First Encounter

The fourth wave of soul beasts came without warning.

It was not a group, but a single creature.

Yet it was larger than any soul beast they had seen before.

Over three meters tall, its entire body was covered in dark golden fur. A pair of massive claws hung before it, their tips gleaming with a cold light.

A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

Ye Xinglan's expression changed.

"A hundred-year one?"

Her voice was tense. "Do hundred-year creatures look like this?"

Yun Jingheng said nothing.

He stared at the bear, rapidly recalling the settings he had read about in his previous life.

Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears were top-tier soul beasts, invincible among those of the same rank.

A hundred-year one could go head-to-head with a thousand-year soul beast, while a thousand-year one could challenge a ten-thousand-year beast.

This one—

Judging by its size, it really was a hundred-year soul beast.

Yet the pressure it exuded was even stronger than that of the thousand-year soul beasts he had encountered before.

"Run or fight?" Ye Xinglan asked.

Yun Jingheng considered it.

"Run."

The two turned and ran.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear roared and gave chase.

It was not particularly fast, but every step made the ground tremble. The small trees it crashed through were brushed aside like grass.

Ye Xinglan looked back while running.

"It's catching up!"

Without looking back, Yun Jingheng flung a Crescent Slash behind him.

The Moon Blade landed on the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear without even leaving a white mark.

But the mark had been applied.

With a thought, Yun Jingheng flashed behind it and thrust his sword toward the back of its neck.

Clang—

The sword tip struck its fur as though it had hit an iron plate.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear turned and swiped a claw at him.

Yun Jingheng dodged quickly, but the wind from the claw grazed his shoulder, leaving it burning with pain.

After landing, he kept running.

"Can't hurt it," he said.

Ye Xinglan gritted her teeth.

She suddenly stopped, turned around, and a blinding golden light lit up on her Stargod Sword.

Sword God Star!

A beam of golden sword light shot from the tip of her sword straight toward the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's face.

This strike was faster and stronger than any sword strike Yun Jingheng had ever seen from her.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was hit. It swayed, its steps faltering for a moment.

Ye Xinglan's face turned pale. That sword strike had drained more than half her Soul Power.

"Go!" she shouted.

The two continued running.

But the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was stunned for only that instant before it resumed its pursuit.

It was enraged.

It moved faster than before, catching up to them in just a few strides.

Its massive claw came down.

Yun Jingheng shoved Ye Xinglan aside and rolled away in the opposite direction.

Boom—

A huge crater was blasted into the ground.

The strike completely separated them, leaving more than ten meters between them, with the enraged bear in the middle.

"Run separately!"

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear looked at Ye Xinglan running left, then at Yun Jingheng running right.

It chose Yun Jingheng.

Because that little human had stabbed it with a sword earlier, and it had hurt.

It chased after him.

Behind Yun Jingheng, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's footsteps drew closer and closer.

He glanced back. "Holy shit! Why are you chasing me?!"

Ye Xinglan panted heavily.

She looked toward the direction where the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear had chased Yun Jingheng, her expression grim.

"Damn it..."

She wanted to chase after him, but her full-power strike had drained her Soul Power, and her legs were trembling badly.

"Damn it..."

Gritting her teeth, she braced herself against a tree, stood up, and walked forward step by step.

Yun Jingheng was running.

Running very fast.

Behind him, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's footsteps boomed like thunder, making the earth shake with every step.

"CCCCCCCCCC—!!!"

He shouted as he ran.

"Stop chasing me!"

"I didn't steal your cub! Why are you chasing me?!"

The bear said nothing, merely swinging its arms down at him again and again.

Boom—

A tree fell three meters behind him.

Without looking back, Yun Jingheng pushed off the ground, veered right, and plunged into denser woods.

As he ran, he kept throwing Crescent Slashes behind him.

Not to hurt the bear—he could not hurt that thing at all—but to apply marks.

Moon Blades landed on the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, leaving streaks of silver light across its body.

Then, with a thought, Yun Jingheng flashed behind the bear.

