However, how could Ning Rongrong, who was clinging to his leg, let him do that?
"Please don't, Grandpa!"
"Hmm?"
" Sword Grandpa, you're not allowed to hurt it!"
Ning Rongrong immediately crouched down and rubbed the little bear's head. The little bear narrowed its eyes in a fawning smile.
Its adorable appearance instantly captured the little girl's heart.
"Grandpa, how about we take it home as a pet?"
"Uh..."
Chen Xin looked troubled. Soul Beasts were wild by nature.
It seemed harmless now, but who knew when it might suddenly go berserk?
Ning Rongrong was only a support type, after all. If this blind bear went on a rampage, she wouldn't have the slightest ability to fight back.
"Rongrong, be good. It's too dangerous to keep this Soul Beast by your side."
"Grandpa promises not to kill it. How about we let it go?"
Ning Rongrong pursed her lips, clearly understanding Chen Xin's concerns.
She looked down at the little bear on her leg, reluctant to part with it.
As if sensing that they were about to say goodbye, the little bear sadly began to cry.
At that, Ning Rongrong simply couldn't bring herself to leave.
" Sword Grandpa, look how pitiful it is. It definitely won't hurt anyone. Can't we take it home?"
Chen Xin glared at the little bear with a grim expression. But as he did, he noticed that its claws were a bright gold.
His expression instantly changed to one of astonishment.
"A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?"
"Huh?"
"What's a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, Grandpa?"
"The undisputed king among bear-type Soul Beasts. Don't be fooled by how small this one is. Ordinary thousand-year Soul Beasts are no match for it."
"Goodness, that little dummy is that powerful?"
Chen Xin nodded, his expression turning serious as the muscles throughout his body tensed.
The presence of a cub meant that there was likely one or two adult Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears nearby.
They were beings comparable to Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Even he had to proceed with caution.
"Rongrong, be good. This place is dangerous. We need to leave at once."
The moment the grandfather and granddaughter said they were leaving, the little bear clung even tighter to Ning Rongrong's limbs.
It looked like it wouldn't leave no matter how hard they tried to drag it away.
Its shameless antics made Chen Xin laugh in exasperation, but they also confirmed that this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear wouldn't hurt anyone.
Otherwise, given the traits of Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears described in the records, it should have attacked them the moment it appeared.
"What a clingy little beast. Fine, we'll take it with us for now!"
"Yay!"
With permission granted, Ning Rongrong excitedly crouched down and tried to pick up the little bear.
To her surprise, though, she couldn't lift it, even though she had just broken through to Soul Grandmaster.
"It's... so heavy!"
"Of course. Once a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear reaches adulthood, its fur is as tough as forged steel. Of course it's heavy."
Chen Xin raised an eyebrow, then used his Soul Power to lift both the girl and the beast into the air, quickly flying toward the edge of the forest.
He had no desire to stay there and face an adult Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
These Soul Beasts had virtually no natural enemies anywhere on the continent. Even humans were reluctant to provoke them.
If Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears had such powerful bloodlines, why didn't Battle Soul Masters hunt them for their Soul Rings?
Going to all the trouble of fighting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast just to hunt a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring? Had they lost their minds?
In Soul Hunting Town, Lu Xian watched the situation unfold from start to finish through Xiong Da's eyes and smiled knowingly.
The fifth worker recruitment plan had completed its most crucial step. Now all he had to do was earn the little girl's trust.
Back at the sect, Bone Douluo and Ning Fengzhi stared at the Hundred-Year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear before them, their mouths hanging open in astonishment.
"Absolutely not. This is far too dangerous."
"Rongrong, you don't need to make that face. No means no."
What was a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? If this one reached a thousand years of cultivation, even he, Ning Fengzhi, could only stand there and wait to die.
How much more so Ning Rongrong, a mere Soul Grandmaster?
Seeing that pleading got her nowhere, Ning Rongrong instantly pointed at the little bear, which was eating with complete concentration, her face full of disbelief.
"Does this look like something that would hurt anyone?"
"I don't care. I want to keep it."
"Dad, you keep the catgirl, and I'll keep the little bear. Neither of us will get in the other's way."
Ning Fengzhi had only been thinking of his daughter's safety, but the little girl angered him so much that he trembled and raised a hand, intending to scare her.
The instant Ning Fengzhi lifted his hand, the little bear in the middle of the hall dropped the roasted leg of lamb it was holding and darted in front of Ning Rongrong.
It opened its mouth and roared at Ning Fengzhi, shielding her like a fiercely protective parent. Ning Fengzhi, Sword Grandpa, and Bone Douluo were all dumbstruck.
"Hehe, my little bear even knows how to protect me!"
"Unlike certain people, who only know how to say 'you can't do this' and 'you can't do that'!"
Ning Fengzhi awkwardly lowered his raised hand and scratched the tip of his nose.
After thinking for a moment, he said:
"Fine. If you want to keep it, then keep it. Just be careful."
"Yay!"
Clearly, Xiong Da's protective stance had convinced Ning Fengzhi, Sword Grandpa, and Bone Douluo.
They hadn't expected the little girl to come across such a thing on her Soul Hunting trip.
Having just gotten a new, adorable pet, Ning Rongrong couldn't bear to put it down. She even moved the little bear's bed into her own room.
That night, it slept right beside her bed.
Perhaps because her adorable pet was nearby to protect her, Ning Rongrong slept especially soundly.
All at once, she felt a soft, squishy sensation on her head.
Then her consciousness entered an ancient battlefield, where a giant stood in the middle of a desolate field.
The several-dozen-meter-tall giant, with bear claws, was locked in a fight to the death against the gigantic beasts around it.
Its bright golden claws swept through everything in their path, tearing every beast to shreds.
No one knew how much time passed before the war finally subsided.
By then, not a single living creature remained beside the giant.
When the giant slowly began to fall asleep, Ning Rongrong bravely crept up in front of it.
Perhaps noticing her arrival, the exhausted giant opened one eye.
It glanced at her, looking utterly languid.
"Little girl, do you wish to inherit the Battle God's legacy?"
"B-Battle God?"
"Fight man, fight beast, fight god—there's endless joy in it!"
"If I accept the inheritance, can I become a god too?"
"Ha ha ha! Of course. You'll reach the summit through struggle."
"Remember, girl. Don't bring shame to the Battle God's name."
The giant turned into a stream of dark gold light and shot straight into Ning Rongrong's forehead.
Ning Rongrong, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly jolted awake. Panting, she got out of bed and went to the mirror.
A claw-shaped divine marking had appeared on her once-smooth forehead.
"Was that a dream or not?"
"If it was a dream, where did this come from?"
Just as Ning Rongrong was beginning to doubt herself, a deep voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
"Ninety-Nine Trials of the Battle God. First Trial: a powerful physique."
"To become the Battle God, you must have a body worthy of the task."
"Run three laps around the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Time limit: one day."
The smile had barely appeared on Ning Rongrong's face before it froze.
"Hey, hey... I'm a support type!"
"And do you even know how big the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is?"
"Three laps is nearly sixty kilometers!"
"Don't just go quiet, you bastard! Who assigns a task and then runs off?"
Before you continue