A Ten-Thousand-Year Dreadclaw Bear? It Wouldn't Even Take a Minute

Golden light lit up within Tang Wulin's chest.

The light first seeped out from his chest, spreading outward along the contours of his bones. It was not intense, but steady and continuous.

Everything around him froze the instant that light appeared. It was not stillness, but something deeper readjusting itself—like scattered clock hands being turned back into place by an invisible hand.

The light overhead shifted back, returning from its deviation away from the noonday sun to its original position. The Ancient Dragon King, which had been blasted apart, and Xie Xie, who had been sent flying, also returned to where they had been. The Ancient Dragon King's bone wings spread open again as it hovered in midair, as though they had never been shattered. As Xie Xie flew backward, that force caught him briefly, then steadily set him back on the ground. Even the Man Faced Demon Spider that had just revealed itself returned to the shadows where it had been hiding.

Everything returned to normal.

As if nothing had ever gone wrong.

The rewind stopped at the moment the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear had just approached. Tang Wulin stood at the edge of the forest, his Blue Silver Grass still pressed against the ground. He lowered his head and glanced at his hand, confirming that the layer of golden light was fading. Then he heard the Golden Dragon King's voice dissipate between heaven and earth. It was not loud, yet it seemed to descend from every direction at once. "Then—round two. Begin."

Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi had already returned to their positions. Xie Xie's dagger had not yet fully left its sheath, perfectly placed as though he had never been moved. He tilted his head and looked at the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand, then at Tang Wulin. His lips parted, but he did not ask.

Tang Wulin sank into the Sea of Spirit.

"You said to leave it to you, didn't you?" Tang Wulin asked, standing in the center of the golden palace.

The Golden Dragon King reclined against his throne. The boundaries of the hall beneath his feet continuously stretched backward, as if some force were propping them open. The edges blurred into the light, making it impossible to see where they ended.

He turned his head and glanced at Tang Wulin, irritation in his tone at being disturbed. "Tch. Can you have some sense of personal boundaries? How can you just come and go from my room whenever you want?"

Tang Wulin looked at him and was about to reply—"What? Your—"

"Take it down!" A familiar voice rang out, pulling his thoughts back.

The light of the Sea of Spirit drew in at that instant. Tang Wulin's consciousness was shoved back into reality, and his body was already moving. The Golden Dragon Spear condensed in his palm. Dark-gold patterns flowed from the tip to the tail of the spear, and then he hurled it out. The instant it left his hand, the spear let out a sharp boom. A dark-gold streak of light shot straight into the shadow deep in the forest that had not yet revealed itself. The moment the spear tip pierced the shadow, a piercing cry rang out, the kind that could only be made when something had been stabbed through. The Golden Dragon Spear pierced the lurking Man Faced Demon Spider and nailed it to the ground, its tail still trembling faintly.

Tang Wulin scratched his head. "Oops, how did I miss?"

He did not turn around to look at the stunned gazes behind him.

Gu Yue stood two steps behind him. A flash of silver-purple light passed through the depths of her eyes. Her gaze fell upon the silhouette pinned in the darkness, then quickly returned to calm, as though it had never appeared.

Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze and fixed it on the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear. The bear was still advancing, each step bringing it closer to him. Tang Wulin calculated in his head that after roughly three and a half more steps, it would enter its attack range. "No time." His voice was noticeably quicker than usual. "Xie Xie, flank it."

"Yes." Xie Xie's voice came from the side.

"Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, front."

Two figures moved at once. The aura of the Bone Dragon and dark-purple mist met and fused within a few breaths. The Ancient Dragon King rose from the merged light, its bone wings spreading as it charged head-on toward the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear. Tang Wulin turned his head toward Gu Yue. From several steps away, his gaze paused in her direction for a moment. "Gu Yue, trap it."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Gu Yue's voice was not loud, but her final note landed with steady certainty. Her long hair was lifted by the wind behind her, several strands brushing across her cheek.

Her fingers traced several exceedingly fine arcs through the air, and the ground beneath the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear split open—several thick stone spikes erupted from the earth, locking onto the bear's limbs and torso from different angles. Like interlocking fangs, the spikes pinned its body in place.

The Ancient Dragon King rammed into it in that instant. Its bone wings struck the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's shoulder with a heavy crash. The impact knocked the bear half a step sideways, but it did not fall.

