Ten-Thousand-Year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear!

Just as Mu En returned from Ming Capital, deep within the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

A soul-hunting party moved silently through the woods.

At its head was Yan Shaozhe, with Elder Song and Elder Zhuang beside him.

At the heart of the team were two young people who needed to obtain Soul Rings.

Suddenly, Yan Shaozhe, walking at the very front, sharply raised his right hand. The entire team stopped at once, and the forest fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Several hundred meters ahead, in a relatively open woodland clearing.

A dark-gold figure like a small hill stood with its back to them, lowering its head as it tore apart the corpse of a massive rhinoceros-type soul beast.

A thick stench of blood and a terrifyingly vicious aura rushed toward them.

It was a giant bear covered in dark-gold fur. Its arms were especially massive, and its broad, powerful shoulders resembled fortress walls.

At the ends of its two thick arms were incomparably sharp dark-gold claws, each one over a meter long.

"This is..." Yan Shaozhe's pupils suddenly contracted, and shock appeared on his face.

"A Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear! And it's at the ten-thousand-year level!" He lowered his voice, his tone filled with disbelief.

Elder Song and Elder Zhuang behind him immediately turned exceptionally grave upon hearing that.

Soul beasts like Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bears were already exceedingly rare. Those that had grown to ten thousand years were rarer still.

Generally speaking, a ten-thousand-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear could even contend with a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and rival a human Title Douluo.

An ordinary soul-hunting team would never dare set its sights on such a soul beast.

Yet this team had more than enough strength for it.

Yan Shaozhe swept his gaze around. "Elder Song, Elder Zhuang, protect the two children. I'll deal with this soul beast!"

Just as Yan Shaozhe assigned their tasks and his Soul Power began to rise in secret.

The enormous body of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear, which had been feeding, suddenly froze.

It seemed to have sensed the undisguised powerful auras in the distance that had locked onto it.

To a creature with absolute possessiveness over its territory and prey, this was the most direct provocation.

"Roar—!!"

It abruptly turned around and unleashed an earth-shaking roar!

The sound waves rolled outward like tangible shockwaves, shattering every shrub and patch of grass within several dozen meters!

Violence and madness burned in its dark-gold bear eyes as it stared fixedly at Yan Shaozhe.

The instant it confirmed their hostility, it launched the attack it took the greatest pride in.

A dazzling golden light, like a miniature sun, suddenly erupted from the terrifying dark-gold claws of its right forelimb!

An aura of indomitable sharpness shot into the sky, slicing countless fine gashes into the branches and leaves overhead.

The next instant, its pillar-thick arm swung down savagely!

Dark-Gold Terrorclaw!

A condensed, almost tangible dark-gold claw beam tore through the air and cleaved down at Yan Shaozhe with overwhelming force!

Wherever the claw beam passed, invisible sharp energy plowed several deep trenches into the earth. Great trees along its path were effortlessly sliced apart like tofu before crashing down.

That strike contained its ten thousand years of cultivation, along with the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear race's innate, overwhelming offensive power.

Even an ordinary Title Douluo would be injured if they dared take it head-on!

Yet Yan Shaozhe was, after all, a power-attack Super Douluo.

"Good!" A brilliant gleam shot from Yan Shaozhe's eyes. Rather than retreat, he stepped forward.

"Clang—!"

A clear, resounding phoenix cry rang through the forest!

Behind him, the phantom of a Radiant Phoenix with a wingspan of more than ten meters suddenly spread its wings.

A sacred, blazing aura erupted, instantly dispersing the vicious presence brought by the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw.

Facing the incoming dark-gold claw beam, the Radiant Phoenix phantom folded its wings together.

"Boom—!"

The collision between claw and phoenix erupted with a world-shaking blast.

Platinum and dark-gold light intertwined wildly. The resulting shockwave spread in a ring, forcibly shearing away a layer of earth across a hundred-meter radius.

When the light faded, Yan Shaozhe stood as steady as a mountain. The Radiant Phoenix phantom behind him had dimmed slightly, but it still stood proudly.

"Worthy of a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Its attack power truly is formidable."

Feeling a slight numbness in his arm, Yan Shaozhe inwardly praised it.

"But this ends here."

When the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear saw its full-force strike so casually received, a flicker of doubt appeared in its enraged bear eyes for the first time.

But its animal nature swiftly overwhelmed that hesitation. Roaring, it kicked off the ground with all four limbs, its enormous body charging toward Yan Shaozhe like a war chariot.

Its huge claws rose again, ready to unleash an unending barrage of fierce attacks.

However, Yan Shaozhe would not give it another chance to run wild.

His fifth Soul Ring suddenly lit up with a deep black glow.

He opened his mouth and spat out an incomparably condensed stream of phoenix flame. It instantly pierced through space and precisely struck the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's charging path!

"Boom—!"

The flames exploded.

The incomparably hard layer of dark-gold fur covering the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's body immediately began to sizzle upon contact with the flames, rapidly turning charred black.

The horrifying heat and impact penetrated its body, drawing a pained howl from it and bringing its charge to an abrupt halt.

Its massive body was blasted back again and again, plowing deep tracks through the ground.

Many parts of its body had turned black and scorched, giving off the stench of burnt flesh. It looked utterly miserable.

Yet the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's vitality and ferocity far exceeded all expectations.

Even after such a heavy blow, it had not lost its ability to fight. Instead, its near-death savagery was completely awakened!

Its scarlet eyes instantly locked onto Xia Ming, who stood at the edge of the battlefield under the close protection of Elder Song and Elder Zhuang.

The beast's instincts made it realize that he was the true weak point of this human party—and its only possible chance to turn the situation around!

"Whoosh—!"

Without any warning, it endured the agony and poured all its remaining Soul Power and ferocity into its right claw.

A dark-gold claw beam even more condensed and faster than before no longer targeted Yan Shaozhe.

Instead, it traced an eerie arc around the front line of the battle and shot straight toward Xia Ming in the distance!

"Bold creature!" Elder Song, who had remained fully alert, shouted furiously.

She would never allow this beast to harm the academy's future hope right before her eyes!

An incomparably intense azure radiance suddenly burst from Elder Song's seemingly frail body!

Azure light flowed, condensing behind her into an eagle enveloped entirely in an azure glow.

Its eagle eyes were as sharp as lightning, and when its wings spread, they seemed capable of cleaving apart the gale itself.

The Azure Shadow Divine Eagle, a top-tier agility-attack beast Martial Soul!

Though Elder Song did not excel in absolute strength, her terrifying ninety-seventh-level Soul Power cultivation had granted her Martial Soul the power of transformation.

Facing the incoming dark-gold claw beam, she did not choose to confront its sharpest edge head-on.

Instead, her body flashed like a ghost, appearing at the flank of the claw beam.

The Azure Shadow Divine Eagle phantom swept its blade-like wings, carrying highly compressed sharp wind blades as it precisely struck the dark-gold claw beam from the side!

"Screech—!"

A piercing tearing sound rang out.

That seemingly unstoppable dark-gold claw beam was forcibly knocked off course by this skillful and powerful strike.

It skimmed past more than ten meters beside Xia Ming and the others, severing an entire stretch of dense forest behind them at its roots!

Elder Song's aura stirred slightly, but she stood firm, her cold gaze fixed upon the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

She did not press the advantage, because her duty was to protect Xia Ming and the other youth—and because she trusted Yan Shaozhe.