Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear

Xiling's expression hardened as he instantly stepped in front of Xie Xie, who was sprinting forward.

Spatial power gathered in his right hand as he threw a fierce punch forward.

"Bang—!"

Xiling's fist collided with the streak of dark golden light, and the air abruptly exploded into a visible shockwave. Xie Xie was sent staggering back by the impact, the ease on his face instantly freezing.

Another flash of dark gold appeared. Not far from them stood a giant bear covered entirely in dark golden fur, over three meters tall, with especially massive arms.

At the ends of those arms were incomparably sharp dark golden claws. Each claw alone was over a meter long.

Everyone's eyes focused on it, and they almost immediately recognized what kind of soul beast it was, because this creature was simply too famous.

It was the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, hailed as one of the strongest beings in the soul beast world.

It was said that among the powerful ferocious beasts of ancient legends, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear had been one of them.

An adult Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear had no natural enemies. Even true dragons might not gain any advantage against one.

This Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear before them was three meters tall, so it should have been more than a hundred years old.

Both were hundred-year soul beasts, but while a soul beast killer like the Human-Faced Demon Spider could contend with thousand-year soul beasts, this Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear before them could make even ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts turn and flee!

That was what made it so terrifying.

P.S.: I can't help but complain here. In Soul Land 2, Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears were said to be able to fight ten-thousand-year soul beasts at the thousand-year level, but in Soul Land 3 that setting was directly ignored. So I added "ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts" here, which seems a little more reasonable.

Xiling looked at Xie Xie, who had been frightened senseless behind him, then lightly kicked him. He sent the guy stumbling backward, where he landed steadily beside Tang Wulin and the others.

"Stay put. None of you run around."

How could Xie Xie dare talk tough now? His scalp tingled as he stared fixedly at the giant beast ahead, his back already soaked in cold sweat.

If Xiling hadn't acted just now, he probably would have been torn apart instantly, right?

Xiling rolled his wrist and turned his gaze back to the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. "I almost forgot about you."

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's icy gaze fell upon Xiling. This human had not only blocked its attack just now, but had even knocked it back.

Then, it raised its right claw, and dark golden light instantly flared.

"Xiling, watch out!" Gu Yue suddenly cried out from behind, but Xiling showed no intention of dodging.

The next second, a gigantic shadow of dark golden light slashed through everything where Xiling stood.

Yes, everything!

There was no thunderous boom. The trees, the air, and the ground were all utterly torn apart by that terrifying dark golden shadow.

"Xiling!"

"Brother Ling!"

Gu Yue's pretty face turned deathly pale as she instinctively tried to rush forward, genuine panic appearing in her eyes for the first time.

At that moment, she seemed to have forgotten every assumption she had once made about Xiling's strength.

But as the smoke and dust dispersed, the white-haired figure still stood quietly amid the wreckage.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw, which could have torn apart a dragon's body, had not even touched the corner of his clothes.

Just now, he had used his first soul skill, Spatial Folding, hiding himself within a layer of space to evade that terrifying attack.

Seeing that Xiling was unharmed, Gu Yue finally let out a breath of relief. She had really scared herself just now.

"Looks like your strength isn't enough to tear through space. Then it's my turn."

The instant his words fell!

The entire world seemed to freeze abruptly.

The raging wind, the swirling fallen leaves, even the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's step as it was about to advance—all of it froze for an instant.

There was no deafening roar, no dazzling eruption of energy. Only a deathly stillness from the deepest layers of space instantly enveloped an area several dozen meters wide.

To outsiders, time itself seemed to have completely stopped flowing.

Everything in the forest stood still. Dust hung in the air, shattered leaves remained suspended, and all movement in the world fell to zero.

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and the others behind him had their pupils contract sharply, every hair on their bodies standing on end.

Time stop?!

That thought did not appear only in their minds. Wu Zhangkong and the staff in the monitoring room had the same thought, their shock beyond measure.

Only Gu Yue saw what was truly happening. "No, this isn't time stopping."

"It's ultimate Spatial Imprisonment."

Her voice carried an irrepressible tremor as it rang clearly in everyone's ears.

The flow of time in this area had not slowed in the slightest. What had truly been sealed was space itself.

With terrifying spatial power, Xiling had completely locked down every spatial dimension within several dozen meters.

Space had completely solidified, leaving all things unable to move and creating an illusion of time stopping that was convincing enough to pass for the real thing.

Even the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was no different from an ant within this absolutely imprisoned space.

Its massive body, berserk strength, and incomparably sharp dreadclaws had all lost their meaning.

No matter how strong its power, it could not swing it. No matter how tough its body, it could not move.

The ferocious beast's berserk instincts howled and struggled wildly, but every inch of its muscles and every thread of soul power were locked tightly within the solidified space, unable to move even a fraction.

Xiling stood tall and slowly raised both hands before bringing them together. Within this frozen world, that motion became the only moving point.

This was the strongest attack he could currently unleash.

The originally stable space suddenly contracted and compressed frantically. The imprisoned Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear did not even have the slightest chance to struggle.

Its formidable flesh, thick fur, and surging soul power instantly reached their limits under the immense pressure of extreme spatial collapse.

Rumble!!

Visible to the naked eye, the huge body of the three-meter bear suddenly collapsed inward as a whole, shattered, and vanished.

Cleanly. Completely. Nothing remained.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, which had been radiating overwhelming ferocity just a moment ago, was utterly erased in an instant, along with that section of space.

Not even the spiritual power formed from killing it remained.

Xiling collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily.

With his current soul power and spiritual power, using this move was still far too taxing.

"Xiling!"

Gu Yue rushed over at once, all her earlier shock turning into concern.

She was incredibly fast, reaching Xiling in an instant. She instinctively reached out to support his collapsed body and settled him on her lap.

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and the others beside them also snapped back to their senses and hurried over.

It took Xiling quite a while to barely steady his ragged breathing. He gave a slight wave of his hand. "I'm fine... it's not a big problem."

"I just wanted to test the effect of that move. It looks pretty good now."

"For the first part of your final examination, everyone except Xiling scored ninety points. But don't celebrate too soon. There's still a second test."

"Only by passing that one will you have truly completed this final examination."