Meanwhile, on the Other Side...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest.

After fleeing in a sorry state for quite some time, Xie Xie finally managed to shake off those persistently entangling Crimson Demon Trees.

Still shaken, he steadied himself against a tree and repeatedly confirmed that it was an ordinary tree, not a Soul Beast in disguise, before leaning against the trunk to rest.

Once his taut nerves had eased somewhat, Xie Xie still felt deeply unwilling to accept it.

He muttered under his breath, "I'm absolutely not afraid of a one-on-one fight. What kind of skill is ganging up on me with numbers?"

The moment he finished speaking, the ground trembled slightly, and a huge, pitch-black shadow slowly emerged.

A heavy, suffocating pressure bore down on him, instantly freezing away every trace of Xie Xie's wishful thinking.

He stiffly raised his head and saw an enormous beast covered in crystalline armor. Its thick limbs were planted firmly in the earth, its fangs protruded outward, and its eyes were incomparably savage.

A Millennium Crystal Bear!

The highest-level Soul Beasts in the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform were Millennium-level ones.

What luck...

Xie Xie's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately surrendered, retracting his earlier arrogance at lightning speed as he gave an awkward wave.

"I was joking, bro! Why are you taking trash talk seriously?"

Tang Wuling had just finished a round of deep meditation and slowly rose to her feet, concealing her aura.

A moment earlier, she had vaguely heard a scream from afar. The sound had been distant and indistinct, making her scratch her head in confusion.

"Did I hear that wrong?"

The next second, the dense sounds of vegetation being trampled and heavy objects slicing through the air rang out in succession, urgent and fierce.

Tang Wuling's expression hardened as she instantly entered a combat-ready state. Turning sideways, she firmly locked onto the direction of the sound.

A Gale Wolf's body was suddenly sent flying by someone, smashing heavily into a nearby tree trunk.

The grass rustled, and Chen An slowly emerged, lingering Soul Power still clinging to his fingertips as he wore a calm expression.

"Sister Wuling, sorry. I made a bit too much noise. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Seeing that it was Chen An, Tang Wuling instantly dropped all her guard. Her brows relaxed as she spoke softly.

"Xiao An, so it was you."

As soon as she spoke, the slain Gale Wolf's body dissolved into spiritual energy and dispersed into the air.

"How many Soul Beasts have you hunted?" Chen An asked casually.

"I've been meditating the whole time. I haven't made a move yet," Tang Wuling answered truthfully.

Chen An immediately suggested, "Let's go together if we run into any."

He had already secretly broken through to three Soul Rings, and all of them were Millennium Soul Rings.

The spiritual energy gained from killing Soul Beasts was only one-tenth of the original amount. Split among three Soul Rings, it was negligible and would barely produce any Spirit Ascension effect.

But Tang Wuling was different. She currently had only one Soul Ring. If she killed a few more hundred-year Soul Beasts here, the spiritual energy she absorbed would be enough to raise it to the hundred-year level. The value for the effort was far greater.

The stronger Tang Wuling became, the stronger he became.

Just as the two were preparing to move out and search for Soul Beasts, a desperate and loud cry for help pierced through the layers of forest from deep within the woods.

"Help! Is anyone there?!"

This time, they heard it clearly. It was Xie Xie's voice!

The two exchanged a glance, no longer hesitated, and immediately sprinted toward the source of the sound.

The Millennium Crystal Bear stood upright, its massive body immensely oppressive as its low roar shook the surrounding vegetation.

It rammed into the tree before it, causing the trunk to shudder violently as cracks continued spreading across it.

Xie Xie clung desperately to the treetop, utterly exhausted after being pursued for so long that his stamina had long since run dry.

Every violent impact sent his body swaying wildly, and he could fall at any moment.

Just as the trunk was about to break completely and Xie Xie was about to fall into danger, several Crimson Fish Scales suddenly shot out from the forest at his side, so fast that they left behind only afterimages.

The Millennium Crystal Bear was not lacking in intelligence. It sensed the deadly danger in advance and swayed its massive body from side to side, barely evading them.

But trajectories could be changed. Chen An controlled the flying scales, redirecting them precisely into the Crystal Bear's thick hind leg.

Several scales instantly linked together and locked tight, forming a hard restraining ring of scales.

The physical defense of this Millennium Crystal Bear was not something the hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider and Gale Wolf from before could compare to.

Chen An was only using the power of one Soul Ring at the moment. The fish scales did not sever its limb, but they firmly locked down its mobility.

