What the Hell Is This?! How Did My Palm Turn into a Bear Paw?!

The Soul Ring absorption process was far more difficult than anyone had expected.

Oscar sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes tightly shut. Veins bulged on his forehead, and bead-sized drops of sweat continuously rolled down his cheeks.

The dark yellow Soul Ring had already entered his body, but the violent power contained within it was rampaging through his meridians.

The Vajra Bear was a strength-type soul beast.

The Soul Rings of this kind of soul beast were known for being fierce and domineering.

At seven hundred and fifty years, it was already infinitely close to the absorption limit for a Soul Grandmaster.

One year more, and it would be courting death.

Oscar's body trembled slightly.

His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, while an unnatural flush spread across his skin—the sign of dilated blood vessels and accelerated blood flow.

His breathing was rapid and erratic, and suppressed groans occasionally escaped from his throat.

"Can this kid... hold on?" Zhao Wuji clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

He possessed the Vajra Bear Martial Soul and understood better than anyone how terrifying this sort of Soul Ring was.

For an ordinary Food-Type Soul Master, even one at the Soul Elder level, absorbing a seven-hundred-and-fifty-year strength-type Soul Ring carried risks. Oscar had only just broken through Rank Twenty.

Flender said nothing, but his gaze remained fixed on Oscar without leaving him for even a moment.

His right hand was slightly raised, Soul Power gathering in his palm as he prepared to intervene at any moment.

Shao Xin was so nervous that he crushed the Candy Beans in his hand, their crumbs sifting through his fingers.

Li Yusong and Lu Qibin stood guard on either side, their eyes occasionally flicking toward Oscar before swiftly returning to vigilance.

Ma Hongjun stood beside Oscar, closest to him.

He could clearly see every change in Oscar's pained expression and hear the grinding of his clenched teeth.

Flender raised his right hand even higher.

He took a step forward.

"Teacher, wait." Ma Hongjun stretched out a hand and stopped Flender.

Flender frowned at him.

"Wait a little longer," Ma Hongjun said. His voice was not loud, but it was firm. "Little Oscar can do it."

"What makes you so sure?"

Flender's voice tightened slightly.

"He's a Food-Type Soul Master. His physical condition is inferior to that of you Battle Soul Masters. A seven-hundred-and-fifty-year strength-type Soul Ring is too much for him. If this drags on, his meridians may burst."

Ma Hongjun fell silent for a moment.

What made him so sure?

Instinct.

His understanding of Oscar.

And the fact that he had read the original story in his previous life and knew that Oscar would become a Food-Type Title Douluo in the future, even inheriting the divine position of the Food God.

A person like that would not have bad luck. He would not die here so easily.

But he could not say any of that.

"Teacher, Little Oscar's willpower is stronger than you imagine," Ma Hongjun said. "He still has dreams to fulfill. He won't fall here."

Flender stared at Ma Hongjun for two seconds, then looked back at Oscar.

After hesitating, he slowly lowered his hand.

Yet Soul Power remained gathered in his palm, ready for him to act at any moment.

Time passed amid torment.

A quarter of an hour passed.

Half an hour passed.

Oscar's symptoms of pain gradually began to change.

At first, his body shook violently, as though something were tearing him apart from within.

But as time passed, the trembling became less frequent and less severe.

His breathing slowly became somewhat steadier, no longer so rapid and chaotic.

The twisted expression on his face also gradually relaxed.

The flush on his skin faded, and his spasming muscles slowly returned to normal.

Everything was developing in a better direction.

"There's hope," Zhao Wuji said quietly, a trace of surprise in his voice.

Flender's expression relaxed somewhat as well, though he still did not lower his guard.

The sun gradually shifted westward from overhead, and the light in the forest grew dimmer.

About another hour passed before Oscar's body finally became completely still.

He sat there with steady breathing and a peaceful expression, as though he had fallen asleep.

The dark yellow Soul Ring had completely fused into his body, leaving no trace behind.

"He did it." Shao Xin let out a long breath and dropped onto the ground.

Flender finally lowered the right hand he had held up for so long, and his tense shoulders relaxed as well.

He glanced at Ma Hongjun, his gaze carrying a complicated emotion.

This child's instincts were freakishly accurate.

Ma Hongjun secretly let out a breath as well.

He could feel that his back was already soaked with sweat.

Honestly, he had been nervous too.

If something had truly happened to Oscar, then his "bold idea" would have been the culprit.

Even if no one blamed him, he would have felt guilty for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, Oscar had pulled through.

He had proposed the plan, and he had pointed out the path.

If Oscar had truly met with disaster because of that path, he would never have forgiven himself.

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness nothing happened.

Buzz!

A deep hum came from within Oscar's body.

Two Soul Rings slowly rose beneath Oscar's feet.

The first was yellow, his more-than-four-hundred-year Sausage Soul Ring.

The second was dark yellow, nearly purple—the seven-hundred-and-fifty-year Vajra Bear Soul Ring.

The two Soul Rings reflected one another as they slowly revolved around Oscar.

Martial Soul Possession!

A sausage slowly condensed in Oscar's left palm.

It was the product of his first soul skill.

At the same time, another sausage was condensing in his right palm.

It was thicker than the first, its surface gleaming faintly with a metallic luster and radiating a domineering aura.

His second soul skill had succeeded.

Oscar opened his eyes.

In that instant, a streak of golden light flashed through his pupils, so quickly that it seemed like an illusion.

Flender caught that flash of gold, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He had seen many soul masters absorb Soul Rings, but few displayed such an anomaly after completing the absorption.

Golden light...

What was it?

Oscar lowered his head to look at his hands and grinned.

"I did it!" He was so excited that he nearly jumped up. "I have a second Soul Ring! I really have—"

Before he could finish.

His voice abruptly cut off.

His expression changed from excitement to pain, and his right hand suddenly convulsed.

"Ah—!"

Oscar cried out in pain, clenching his right hand tightly as though enduring intense agony.

Everyone was alarmed.

"What happened?" Flender rushed forward in a single stride.

Zhao Wuji and Shao Xin hurried over as well.

Ma Hongjun took a step back, his gaze fixed firmly on Oscar's right hand.

Then he saw it.

A golden light shone from Oscar's right palm.

The light grew brighter and brighter, casting every face around him in gold.

Then Oscar's right hand began to change shape.

His fingers thickened. His nails lengthened, broadened, and sharpened. A layer of brownish fur emerged over the skin of his palm.

In just a few seconds, his entire hand transformed from a boy's hand into a—

Huge bear paw.

Golden bear claws sprang from his fingertips, glinting with cold light beneath the lingering sunset.

"W-What the hell is this?!"

Oscar stared at his right hand in terror, his voice cracking.

"My hand! How did my hand turn into a bear paw?!"