Bear King

At those words, the entire clearing fell silent.

Twelve years old? Level forty-six? What the hell was that?

Before Zhao Youji could recover, Xiao Qing, who had been silent beside him all this time, spoke calmly as well. "Xiao Qing, Martial Soul: Azure War Dragon, Level forty-two Battle Soul Ancestor."

"Gasp—"

Everyone in the clearing turned into vacuum cleaners once more. Two Soul Ancestors! And judging by their levels and Martial Soul names, they were definitely no ordinary dragons.

The teasing look vanished from Zhao Youji's face.

"Good! A whole bunch of Little Monsters! Looks like I'll have to loosen these old bones today!" Zhao Youji roared. Seven dazzling Spirit Rings rose with a thunderous boom from beneath his feet.

Two yellow, two purple, and three black!

A weighty pressure, as imposing as a mountain, swept across the clearing in an instant. Behind him, the phantom of the Giant Strength Silver Iron Bear roared.

"Prepare for battle!" Qian San barked. His Purple Demon Eye opened at once, while the Nine-Glory Divine Net silently enveloped the entire battlefield.

"Rongrong, keep him occupied. Lanjun, area water wave!" Qian San's orders came as fast as lightning.

"Hmph, as if I need you to tell me what to do!" Though Yu Rongrong sounded haughty, she moved without the slightest delay. The Seven Treasure Overlord Pagoda shone brilliantly, and she cried, "First Pagoda, open! Berserk Snow Ape!"

With that, a century-old Snow Ape appeared and charged at Zhao Youji from the side.

"Amitabha. May all beings find peace." Niu Lanjun pressed his palms together as the Spirit Rings beneath his feet shimmered.

"Phoenix Water Wave!"

A layer of blue ripples, seemingly capable of dispelling all violent energy, formed a watery shield in front of everyone.

Seeing this, Zhu Muhei didn't hold back either. After all, this was a good chance to show off in front of Zhu Zhuqing. His Azure Spirit Cat Martial Soul possessed him, and he became a flickering green blur as he tried to harry Zhao Youji from the flank.

Yet faced with their fierce assault, Zhao Youji only laughed scornfully.

"Giant Strength Silver Iron Palm!"

Zhao Youji's enormous paw, covered in silver metal, lashed out. Even though he held back, it easily shattered Niu Lanjun's watery shield, then continued toward Zhu Muhei with undiminished force.

"Bang!"

Zhu Muhei felt a force like a landslide surge into his arms. He grunted as the recoil sent him flying. The Snow Ape's sneak attack hadn't even broken through Zhao Youji's silver defenses; his protective aura had simply knocked it back.

"Little cat, little monkey, you think you can break my defenses with that kind of strength?" Zhao Youji roared with laughter. Just as he was about to press his advantage, a gust of wind suddenly came from above his head!

"Azure Dragon Tail Sweep!"

Xiao Qing had somehow leaped into the air. The colossal Azure War Dragon's shadow merged with her body, its tail like a steel whip as it lashed down at Zhao Youji's head!

Zhao Youji's expression shifted. He could feel the extraordinary strength of the girl's body, and crossed his arms overhead to block.

"Boom!"

Xiao Qing was sent flying backward. She spun twice in midair before landing steadily. Zhao Youji, meanwhile, felt his arms go slightly numb from the blow.

"What incredible strength!" Zhao Youji thought, inwardly alarmed.

But before he could straighten up, Qian San's attack was already upon him!

"First Soul Skill—Metal Control!

Second Soul Skill—Formless Vibration Edge!"

Purple light blazed in Qian San's eyes as the immense Soul Power within him erupted.

A vast quantity of blue-silver Liquid Metal surged from his palm and solidified in midair! They weren't ordinary swords or blades, but ten Godly Zhuge Crossbows!

Every bolt's tip was coated in a trembling stream of dark-gold light—the Formless Vibration Edge, which ignored fifty percent of physical defense!

"Fire!"

Qian San swept both hands out, controlling them perfectly with Phantom Heart Multi-Thread.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"

Hundreds of crossbow bolts, each carrying high-frequency armor-piercing vibrations, sealed off every path Zhao Youji could take to dodge!

"Holy crap! What the hell is that?!"

Zhao Youji's scalp tingled. The moment those dark-gold bolts struck the silver-iron defenses he prided himself on, they made the sound of metal being cut. It was only because he was a Soul Sage that he could endure it. Even a Soul King would likely have been dead after taking that volley.

The bolts couldn't fully pierce a Soul Sage's protective aura, but their absurd numbers and high-frequency vibrations churned Zhao Youji's blood and qi, forcing him back again and again!

"Is this kid a porcupine or something?" Zhao Youji roared. He was just about to charge through the rain of bolts when he realized the earth beneath his feet had suddenly turned muddy.

"Amitabha, Teacher Zhao. The sea of suffering has no bounds; turn back, and you'll find the shore." Niu Lanjun had somehow already activated his second Soul Skill, turning the ground beneath Zhao Youji into a sticky swamp.

"Cut the nonsense!" The teamwork of these Little Monsters had worked Zhao Youji into a sweat. He was the mighty Immovable Bear King. If a bunch of new students pushed him around today, how could he ever show his face again?

"Fifth Soul Skill: Gravity Compression!"

Zhao Youji was furious. At last, he used his Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill. A terrifying field of gravity instantly enveloped the clearing, trying to press everyone to the ground.

Zhu Muhei, Yu Rongrong, and the others were forced to their knees at once, struggling to breathe.

"Sis Qing!" Qian San shouted against the crushing gravity.

"Got it!"

Xiao Qing struggled against the gravity field and charged straight to Qian San's side. Qian San took a deep breath, pouring out his Soul Power with all his might.

"Liquid Battle Armor, assemble!"

Blue-silver Liquid Metal surged out at once, wrapping tightly around Qian San and Xiao Qing. In the blink of an eye, it formed two fitted suits of metal armor.

The moment the armor took shape, the two immediately split apart, attacking from both sides!

Xiao Qing activated all three of her first Soul Skills. Their pure attribute boosts piled on top of one another, and with the Liquid Battle Armor as well, her physical strength reached a terrifying level. She chose to meet Zhao Youji head-on. Every punch she threw carried a deep whistle of wind, its force so great that Zhao Youji couldn't afford to ignore it and had to keep raising his bear paws to defend himself.

Qian San, meanwhile, darted around him with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. His hands flashed as Hidden Weapons filled the air, their high-frequency armor-piercing vibrations hammering Zhao Youji's joints and blind spots, leaving him no chance to defend against them all.

The moment one of Xiao Qing's heavy punches clashed with Zhao Youji's, shifting his center of gravity slightly—

Purple light blazed in Qian San's eyes. The Nine-Glory Divine Net precisely caught that fleeting mistake.

He poured out every last bit of his remaining Soul Power without holding anything back! The armor covering his body instantly receded, and all the blue-silver Liquid Metal surged toward his right arm, swelling rapidly and solidifying into a massive blue-silver steel fist!

Using the force of the mechanism to slide low across the ground, Qian San slammed his enormous steel right fist into Zhao Youji's lower leg! Zhao Youji dropped to one knee at once.

Almost in the next instant, Xiao Qing seized the opening too. Empowered by the armor, her full-force strike landed squarely on Zhao Youji's chest!

Boom—

The two forces erupted at the same time. Zhao Youji grunted. Unable to retreat and bleed off the force while kneeling on one knee, he felt his chest churn like a storm-tossed sea. His throat turned sweet, and a mouthful of blood surged into his mouth.

At the same time, the final spark on the incense stick planted in the dirt nearby burned out.