Golden Dragon Claw

The pounding of running feet echoed through the gloomy forest, mingling with everyone's ragged breathing. Behind them, the dark gold terrorclaw bear loomed like a moving mountain, its golden claws smashing boulders along the way. Its deafening roars rang like death's tolling bell, relentlessly pursuing them.

"I can't... my... my soul power... I can't hold on much longer..."

Wang Jinxi's voice was hoarse as he brought up the rear. His face was white as paper, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks. As the core of their defense, he had exhausted nearly all his soul power weathering the dark gold terrorclaw bear's last barrage head-on. Now, every step felt as though his legs were filled with lead, while his soul power meridians throbbed with tearing pain from being pushed far beyond their limits.

"Hold on a little longer! The Gorge cliffs are just ahead. The terrain's treacherous there—we might be able to shake it!" Tang Wulin glanced back as he ran, sending out several strands of blue silver grass to trip the giant bear. But his own condition was precarious, and his weak voice flickered like a candle in the wind.

"Roar!"

The dark gold terrorclaw bear suddenly accelerated, smashing a massive tree blocking its path with one swipe. The enormous trunk hurtled sideways toward them.

"Watch out!" Wang Jinxi's pupils contracted. In that instant, he made his decision.

He stopped abruptly, turned around, and spread his arms with the last of his strength. His remaining soul power erupted into a pale golden dome, shielding his teammates behind him.

Boom!

Splinters flew as the tremendous impact slammed into Wang Jinxi's shield. He felt as though all his internal organs had been knocked out of place, and blood sprayed from his mouth.

"Jinxi!" Zhang Yangzi cried, turning back to pull him along.

"Forget about me! Go!" Wang Jinxi roared. His body had already begun turning transparent, a sign that his soul power was completely depleted and he was about to be forcibly teleported out. "Live on... for me too!"

Before he finished speaking, a gentle white light enveloped him. As he was teleported out of the Spirit Ascension Platform, the glowing points that represented his personal score seemed to be drawn by some rule. Rather than dispersing, they turned into golden streams of light and swiftly flowed into Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, and Zhang Yangzi as they ran.

They felt a faint warmth spread through their bodies. Their soul power, drained by the intense exertion, miraculously regained a trace of vitality. It was Wang Jinxi's final gift—the hope of survival he had bought by withdrawing from the competition.

"Go!" Tang Wulin's eyes were red. He knew that stopping now would betray Wang Jinxi's sacrifice. Grabbing Zhang Yangzi, who still wanted to turn back, he gritted his teeth and charged deeper into the Gorge.

Their pounding footsteps echoed through the deep Gorge. Behind them, the dark gold terrorclaw bear's suffocating presence clung like an abscess gnawing at the bone, drawing ever closer. Tang Wulin's face was white as paper. With his soul power depleted, every step felt like trudging through a swamp. Gu Yue and Xie Xie were also covered in wounds, their breathing rapid.

"This isn't working! It's too fast!" Xie Xie glanced back at the giant bear, which was almost upon them, and shouted in despair.

Among the group, Zhang Yangzi was consumed by guilt. His companions were all fighting desperately: Tang Wulin supported the whole team, while Gu Yue and Xie Xie attacked with everything they had. Yet he seemed like an outsider, doing nothing but running alongside them. The feeling of uselessness nearly drove him mad.

Just then, his gaze swept across the ancient trees towering into the clouds on either side of the Gorge. Several enormous nests sat among their branches, holding huge Eggs covered in dark markings—the Eggs of the flying soul beasts that lived here, Wind Blade Birds!

A wild idea flashed through Zhang Yangzi's mind.

"You go ahead! I'll find a way to hold it off!" Zhang Yangzi suddenly shouted, stopping in his tracks.

"Zhang Yangzi, are you crazy? Come on!" Tang Wulin turned back anxiously.

"Trust me just this once!" A resolute gleam flashed through Zhang Yangzi's eyes. He took a deep breath, and the black wings on his back spread wide as dense, darkness-attribute soul power erupted.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

As soul power poured into them, his wings grew broader and stronger. Each black feather stood erect, giving off a cold, eerie gleam.

Using his martial soul's innate ability to fly, Zhang Yangzi beat his wings and shot skyward like an arrow loosed from a bow, reaching the treetops in an instant.

Below him, the dark gold terrorclaw bear was momentarily bewildered at losing its target when a shadow suddenly fell over its head.

Zhang Yangzi flew above a nest. Without a word, he snatched up the enormous Wind Blade Bird Eggs with both hands and, throwing all his strength behind the momentum of his dive, hurled them at the dark gold terrorclaw bear below!

"Catch! Here's your afternoon tea!"

The dark gold terrorclaw bear had been thoroughly engrossed in the chase when several heavy Eggs suddenly struck its head. The shells shattered, splashing foul-smelling Egg fluid across its face. The unexpected "attack" stunned it for a moment before it roared in fury.

Worse still, several adult Wind Blade Birds circling nearby witnessed the destruction of their nest. With piercing cries, they furiously attacked the giant bear that had disturbed their peace. Although their attacks could inflict no real damage on the dark gold terrorclaw bear, the dense barrage of Wind Blades, coupled with their instinct to protect their young, successfully diverted its attention from Tang Wulin and the others.

"Go! Don't look back!" Zhang Yangzi shouted from the air. His face was deathly pale, his soul power draining rapidly from pushing his darkness attribute too hard.

