Versions' Chosen Ones Gather, but the Eras Are Misaligned

Ning Tian was instantly stunned and hurriedly asked,

Bai Chen smiled faintly.

"Take a guess."

"Is this the effect of your Martial Soul?"

"No."

"Old Hua helped you cheat!"

"No."

"Then, then..."

Ning Tian looked utterly baffled, clearly unable to figure out how Bai Chen had done it.

Bai Chen looked at her with satisfaction.

That was more like it. Innocent, lively, and intensely curious about everything around her—that was how a child should be.

Bai Chen did not oppose children maturing earlier, but neither did he want them to lose their childish innocence too soon.

Childhood was one of the most important stages of a person's life, the most carefree stage. Once it passed, it would never return. Bai Chen did not want this prematurely mature girl to lose the joys of childhood. He hoped that whenever she looked back on her life, she would think of her childhood as a happy one.

Bai Chen asked with a chuckle,

"So, are you still scared now?"

"...!"

At his words, Ning Tian's body trembled.

The clever girl seemed to quickly understand the meaning behind Bai Chen's words. She pouted and said somewhat stubbornly,

"Didn't I already say it? I wasn't scared at all!"

"Yes, yes. Then, Young Mistress, shall I perform another magic trick for you?"

"I want to see!"

Watching the two bicker, Ning Jingchen and Hua Tianyu exchanged glances and could not help laughing.

With their cultivation, how could they possibly fail to see Bai Chen's little trick just now?

However, since Bai Chen did not wish to reveal the secret behind the magic trick to Ning Tian, they naturally would not spoil the fun by exposing him.

They had both seen Ning Tian's earlier stiffness and nervousness. Yet after Bai Chen's little performance, those emotions had quietly vanished without a trace.

Along with them vanished the invisible barrier between her and Bai Chen.

And so, the rest of the journey passed amid Ning Tian and Bai Chen's laughter.

Millennium Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear

By the time they arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest, the relationship between Bai Chen and Ning Tian had become quite harmonious.

However, after getting down from the carriage and seeing the vast forest before her, Ning Tian's expression still involuntarily tightened.

Whether from instinct or something else, she subconsciously felt that the forest before her was extremely dangerous.

Bai Chen, meanwhile, looked somewhat wistful.

His Douluo I Era self had not yet left the Star Dou Great Forest, and now his Douluo II Era self had come here again.

Last time, he had been carried in by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. This time, at least he had a Title Douluo-level bodyguard.

With Ning Jingchen's support as well, even if Hua Tianyu truly encountered a Ferocious Beast, he might not necessarily lose.

Besides, they had only come to hunt a Millennium Soul Ring.

To hunt Millennium Soul Beasts, they only needed to search the outskirts or the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

After the four rested briefly, they entered the Star Dou Great Forest together.

They had not walked far before encountering their first group of Soul Beasts.

It was a wolf pack made up of dozens of Wind Wolves. They emerged from behind the trees, their eyes gleaming greedily as they stared at the four of them.

Since Bai Chen's group had not ventured very deeply into the Star Dou Great Forest, these Wind Wolves were obviously not very old. Most were merely Ten-Year Soul Beasts, with only three Century Soul Beasts among them.

Against opponents of this level, even without Hua Tianyu and Ning Jingchen protecting him, Bai Chen could have fought them himself.

"Hmph."

Seeing this, Hua Tianyu snorted disdainfully, took a step forward, and said coldly,

"Get lost!"

As soon as he spoke, the aura of a Title Douluo erupted. The Wind Wolves immediately whimpered under the crushing pressure before scrambling away in panic.

For ordinary Soul Masters, this was not actually the right choice.

The Star Dou Great Forest operated by the law of the jungle. Soul Beasts would not remember a Soul Master's kindness. If a Soul Master spared one, they would not gain its gratitude and might instead invite trouble.

In the original story, when Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao came to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Rings, they had kindly spared a Millennium Soul Beast, only to be attacked by a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast shortly afterward.

Fortunately, the ones who encountered that situation had been the protagonists. If they had been replaced by other, weaker people, they likely would have died in that Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's jaws.

However, such ironclad rules meant little to Bai Chen's group. If merely scaring off a group of Ten-Year Soul Beasts could draw a Ferocious Beast-level opponent, then they could only consider themselves unlucky.

As long as their safety could be ensured, it was better to kill fewer Soul Beasts.

The four continued onward, but before long, they encountered an unexpected opponent.

"This, this is..."

Looking at the pitch-black giant bear before them, Ning Jingchen turned to Hua Tianyu with excitement.

"Old Hua, is this a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear?!"

"Yes!"

Hua Tianyu was clearly extremely excited as well.

"And it's around two thousand years old. Bai Chen can absorb it perfectly!"

"..."

No way?

Hearing their conversation, a thought suddenly arose in Bai Chen's mind.

A Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear around two thousand years old... There seemed to have been one in the original Douluo II Era story as well...

It was precisely that Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear that had produced the incomparably precious Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone.

If the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear before him really was the one from the original story, then Bai Chen's luck was simply beyond description.

Hua Tianyu and Ning Jingchen clearly thought the same. Hua Tianyu turned and handed Bai Chen a small knife.

"Kid, get ready. Be prepared to take its life at any moment. I'm afraid no Soul Beast could be more suitable for you than this one!"

Without waiting for Bai Chen's reply, Hua Tianyu charged straight at the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

As two yellow, two purple, and five black Soul Rings lit up around him, the Millennium Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's originally swaggering movements visibly became more hesitant.

