Purple-Striped Black Bear

Spring passed and autumn came.

Lister had been on the Yulan Continent for six years.

After five years on the road with Dai Dai and Honghuo, they finally reached the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range in the Holy Union.

Lister had changed greatly compared to five years earlier.

He stood about four meters tall and fifteen meters long, somewhat larger than a normal Spined Iron-Armored Dragon.

His pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan looked even more sinister, sending chills down anyone's spine.

Name: Satius? Lister

Race: Mutated Sharingan Spined Iron-Armored Dragon

Level: Late-stage ninth-level high-level divine beast

Description: A mutated Sharingan Spined Iron-Armored Dragon in its growth stage, a lightning- and fire-attribute magical beast. The smallest dragon race, with the strongest defense and greatest agility among those of the same level. Its mutation granted it greater talents than ordinary Spined Iron-Armored Dragons, and its strength far surpassed others of the same level.

During this time, Lister had also broken through to the ninth level, and his Sharingan had awakened its third tomoe.

After arriving in the Holy Union with Dai Dai, Lister had begun searching constantly for Mist Canyon. Today, after a week of searching, he had finally found it.

"I finally found it! Mist Canyon." Lister looked at the gourd-shaped canyon before him, its interior filled with mist. This should be the Mist Canyon Linley had visited in the original story.

This was where the protagonist had changed his fate, going from an ordinary member of the Dragonblood Clan who could not enter Dragonform to a Dragonblood Warrior who could. His warrior level had risen straight from the fourth level to the sixth, and after entering Dragonform, he had reached the rank of Eighth-level Warrior.

"I'll go in and investigate now, and see whether this really is Mist Canyon. I don't want to get it wrong."

As he thought, he looked at Dai Dai beside him and said:

"Don't follow me in yet. I'll go inside and take a look. This place is close to the interior of the Magical Beast Forest, so it's rather dangerous. Don't wander off. Just stay beside Honghuo. He's a high-level magical beast, so you'll be relatively safe beside him."

"All right, big brother! Don't worry."

Dai Dai stood on the Velociraptor's back as he replied.

"Mm."

Then Lister entered the canyon.

Mist filled the canyon. Magical beasts could vaguely be seen darting through the grass, and occasionally, the roars of magical beasts rang out.

"Blue Heart Grass!"

Not long after entering the canyon, Lister discovered Blue Heart Grass growing on its walls.

"This should be the right place. Blue Heart Grass! Something Dragonblood Warriors need when they drink live dragon blood. It's no use to me, though, so I'll leave it here."

Lister then continued deeper into the canyon. Every so often, he would see groups of magical beasts, including seventh-level magical beasts such as Green-Striped Giant Pythons, Winged Bird Dragons, Earth Dragons, Velociraptors, Fire Dragons, and Green Dragons.

Along the way, no magical beast was foolish enough to come looking for trouble with Lister. The aura of a high-level magical beast emanating from him made them give him a wide berth, let alone the dragon-type magical beasts. Spined Iron-Armored Dragons were one of the strongest dragon races, and the others cleared a path when Lister arrived.

The farther he went, the denser the natural elements became. By the time he reached the deepest part of the canyon, their concentration was dozens of times higher. A cave appeared before him, with an even greater concentration of natural elements inside.

This should be it. As for why it became a fissure later on, it was probably because the original owner of this body moved a small hill here to avoid unnecessary trouble.

As Lister thought, he continued into the cave.

The cave was pitch-black, but everything remained clear to Lister's eyes. The perceptive abilities of his three-tomoe eyes could handle this degree of night vision.

After walking several kilometers, he reached the end of the cave. A huge underground cavern appeared before him, several kilometers across and dozens of meters high. Calling it a natural underground hall would not have been an exaggeration.

At a glance, he saw a large black bear lying curled up in the very center of the cavern. Purple stripes marked its body.

Name: Gudemaoling

Race: Purple-Striped Black Bear

Level: Peak ninth level

Description: An adult Purple-Striped Black Bear, a peak ninth-level magical beast, a darkness-attribute magical beast.

Just as Lister entered the hall, the Purple-Striped Black Bear opened his dark-red eyes and stood up. Standing on two legs, he was a full ten meters tall. He stared at Lister and roared:

"Spined Iron-Armored Dragon, this is no place for you. Leave at once! I am Gudemaoling, a peak ninth-level expert of the Purple-Striped Black Bear race!"

The Purple-Striped Black Bear was not particularly eager to fight Lister. Although he was at the peak of the ninth level, Spined Iron-Armored Dragons were reputed to be the strongest dragons at the same level. If they fought, there was no telling who would win.

"Leave?" "Heh."

"How could I? I spent years traveling here specifically. If I left just because you told me to, wouldn't I lose face?"

"If anyone's leaving, it's you."

"Actually, if you wanted to stay here with me, I, Satius? Lister, wouldn't mind."

Lister replied in turn.

"You're courting death!"

With a furious roar, the Purple-Striped Black Bear charged at Lister. Just before reaching him, he leaped up, clasped his paws together, and smashed them down at Lister. Lister dodged to the right. As the bear's paws struck the ground, they left a crater about fifty meters across.

This big bear looks pretty fat, but he's surprisingly agile. He's very strong, too.

Then, as the Purple-Striped Black Bear landed, Lister charged forward and swiped a dragon claw straight at his neck. The Purple-Striped Black Bear turned, and one of his paws collided with Lister's claw. As their claws met, a wave of air spread outward.

"I didn't expect a bear like you to be so strong."

Lister let out a draconic roar as he taunted him.

"We Purple-Striped Black Bears have never feared any race when it comes to strength."

Although the Purple-Striped Black Bear said this aloud, inwardly, he was muttering to himself.

Spined Iron-Armored Dragons are famous for their defense, agility, and powerful attacks. I never expected his strength to be on par with mine, too.

After the collision, Lister retreated a little, then lunged forward again, both claws slashing at the Purple-Striped Black Bear at tremendous speed. The Purple-Striped Black Bear could barely fend him off, and soon his body was covered in wounds. Then Lister coiled his body around the Purple-Striped Black Bear, wrapping around him exactly once. Lister's claws met the bear's paws again, while the spike on his dragon head thrust toward the Purple-Striped Black Bear.

As the Purple-Striped Black Bear watched Lister thrust toward him, his eyes widened and his pupils contracted.

The thrust made him feel the threat of death. Using every ounce of his strength, the Purple-Striped Black Bear wrenched his paws free of Lister's claws. Just as the spike on Lister's head was about to pierce his skull, he thrust a paw upward into Lister's chin. This sent Lister's dragon head stabbing upward, so the blow did not kill the Purple-Striped Black Bear, but it did take one of his eyes.

"AAAH..."

The strength the Purple-Striped Black Bear unleashed in the face of that fatal strike, along with the pain of losing an eye, allowed him to break free of Lister's hold and tumble aside.

He roared in agony.

Ah... Run! I can't fight him anymore. I'm no match for him. If I keep fighting, I'll definitely die. Run! I have to run now!

The Purple-Striped Black Bear plunged both paws into the ground, tore up a huge chunk of rock, and hurled it at Lister.

Lister shattered the rock with a swipe of his dragon claw, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Taking advantage of that moment, the Purple-Striped Black Bear shot backward toward the cave entrance and fled without even looking back.