"If I'm fighting a little fellow barely over ten thousand years old, I'd worry even my Dark Gold Dreadclaw would swat him to death. Why would I need to use Sky-Rending Claw?"
Xiong Jun's expression darkened. This Auspicious Beast was looking down on him far too much.
What a joke. Sky-Rending Claw was his killing move, his final trump card.
He had once wounded Di Tian with Sky-Rending Claw. Although Di Tian had taught him a lesson afterward, that alone showed how formidable the move was.
Moreover, from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's words, Xiong Jun could clearly tell she thought Zeng Tian could not beat him now only because of his cultivation.
If Zeng Tian had a hundred thousand years of cultivation, she would feel comfortable letting him fight Xiong Jun. That was an even greater insult.
Since ancient times, he had never encountered a soul beast with the same cultivation that could match him, let alone one younger than him.
"That's not necessarily true."
The Auspicious Beast spoke with complete conviction.
"You!"
Xiong Jun trembled with anger, but Di Tian's commanding voice suddenly rang out, putting an end to the farce.
"Enough. That's the end of it!"
Then Di Tian addressed the Auspicious Beast. "Auspicious Beast, let the two of them fight. Nothing will go wrong with me here. I happen to want to see how strong Zeng Tian is now, too."
At that moment, Zeng Tian also stroked the Auspicious Beast's head and said softly, "Don't worry. Don't you know how strong I am? Even if I can't win, I can protect myself."
"But I don't want to see you get hurt."
The Auspicious Beast lowered her head, sounding somewhat dejected.
Hearing her concern, Zeng Tian smiled. "I won't necessarily be the one getting hurt."
With that, red flames erupted all over Zeng Tian's body. He became a streak of red light and vanished into the horizon in an instant.
At the sight, delighted surprise flashed in Xiong Jun's eyes. "Not bad, kid. You're pretty fast. Now I'm starting to believe it wasn't that Scarlet King had become useless, but that your strength really has reached the level of a three-hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast."
As his words fell, Xiong Jun revealed his true Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear form and charged off in the direction Zeng Tian had taken.
Black lines appeared on Scarlet King's forehead again. Why did Xiong Jun keep dissing him? Just because he had failed to beat Zeng Tian?
"Let's see how you do when you face Zeng Tian!"
Scarlet King gave a light snort. His figure flashed, becoming a streak of dark red light that disappeared from sight.
Soon, Scarlet King caught up with Xiong Jun ahead of him.
"Hahaha! Take your time running, Xiong Jun. I'll go on ahead!"
As he laughed and spoke, Scarlet King's streak of dark red light swept past Xiong Jun's true form, overtaking him.
Thanks to Flame Charge, even without returning to his true form, he was still faster than Xiong Jun running at full speed.
"Holy shit, that's Scarlet King!"
Watching this, Xiong Jun's jaw nearly dropped.
Since when had Scarlet King become so fast? He had surpassed him without even changing into his true form.
Ten li was neither a particularly long nor a particularly short distance, but for these ferocious beasts, it took very little time.
Di Tian arrived first. He used Spatial Teleportation to reach the destination instantly.
A moment after Di Tian completed his Spatial Teleportation, the streak of light that was Zeng Tian also reached their destination.
Flame Charge granted him tremendous speed. A mere ten li took only a few breaths.
Next came Scarlet King, Xiong Jun, Bi Ji and the Auspicious Beast, then Myriad Demon King and Zi JI.
On the vast grassland, Zeng Tian and Xiong Jun faced each other from a hundred meters apart, the atmosphere taut as drawn swords and strung bows.
Hovering in the air, Zeng Tian narrowed his eyes at Xiong Jun's Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear form a hundred meters away, its fierce aura surging to the heavens. "As expected of the Star Dou Great Forest's second strongest fighter after Di Tian. That aura really is terrifying."
Xiong Jun's true Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear form stood over fifteen meters tall, with muscles like little hills. His enormous body gave the impression of Mount Tai bearing down simply by standing there.
His forelimbs were particularly striking, each over ten meters long. Dark gold light flickered over his claws, and Zeng Tian actually sensed a threat from them.
On a small hill a thousand meters from the two combatants, Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts watched the battle. Bi Ji looked at the worried Auspicious Beast beside her and smiled as she stroked her fur. "Don't worry. With me here, even if your little playmate gets hurt, I can heal him in an instant."
"Oh my, it seems our little Auspicious Beast has developed some different feelings for this Zeng Tian. You care so much about him that you're breaking your big sister's heart."
Zi JI clutched her chest, looking wounded.
Hearing this, the Auspicious Beast immediately blushed and stammered in protest, "N-no, I haven't! I'm just worried that brute Xiong Jun will hurt the little underling I've just taken in. This is a b-big sister's concern for her little underling. Y-yes, that's all!"
Yet the more she spoke, the less confident the Auspicious Beast became. She did not know what had come over her, either.
But one thing was certain: these were definitely not merely feelings toward an underling or a playmate.
Listening to her explanation, which was riddled with holes, Zi JI smiled softly and did not tease the Auspicious Beast any further.
It was perfectly normal for soul beasts to have thoughts of mating. It seemed the Auspicious Beast had reached that age, too.
Then Zi JI turned her gaze toward Zeng Tian a thousand meters away. Her eyes shifted slightly as she thought, Let me see just how capable you are, to make Di Tian value you so highly.
Zi JI's true form was a Hell Demon Dragon, a type of Pureblood True Dragon. Although she had only a little over two hundred thousand years of cultivation, her actual strength far surpassed Scarlet King's previous strength.
Even now, after growing stronger through Zeng Tian's guidance, Scarlet King might not be a match for Zi JI.
Yet facing Xiong Jun, she did not feel she had even the slightest chance of victory.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline was no weaker than a True Dragon's. Combined with his two-hundred-thousand-year cultivation advantage, it presented a mountain Zi JI could hardly climb.
If Zi JI's current combat strength approached level 98, then the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's approached level 99. Though only one level separated them, the gap was like a heavenly chasm.
On the field, Xiong Jun grinned at Zeng Tian opposite him. "You can remain this calm under my Pressure. You really are extraordinary. No wonder Di Tian values you."
"Enough pointless talk. Let's fight. I'd also like to see just what you're capable of-the fifth-ranked among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, the strongest bear soul beast in history, the king of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears."
With that, Zeng Tian's throat shifted slightly, and a massive pillar of red fire shot from his mouth.
The pillar of red fire was fully two meters in diameter and astonishingly powerful. Almost instantly, it crossed the hundred-meter distance and reached Xiong Jun.
The next moment, the red pillar struck Xiong Jun head-on. Its spilling energy instantly reduced the surrounding plants to ash, and even the air grew a little hotter.
Yet Xiong Jun, who had taken the Flamethrower head-on, seemed completely unharmed. He lightly brushed the scorched fur on his left arm and chest, then said:
"Not bad damage, but that alone wouldn't let you fight Scarlet King to a draw, would it? Use your strongest skill. Otherwise, I'm afraid that once I make my move, you won't get another chance."