With his Martial Soul Avatar active, Tian E was already at his peak without using his eighth or ninth Soul Skills.
His strength would have allowed him to crush this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear easily, but those Soul Skills of his were far too powerful. Even he found them difficult to control.
Of course, he himself had nothing to worry about, but to avoid hurting Tian Chen nearby, he still intended to put some thought into it.
While grappling with this ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, he did not forget to cripple the two thousand-year cubs outright.
After all, with Tian Chen's current strength, defeating a thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was absolutely impossible.
The black fifth Soul Ring pulsing around Tian E suddenly lit up. He threw back his head and roared, and the golden ball of light gathering in his mouth transformed into a lifelike golden crocodile phantom. It shattered every inch of the two thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears' meridians and bones, sending them crashing to the ground, their bodies twitching incessantly.
That was only because Tian E had deliberately held back and spared their lives. Otherwise, the fifth Soul Skill unleashed at full power by a Level 90 Super Douluo would have been enough to turn these two Soul Beasts, with their mere thousand years of cultivation, to ash in an instant.
The ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had clearly not anticipated seeing its two children so grievously wounded. It glared at Tian E with hatred filling its eyes and roared.
One bear claw swung up fiercely. The enormous claw swelled threefold in midair, growing from its original four feet to four meters, and a forty-meter-long streak of cold, dark gold light flashed past.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear unleashed its strongest offensive Soul Skill-Dark Gold Dreadclaw.
Even an ordinary Soul Douluo-level powerhouse might have met a bitter end beneath its claws against such an attack.
Unfortunately, its opponent this time was Tian E, who possessed a top-tier Martial Soul and Soul Power as high as Level 98.
Tian E could easily defeat even a genuine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, let alone this ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
If Xiong Jun, one of the ten great Ferocious Beasts, had attacked, Tian E might have been extremely wary. This ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, however, posed little threat to him.
The blood-red ninth Soul Ring on Tian E's body slowly began to shine.
Even the surrounding air seemed to congeal beneath the pressure of Tian E's presence, and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear before him felt it even more keenly.
Under the effects of the ninth Soul Ring, a layer of blood-red armor covered his once-brilliant golden crocodile body, completely encasing Tian E in his Martial Soul Avatar state.
To keep the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's attack from accidentally injuring Tian Chen, Tian E met its Dark Gold Dreadclaw head-on, taking the blow directly with his back, the toughest part of his body.
Tian E felt an incomparably sharp presence nearly break through his defenses and invade his body.
Fortunately, with the powerful defensive Soul Skill granted by his hundred-thousand-year ninth Soul Ring, he blocked the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's all-out strike without injury despite the scare.
Of course, had he been alone, he would never have taken a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's full-powered attack head-on.
He was no fool. Naturally, he knew how terrifying this Soul Skill of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was. It was a powerful Soul Skill capable of tearing a dragon apart alive.
Tian E did not intend to drag this out any longer. He had no desire to endure another Dark Gold Dreadclaw.
Without further hesitation, his fourth and sixth Soul Rings lit up simultaneously. His claws shone with brilliant golden light as he clamped down viciously on the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's two foreclaws, its most lethal weapons. He exerted a sudden burst of force before it could muster another attack, crushing the joints in its arms outright.
Then he followed through by breaking the ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's legs one after another and severing the central nerves in its neck with his claws, denying it the chance to self-destruct.
The battle was decided in an instant. Rather, with his Level 98 Soul Power, it would have been strange if he could not handle a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
After all, a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was merely comparable to an ordinary Titled Douluo, and being comparable did not mean being equal.
At Level 98, he had always crushed ordinary Titled Douluo.
The gap in Soul Power between each level among Titled Douluo was even greater than one might imagine.
Once they passed Level 95, their total Soul Power nearly doubled with each level.
And that was without even mentioning his Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Among the Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent, Tian E's combat strength could be said to rank below only the three great Limit Douluo.
Tian E hefted the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's massive body, then controlled the other two with his Soul Power and tossed them onto a nearby patch of ground that had been leveled in their clash.
He withdrew his Martial Soul, walked over to Tian Chen, and spoke with a frown.
"Chen'er, what are you planning to do with these three Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears? You aren't really thinking of absorbing their Soul Rings, are you?"
"Grandpa, you're overthinking it."
Tian Chen chuckled at Tian E, putting on what he considered his most perfect fake smile.
After speaking, Tian Chen paid no further attention to Tian E, who was still frowning in thought. He took a sharp dagger from his Soul Tool and held it in a reverse grip.
He walked toward the dying Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with roughly three thousand years of cultivation.
Before the other two Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears, he stabbed its softest spot, its neck, again and again. Of course, Tian Chen held back each time, torturing it rather than killing it outright so the other two Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears would hate him.
Only then would the chance of a Soul Bone dropping be higher, and he would also be able to fuse with the Soul Ring better when absorbing it.
Tian Chen was no bleeding-heart saint. He would not feel pity for Soul Beasts. He understood the principle that those not of one's kind would surely be of a different heart.
Had humans not likewise been food for Soul Beasts in ancient times? Why had no Soul Beasts stepped forward to pity humans then?
There was nothing difficult to admit about it. Never mind three Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears-as long as it would make him stronger, Tian Chen could slaughter half the Star Dou Great Forest. He also disdained branding Soul Beasts as evil. Killing was killing. Did a Soul Master need a reason to kill Soul Beasts?
It was simply the weak becoming food for the strong.
He had to admit that, as top-tier Soul Beasts, Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears truly possessed tenacious vitality.
Only after Tian Chen stabbed it several hundred times did the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear gradually cease breathing. A bright purple Soul Ring slowly condensed above its corpse.
The other two Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears could do nothing but roar at Tian Chen incessantly.
Facing the hateful gazes of the two Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears, Tian Chen remained unruffled and repeated the process, ending their lives amid their hate-filled roars.
Three Soul Rings, two purple and one black, exerted an intense pressure on Tian Chen in the clearing.
Letting out a heavy breath, Tian Chen took a gauze handkerchief from his Soul Tool and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.
The hides of these Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears were truly tough. With Tian Chen's current Soul Power, breaking through their defenses was no easy task.
"Grandpa, don't just stand there watching. These are Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears! Hurry and see whether any of them have produced Soul Bones."
Having lived for over a hundred years, Tian E also knew that a Soul Beast's chances of producing a Soul Bone increased greatly when it died in extreme hatred.
"You brat really do love ordering your grandpa around."
Instantly understanding his grandson's intentions, he laughingly scolded Tian Chen and walked toward the ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
Tian Chen's eyes shifted. The moment Tian E let down his guard, he immediately activated Martial Soul Possession, drawing the somewhat dim purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring toward himself.
"That little brat!"
Sensing the fluctuations behind him, Tian E whipped around. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his earlier gentle, refined demeanor vanished completely.
Seeing that Tian Chen had already begun fusing with it, even someone of his strength could no longer stop it. He glared fiercely at Tian Chen, then hurriedly used his immense Soul Power to isolate him from the effects of the surrounding environment and sat down cross-legged beside him.
All he could do now was hope that his grandson could complete the fusion smoothly.
Here comes the climax, bros!