With its already cumbersome body restrained at the hind leg, the Crystal Bear could only barely support itself and move with its remaining three legs. It had completely lost its ability to charge.

Enraged, it raised a paw, intending to crush the fish-scale restraint around its leg. Yet even more Crimson Fish Scales instantly floated before its eyes, radiating a powerful threat.

The Crystal Bear immediately locked onto Chen An hiding in the shadows.

Once it knew the source of the attack, it let out a furious roar, casually uprooted a thick tree, and viciously hurled it at Chen An. Then it spun around and charged fiercely toward him.

Chen An remained calm and did not move from his spot, simply raising a hand to knock aside the massive tree it had thrown.

He deliberately stood there provoking it, thoroughly enraging the ferocious beast and drawing its attention.

Tang Wuling, who had been lying in wait in the nearby grass, instantly had her right arm covered in golden Dragon Scales. It transformed into a Golden Dragon Claw as she leaped out.

They had learned about Soul Beasts at the junior academy. Crystal Bears possessed bodies of steel and bone, hard as armor all over. Their weak point was the back of the neck.

There was no protection there. Severing the nerves would rob it of its fighting ability.

At the critical moment, the Millennium Crystal Bear forcefully twisted its body and brazenly raised its thick forelimb to block.

To leave herself room to adapt, Tang Wuling's claw ultimately landed on the bear's forelimb.

With a ripping sound, the powerful dragon claw tore open flesh and scattered fine sprays of blood, but the wound was shallow.

Her sneak attack having failed, Tang Wuling nimbly retreated, instantly withdrawing beyond the Crystal Bear's attack range.

At the same time, taking advantage of Tang Wuling's distraction, Chen An precisely controlled two fish scales and drove them straight into the Crystal Bear's eyes!

The eyes were one of the Crystal Bear's only two weak points.

The charging Crystal Bear's vision instantly went black, and it completely lost its sight.

Its enormous body immediately spiraled out of control, crashing wildly through the forest as its ferocity fully erupted.

Watching the out-of-control giant bear charge straight at him again, Xie Xie, still in the treetop, was so frightened that he leaped down without a word and decisively abandoned the tree to escape.

Boom—!

The great tree was smashed apart by the Crystal Bear's charge. Wood chips flew everywhere as the trunk crashed to the ground.

The blinded beast fell completely into panic, wildly swinging its claws at the empty surroundings and letting out powerless, furious roars.

"Its defense is certainly tough enough."

Chen An murmured softly, Crimson Fish Scales clinging to his palm.

He turned to meet Tang Wuling's eyes, and the two understood each other without words.

With a flick of her wrist, several tough Bluesilver Grass vines rapidly spread out, tightly winding around the Crystal Bear's huge body and constricting layer by layer.

Wu Changkong had previously learned of the changes in Tang Wuling's body. Empowered by her special physique, her Bluesilver Grass was far tougher than ordinary plants of its kind.

The Crystal Bear frantically twisted its body and struggled with all its strength, but it simply could not break free from the layers of restraints.

Chen An slowly stepped forward. The purple Soul Ring beneath his feet gradually lit up, and faint Soul Power Ripples silently spread outward.

The invisible Ripples poured directly into the Crystal Bear's body, wildly disrupting the circulation of Soul Power throughout it.

The chaotic Soul Power made the Crystal Bear's enormous body suddenly go numb. Its limbs stiffened, and it completely lost the strength to resist.

To be safe, Chen An deliberately poured in a bit more Soul Power, thoroughly locking down its vitality and ability to fight back. Then he raised his gaze and signaled Tang Wuling.

"The finishing blow is yours."

Tang Wuling nodded solemnly. Her gaze sharpened, the cold gleam of the Golden Dragon Claw surged, and she leaped into the air before slashing viciously down at the Crystal Bear's neck!

Rip!

The sharp dragon claw instantly tore through flesh and shattered bone, cleanly ending the Millennium Crystal Bear's life.

Watching the huge bear body gradually glow with spiritual light as it prepared to dissolve, Tang Wuling could not hide the delight in her eyes.

This was the first time she had worked with someone to kill a Millennium Soul Beast.

But just as she was rejoicing, Chen An's figure flashed. He abruptly grabbed Tang Wuling's wrist and violently yanked her backward!

The next second, a blinding burst of light suddenly erupted from the Crystal Bear's back, which had been about to dissipate.