Spirit Ascension Platform Ends, Leng Yaozhu Takes a Disciple

However, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's skin was a bit too thick.

Su Chen misjudged the distance, and this claw only managed to tear open the opponent's skull, failing to deliver a fatal blow.

"Roar--!!!"

The searing pain instantly overwhelmed the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's senses.

It let out a world-shattering roar of agony.

The surrounding air vibrated violently, forming visible ripples. Several trees as thick as a bowl were snapped in half, their branches and leaves flying wildly.

Su Chen was prepared and had already teleported a hundred meters away.

Had he been a second slower, he might have been in trouble.

Glass cannons were like this: their attack power was outrageously high, but they were also extremely fragile, allowing for no mistakes.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear below had completely lost its mind.

Its gaze locked onto Su Chen once more, and it charged at him with all its might.

"Heh, a beast that's lost its mind, isn't it just asking for death?" Su Chen grinned.

Clearly, this Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was only a hundred years old and had low intelligence.

Furthermore, being the overlord of this place for so long, it had naturally lost its vigilance against danger.

Su Chen's figure disappeared again.

Seeing this, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear immediately stopped, looking around, trying to find Su Chen's figure so it could tear him to shreds.

Unfortunately, it saw nothing.

Because Su Chen was currently directly above it.

"Splat--"

Su Chen landed on the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's neck.

"Roar--"

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear instantly felt the deadly killing intent from above.

It didn't even have time to look up. Its two incredibly thick arms, carrying those terrifying dark gold claws, slammed upwards.

However, Su Chen would not give it any more chances!

"It's over!"

Su Chen's right arm, the dragon claw, which had already accumulated full power, fiercely clawed towards the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's head.

"Pfft--"

This time, the sound of flesh tearing was dull and clear.

The arm, covered in dragon scales, plunged deep into the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's brain without any obstruction!

The hot, viscous sensation instantly enveloped Su Chen's arm.

Without hesitation, he clenched his five dragon claws.

At the same time, the powerful soul force condensed on his arm erupted!

"Bang--"

A dull sound echoed from within the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's massive head.

Su Chen had only used soul force to shock it; the power wasn't enough to blow up the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's head, but it was more than enough to shatter its brain.

After all, this was the fatal weakness of most creatures.

"Roar... uh..."

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's ferocious roar abruptly ceased, turning into a short whimper.

The pair of violent, crimson eyes visibly lost their luster.

The claws, raised high in preparation to clap together, fell limply, frozen in mid-air, unable to descend.

"Boom--!!!"

Its mountain-like body trembled violently and then crashed to the ground.

Dust slowly settled, revealing the colossal corpse that had lost its life force.

At the back of its head, a large bloody hole was gushing dark gold blood and white brain matter.

Soon, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's corpse dissolved into specks of light.

A yellow spiritual energy flowed into Su Chen's body.

Although the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear had terrifying combat power, its contribution to Su Chen's soul ring's age increase was no different from a hundred-year-old soul beast.

The only difference was...

Su Chen's gaze fell upon the spot where the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's corpse had vanished.

There, a golden... soul bone now lay.

"It really is a Soul Bone!"

Su Chen picked up the Soul Bone and examined it closely.

The reason the guardians of the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform were so powerful was naturally because they had fused with Soul Bones; killing them would cause these to drop, but they could not be taken outside and had to be absorbed within the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.

Neither Mu Xi nor Ouyang Zixin were suitable for it.

Su Chen had no choice but to absorb it himself.

As for Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin, once Su Chen became stronger, helping them improve their combat power in the future would be quite simple.

With this thought in mind, Su Chen used his soul power to trigger the palm bone.

Because Su Chen possessed a powerful physique, the palm bone fused into his body with ease, merging with his palm and counting as an External Soul Bone.

Su Chen felt around and discovered that he hadn't gained any additional skills, though his strength had increased by quite a bit.

"To gain such a benefit from the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, this trip was certainly worth it." Su Chen let out a breath, not feeling greedy, but rather quite satisfied.

This haul was an absolute jackpot.

Su Chen looked ahead, where the deep forest still stretched on.

But Su Chen knew that once he crossed this forest, he might reach the territory of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, where he could encounter even more powerful soul beasts.

However, Su Chen did not enter; instead, he pressed the distress signal and chose to leave.

One should not be too greedy in life; having already cleared the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, he was already satisfied with today's massive harvest.

As for the subsequent soul ring upgrade, that would have to wait until he obtained his second soul ring and a ten-thousand-year soul spirit.

After all, he would still need to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform after obtaining his second soul ring.

When that time came, he would be entering the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform.

By then, he would surely possess a ten-thousand-year soul spirit to clear the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform directly, which would maximize his efficiency.

"Whoosh—"

Su Chen's consciousness blurred, and then he opened his eyes, finding himself back in the cold connection pod.

"Hiss—"

A faint sound of pressure release rang out, and the transparent lid of the connection pod slowly slid upward.

Su Chen propped himself up to a sitting position and stretched his somewhat stiff neck.

He subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body and the subtle changes brought about by the fusion of the Soul Bone in his palm.

His strength had indeed increased significantly; although he hadn't gained a new skill, getting something for nothing was still a pleasant feeling.

He habitually looked toward the connection pods of Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin next to him.

Their pod doors had long been opened, and they were currently standing not far away.

However, their state was a bit strange.

Both of them were bowing their heads slightly, their hands folded unnaturally in front of them, looking like students called out by a teacher in class, appearing extremely restrained.

Su Chen turned his head and only then realized that there was an extra person beside him.

A woman stood quietly by his side, as if she were the true master of this room.

The woman was tall, wearing a well-tailored dark red dress that outlined her mature and curvaceous figure.

Beneath the hem of her skirt, her calves, wrapped in ultra-thin black silk stockings, had beautiful lines, and she wore a pair of simple yet high-quality black high heels.

Her face was elegant and beautiful; she looked to be about thirty years old, with a charm in her brows and eyes that had been refined by time.

But what Su Chen felt most deeply was the intangible aura emanating from her.

It wasn't a pressure released intentionally, but rather a presence that radiated naturally, like an abyss, bottomless.

Su Chen felt as if he were standing before some primordial beast, a sense of insignificance spontaneously arising.

When the other party's gaze fell upon him, it did carry a hint of gentleness and appreciation.

Yet, Su Chen was even more clearly aware of the chasm-like gap between them.

The feeling was so intuitive, as if she and he were no longer life forms of the same dimension.