Earth Violent Bear

Under Barn's insistence, Declan ultimately decided to enter seclusion for a period.

The Gobada Abyss was never a place for reason; here, strength was the sole bargaining chip for survival. Every sliver of profound understanding gained meant a greater chance of living through a fight.

Moreover, Declan knew Barn's stubborn nature. Since he had spoken, he wouldn't easily change his mind. Besides, even if Declan's seclusion exceeded expectations, Barn would at most go hungry for a while. The Gobada Abyss only made the Sanctuary go hungry, not starve to death.

In the secret chamber of the underground cave, Declan completely concealed his aura, enveloped by dense dark elements, officially entering his seclusion, dedicating his mind to pondering that sliver of newly touched dark profundity.

Barn, meanwhile, guarded the secret chamber's exterior, vigilantly watching for any external movements while planning his own cultivation direction.

At this stage, Barn's core objective was to fuse the Water Body Technique and Gentle Flow, two water-element profundities. He had only just begun to grasp both, his foundation still shallow. Rushing to deduce higher realms would easily lead to a bottleneck.

To more smoothly overcome the difficulty of fusion, he decided to temporarily halt the advancement of his water-element profundities and shift his focus to meditation, fully enhancing his spiritual power.

He knew clearly that spiritual power was the foundation for comprehending profundities. The stronger the spiritual power, the more thoroughly one understood profundities, and the easier fusion would naturally be. More importantly, focusing on meditation consumed less food than deducing profundities—this perfectly alleviated his current tight food supply and allowed him to guard Declan's seclusion for longer.

In the days that followed, extreme silence filled the cave.

Occasionally, a faint but condensed fluctuation of dark energy would leak from Declan's secret chamber, a sign of his progress in comprehending profundities. Barn, on the other hand, meditated daily, his ice-blue water magic slowly circulating around him, his spiritual power steadily increasing imperceptibly. The compatibility between Gentle Flow and Water Body Technique also gradually grew tighter through his unconscious contemplation and practice.

He meticulously managed his food supply, dividing every piece of meat into extremely small portions, barely sustaining his body's basic needs, never wasting a single bit.

A year passed in the dead silence and dormancy of the Gobada Abyss.

Barn slowly awoke from his meditation, looking at the few shriveled pieces of meat in his spatial ring. He couldn't help but smack his lips and murmur, "This kid, he's been in seclusion for so long and still hasn't come out. Looks like I'll have to ration even more. Three days of hunger followed by one full meal should last another half a year if I'm careful."

This was the first time since he had transmigrated to the Gobada Abyss that he faced such prolonged hunger. A year of meditation had significantly boosted his spiritual power, but the opportunity to fuse Gentle Flow and Water Body Technique had not yet appeared.

Fortunately, the consumption of his food supply was still within an acceptable range.

Just as Barn was forcibly refining the surrounding magic with his spiritual power to alleviate his hunger, a familiar and powerful energy fluctuation suddenly came from outside the cave—the fluctuation was heavy, ferocious, carrying a dense earth element aura, and an undisguised ferocity that instantly enveloped the entire abandoned cave.

"Enemy attack!"

Barn's heart tightened. Without a moment's hesitation, he used soul transmission to forcibly awaken the secluded Declan.

At the same time, his figure flashed, his Tiger-man talent erupting to its fullest. White fur instantly covered his entire body, claws and fangs emerged, and the spear Mist Hidden in his hand glowed with a fierce ice-blue light. He transformed into a white streak of light and charged straight out!

"Boom—!"

A dull, heavy explosion erupted. Two powerful forces collided violently at the cave entrance, sending shockwaves in all directions, scattering surrounding rubble, and causing the rock walls to tremble violently.

Barn felt a massive force surge through his spear, his arms went numb, and he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily against the cave wall. With a few "crack" sounds, the rock wall instantly cracked layer by layer, and debris rained down, kicking up dust.

"Cough, cough..." Barn coughed twice, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He didn't stop, however, and quickly stood up, gripping his spear, his gaze fixed solemnly ahead—the massive figure before him was the Earth Violent Bear, whom he hadn't seen in a long time!

Declan also broke through the secret chamber's barrier and rushed out. The moment he saw the Earth Violent Bear, his dark gold dragon eyes contracted sharply, and he let out a low, angry roar from his throat.

Enemies meeting, eyes burning with hatred. The humiliation of being forced to flee by the Earth Violent Bear surged back into his mind. Declan's pitch-black dark magic surged, his figure flickered, transforming into a black light, and with world-destroying might, he charged directly at the Earth Violent Bear.

The Earth Violent Bear lowered its head and looked at its front paw. There was a fresh puncture wound there, from which blood was slowly seeping—the mark left by Barn's hasty strike just now.

A hint of surprise flashed in its bell-like eyes, and it thought to itself, "This Tiger-man has become stronger."

It remembered that in their previous battle, this Tiger-man had risked his life, paying the price of serious injury, to barely inflict a heavy wound on it. And in that last strike, although it had also sent the opponent flying, it could clearly feel that the other party had only sustained a minor injury, its strength far exceeding what it was back then.

Although both the man and the dragon had significantly improved their strength, the Earth Violent Bear showed no fear. It let out a low growl, and its earth-yellow Pulse Armor instantly enveloped its entire body. The thick armor pulsed with subtle vibrating ripples, exuding a formidable aura.

Its massive body, carrying terrifying momentum, charged headlong towards the charging Declan.

The earth-yellow light and the pitch-black light instantly crossed paths, and the sound of a violent collision rang out again.

The Earth Violent Bear continued forward steadily, its momentum undiminished, while Declan crashed heavily onto the ground. Several of his dragon scales had fallen off, bleeding, and his aura had become somewhat disordered—though the Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon's defense was strong, it was difficult to withstand the full-force strike of the Earth Violent Bear empowered by its Earth Pulse.

"Declan, don't be rash! Same old tactic, I'll entangle it, and you seize the opportunity to sneak attack!" Barn's voice rang out in time, with a hint of urgency, yet exceptionally steady, instantly rousing the enraged Declan.

Before his voice even faded, Barn's figure had already charged forward again.

In Declan's vision, Barn's figure weaved around the Earth Violent Bear like a phantom. The Gentle Flow profundity was pushed to its extreme, his movements elusive, like willow catkins in the wind, skillfully evading every heavy blow from the Earth Violent Bear. The spear Mist Hidden in his hand darted out like a spirit snake, ice-blue magic attached to its tip. Every thrust was precise, piercing the Earth Violent Bear's Pulse Armor time and again, leaving small but dense wounds on its body.

Seeing that Barn was unharmed and could still maneuver with ease, Declan forcibly suppressed his anger and calmed down.