It's a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, Surprised? Unexpected?

Three hundred miles west of Notting City lay the Qinglan Soul Hunting Forest.

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting mottled shadows as a team of seven cautiously navigated the woods.

Xiao Chenyu led the way at the front of the group.

Close behind him followed a middle-aged man with a resolute face—his convenient father, Xiao Chengkun.

Trailing them were five members of the Soul Hunting Group: three Spirit Elders and two Spirit Ancestors.

Such a lineup was considered luxurious for a small city!

Of course, the commission was also luxurious enough to make Xiao Chengkun wince in genuine pain.

"Chenyu, my boy."

Xiao Chengkun lowered his voice and leaned in, his expression suggesting he had just been fleeced of his life savings.

"Are you sure there's really a perfect soul ring for you here? I've emptied my coffin money to hire these people; if we come up empty-handed..."

"Dad, that's the eighth time you've asked." Xiao Chenyu sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I can't help it, I'm nervous!"

Xiao Chengkun rubbed his hands together; his palms were rough and calloused, yet he fidgeted with them as if he were shuffling mahjong tiles.

"The highlight of my life was becoming the City Lord of Notting City."

"Now that you say my son has the potential to reach Title Douluo, my heart is thumping like a nest of rabbits."

Xiao Chenyu had previously disclosed some of the changes he had undergone to his convenient father.

A mutated martial soul.

The awakening of a second martial soul.

Upon seeing those two martial souls with his own eyes, Xiao Chengkun had been so excited he'd practically lost his mind.

He had howled, "My son Xiao Chenyu has the potential of a Title Douluo!" all night long at home, shouting so loudly that the neighbors nearly reported the City Lord's mansion for being haunted.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Oh my, your dad is actually quite cute~ Much better than Tang San's father.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: That Tang Hao's parenting style was practically raising his child to be a failure. Yours is a proper father! (◕ᴗ◕✿)

[Xiao Chenyu]: Tang Hao's fatherhood is like a landslide, while my dad's is like a mountain... a normal mountain.

[Human-Faced Demon Spider]: Tang Hao! Die! Tang Hao! Die! Both of you die!

[Xiao Chenyu]: Alright, alright, stop repeating yourself. Tang Hao hasn't even appeared yet. Save your energy for when he shows up.

"Chenyu, what are you spacing out for?"

Xiao Chengkun looked at his son suspiciously, feeling that the boy had been distracted lately. Could he have suffered a cultivation deviation?

"It's nothing, just praying for a smooth hunt."

Xiao Chenyu closed the chat interface without changing his expression.

The group continued forward.

Most soul beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest were of ten-year or hundred-year cultivation, and they scurried away the moment they sensed the aura of a Spirit King.

Along the way, they hadn't encountered any top-tier soul beasts, nor even anything decent.

At most, a few ten-year Soft-Bone Rabbits hopped past them through the grass.

Xiao Chengkun watched the rabbits and muttered, "I really don't understand how weaklings like Soft-Bone Rabbits can be soul beasts. The meat rabbits I raise at the mansion are sturdier than those."

"Dad, if Soft-Bone Rabbits could grow to that size, we would have been rich long ago."

"True."

Before long, the group arrived before a stone wall covered in green vines.

Xiao Chenyu pushed the vines aside, revealing the faint outline of a cave entrance.

It was pitch black and exhaled a chilling breeze, looking exactly like the gaping maw of a monster.

Xiao Chenyu silently sent a message in the chat group.

[Xiao Chenyu]: @Will of Douluo Planet, is this the place?

[Will of Douluo Planet]: That's right, it's inside! A top-tier thousand-year soul beast perfectly suited for you~ (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

[Xiao Chenyu]: A top-tier thousand-year soul beast? Doesn't that mean it's on the level of a Titan Giant Ape?

[Xiao Chenyu]: The highest level in this group is only a Spirit King. Can they handle it? Don't set me up.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Hehe, you'll see when you go in~ I, the Will of Douluo Planet, guarantee that I would never harm an Avenger! |･ω･｀)

[Goddess of Life]: Chenyu, you can trust the Will of Douluo Planet.

[Goddess of Life]: Given her understanding of all living things on Douluo Planet, if she recommends you go, she must be absolutely certain.

[Human-Faced Demon Spider]: Douluo Planet! Good planet! I believe!

[God of Destruction]: Caution is fine, but opportunity often coexists with risk.

[God of Destruction]: If you lack even this much courage, you aren't worthy of being the son of myself and Little Green.

[Xiao Chenyu]: Godfather, your reverse psychology is way too obvious.

[God of Destruction]: So, are you going in or not?

[Xiao Chenyu]: Going, going, going! I'm definitely going!

Xiao Chenyu took a deep breath and waved his hand at those behind him: "Let's go, into the cave."

The leader of the Soul Hunting Group immediately signaled his men to light their torches.

The firelight illuminated the depths of the cave as the group stepped over loose stones, heading inside.

The air was damp and chilly, the stone walls covered in thick moss. Occasionally, bats fluttered overhead, startling Xiao Chengkun so much he nearly blasted a soul skill at them.

"This cave is quite deep," Xiao Chengkun muttered.

"Doesn't this look like the scene before a monster appears in a horror movie?" Xiao Chenyu remarked subconsciously.

"What's a horror movie?"

"Uh... a form of folk performance art. It's not important."

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

A massive karst cave appeared before their eyes.

Countless stalactites hung from the ceiling.

Reflected in the torchlight, they shimmered with a strange glow, like a ceiling hung with inverted crystal swords.

The ground was damp, emitting faint echoes with every step.

A faint scent of blood permeated the air.

And in the deepest part of the cavern, a giant bear over three meters long lay prone on the ground.

