ROAR!
Somewhere in a mountain forest, a terrifying giant bear, standing nearly three meters tall on its hind legs, let out a soul-shaking roar! The sound echoed through the mountains, audible for a mile in every direction. The branches and leaves of the surrounding trees rustled, vibrated by the sheer force of the sound waves.
This giant bear was different from an ordinary one. Beyond its immense size, its fur was a dark gold, and its claws were long and sharp. Its eyes glowed with a faint golden light, and a mark was etched upon its forehead, formed by two curved golden lines meeting end to end. Furthermore, the fur around its ears was a mix of purplish-red and gold, distinct from the dark gold covering the rest of its body.
If a transmigrator were to see it, they might mistake it for a Dread-Claw Bear! But alas, this was the Dou Qi Continent. And this bear's name was the Gilt-Lock Bear!
This bear was a metal-attribute Magical Beast whose bloodline could reach a maximum of Rank 4. Among low and mid-rank Magical Beasts, it was a creature whose physical strength was at the absolute apex. How powerful was it? To put it simply, a Gilt-Lock Bear could match, and even defeat, a human of the same rank using its physical body alone. This meant its physical prowess was comparable to its own Dou Qi cultivation, if not slightly superior. Only its bloodline limited its potential; otherwise, it would be considered a mid-tier existence even among high-rank Magical Beasts.
For this reason, the Gilt-Lock Bear was one of the most difficult Magical Beasts to hunt in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. To have any chance of taking one down, a hunting party needed at least one member who was a full rank higher than the beast. Otherwise, they would suffer heavy casualties and likely end up with nothing to show for their efforts.
As for why this Gilt-Lock Bear was so enraged, it was naturally because of the little speck before it.
"What's with all the roaring? Do you have to start with a roar every time? Think you're impressive just because you're loud?" a rather impatient voice grumbled after the bear's roar had subsided.
About a dozen meters in front of the Gilt-Lock Bear, a young man was rubbing his ears, glaring at the creature with a dark expression. The youth was bare-chested, wearing only a piece of green metallic soft armor on his upper body. Below, he wore a pair of slightly loose black trousers. A silk sash at his waist swayed in the breeze. Under the sunlight, the fluid, perfect muscle definition on his arms was incredibly eye-catching. Though lean, these muscles radiated an extreme sense of resilience and hardness, as if hiding a torrential power capable of shattering mountains and splitting stone.
Though the Gilt-Lock Bear's intelligence was not on par with a human's, it understood the disdain in the little speck's tone. Already angry, it became even more frenzied. Kicking off with its thick hind legs, it shot forward like a cannonball.
Seeing this, Zhou Changqing's expression immediately turned serious. His eyes filled with focus as he, too, powered his legs and charged forward to meet the Gilt-Lock Bear head-on.
BOOM!
The two figures, one large and one small, collided. Bear paw met human hand, and a terrifying force erupted at the point of contact, sending out a deafening shockwave. The air around them blasted outward in transparent, rippling waves. Under the force of this aftershock, even the nearest trees swayed violently. A shower of leaves rained down from above.
"Worthy of the Gilt-Lock Bear! Your strength really is immense! No wonder I chose you as my sparring partner! But the me of today is not the me of the past! Get back!" Zhou Changqing shouted, a smile playing on his lips as he felt the familiar, immense force.
As the words left his mouth, the savage power hidden within his muscles erupted! In that instant, Zhou Changqing's skin tightened, and the very air around him seemed to tremble. The hand holding back the bear's paw shoved forward with sudden, explosive force.
At the same time, a human-like look of astonishment appeared in the Gilt-Lock Bear's eyes. It felt a power even more terrifying than its own surging from its paw. Under this overwhelming force, its body could not hold its ground and began to slide backward, carving two deep grooves in the earth.
Is this right? This can't be right! Just a few days ago, this little speck was only my equal. How is he stronger than me today?!
But there was no one to answer the Gilt-Lock Bear's confusion. In their contest of strength, Zhou Changqing had managed to push its massive body a full ten meters back.
ROAR!
Realizing it had lost in terms of pure strength, the Gilt-Lock Bear roared in fury. It stopped trying to overpower Zhou Changqing and instead lunged forward, its massive jaws snapping at his head.
Seeing this, Zhou Changqing grinned. "Heh, what a beast. Fighting dirty, are we?"
He gripped the bear's paw tightly, planted his feet, and then, with a violent thrust from his legs and core, he kicked upward, striking the underside of the beast's snapping jaw.
BANG!
The Gilt-Lock Bear felt as if its jaw had been struck by a ten-thousand-pound hammer. Its mind went blank for a second, and its entire body was sent flying backward. After crashing through two large trees, it slammed into the ground, stars swimming around its head. A dizzying, intense pain shot through its jaw, which felt as if it had been fractured.
Zhou Changqing used the momentum to perform a backflip, landing gracefully. He gave the beast no time to recover, immediately leaping forward to press the attack.
The Gilt-Lock Bear's physical body was formidable, its power not limited to mere strength; its defense was equally impressive. The previous kick had, at most, inflicted a minor injury, far from enough to take it out of the fight. So, by the time Zhou Changqing charged, the Gilt-Lock Bear had already recovered, and it roared as it met his advance.
The intelligence of bear-type Magical Beasts was relatively high among their peers. Realizing it had lost in pure physical strength, the Gilt-Lock Bear activated the metal-attribute Dou Qi within its body. Its dark gold fur began to glow with a golden brilliance, as if it had been doused in molten gold, transforming it into a giant golden bear.
"Alright, alright, so we're playing that game, are we?" Zhou Changqing was not to be outdone. He circulated his own metal-attribute Dou Qi, spreading it across his entire body. His skin, which already had a metallic sheen, instantly lit up with a golden glow. Though not as brilliant as the Gilt-Lock Bear's, it made him look as if he were covered in a translucent metal film.
The two clashed again. This time, it was not a contest of strength, but a true brawl.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A series of metallic ringing sounds echoed through the forest. Man and bear, fist against paw, claw against leg, they fought in the most primal way imaginable.
Savage!
Violent!
And yet, utterly exhilarating! There was even a certain artistic beauty to it.
Most importantly, neither of them bothered with defense. It was a pure exchange of blows. You slap me, I'll give you an elbow. Every blow landed with brutal impact. The disparity in their sizes only served to make Zhou Changqing seem even more ferocious than the Gilt-Lock Bear. And because of this, he was far more agile than the lumbering beast. More often than not, for every one hit the Gilt-Lock Bear landed, Zhou Changqing would land three in return.
Gradually, the Gilt-Lock Bear began to lose ground in the brawl. Eventually, its fur was a matted mess, its skin beneath bruised and swollen, and it was forced onto the defensive, able to do nothing but endure the beating.
The battle lasted for a full half-hour before it concluded. With a final punch that landed squarely on the Gilt-Lock Bear's eye, Zhou Changqing looked at its truly battered and bruised face and finally stopped.
"Haaah... Thrilling!" he exhaled, feeling an incredible sense of satisfaction throughout his body and mind, despite the stinging pain from numerous spots on his body. It was the cathartic feeling of having unleashed all his strength. This must be what they call the thrill of battle. Battle! Thrilling!
He glanced back at the Gilt-Lock Bear, which was panting like a dying dog with its tongue hanging out. Zhou Changqing shook his head with a hint of pity. "You can't keep up with me anymore. Today is the last time. For the sake of you being my sparring partner all this time, I won't kill you."
"But if we meet again... you know what will happen."
With that said, Zhou Changqing turned and left without a second glance.