Tang Wulin gritted his teeth, knowing this was their final chance. "Xie Xie, Gu Yue, go!"

Without further hesitation, the two pulled the exhausted Tang Wulin along and ran deeper into the Gorge with the last of their strength.

In the air, Zhang Yangzi finally reached his limit after seeing his teammates retreat to safety. The glow of dark soul power around him rapidly dimmed, and his body began turning transparent.

"Hehe... this time... I wasn't useless after all, was I...?"

With a faintly triumphant smile, Zhang Yangzi dissolved into specks of white light and vanished in midair. At the same time, the points he had accumulated turned into a golden stream of light, just as Wang Jinxi's had, crossing the distance to flow into the three who were still fleeing.

Although they had lost two teammates, these gifts from their companions strengthened the remaining trio's determination to survive. They did not know what awaited them ahead, but now, they could only press onward!

A sheer cliff stood ahead, and rubble had sealed off their retreat. Behind them, the dark gold terrorclaw bear's thunderous, heavy breathing washed over the backs of their necks, sending a bone-piercing chill through them. Shadows of despair flooded Xie Xie's and Gu Yue's hearts like a rising tide. They had exhausted even the strength to flee.

"There's nowhere to go..." Xie Xie's legs buckled, and he slumped against the cold rock wall. His twin blades fell from his hands with a clang.

Tang Wulin stood in front of the two, his chest heaving. Watching the massive creature advance step by step, he felt an unprecedented helplessness well up inside him. His blue silver grass vines had already been torn apart during the chase. Against a thick-skinned lord-rank soul beast like this, support soul skills were no more effective than scratching an itch through a boot.

"Do we have no choice but to admit defeat...?"

Just as he was about to abandon resistance and accept defeat, the bloodline that had long lain dormant within him seemed to sense its host's humiliation and suddenly boiled!

A savage, domineering torrent of heat surged up his spine into his head. Tang Wulin abruptly raised his head, his once-clear eyes transforming into icy slit pupils. A terrifying pressure that seemed capable of changing the very heavens erupted from his slender body.

"Roar!"

A faint dragon's cry echoed through the Gorge.

Rather than retreating, Tang Wulin slowly raised his right hand. Then, before Xie Xie's and Gu Yue's astonished eyes, a dense layer of scales rapidly appeared across its once-fair back.

Their color was anything but ordinary. The golden scales shone brilliantly, as though cast from pure gold! Each sharply defined scale radiated an ancient, sacred aura. His five fingers instantly lengthened into five incomparably sharp golden blades, their tips trailing tiny sparks as they swept through the air.

Golden Dragon Claw!

No longer merely a blue silver grass soul master who could only use Entanglement and provide support, Tang Wulin had become the fiercest predator in this stretch of heaven and earth.

Across from him, the dark gold terrorclaw bear had been brimming with ferocity. But upon seeing that gleaming golden claw and feeling the supreme pressure that struck deep into its soul, its enormous body shuddered, and it forcibly halted its charge.

Fear.

This was fear etched into its very genes. However powerful it was, it remained only an overlord of the earth. Yet the human before it now possessed the might of a true dragon that soared through the nine heavens and ruled over all beasts!

"Gu Yue, suppress it from range! Xie Xie, with me!" Tang Wulin's voice was low and hoarse, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Gu Yue reacted first. Forcing down her shock, she rapidly formed hand seals. With that monster handling close combat, all she needed to do was unleash her power to the fullest.

"Elemental Control—Blizzard!"

Wind and snow instantly gathered across the sky. No longer falling gently, they transformed into countless razor-sharp blades of ice that rained down on the intimidated dark gold terrorclaw bear.

"You got it!" Xie Xie cried. His twin blades were back in his hands, and Light Dragon Transformation erupted as he charged after Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin drove his feet into the ground, shattering it beneath him. Like a golden meteor, he closed the distance in an instant. Facing the claws the dark gold terrorclaw bear took such pride in, he neither dodged nor retreated, swinging his golden dragon claw straight into them.

Clang!

An earsplitting metallic clash rang through the Gorge. Amid the shower of sparks, an appalling sight unfolded—the dark gold terrorclaw bear's supposedly indestructible claws cracked the instant they collided with the Golden Dragon Claw!

The searing pain made the dark gold terrorclaw bear shriek, but it feared Tang Wulin's aura even more—the pressure that made it want to prostrate itself before him. It tried to retreat, only for Gu Yue's Blizzard to hold it firmly in place.

"Rend!"

With a low roar, Tang Wulin followed through with his Golden Dragon Claw, savagely tearing open the dark gold terrorclaw bear's thick hide. Golden dragon blood mingled with brown bear blood, staining the earth red.

Before this absolute bloodline suppression, defense and strength were nothing but jokes. Tang Wulin tore into it like a tiger among sheep, every swipe raising a rain of blood. Xie Xie struck from the side to follow up, their coordination seamless.

Finally, with a resentful wail, the once-arrogant lord-rank soul beast crashed to the ground, its enormous body throwing up clouds of dust.

Tang Wulin stood beside the bear's corpse as his golden scales slowly receded, returning his hand to normal. He swayed and nearly fell, but Xie Xie reached him in time and caught him.

"Boss, that was..." Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin's newly restored right hand, still shaken.

Tang Wulin gave a weak smile. "We'll talk when we get back... let's go. The smell of blood will draw more things here."