The bear let out a thunderous roar, its voice echoing throughout the forest, and its claws once again swept ferociously toward Tianyu. Though its attack was immensely powerful, its movement remained stiff and predictable—a typical weakness of a Mountain Crush Bear, a beast of steel-like flesh that relied purely on brute strength without any refined combat technique.
Tianyu stepped lightly to the side, dodging the claws with a slight twist of his waist. His foot stomped the ground, then he shot forward like an arrow, his fist cloaked in golden aura striking directly at the bear's left rib. A dull thud sounded—DOOM!—and the Mountain Crush Bear was pushed several steps sideways.
Immediately, a small glowing symbol, "破" (Break), appeared at the point of impact, faintly burning before adhering to the bear's thick hide like a luminous tattoo.
The bear roared loudly, enraged. It turned and attacked again, its claws aiming straight for Tianyu's head. But once more, its movements were easy to read.
Tianyu ducked, spun to the right, and delivered a counterpunch to the bear's right shoulder. A loud bang rang out, and a second "破" symbol lit up there, precisely between the bear's shoulder and chest muscles.
Tianyu leapt back, keeping his distance while catching his breath. He observed his opponent, now clearly showing signs of wavering—its breathing was heavy, its eyes filled with rage and… fear.
"Two '破' marks complete—now, it's time to see my full power!"
The bear roared again, this time sounding more like a panicked scream. It raised its larger claw—its right—and smashed it down with full force. Branches trembled, the ground cracked under the pressure of the air alone before the claw even hit the earth.
But Tianyu didn't retreat.
He stomped the ground and shot forward—
BOOM!!
His golden fist collided directly with the bear's claw. The shockwave spread in all directions like a ripple, shaking the earth, shattering stones, and blowing dust and dry leaves into the air. Tianyu's body jolted from the impact, but his feet gripped the ground firmly.
Meanwhile, the bear's claw… began to crack.
Its tough skin fractured like pottery, and from beneath, thick bluish-green blood gushed out. The strike hadn't just halted the bear—it lost its balance and staggered backward, stumbling with a pained groan.
The Mountain Crush Bear's eyes widened. Once filled only with primal instinct, they now brimmed with doubt. It couldn't understand—how could such a small human match the might of its powerful body?
Yet Tianyu didn't let up.
He was bleeding too—his right arm, the one he had used to punch, was leaking golden blood from cracks in his skin. But the difference lay in regeneration. Warm energy surged through his body into that arm, repairing tissue and reinforcing torn muscles.
Within ten seconds, the wound began to heal, as if it had never existed. Tianyu flexed his arm and clenched his fist once more.
Now, Tianyu understood his body more deeply. In his normal state, his strength was equal to that of a thousand-year-old soul beast. When he activated the "龙" (Dragon) character, he was on par with a 3,000 to 4,000-year-old beast—or a Spirit Ancestor.
With his second spirit ability, the first "破" symbol boosted his strength to that of a Spirit King. The second symbol—once embedded—allowed his punches to match the power of a Spirit Emperor. He could even choose to detonate the symbol. The resulting explosion would be equivalent to a full-powered strike from Tianyu when both symbols were in place. Since the symbol was fused with the opponent's skin, the damage inflicted was deeper and more destructive.
The Mountain Crush Bear was a mutant of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear species, with a defense even stronger than the original, though its attack power was significantly weaker. That's why it was only equivalent to a 4,000-year-old soul beast. A Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear itself already possessed incredibly high defense—so much so that even at only a hundred years old, it could rival ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Therefore, with its superior defense, the Mountain Crush Bear at one hundred years old could be said to have stronger defense than an average ten-thousand-year soul beast.
As for his first spirit ability, Tianyu still didn't fully understand its limits. He had only tested it earlier today on the Cyan Wolf, and hadn't used it against the Mountain Crush Bear, as he also wanted to test the strength of the skill gained from his second soul ring.
Tianyu tried attacking the bear again, but—
He was thrown back instantly.
Tianyu was stunned—and the bear didn't give him a moment's rest. Its next attack came right away, and Tianyu barely rolled out of the way in time.
His mind raced.
What went wrong?
Then one thought flashed through his mind. Could it be… the second spirit ability only enhances a single attack?
His eyes locked onto the "破" symbols, which now appeared dimmer than before. Their golden glow was fading.
Tianyu slowly shook his head and gave a bitter smile.
"No wonder I felt weaker just now…"
There was no other choice now.
With the two "破" symbols still embedded in his opponent's body, Tianyu stepped forward, his eyes glowing with resolve. The air trembled as golden energy surged from his body.
"This ends now!"
He raised his hand high.
The "破" symbols on the bear's body suddenly shone brightly—
BOOOOM!
A powerful explosion shook the forest. Blue-green blood gushed from the wounds on the Mountain Crush Bear's body, while its previously impenetrable steel-like skin cracked like shattered porcelain. The bear collapsed backward, letting out a gut-wrenching roar of agony.
Tianyu didn't give it a chance to recover. With incredible speed, he dashed forward, aiming his final blow at the bear's head—
KRUNCH!
Its skull shattered beneath the force of his last punch. The Mountain Crush Bear thrashed once before going completely still, blood pooling around it on the ground.
Tianyu stood tall, still breathing heavily, golden aura flickering around him as it slowly began to fade. Before his eyes, the glowing "破" symbols that had been etched onto the bear's body gradually dimmed, vanishing along with the last of the beast's life force—marking the end of his second soul ring's effect.
The battlefield bore silent witness to the intense battle: trees torn apart, the ground cracked in a web-like pattern, and the scent of blue-green blood mixed with dust still lingering in the air, creating a grim atmosphere in the aftermath of combat.
The "破" symbol was the mark of his second soul ring's ability. When Tianyu activated it, he could embed the "破" symbol onto his enemy through physical contact. For every symbol placed on his opponent, the damage from his attacks increased by 100%. Currently, he could create up to two of these symbols.