"That is..."
Ling Xiao was startled.
Although the distance was too great for him to clearly see exactly what the golden eagle had snatched, under these circumstances, he couldn't help but associate it with the dark-gold giant bear from earlier.
If it truly was a Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, it would be incredible. He couldn't begin to imagine what kind of soul skill would be born from a Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear as a first soul ring, but one thing was certain: its power would be staggering.
On the other side, the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple also watched the battle. Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Old man, they really did succeed in the end."
"Forget it. Since things have come to this, let us leave as well. That beast king is likely about to go berserk; this is no place to linger."
Dragon Duke Meng Shu was not a narrow-minded person.
The outcome was clear, so he immediately led his wife and granddaughter toward the outskirts of the forest. In the sky, seeing the success of the strike, Chrysanthemum Douluo—despite having weathered many great storms—couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"Well done! All of you, withdraw from the Star Dou Forest immediately. I will hold it back."
He turned his head to the side, his gaze filled with solemnity. He knew that next, the adult Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was going to fight with its life on the line.
"Shameless humans, give me back my child!"
Seeing its child captured by humans, the giant adult bear finally spoke.
It roared in fury, its dark-gold eyes instantly turning blood-red. A surge of intense soul power erupted from its body, nearly condensing into substance. Amidst its roars, it charged frantically toward the retreating Lor Diarra.
"Hmph, trying to get past me?"
A sharp light flashed in Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes.
The soul power he had just slightly steadied surged violently once more, and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum martial soul hovered above his head.
"Ninth Soul Skill: Chrysanthemum Ruins, Fill The Earth With Wounds, Flowers Fall on Broken Hearts."
His feminine voice drifted out slowly, yet it signaled the activation of a Titled Douluo's strongest power—the Ninth Soul Skill. Under Chrysanthemum Douluo's activation, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum glowed with a brilliant, dazzling golden light.
As the petals rotated, they emitted the sound of clashing metal.
A majestic golden light erupted, forming a massive pillar of light that seemed to connect heaven and earth. Limitless natural energy swarmed from the surroundings, merging into the skill.
The golden chrysanthemum petals suddenly detached as a whole, rotating around the stamen in layer upon layer, multiplying until they finally merged into the soaring pillar of light.
They transformed into a golden river shimmering with purple-gold radiance, surging toward the adult Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear. Endless petal flying-daggers, filled with an aura of extreme sharpness, attacked the giant bear like a torrent.
It was forced to defend; under the power of a Ninth Soul Skill, even with its defense, there would be extreme danger if it ignored the attack.
"Roar!"
A terrifying wave of soul power erupted from the bear, but its roar was completely swallowed by the torrent of the Ninth Soul Skill's offensive.
Seeing that he had successfully blocked the giant bear, Chrysanthemum Douluo felt at ease. He flicked his right wrist.
"Change!"
Under his control, the golden river suddenly branched out, completely surrounding the bear and attacking inward toward the center. The Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear was entirely enveloped by the skill's attacks, losing its field of vision entirely.
Its eyes were filled with nothing but the radiance of soul power.
Sensing that the soul power fluctuations from the clash were becoming increasingly massive yet increasingly chaotic, Chrysanthemum Douluo chuckled.
"While I truly have no way to finish you off, you certainly won't be catching up to us anymore. It's a bit of a pity for your strength; if someone could one day take you as a soul ring, it would truly be something extraordinary."
He shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic thought.
The strength of this soul beast was terrifying; forget a Soul Douluo, even an ordinary Titled Douluo or a soul beast with an average bloodline that had achieved a one-hundred-thousand-year cultivation might not be its match, let alone be able to kill it.
Taking it as a soul ring was a difficulty beyond the norm. Furthermore, trying to find it again in the boundless Star Dou Forest would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Boom!
A golden soul flame erupted from his body as Chrysanthemum Douluo flew toward the direction Ling Xiao and the others had retreated. He needed to regroup with them as soon as possible to prevent any accidents.
It wouldn't do to have a "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
As Chrysanthemum Douluo flew toward the horizon and vanished completely, several booms echoed out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent dark-gold claw shadows flashed as the giant bear finally tore through the endless torrent surrounding it.
Intense soul power fluctuations spread out, destroying all vegetation and rocks within a radius of several thousand meters. The earth looked as though it had been ravaged by a natural disaster—devoid of life and filled with the deathly silence following a grand battle.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Realizing it could no longer sense the traces of the humans who had stolen its child, the new mother Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear let out continuous roars, bellowing at the sky.
Its eyes were so red it looked as though they might leak blood. Its pair of Dark Gold Terror Claws lashed out incessantly, sending out dark-gold claw shadows that pulverized everything in the vicinity once more.
Countless giant gouges were left upon the earth. At this moment, it poured out its majestic soul power without reservation; perhaps only this venting could make its heart feel slightly better.
After a long time, it finally stopped.
However, its eyes seemed somewhat moist, and the fur beneath its eyes looked as if it had been dampened by running water—as if it had shed tears. But do soul beasts have tears? After an unknown amount of time, the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear seemed to stop fixating on the matter.
It dropped to all fours and slowly walked toward the depths of the Star Dou Forest. It looked like an ordinary giant golden bear, no longer radiating a powerful soul power aura—completely different from before.
Only those eyes remained a sea of blood-red.
In a thicket at the outermost edge of the Star Dou Forest, Ling Xiao looked with burning eyes atthe dark-gold giant bear before him. Currently, this bear—standing nearly three meters tall—was heavily injured and collapsed on the ground after being struck by Lor Diarra's Martial Soul Avatar.
Even though this bear-type soul beast looked like it was at death's door, Wang Ying and the others didn't dare to underestimate it. They had just witnessed the tenacious vitality of this species. Standing beside Ling Xiao, they remained vigilant against a final deathbed counterattack.
If Ling Xiao were to die at the hands of this beast, they would face dire consequences.
Hu Feng and Wang Ying stood to the left and right of Ling Xiao. Seeing his enthusiastic expression, Wang Ying couldn't help but ask, "How is it, Ling Xiao? Are you satisfied with this soul beast?"
"Satisfied! I'm beyond satisfied!"
Ling Xiao said excitedly, clenching his small fists.
His joy was beyond words.
Now, he was increasingly certain that this bear, and the terrifying one from earlier, were indeed Dark Gold Terror Claw Bears. Although he hadn't seen the specific appearance of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear clan before, for some reason, the feeling was becoming stronger.
He trusted his intuition.
At the thought of having such a peak existence of the soul beast world as his first soul ring, he couldn't help his excitement.
Since he had come to the Douluo Continent and possessed a remarkable martial soul and Innate Full Soul Power, he naturally wanted to become a true powerhouse—perhaps even pursue the feeling of being unrivaled under heaven.