Even a casual swing could carve black fissures through the void.
He was one of the supreme overlords of the Star Dou Forest.
Xiong Jun!
He raised his head and stared at his name in the sky. There was little joy in his blood-red eyes; instead, they brimmed with savagery and resentment.
"Only eleventh?"
Xiong Jun spoke in a voice like rolling thunder.
"This old bear's got divine strength, enough to tear apart the sky and split the earth. How'd I only rank eleventh?"
"That human little miss ranked twelfth, and I'm only one place above her?"
He angrily swung his enormous claws.
Crack!
A small hill a hundred meters high beside him was flattened with a single swipe.
"That old black dragon Di Tian hasn't shown up yet."
"Bi Ji the goose isn't on the list either."
"Could this old bear really be weaker than that goose who only knows how to heal?"
Xiong Jun was furious.
And the consequences would be severe.
He'd thought that with his terrifying defense and attack power—enough to tear apart even space itself—he could at least make the top five.
He hadn't expected to miss even the top ten.
How could he, always so proud and even coveting Beast God Di Tian's position, stand for that?
However,
when the evaluation appeared on the Sky Curtain, Xiong Jun's anger eased a little.
[Evaluation: One of the Soul Beasts with the greatest destructive power on land. Behemoth blood flows through his veins, granting him absolute attacks that ignore defense. His claws are sharp enough to tear apart a Demigod Body. Savage by nature, he is a battle fanatic. If not for his somewhat weaker spiritual power, he could have ranked in the top ten.]
"Hmph."
"At least the Golden Ranking has some sense."
"It knows this old bear's attack power is second to none."
Xiong Jun bared his jaws, revealing a mouthful of fangs as sharp as daggers.
"Ignore defense. Tear apart a demigod."
"Now that's something I like to hear."
Right after that,
the rewards belonging to him descended.
[Rewards for Making the List]
[One: Primordial Demon Bear bloodline: Purifies the Behemoth blood in his body, allowing him to evolve by returning to his ancestral roots! Defense increased threefold, and he gains the Innate Domain "Tearing Field."]
[Two: Cultivation increase: Gains thirty thousand years of cultivation, breaking through the five-hundred-thousand-year threshold!]
Buzz—!
A dark-red pillar of light descended from the sky and enveloped Xiong Jun's enormous body.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Even Xiong Jun, with his thick hide and sturdy flesh, let out a painful roar.
His body began to swell violently.
His original height of fifty meters shot up to eighty meters in the blink of an eye!
The dark-gold fur covering his body began to fall away, replaced by dark red-black scales, deeper in color and far more terrifying.
Those were the distinctive features of a Behemoth!
His claws grew thicker and more powerful, and coils of visible black airflow wound around their tips.
Under the influence of this airflow, the surrounding space kept shattering and reforming like fragile glass.
Tearing Field!
That was the power of a domain.
Within this domain, all defenses were weakened, and all attacks carried a tearing effect.
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions, centered on Xiong Jun.
Five hundred thousand years of cultivation!
At that moment,
Xiong Jun felt invincible.
He clenched his claws, feeling the power inside him, as if he could shatter stars with a single blow.
"Di Tian!"
Xiong Jun let out a long roar toward the sky, his gaze fixed on Life Lake.
"Once this old bear gets out, I'm going to have a good fight with you!"
"It's about time I took a turn sitting in the Beast God's seat!"
Across the continent,
a deathly silence fell.
Whether they were members of the two empires' royal houses or the leaders of the various sects, everyone felt their throats go dry.
Four hundred and seventy thousand years?
No, he was at five hundred thousand years now.
In the recorded history of humanity, a Ferocious Beast of this level was practically a creature of myth and legend.
Ordinarily,
it took several Titled Douluo working together just to stand a chance against a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
But this bear—
Five hundred thousand years!
And he was the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, famed for his attack power!
Who could stand against that?
If he charged out of the Star Dou Forest, he could probably trample a human capital flat in an instant.
"Terrifying..."
"The Soul Beast Clan actually has this kind of power in reserve."
"And haven't you noticed? More and more Soul Beasts have been making the list lately."
"Ice Empress, Xiong Jun..."
"If they keep getting stronger, will human Soul Masters have any chance of survival?"
Panic spread through the crowd.
Inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace,
Xue Ye's expression was grave as he struck the ground hard with his scepter.
"Investigate!"
"Investigate immediately!"
"How many more monsters like this are there in the Star Dou Forest?"
"And there's that Godwind City..."
"Venti has given the Soul Beasts benefits, but he's also our hope of standing against these Ferocious Beasts."
"Whatever the cost, we must win him over!"
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi stood on a raised platform, watching Xiong Jun's image gradually fade from the sky, his brow furrowed.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin stood beside him. The Seven Kill Sword that never usually left his side was now trembling faintly.
It was the excitement of encountering a worthy opponent, as well as a warning born of instinct.
"Fengzhi."
Chen Xin spoke, his voice low.
"That bear is strong."
"In the past, I might have been able to use the sharpness of the Seven Kill Sword to hold him off for a while."
"But now..."
Chen Xin shook his head, a flicker of apprehension in his eyes.
"He's evolved and gained another thirty thousand years of cultivation."
"If I faced him, I'm afraid... I wouldn't last ten moves."
Ning Fengzhi sucked in a sharp breath.
Sword Douluo was known as the Titled Douluo with the strongest attack power in the world.
If even he said that—
Who in the world could stop this mad bear?
"This Wind God Ranking..."
Ning Fengzhi sighed.
"Is it helping the continent, or pushing us into an abyss?"
"The Soul Beasts' strength has increased dramatically. The balance has already been broken."
"An age of chaos is coming."
The dark-red pillar of light gradually faded.
Though the terrifying Ferocious Beast known as Xiong Jun had disappeared into the dense forest of the Star Dou Forest, the suffocating pressure he'd left behind clung to the hearts of people everywhere, lingering like a worm burrowing into bone.
Five hundred thousand years of cultivation.
The power to tear apart space.
This was more than just a number. It was a towering mountain pressing down over the heads of all human Soul Masters.
Spirit City, a side hall of the Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong stood quietly before the window, gazing through the colored glass at the lingering golden light in the sky.
Her fingers tapped unconsciously against the window frame, making a soft thudding sound.
"Ghost Elder."
Bibi Dong spoke.
Her voice betrayed no emotion.
The shadows in the corner twisted slightly, and a pitch-black figure silently emerged.
Ghost Douluo Gui Mei bowed slightly.
"Your Majesty."
Bibi Dong turned around, deep light gleaming in her violet eyes.
"In your opinion, where would this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear rank in the Worship Hall?"