praising its contribution in his heart, then took a large plate out of his storage Soul Tool and placed the reserve rations from their earlier hunt onto it, letting Golden Scale tuck in.

But not long after.

Perhaps because the scent of blood was too strong, it disturbed the master of this place, and a powerful surge of soul power erupted from the cave not far away.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a furious roar, a brownish-yellow figure leaped out of the cave, soaring into the high air in an incredibly exaggerated arc.

Then, it plummeted straight toward Wang Chuan and his companion at a bizarre angle and speed, a trajectory that completely defied the laws of physics.

Both of them had sharp eyes and immediately recognized that the attacker was a bear-type soul beast.

Wang Chuan clicked his tongue in annoyance and used Shave to vanish from his spot instantly, but instead of dodging forward, he used the reaction force to shoot straight upward.

"Interrupting someone while they're eating is very rude, you know!"

Following Wang Chuan's complaint.

The giant bear falling from the sky was sent flying by a punch from Wang Chuan, which was wrapped in Armament Haki. It slammed back down not far from the cave entrance, kicking up a sky full of dust.

The three-meter-tall giant bear struggled to its feet, looking completely bewildered. How could its usually infallible move have failed today!?

It was at this moment that Wang Chuan and Zhao Wuji finally saw what kind of soul beast this giant bear was.

It had brownish-yellow fur all over its body, a white crescent moon on its chest, and yellow crystal-like growths on its limbs and head, making it look quite magnificent.

Wang Chuan realized, "So it's a top-tier bear-type soul beast, an Earth Crystal Bear. No wonder it didn't pass out after taking that punch head-on."

Zhao Wuji's eyes burned with intensity as he growled.

"Finally found it, a soul beast suitable for me!

The reason this big guy could fly into the sky just now must be its innate soul skill, Gravity Control!

If I can obtain this soul skill, not only will my combat power increase significantly, but I'll also be able to help the leader much more in the future!"

At this moment, Wang Chuan landed naturally from mid-air, though he frowned.

But before Wang Chuan could say anything.

The Earth Crystal Bear had recovered from its brief stupor, a fierce glint erupting in its eyes. With a roar, the very earth trembled.

Seeing this, Wang Chuan immediately called out the tactical signal to Zhao Wuji, "Watch out," telling him to be careful and focus on defense.

At that same moment, within a three-meter radius of the Earth Crystal Bear, many yellow crystal-like objects suddenly erupted from the ground. They shattered instantly, turning into sharp cones that shot toward the two of them.

Wang Chuan naturally wouldn't use Iron Body to tank this; he wasn't some blockhead from the pirate world.

Using Kami-e, Wang Chuan easily dodged the crystal barrage.

Zhao Wuji, behind him, didn't have such high agility.

However, as a man who would one day fight sixteen Soul Emperor-level powerhouses from the Martial Soul Hall alone, Zhao Wuji was no slouch.

Two soul rings appeared, and his first soul skill, Immovable Wisdom King Body, activated. An invisible golden soul power repelled the attack, directly slowing the speed of the yellow crystals, and then Zhao Wuji unleashed his second soul skill, Vajra Palm, to completely neutralize the Earth Crystal Bear's attack.

As for Golden Scale, it had swallowed the remaining meat the moment the battle started and was now watching the show from a tree.

After dodging the first wave of attacks, Wang Chuan didn't dawdle; he activated Shave again and appeared in front of the Earth Crystal Bear in the blink of an eye.

However, this time, Wang Chuan didn't use Armament Haki.

He had used Haki earlier because the enemy's situation was unknown; Wang Chuan had been cautious and used his highest level of defense, but he hadn't used much raw power, otherwise, the Earth Crystal Bear wouldn't have just been bewildered.

Now that he had assessed the opponent, he naturally couldn't use excessive force, or all his hard work would be for nothing.

Wang Chuan delivered an uppercut, adjusting the bear's posture to send it flying into the air, exposing its soft belly and limbs.

Then, Black Arm Style: Shotgun Barrage!!!

ORA ORA ORA!!!

Combo! Super combo!

Wang Chuan's fists struck the Earth Crystal Bear as rapidly as raindrops.

Yet, beneath this seemingly violent assault, every punch contained exquisite force, breaking only its bones without damaging a single shred of its flesh.

The final punch Wang Chuan landed on the Earth Crystal Bear's abdomen utilized the advanced Armament Haki technique of internal destruction.

This directly shattered the core of its soul power circulation within its body.

With this, the top-tier bear-type soul beast not only lost the ability to even move its arms to resist, but its pride and joy—its innate soul skill—was also rendered useless because its sea of energy had been destroyed, turning it into a crippled bear.

Wang Chuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Trying to step over an ant without killing it is actually quite difficult.

Seeing that Wang Chuan made no further moves, Zhao Wuji immediately realized the battle was over and trotted over happily.

Just as he drew near, Wang Chuan gave him some bad news.

"Old Zhao, the age of this Earth Crystal Bear is a bit too high."

Zhao Wuji's face turned bitter upon hearing this, but he still stubbornly stepped forward to take a look.

Although he appeared to be a rough, uncultured man who even made typos when writing, he was someone who would eventually be able to discern the age of a Man Faced Demon Spider that even the Dragon Duke Meng Shu could not identify; his fundamental knowledge as a spirit master was actually quite solid, otherwise, he wouldn't have had the idea of hunting for spirits on his own earlier.

With just one glance, Zhao Wuji saw the age of the Earth Crystal Bear.

"Two thousand two hundred years, this age is way too high!"

Zhao Wuji whispered in disappointment.

Clearly, even though Yu Xiaogang had not yet put forth his so-called limit spirit ring theory, Zhao Wuji, as a commoner spirit master, knew that a third spirit ring could not exceed two thousand years.

Because this was common knowledge.

However, Zhao Wuji suddenly noticed something unusual.

Although he was a rough man, after half a month of getting along, he knew Wang Chuan's behavioral patterns; spirit beasts that weren't sold were usually killed directly for meat or kept as emergency rations.

Yet the Earth Crystal Bear before him was clearly still breathing.

This couldn't help but make Zhao Wuji curious, so he pointed at the Earth Crystal Bear and asked.

"Boss, since I can't absorb its spirit ring, why haven't you killed it? Do you want to take a break and bring it out to sell for money?

But you've beaten it into such a state that, even for a spirit beast, I'm afraid it will be dead before we can even get it out."