Golden Dragon Body

"This..."

"Sheng Long, hurry up and dodge!"

"Xiong Jun's attack isn't something you can withstand as you are now!"

"Get out of his way!"

"..."

As Xiong Jun's attack was about to land, Jiang Heng remained where he stood, and the other Fierce Beasts immediately began to panic.

They knew perfectly well just how terrifying the Dark Gold Terror Claw's destructive power was.

"Is he going to show off his Soul Tool?"

Di Tian had originally intended to step in and stop them, but then reconsidered. This kid knew Xiong Jun was not someone to be trifled with, yet he still refused to yield even an inch. He had to have something to rely on.

His sudden return this time clearly meant his Soul Tool had advanced further.

This was also a good chance to use the Soul Tool to put these Fierce Beasts in their place and make them understand that if they did not improve, they would be waiting to die.

"Is he going to use a Soul Tool?"

Xiong Jun, who was in the midst of battle, had clearly thought of the same thing.

Though he admitted that Soul Tools were extraordinary, using one in a battle between Fierce Beasts immediately displeased him. The force in his claws increased by several degrees.

"Golden Dragon Body!"

With a thought from Jiang Heng, Soul Power surged madly through his body. He activated the power within his bloodline, causing it to spread over the scales covering his body and form an invisible suit of armor.

This was not a Soul Tool, but a defensive Self-Created Soul Skill he had developed by taking inspiration from the Mysterious Jade Hand. Using his bloodline as a guide, he condensed Soul Power and covered his entire body with it.

Though it was only a semi-finished product and had not truly been completed, it was more than enough to face Xiong Jun's attack.

If he had not possessed the body of a Soul Beast and been able to endure such punishment, he would have ruined himself long ago while creating this Soul Skill.

Boom!

With a muffled explosion, Xiong Jun's Dark Gold Terror Claw slammed heavily into Jiang Heng's body.

The two forces collided, and an invisible shockwave spread in every direction. Wherever it passed, stubborn boulders and towering trees were reduced to dust.

At the center of the collision, boundless dust and mist billowed up.

Di Tian moved. He was not helping either side; he merely shattered the shockwave so it would not reach the Lake of Life.

Only after doing so did he turn his gaze toward the center of the battle.

With his strength, he could naturally tell at a glance that Sheng Long's technique had not been a Soul Tool, but a Self-Created Soul Skill.

The more he realized this, the more shocked and awed he became.

With merely 340,000 years of cultivation, Sheng Long had actually withstood the fierce attack of Xiong Jun, who possessed 470,000 years of cultivation.

Di Tian was becoming increasingly satisfied with Sheng Long.

If this kid could not complete the final transformation through his own efforts, Di Tian felt that even if he had to beg, he would beg Lord for a drop of dragon blood to help him fully transform into a pure-blooded True Dragon.

In Di Tian's heart, he had already begun cultivating Jiang Heng as his successor.

If something ever happened to him, Sheng Long would become the next Beast God of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Xiong Jun, let me see your Sky-Rending Claw!"

At that moment, Jiang Heng's voice rang out once more from the dust-filled center of the battlefield.

He pulled his body out of the ground. Having lost none of his composure, he then circulated his Soul Power and scattered the swirling dust.

The figures of the two Fierce Beasts appeared once more before the others.

"This..."

"How is that possible?"

Seeing that Sheng Long was completely uninjured, Scarlet King was the first to cry out in disbelief.

All along, he had believed that as long as he worked harder and raised his strength further, he would one day catch up to Sheng Long and reclaim his rightful position.

But after seeing this scene, he could not believe it no matter how he tried.

He knew better than anyone just how powerful Xiong Jun was. After all, he had served as Xiong Jun's punching bag many times.

Even after Xiong Jun had unleashed his Innate Soul Skill, he still could not injure Sheng Long.

Scarlet King knew that he would never be able to catch up to Sheng Long in this lifetime.

Unless he encountered some heaven-defying opportunity that elevated his attribute to the ultimate level.

But how difficult was that?

Throughout the entire Star Dou Great Forest, apart from Di Tian, not a single Fierce Beast possessed an ultimate attribute.

Even Xiong Jun remained one step short of attaining Ultimate Gold.

"Sheng Long, you've surprised me!"

"This old bear admits that you're a worthy opponent. I won't hold back any longer."

Xiong Jun abandoned his usual manner and became more serious and focused than ever before.

Judging by their previous exchange, whether in strength or cultivation, he far surpassed Sheng Long. Otherwise, he could not have slapped him into the ground. Yet he had been unable to inflict the slightest injury on him.

Xiong Jun did not understand why, but he vaguely felt that if he could learn these things from Sheng Long, his strength would rise another level.

"Give it everything you've got!"

With a thought, Jiang Heng's massive body gradually shrank until he was roughly the same size as Xiong Jun. Only then did he look at Xiong Jun with a sharp gaze.

"Sky-Rending Claw!"

Seeing Jiang Heng assume such a stance, Xiong Jun no longer concealed anything.

The next moment, Xiong Jun's fifteen-meter-tall Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear body suddenly hunched over. Veins bulged across his arms, and every strand of his dark golden fur stood on end. His twin claws gathered the force of ten thousand tons before hacking fiercely toward Jiang Heng.

A piercing sound of space tearing apart erupted. A hundred-meter-long dark golden claw mark split the heavens and earth, igniting the air and tearing deep ravines through the ground wherever it passed. Its aftershock swept outward, causing distant mountains to collapse with thunderous crashes, while even space rippled with distortions.

Jiang Heng maintained his Golden Dragon Body. Then, he fused his Soul Power and spiritual power into his dragon claw, along with his will to shatter everything.

There was no earth-shaking aura, nor any posture that seemed capable of destroying all things. He simply stood there quietly, waiting to collide with Xiong Jun.

Among all the Fierce Beasts present, only Di Tian and King of Ten Thousand Monsters noticed something amiss.

They could sense that Jiang Heng was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, ready at any moment to unleash a fatal threat.

This strength, so perfectly restrained and concealed within his body, far surpassed the world-destroying might Xiong Jun displayed.

"Star Breaker!"

Without another word or any pointless nonsense, Jiang Heng and Xiong Jun unleashed their powerful strength again and collided like two meteors.

Then, heaven and earth fell silent.

After the two collided, the expected scene of devastation did not erupt. Instead, they remained locked in a stalemate, their powers canceling each other out in a strange fashion.

"Looks like I won!"

In the end, Xiong Jun withdrew his power first and spoke leisurely.

Though he had clearly won, his mood was worse than ever.

He had only managed a narrow victory by relying on his superior cultivation, even after his opponent refused to evade and chose to meet him head-on.

The battle had been exhilarating beyond compare, yet Xiong Jun felt only frustration and humiliation.

"Not necessarily!"

"You've already used every trick you have, but I still have plenty of trump cards."

"Next, I'll seriously have some fun with you."

"Still, Xiong Jun alone isn't enough to satisfy me. Scarlet King, why don't you join in too?"

"How about the two of you attack together?"

As he spoke, Jiang Heng transformed into human form and smiled at Xiong Jun and Scarlet King.

As for the claw wound on his chest that cut deep into the bone, he simply ignored it.