Another Crescent Slash.

Another flash.

Another strike.

The bear was led in circles by him. Each time it turned to swat him, he had already flashed to the other side.

But running like this consumed too much Soul Power.

As he ran, Yun Jingheng calculated that at this rate, his Soul Power would be depleted in two minutes at most.

He glanced back.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was still chasing him, its eyes blazing with fury as though it were determined to slap him into a meat patty.

"Is this really necessary..."

he muttered, then kept running.

Then he saw people ahead.

A group of people.

They stood in a clearing, gathered in a circle, seemingly doing something.

Yun Jingheng froze for a moment.

What was going on?

Before he could react, his legs had already carried him out of the forest.

"Hand over your spiritual power and withdraw on your own. I won't make things difficult for you."

Xu Xiaoyu's voice was cold, his blue hair faintly gleaming beneath the virtual sunlight.

The little girl behind him poked her head out to look at them.

Tang Wulin had been about to say something, but he suddenly stopped.

He felt the ground shaking.

It was not an ordinary tremor. It came in heavy pulses, as though something enormous was running.

He looked at his companions.

Xie Xie and Wang Jinxi were busy cursing at the blue-haired boy before them and had not noticed the strange movement underfoot at all.

Zhang Yangzi stood beside him, looking at him in confusion, as if asking, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

And Gu Yue—

The only girl in the group, who usually barely spoke to anyone, was now staring intently at his... side?

Tang Wulin followed her gaze.

It was the direction of the forest.

The tremors grew closer.

Boom—boom—boom—

Xie Xie finally noticed.

He stopped cursing and turned toward the forest.

"What's that sound?"

Wang Jinxi was stunned as well.

Zhang Yangzi opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, then swallowed it back.

Xu Xiaoyu frowned, took a step back, and fiercely shielded the blue-haired girl.

Then someone burst out of the forest.

A boy about their age, with black hair and a faint crescent-shaped mark between his brows.

He was running very fast.

Fast as the wind.

But the expression on his face—

How should they put it? It was not panic, nor was it fear. It was more like... frustrated fury?

The moment he burst from the forest, he met their eyes.

Tang Wulin froze.

Who was this?

Before he could react, another huge crash came from the forest.

Boom—

A tree was smashed apart, and a massive figure charged out of the woods.

Over three meters tall, its entire body covered in dark golden fur, with a pair of gigantic claws hanging before it, their tips gleaming with cold light.

A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

It panted heavily as it stared at the boy, its eyes full of rage.

Tang Wulin's mind went blank for a second.

Then he shouted.

"A-a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear?!"

His voice trembled slightly.

"A hundred-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Xie Xie and Wang Jinxi screamed at the same time.

"Ahhhhh—!"

"A hundred-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!"

"Run!"

Zhang Yangzi's face went pale as he grabbed Xie Xie's sleeve and backed away.

Wang Jinxi's legs went weak. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Xu Xiaoyu's expression shifted from indifference to panic.

Instinctively, he stepped forward and shielded the girl behind him.

But his legs were shaking.

Yun Jingheng stood where he was, looked at the bear, then at the group.

He fell silent for half a second.

Then he stepped aside.

"Excuse me."

he said.

Then he kept running.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear chased after him.

But after taking two steps, it suddenly stopped.

Because—

"Holy shit?! Gu Yue! What are you doing?!" Xie Xie cried out in terror.

Yun Jingheng turned around to look.

A wisp of smoke rose from the bear's head...

It was faint, so faint it was almost impossible to see, but it was definitely smoke.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear froze.

It raised a massive claw and touched its own head, then looked at Gu Yue.

Gu Yue stood where she was, one hand still raised.

Her expression was calm, as though she had done nothing at all.

But her eyes were fixed on the bear.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear let out a roar.

It was not anger, but wariness.

It took a step back.

Gu Yue took a step forward.

Then another.

She walked toward the bear, not quickly, but steadily.

Yun Jingheng stood there, watching the scene, his mind struggling to process it.

What was she doing?

Fighting a bear?

By herself?