Gu Yue's fingers curled slightly. Spatial power condensed in her palm into a silver-white ring of light, precisely enveloping the Ancient Dragon King's landing point—then the Ancient Dragon King vanished, reappearing out of thin air half a step behind Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin took the Ancient Dragon King's place. The Golden Dragon Claw burst from between his fingers. Golden patterns spread from his knuckles to his wrist, covering his right hand.

He pressed forward, and the Golden Dragon Claw tore through space, seizing the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's right forelimb—the joint on its strongest side.

At the same time, his left hand swung out. The instant the Clear Sky Hammer condensed in his palm, it smashed directly onto the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's head. When the hammer face collided with the bear's skull, it produced a muffled sound, carrying the weighty solidity of metal that had been hammered and tempered time and again.

The Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's right forelimb dislocated at that instant. Fine beads of blood seeped through its dark-gold fur, sliding down through the gaps between the hairs. The impact sent the bear flying sideways, crashing into nearby ruins. Broken stones tumbled down and buried half its body.

Tang Wulin lowered his head and looked at his right hand—the Golden Dragon Claw was still gripping a sharp claw torn from the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear. The broken edge still bore threads of fresh blood, and the claw tip was slowly losing its luster.

"Tch, disgusting."

He turned his head toward the darkness.

Xie Xie crouched in the shadows, the fingers gripping his Light Dragon Dagger trembling slightly. He had watched Tang Wulin seize the bear's claw with one hand and smash the bear away with the other. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he lowered his voice. "...Damn, that's violent."

Tang Wulin had not expected this either. He had only used two-thirds of his strength, never imagining it would create such a... disgusting sight. He tossed the severed bear claw onto the ground. It struck the rubble with a crisp sound, rolled twice, and stopped.

The Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear slowly crawled out of the ruins.

It moved far more slowly than before. Its right forelimb hung limply at its side, blood seeping from the wound at the break. It let out a savage roar, burning with rage, and lumbered forward clumsily. Its steps staggered, producing uneven sounds as its paws crushed over the rubble. There was nothing left in its eyes, save for a burning glow lingering in those dark-gold pupils. Its body dragged a dark-red trail across the ground, as though it had already reached the end, yet still refused to stop.

What a fool, Tang Wulin sighed inwardly. If you had turned and run, I really wouldn't have done anything to you. He lifted his head and looked at Gu Yue, at the co-ruler of the soul beasts.

Gu Yue stood several steps behind him, her long hair still slowly settling. When she spoke, her voice was quiet but clear. "Its weak point is the back of its head."

Tang Wulin paused slightly. He did not turn around, but his voice had already carried out. "Did you hear that, Xie Xie?"

Tang Wulin was answered by a Light Dragon Storm that struck the back of the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's head with perfect precision. The light cut in from the side and landed exactly on the back of its head—piercing fur, skin, and skull. The Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's body stiffened, its forepaws still reaching forward. The glow in its dark-gold pupils slowly extinguished, little by little. Then it crashed to the ground, kicking up a ring of dust.

And Xie Xie collapsed as well, his strength completely spent.

He fell to his knees, plunging his twin blades into the ground and using their hilts to support himself. He tilted his head to look at the fallen Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear, then at his own hands, as if confirming that the light had truly come from them. Then he buried his face in the crook of his arm, too exhausted to raise it again.

Outside, the three people in the monitoring room watched it all unfold.

Long Bing stood before the large screen, her gaze fixed on the footage as she checked it over and over. "A ten-thousand-year Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear... dealt with in one minute?"

The two people in charge behind her did not answer. One of them dropped the pen in his hand onto the floor and did not bend down to retrieve it. The other stared at the screen, his gaze nailed to the final moment when Tang Wulin attacked. His Adam's apple moved, but he did not look away. Wu Changkong stood by the window, his eyes not on the screen. Yet when he drew back his gaze, the corner of his mouth shifted. He stepped forward, and the ice wall shattered in response. The door to the monitoring room closed behind him, and his departing footsteps echoed down the corridor.

"Truly terrifying," he slowed his steps in the empty corridor. "Whether it is his grasp of the bigger picture and tactical command, or that utterly unreasonable strength." Outside the window at the end of the corridor, sunlight slanted in, cutting a long, narrow band of warm light across the floor.

He walked to the edge of that light and paused before speaking the rest to himself. "Teacher believes that every one of you will become a top powerhouse of the continent in the future." Then he continued forward. After his footsteps vanished at the end of the corridor, the light had not been carried away by his steps. It remained there, as though nothing had ever interrupted it.