Its entire body was covered in dark golden fur, which flowed with a metallic luster under the firelight.

At the tips of its massive paws grew eight sharp claws, each half a meter long.

Every single one looked like a crystal forged from dark gold, glinting with a heart-stopping, cold light.

Just lying there motionless, its aura of ferocity made everyone present gasp in cold air.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Ta-da! The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear makes a dazzling entrance! (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ Surprised? Unexpected, right?

"Huh?!"

Xiao Chenyu froze in place, his eyes widening like a pair of high-beam lightbulbs.

[Xiao Chenyu]: ...

[Xiao Chenyu]: You call this a surprise?

[Xiao Chenyu]: This is a fucking nightmare!!!

A Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!

A top-tier soul beast known in the soul master world as the "Jungle Destroyer."

Possessing a portion of Behemoth bloodline and the Ultimate Metal attribute, it was the pinnacle representative of metal-type soul beasts and the undisputed king among all bear-type soul beasts!

This kind of soul beast with a top-tier bloodline was a professional at cross-level combat.

A thousand-year cultivation Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was enough to rival an average ten-thousand-year soul beast!

Xiao Chenyu quickly scanned his Soul Hunting Group and his father's lineup—three Soul Elders, two Soul Ancestors, and one Soul King.

His father, the Soul King, didn't exactly have high-quality soul rings.

The combined combat power of the five living people here was probably equivalent to five walking lunchboxes in front of this bear.

"Yu'er, is this the... soul beast you had your eye on?"

"Gulp!"

Xiao Chengkun's voice was trembling, his face greener than the moss on the cave walls.

Xiao Chenyu: "..."

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Oh, don't be so anxious~ Take a closer look at its current state~

Xiao Chenyu steadied himself, suppressing the urge to turn and run, and carefully examined the giant bear.

He saw that the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's breathing was extremely ragged and weak, with dark red bloodstains hanging from the corners of its mouth, mixed with charred black marks from burns.

The ground beneath it had been scorched into a large, blackened patch by something, and several surrounding rocks were cracked from the heat.

More importantly, it hadn't reacted to their group of intruders at all!

Or rather, it had noticed them, but it no longer had the strength to even lift its head!

Xiao Chenyu even saw its eyelids twitch once, only for it to give up on opening them.

Those bear paws, said to be capable of shattering mountains, were currently lying limp on the ground, unable to even retract their claws.

"!!!"

"How strange!"

[Xiao Chenyu]: It seems... it's not going to make it?

[God of Destruction]: This Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear is about three meters long and has just broken through to the thousand-year cultivation level.

[God of Destruction]: Under normal circumstances, your team's strength would certainly not be enough to take it down.

[God of Destruction]: However, there is an extremely yang and fierce medicinal power rampaging inside its body, which has completely destroyed its foundation.

[Goddess of Life]: Mmh, it should have been in this state for several days now; its life force is continuously fading.

[Goddess of Life]: Right now, I'm afraid it can't even exert one percent of its usual strength.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Hehe, let this baby tell you~ This guy is a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear that was separated from its pack during its infancy and grew up alone in this Soul Hunting Forest.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: The key is that it accidentally ate an immortal herb not long ago.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: The medicinal power of that immortal herb was extremely potent, and it possessed the attribute of Ultimate Fire, which collided with the Ultimate Metal attribute inside its body, causing it to go berserk!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: In short—you can't just eat medicine randomly, not even immortal herbs. Look, it ate itself into trouble, didn't it? (＞ｙ＜)

[Xiao Chenyu]: Wait, wait, wait—

[Xiao Chenyu]: You're saying it's on the verge of death because it accidentally ate an immortal herb?

[Xiao Chenyu]: An immortal herb? That legendary grade of medicinal herb capable of shedding one's mortal body and exchanging one's bones?

Xiao Chenyu realized he had grasped the crux of the matter!

Immortal herbs were something that had appeared in the original work!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: That's right~ And the one it accidentally ate was of quite high quality, too.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Now is the best time for you to take it down! Strike while it's down, charge, charge, charge! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧

[Human-Faced Demon Spider]: Beat it! Kick it! Kill!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Little Spider, calm down. We're hunting souls, not taking revenge (;ﾟдﾟ). Kill it, don't torture it!

Xiao Chenyu slowly exhaled, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc.

An immortal herb.

And a top-tier thousand-year soul beast on the verge of death.

This luck was simply absurd.

As expected, hanging out with big shots comes with a luck bonus.

He turned to look at the group behind him.

His father, Xiao Chengkun, was looking at him with an expression that clearly said, "Son, are you sure you aren't sending me to my death?"

Although the leader of the Soul Hunting Group was barely maintaining his composure, the hand gripping his blade was already trembling slightly.

The leader of the Soul Hunting Group still had some fighting spirit left, but his face was written with, "This job is going to cost extra."

Xiao Chenyu cleared his throat: "Prepare to move."

"Move?!"

Xiao Chengkun nearly jumped, pointing at the giant bear that was taller than him even while lying down.

"Yu'er, is this the soul beast you've set your sights on?"

"Are you sure we're here to hunt souls and not to deliver takeout to it?"

"Dad, haven't you noticed it's already on its last legs?"

"Hm?"

Xiao Chengkun froze for a moment before looking carefully.

Sure enough, the blood under the giant bear, the scorched earth, the chaotic aura.

All this information pointed to one thing.

This was a severely wounded, dying soul beast!

"This..."

Xiao Chengkun's eyes shifted from fear to surprise, and then from surprise to ecstasy.

"Is this picking up a bargain?"

"That's right."

Xiao Chenyu nodded, hands on his hips, revealing a brilliant smile.

He waved his hand grandly.

"Attack immediately!"

"This soul beast is the soul ring for me, Xiao Chenyu; don't let it get away!"