Atavism, Half-Behemoth

At first glance, almost everyone would have assumed it was a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.

But Lin Yuan quickly noticed something strange. If it had been a pure Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear,

it could not possibly have looked like this. Especially those enormous claws.

A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's claw blades were dark gold, yet this one gleamed with a bronze luster.

This made Lin Yuan think of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's true ancestral species.

The Behemoth Clan, the dragon clan's mortal enemy.

They were born with the terrifying power to tear apart true dragons.

But this one—after briefly sensing it, Lin Yuan had nearly reached the same conclusion as Gu Yuena.

"Atavism?"

That was the only possibility left. After all, pure Behemoths should no longer exist on the Douluo Continent.

However, as a creature that had inherited part of the Behemoth bloodline, it was not unusual for a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear to undergo such an anomaly.

Judging by this Behemoth's condition, it should have already been gradually evolving in that direction.

If nothing unexpected happened, then when it reached the hundred-thousand-year threshold, it might use the lightning tribulation to evolve completely into a Behemoth.

That alone showed just how pure this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's Behemoth bloodline was.

Now, Lin Yuan understood why those three ferocious beasts had been forced to give up their territory despite being so powerful metal-attributed soul beasts.

If it had merely been an eighty-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, then although it was a super soul beast, they might still have tried to negotiate.

If that failed, the three could join forces. After all, they had their clans behind them.

They would have found ways to wear it down bit by bit. With the pride of soul beasts, they would certainly have tried something.

After all, if it truly were a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, the threat it posed to them was too great. In a desperate fight, the three of them should barely have been able to contend with it.

But the Half-Behemoth before them was entirely different.

Without exaggeration, if those three came here, it would probably take only one claw strike.

A ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear possessed strength comparable to a Titled Douluo.

At the seventy-thousand-year level, it was already invincible beneath a Super Douluo.

And this atavistic Half-Behemoth?

Its strength would undergo another leap.

Moreover, the metal element within its body was definitely at the level of ultimate metal.

This made Lin Yuan rather tempted. Though it had only just reached seventy thousand years,

it was absolutely the most suitable choice for him.

For a moment, Lin Yuan could not help sighing. Sure enough, the benefits of choosing the Hades Sword had arrived.

Being favored by the plane was truly useful—he grew stronger with every battle and turned misfortune into fortune.

Gu Yuena understood this as well. After taking a deep breath, she looked at Lin Yuan and instructed him,

"Young Master, be careful."

As her words fell, Gu Yuena instantly summoned the Elemental Authority.

The pressure of a level ninety-eight Super Douluo descended like an overwhelming force.

Sensing that terrifying presence, the Half-Behemoth still let out a roar.

Rather than attack immediately, it faintly showed signs of wanting to give up its territory.

That made sense. Although it possessed the bloodline of a Bronze Behemoth and had even completed half of its evolution,

to put it bluntly, even a pure-blooded Bronze Behemoth under the current plane's suppression

could at most display strength around level ninety-eight, even at the hundred-thousand-year level.

Not to mention that it was not level ninety-eight, nor was it a true Behemoth.

Gu Yuena merely continued gathering an Elemental Tide.

As it crashed down fiercely, the Behemoth seemed to go mad and attempted to flee.

Boom!

Several meteor-like Elemental Tides, as though carrying the might of heaven, crashed straight down.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, the depths of the Jingyang Mountain Range seemed to have caved in slightly.

Yet Gu Yuena showed no intention of stopping. Instead, she continued condensing an Elemental Cage.

As the elements circulated and radiance flashed amid the spatial seal, that Behemoth was actually tearing apart the spatial cage.

The Behemoth was seemingly covered in blood, yet the attack just now had not directly robbed it of its fighting ability.

This was the Half-Behemoth's formidable physical strength.

It surpassed that of ordinary true dragon clans.

Without exaggeration, if a level ninety-five Super Douluo had come here,

they would not have gained the slightest advantage against this seventy-thousand-year Half-Behemoth.

Only a level ninety-six might barely have been able to contend with it.

But a powerful body ultimately required strength to support it.

Under the relentless depletion of Gu Yuena's Elemental Tide,

this Behemoth, whose atavistic evolution was already half complete, was eventually worn down until it was on the verge of death.

More than half the flesh on its enormous body had even been stripped away.

Yet it still clung to a breath.

That showed just how vigorous its life force was.

While Lin Yuan marveled at it, his actions were not slow.

Under the assault of Bing-Ding Yin-Yang Fire Escape,

the Half-Behemoth's body gradually perished bit by bit, while its spirit received the final blow as well.

As its aura faded, a pitch-black soul ring condensed moments later.

There was no need for Lin Yuan to give an order. Gu Yuena voluntarily stood guard for him, while Lin Yuan adjusted his condition and began absorbing the seventy-thousand-year soul ring.

The moment he began, the violent energy, carrying the cleansing force of its bloodline, seemed intent on devouring him alive in backlash.

Even the soul shock that had condensed beside him now roared unwillingly, as though it could not accept that it, which should have ruled supreme, had become the soul ring of such a weak human.

Lin Yuan merely sneered. The pressure of the Five-Element Heavenly Stem Qilin instantly suppressed it.

What a joke. This was only a Half-Behemoth; even if a true Behemoth had come,

an ordinary Behemoth would never be able to contend with his Heavenly Stem Qilin.

At the very least, it would need to be gold or even purple-gold.

Using the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements, he gradually refined the vast energy bit by bit. At the same time, under the might of the Heavenly Stem Qilin, his spiritual power steadily dissolved the soul shock.

The soul power fluctuations around his body were chaotic only briefly at the start, but after quickly stabilizing,

five hours passed.

Lin Yuan slowly rose to his feet and let out a long breath of turbid air.

The first thing to manifest was his soul power fluctuation: level fifty-eight.

This did not surprise him much. Although he had absorbed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Bone and then added this seventy-thousand-year soul ring,

the total energy gained was about what he had expected. As for that Qilin Bone,

he could sense that it was something akin to an external spirit bone.

If he had to estimate it, its age was probably around thirty thousand years?

At the time, it had mainly helped him possibly break through to level fifty-one?

As an external spirit bone, its growth limit was certainly beyond anything an ordinary Soul Bone could match.

As for his current physical strength, Lin Yuan could feel it.

If nothing unexpected happened, it should already rival that of a Soul Douluo.

The growth of his spiritual power, meanwhile, still remained at the Soul Sage level.

It was already considerable progress, yet Lin Yuan had not walked far before he instinctively looked toward the Half-Behemoth's corpse. If tradition held, then nothing unexpected should happen.

At that moment, Gu Yuena looked at the crushed corpse as well. With a thought, a hand bone gleaming with a bronze-like luster emerged...