Dark Gold Dreadclaw

"Found it!"

On the second floor of the Collection Tower, beside a bookshelf near the corner, Bibi Dong held a dark brown beast-hide scroll in both hands and called out excitedly.

Hearing her, Ling Yi walked over and stopped two paces away.

Bibi Dong, who had only just begun to become aware of propriety between men and women, smiled sweetly and waved the beast-hide scroll in her hand. "Big Brother Ling, I found it."

With that, she held the scroll out to Ling Yi.

Ling Yi returned a warm smile, reached out to take it, and opened the scroll titled "Illustrated Guide to Rare Bear-Type Soul Beasts."

He skipped the opening line-[Extremely rare. Not found in groups; possibly solitary mutated individuals.]-and, following Bibi Dong's directions, turned to the passage they were looking for.

It read: [Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear: a terrifying Soul Beast born a king. Whether in offense or defense, it is fearsome in close combat and possesses tremendous explosive power at range. Its strength places it among the very peak of the Soul Beast world. A legendary ferocious beast capable of contending with a true pure-blooded dragon. Its pair of dreadclaws can tear through anything, and its right claw is suspected to contain a power of metal that transcends the world.]

The description was brief, and beside it was a somewhat blurry illustration of a bear. Though its colors had faded, perhaps the artist's memory had been exceptionally vivid, or perhaps some special pigment had been used for the claws. On the illustration, which was at least several hundred years old, the claws remained exceptionally clear, giving an impression of being able to tear everything apart.

Ling Yi reached out and traced the illustration with a finger hovering above it. To avoid damaging the ancient markings, he did