Crystal Bear

The giant bear stood a full three meters tall, with golden eyes and brownish-yellow fur covering its entire body. Its paws were exceptionally huge, and the claws upon them were sharp enough to make one's heart tremble.

Cheng Xiao's eyelids twitched wildly. He could not help swallowing, even as he cursed inwardly. If he could, he would have loved to slap himself twice and apologize to the giant bear: Brother Bear, I'm sorry for disturbing your rest. I'll leave right away. Please carry on...

A Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear—a being that could be considered an overlord of the forest. Even a three-thousand-year Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear did not fear Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Known as the Earth Ripper, its claws could even tear apart dragon-blooded Soul Beasts.

Its defensive and offensive capabilities were both among the very best. In the future, its name would make Soul Masters tremble because of Bear Lord, who possessed ultimate gold!

An adult Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear had no natural enemies. In the Star Dou Great Forest, the four-hundred-and-seventy-thousand-year Bear Lord had once wounded Beast God Ditian when the latter let his guard down. That alone showed how terrifying its claws were!

What left the deepest impression on Cheng Xiao, however, was the External Soul Bone produced by a Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear. A single Dark Golden Dreadclaw Left Palm Bone was enough to grant a Super Douluo above rank ninety-five an additional soul skill that struck fear into countless Titled Douluo! The Right Palm Bone was even more powerful!

But no matter how absurdly powerful those palm bones were, Cheng Xiao did not dare entertain the slightest thought of coveting them. This giant bear simply was not a Soul Beast he could afford to provoke at his current level!

Those shadows under his command probably could not even pierce a Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear's defense!

And the Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear before him was a full three meters tall. Even if it had not reached three thousand years, it could not be far off—at most a difference of one or two hundred years!

Without the strength of a Soul Emperor, even escaping alive from its claws would be difficult!

Danger!

Cheng Xiao felt as though a huge label with that very word had been stamped across his forehead!

Cheng Xiao's entire body stiffened. He held his breath, but his Soul Power was already circulating. The instant an opportunity arose, he would flee.

"Roar!"

A ferocious gleam flashed in the giant bear's eyes as it looked down at Cheng Xiao with disdain. The next moment, it let out an angry roar, stepped forward, raised a paw as massive as a boulder, and viciously swung it down.

First Soul Skill: Touch of Soul Binding!

Cheng Xiao's pupils contracted slightly. Seizing the opening, he immediately released his martial soul and unleashed his first soul skill.

After his martial soul had undergone its initial release, his first soul skill had also been enhanced. The enormous shadow beneath the giant bear's feet instantly surged to life, shooting out vertical shadowy tentacles that tightly bound its retreating leg.

Caught off guard, the giant bear's extended step was restrained by the Touch of Soul Binding, and it actually stumbled forward.

"Good chance!"

Cheng Xiao immediately curled up and rolled beneath the giant bear's falling body. Then he sprang to his feet and bolted toward the outer regions of the Star Dou Great Forest without the slightest hesitation.

No matter how good a Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear was, he needed to be alive to enjoy it!

At the same time, Cheng Xiao unleashed his Shadow Domain and released thirteen Soul Beasts to obstruct the giant bear, buying himself a greater chance of escaping alive.

Bang!

The giant bear's paw slammed into Sixth Brother, and Sixth Brother's body exploded on the spot.

Hearing the sound behind him, Cheng Xiao could not help glancing back from the corner of his eye. Yet his feet did not slow in the slightest, for fear that one moment of delay would cost him his life.

However, when his peripheral vision swept over Sixth Brother's shattered remains, Cheng Xiao halted, unable to take another step.

"No! This isn't a Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear!"

Cheng Xiao's eyes lit up, his gaze locking tightly onto Sixth Brother's smashed corpse!

Every fragment of Sixth Brother's body had turned into silver crystals like chunks of ice, refracting rainbow-colored light beneath the sun.

"A Crystal Bear! This is a Crystal Bear!"

Cheng Xiao stared fixedly at the brownish-yellow giant bear. The tension and fear in his heart were instantly swept away like snow melting in a furnace, replaced by an uncontrollable excitement.

The Crystal Bear was an extremely rare Soul Beast, mutated from a Dreadclaw Bear. Yet this mutation was not an improvement, but a weakening mutation.

As a result, Crystal Bears were much weaker than Dreadclaw Bears!

Even so, weakened Crystal Bears still possessed strength that other Soul Beasts found difficult to match!

A Crystal Bear's dreadclaws were not as sharp as those of a Dreadclaw Bear, but they possessed an extremely special ability. Any opponent struck by them would undergo crystallization. Once they suffered another certain degree of attack, the crystals would shatter outright!

Only those with exceptionally formidable Soul Power could resist the Crystal Bear's crystallization ability. Even then, they would need to swiftly cut off the afflicted area to avoid suffering damage themselves.

It was precisely because of this skill that many Soul Beasts feared them and tried their best to avoid fighting them to the death!

Cheng Xiao could barely contain his excitement. His eyes blazed as though he wanted to devour the Crystal Bear alive.

A Crystal Bear less than three thousand years old—if he summoned it as one of his shadows, he would practically be able to swagger through the outer regions of the Star Dou Great Forest! A Crystal Bear was not a Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear and was far weaker. Killing it was not impossible!

If one had to set a standard, a three-thousand-year Dreadclaw Bear could rival a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, while a three-thousand-year Crystal Bear could at most rival a five-thousand-year one. If not for its special ability, it would likely be even weaker.

Such a special ability was enough to make many people avoid it like the plague! If it were in his hands...

"Attack together! Blazing Fire Spirit Kite, kite it! Lightning Stripe Tiger and Profound Dark Tortoise, draw its attention head-on! Tiger Demon Cat and Heart-Shattering Bee, stand by! Nine-Segment Wolf Spider and Spotted Head Boa, restrain its movements! The rest of you, attack with me and latch onto it!" As thoughts raced through his mind, Cheng Xiao suddenly looked up and decided to gamble.

An opportunity like this would not come twice!

A rare Crystal Bear was worth staking his life on!

Compared to Dreadclaw Bears, Crystal Bears had a fatal weakness: they could only fight at close range and possessed no long-range attack capabilities. As long as his tactics were properly arranged, he could definitely wear it down to death.

The Crystal Bear, however, was enraged by the strange Soul Beasts under Cheng Xiao's command. It had originally been sleeping in its den when it sensed a group of Soul Beasts with bizarre auras wandering near its nest. That was why it had come out to investigate, intending to drive them away.

Yet it had not expected these blind fools to fearlessly surround and attack it. In its fury, the Crystal Bear swatted Lightning Stripe Tiger and Profound Dark Tortoise with one paw each. In an instant, the two Shadow Soul Beasts crystallized, then shattered beneath its second strike.

Holy hell!

Cheng Xiao jolted. "This is supposed to be a weakening mutation? One paw each? Are you kidding me?"

If this was a weakening mutation, then how terrifying was a Dreadclaw Bear? And the even stronger Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear... Cheng Xiao's scalp went numb.

"Get them! All of you, get them!"

Cheng Xiao immediately abandoned his tactics. This thing cleared the field so quickly that the Shadow Soul Beasts could not revive as fast as it killed them. How could he worry about tactics now? If he was not careful, he might capsize in a ditch, and the consequences would be no joke!

PS: The Crystal Bear appeared in Chapter 125 of the third installment, Legend of the Dragon King.

Thanks to the readers Story Should End Alright and Book Friend 20230215655_ec for their tips!