It roared twice in warning. Seeing that Hua Tianyu still showed no sign of stopping, it hurriedly raised its bear claw as dark golden light seeped from its body.

It had to be said that the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear was indeed formidable. Although it only possessed a millennium of cultivation, the strength it displayed was beyond what many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could match.

Unfortunately, it had encountered a level ninety-four Title Douluo. Even a Ten-Thousand-Year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear could not have been Hua Tianyu's opponent, much less this millennium-level one.

A streak of green light and a streak of blue light suddenly appeared beside Hua Tianyu. The blue light landed on the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear and instantly turned into azure crystals, trapping it in place and rendering it unable to move.

The green light, meanwhile, transformed into several jade blades that instantly pierced multiple parts of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's body, pinning it firmly to the ground.

"Bai Chen, come!"

Hearing Hua Tianyu's call, Bai Chen did not hesitate in the slightest. He rushed forward, raised the small knife in his hand, and stabbed it straight into the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's throat.

It had to be said that this Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear was truly terrifying. Even with Bai Chen's strength, it took considerable effort to pierce through its throat.

As the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear breathed its last, a purple Soul Ring slowly rose, shining with crystalline light and looking exceptionally eye-catching.

"Kid, you can begin absorbing it now. Remember, activate your domain while doing so."

Although this Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Ring was only two thousand years old, the difficulty of absorbing it was likely no less than that of a three-thousand-year Soul Ring.

Fortunately, after activating his domain, Bai Chen's endurance was already close to that of a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. Absorbing this Soul Ring would not be a problem.

Bai Chen sat down where he was. His black-golden Overlord Domain spread out as he began absorbing the Soul Ring.

The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's energy was incomparably scorching and violent. The instant it entered his body, it began raging madly, seemingly intent on tearing him to pieces.

At that moment, even Bai Chen had not expected that, faced with the provocation of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline aura, the Overlord Domain would act on its own.

Rings of golden light contracted into his body as a fierce aura surged forth, instantly suppressing the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline aura until it could not move.

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was a being that could even ignore the Golden Dragon King's bloodline suppression. For a mere Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear to challenge it was simply laughable.

As a result, Bai Chen's pressure abruptly eased. During the rest of the absorption process, he barely felt any pain at all.

This was clearly not merely the effect of his physical strength. The Overlord Domain's suppression of Soul Beast bloodlines had played a crucial role.

Bai Chen immediately let out a breath of relief.

Originally, he had worried that he would be unable to successfully absorb the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone and had planned to wait until he grew stronger before absorbing it.

But now, it seemed he had worried too much. The Overlord Domain's effects went far beyond strengthening his physique. Its oppressive force against Soul Beast bloodline auras was exceptional as well.

Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone

Before long, Bai Chen opened his eyes. As a purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, his aura began steadily climbing.

When absorbing a Soul Ring, part of its energy formed a Soul Skill for the Soul Master's use, while the other part was used to increase the Soul Master's cultivation.

Generally speaking, a Soul Ring at the theoretical age limit could raise a Soul Master's soul power by one level.

But the Soul Ring Bai Chen had absorbed was not at the theoretical age limit. It was a two-thousand-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear Soul Ring.

Naturally, the soul power increase it brought him was more than a single level.

His soul power continued rising, only gradually stopping when it reached level fourteen.

And just as expected, the moment Hua Tianyu saw that he had awakened, he eagerly informed Bai Chen of the good news he had long anticipated.

They had found a right palm bone on the corpse of the Millennium Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

As one of the top-tier Soul Beasts, the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear was, like a dragon, valuable from head to toe.

Its fur could be used to make sturdy armor, its claws could be forged into sharp weapons, and its Soul Bones made every Soul Master drool with desire.

Among all of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Bones, its right palm bone was unquestionably the most precious.

The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear possessed a unique trait: only its two arm bones had the possibility of inheriting its Terrorclaw Soul Skill.

And even if the Terrorclaw Soul Skill was inherited through one of those arm bones, its power was completely incomparable to that wielded by the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear itself.

Many years ago, a Soul Master had obtained the left palm bone of a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Only then did he learn that only the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's palm bones could perfectly inherit the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Soul Skill.

Relying on that powerful Soul Bone skill, he quickly made a name for himself across the continent and became the renowned Black Left Douluo.

The "Left" in his title referred to the left hand that had fused with the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's left palm bone.

The Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear had another trait: its right claw was far more powerful than its left claw.

In other words, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone might also be far stronger than the left palm bone.

If Bai Chen could successfully absorb this Soul Bone, his strength would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative leap.

Hua Tianyu had no intention of taking the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone for himself.

Not only because he believed Bai Chen was better suited to it, but also because he already possessed a right arm bone.

In a sense, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone could be considered an External Soul Bone. If the right arm bone were compatible, it would not actually interfere with absorbing it.

Unfortunately, Hua Tianyu's right arm bone conflicted with this right palm bone. Absorbing it rashly would instead cause the Soul Bones to clash, producing negative effects on him.

Rather than that, it was better to give the right palm bone to Bai Chen from the start. He had just absorbed this Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Ring, and no one was more suited to absorb the right palm bone than he was.

Ning Jingchen had no objection to this either.

In his heart, he had already completely regarded Bai Chen as one of the family. Ning Tian clearly could not absorb this Soul Bone, so giving it to Bai Chen was the best choice.

Bai Chen did not refuse. He bowed to Hua Tianyu, accepted the precious External Soul Bone, and began absorbing it.

The moment he began, the immense energy he had just experienced once again surged into Bai Chen's body.