Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King

"?!"

Bear Lord's scalp tingled, his eyes filled with question marks as he looked at Di Tian.

"Loosen up?"

You're trying to take me apart, aren't you?!

A full three hours of an inhuman—no, in-beast—beating!

He had been kicked around like a ball by Di Tian the entire time. Ever since he threw out his first move, he had been getting beaten non-stop.

After this battle, Bear Lord finally understood—Di Tian had never fought him seriously before. He had always been holding back his strength.

Damn it! He played me!

Just you wait! Once I get stronger, we'll fight again!

"Fine, you win. Let's go. I'll take you to my clansmen."

Bear Lord let out a deep grunt, turned around, and walked toward the depths of the forest.

Di Tian, now back in human form, raised an eyebrow in surprise before following him.

Hearing "fine, you win" from Bear Lord was no easy feat—this meant he had lowered his head before Di Tian.

Just as Bi Ji had thought, Bear Lord would probably behave himself for a long time after this.

The Darkgold Dreadclaw Bears were not a social species. They preferred solitude and only lived in pairs during their mating season.

As for their cubs, they were kicked out as soon as they reached the ten-year spirit beast stage, forcing them to live independently from then on.

This meant that trying to find these already rare and widely dispersed Darkgold Dreadclaw Bears in the Star Dou Forest was nearly impossible—unless one had extraordinary luck or had Bear Lord as a guide.

It didn't take long before Bear Lord stopped in front of a massive ancient tree with a large hollow in its trunk. He let out a low growl.

From inside the tree hollow, another low growl echoed in response. Then, a Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear—about eight or nine meters tall—slowly crawled out.

Gazing at this Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear, Bear Lord's expression turned complicated. He let out two deep growls, communicating in the language of their kind.

Hearing Bear Lord's growl, the other bear subtly trembled, and a hint of fear and anxiety flashed in its eyes. However, it quickly overcame its emotions and responded with a low growl of its own.

Di Tian's figure appeared silently, floating beside Bear Lord. He looked at the scene in surprise and spoke:

"This is your son? Bear Lord, you're actually willing to let your son become the Honored One's spirit ring?"

Bear Lord's massive body glowed, and when the light faded, he had transformed into a three-meter-tall burly man dressed in animal pelts.

"The lives of my clansmen matter, and so does my son's life."

"As my son, he has enjoyed the reverence and glory of the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear clan."

"So he must also give back to the clan."

Bear Lord spoke in a calm, steady tone, but the flicker of reluctance in his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't let his own son be sacrificed.

But he didn't have a choice.

As clan leader of the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bears, this was his duty.

Di Tian let out a sigh and patted Bear Lord on the shoulder. "Don't worry. As the Honored One's spirit ring, he isn't truly dead. You know that spirit rings store the souls of us soul beasts. Once the Honored One returns to his peak, he can be revived."

Originally, Di Tian hadn't planned to mention this. After all, he wasn't sure whether Lin Yun would even focus his efforts on reviving his spirit rings.

But now that he had spoken up, in the future, he would definitely bring this up with Lin Yun and request him to revive these soul beasts.

"Really?" Bear Lord furrowed his brows, a flash of shock appearing in his eyes.

As a native soul beast of Douluo, he knew nothing about the methods of gods. Otherwise, he wouldn't have recklessly fought Di Tian in the first place.

"It's true. The Honored One is fully capable of doing so." Di Tian nodded.

"That's good." A hint of relief appeared on Bear Lord's face. "Alright, take him away. I won't be going with you."

Without looking back, Bear Lord turned and left.

Di Tian watched his retreating figure in silence.

This bear was simply too arrogant—and he had chosen the wrong person to be arrogant toward. But in terms of pure strength, he was undeniably powerful.

With Gu Yuena in seclusion, apart from Di Tian, Bear Lord was probably the strongest in the Star Dou Forest—even the Myriad Demon King couldn't defeat him.

If you ignored the fact that his brain was mostly made of muscle, Bear Lord wasn't bad at all. He was just… prone to offending people.

"Woo… woo…"

The Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear cub lying on the ground let out a soft whimper, as if saying one last goodbye to Bear Lord.

Bear Lord's steps faltered slightly. His right fist tightened.

But in the end, all he left behind was a long sigh that slowly faded into the air.

"Let's go."

Di Tian waved his hand, and an irresistible force of space enveloped Bear Lord's son, causing him to vanish without a trace.

Lake of Life

Lin Yun and Bi Ji had already returned and were waiting quietly by the lake.

From the moment the battle ended, Lin Yun knew that his spirit ring was secured. Now, all he had to do was wait for Di Tian to return and bring his third spirit ring to him.

Di Tian did not keep him waiting long. Before Lin Yun had even been at the Lake of Life for too long, Di Tian had already emerged from the void, bringing with him a Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear.

Even though Lin Yun had already seen Bear Lord's true form before, that had been from a distance.

Now, standing this close, he could truly feel the sheer explosive power radiating from the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear's body.

No wonder they were said to be capable of slaying dragons—Darkgold Dreadclaw Bears truly lived up to their reputation.

"Honored One, your spirit ring—this subordinate has brought it back."

Di Tian bowed slightly.

"You've worked hard, Di Tian!"

Lin Yun smiled and nodded. Then, he glanced at Di Tian and said, "But judging from your expression, it seems something happened between you and Bear Lord after I left, huh?"

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

Di Tian's complicated expression was far too obvious.

Especially considering the fact that he kept a straight face nine days out of ten—seeing him looking so sentimental was rarer than when he used to be just a lackey.

After a brief hesitation, Di Tian eventually told him everything, including the identity of the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear before them.

"So, this subordinate hopes that once you return to your peak, you can revive him."

Di Tian lowered his gaze, bowed, and spoke in a soft voice.

"So he's Bear Lord's son…"

Lin Yun walked up to the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear cub, gently stroking its golden fur—which looked tough, but was actually soft to the touch.

As Bear Lord's son, its talent was definitely top-tier—even among the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear species.

Lin Yun…

It seemed that the debts he owed to the Star Dou Forest were only piling up more and more.

(End of Chapter)

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