In the mountain forest, a tall, slender figure stood up, positioned atop the body of a Xiantian giant crocodile, holding a pale white spear in hand. Beneath his feet lay the terrifying Xiantian giant crocodile, fallen and motionless.
This was a youth, appearing to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. His delicate face still carried a hint of lingering childishness, yet his strength was overwhelmingly powerful. The fearsome Xiantian giant crocodile had been felled by a single spear thrust, lying prostrate on the ground.
This person was none other than Ye Chen.
Earlier, he had projected his bone spear, piercing the abdomen of the Xiantian giant crocodile that had been feigning sleep in the wetlands, catching it completely off guard and leaving a deep, grievous wound that severely injured the beast.
A brief but intense battle ensued, flattening a swath of forest. Because the Xiantian giant crocodile was already wounded, and Ye Chen was simply too powerful, the crocodile was eventually overpowered and began to flee. Ye Chen had been pursuing it all this way.
With a *shua* sound, Ye Chen pulled out the pale white spear that had pierced through the Xiantian giant crocodile's body. A torrent of fresh blood spurted out wildly, forming a gushing column, yet not a single drop stained the youth's clothes.
At this moment, he was the center of all attention.
*Gulong—*
Faintly, the sound of someone swallowing hard could be heard, though no one knew who made it. No one cared, for everyone was focused solely on the youth's formidable power. Just who was this divine being? When had such a monstrously talented young genius appeared within the Xia Feng Kingdom, one so absurdly strong at such a tender age?
That was a Xiantian realm giant crocodile, not an ordinary one. It was four zhang long, with hard black scales and immense strength. Both the leader of the Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps and Vivian, two Xiantian experts, had found it difficult to match and were considering retreat. Yet now, it had been pierced through by a single spear and lay fallen, its strength simply too shocking to comprehend.
"Is... is this real?" A pure, pretty young woman with a fiery figure parted her cherry lips, staring dumbfounded at the scene before her.
"It's real, though it's hard to believe," another handsome young man replied with a bitter smile.
This youth before them was clearly younger than they were, yet he was still so outrageously powerful. Was there no justice in the world?
This was a difficult fact to accept. These elite disciples from the Xia Feng Academy each considered themselves geniuses. Most were only eighteen or nineteen, already at the eighth or ninth level of the Houtian realm at a young age. Vivian was even a Xiantian expert, undoubtedly a talented youth of great promise. But compared to this youth who looked only sixteen or seventeen, they were clearly a whole level inferior.
Such a blow was hard for these elite disciples who prided themselves as geniuses to accept, filling them with bitterness.
Even those peerless geniuses from the Heaven-tier Academy hadn't made them feel this despondent and bitter.
Yet the fact remained. The youth's strength was such that they could only look up to him in awe.
Vivian widened her beautiful eyes, her red lips slightly parted as she stared intently at the mysterious youth standing tall before her, a look of astonishment on her face.
The leader of the Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps first sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, then quickly regained his composure. He hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed towards Ye Chen. "I am Li Wei. Greetings, Young Master. Thank you for your assistance."
Although the leader of the Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps was a middle-aged Xiantian expert, his age was more than double that of Ye Chen's, no one laughed at or objected to his respectful gesture, finding it inappropriate. Because the strength Ye Chen had displayed proved everything. In this world, strength was always supreme, and the accomplished were revered as masters.
Ye Chen's strength qualified him to receive Li Wei's respectful bow.
In response, Ye Chen merely gave a faint nod without saying a word. Leader Li Wei did not feel displeased, considering it only natural, as experts were often aloof.
Vivian stood up, her gaze falling upon Ye Chen. She performed a graceful curtsy, her red lips parting as she spoke in a melodious voice, "This humble girl, Vivian, greets the Young Master. I wish to make a request, I wonder if the Young Master—"
But Ye Chen waved his hand, cutting off Vivian's words. His gaze turned towards the depths of the forest as he murmured softly to himself, "Finally caught up? A bit slow."
The others were taken aback, not understanding what the youth meant by these words.
Before anyone could react, a tremendous roar suddenly shook the mountain forest, causing everyone's expressions to change.
From within the dense, miasma-filled woods, where vines sprawled everywhere, a frenzied Mountain Bear stood up, a full two zhang tall. Its eyes were now blood-red as it roared madly, shaking the mountains and forests. Nearby demonic beasts dared not enter its vicinity.
"A Frenzied Mountain Bear! Another Xiantian demonic beast!?"
Instantly, almost everyone present paled, except for Ye Chen.
The Frenzied Mountain Bear, as the name implied, was a particularly ferocious and terrifying type of demonic beast, famous among many demonic beasts. It was born with immense strength far surpassing that of humans. Even a Houtian ninth-tier Mountain Bear could possess nearly ten thousand jin of force, rivaling a human expert who had just stepped into the Xiantian realm.
It could be said that among the many demonic beasts, the Frenzied Mountain Bear was definitely one that humans were unwilling to provoke, because once encountered, it often meant certain death.
Generally, a Houtian realm Frenzied Mountain Bear, no matter how large, would not exceed one and a half zhang when standing upright. Once it surpassed this range, it was a Xiantian realm demonic beast.
Thus, this two-zhang-tall Frenzied Mountain Bear before them was undoubtedly a Xiantian realm Mountain Bear, countless times more terrifying than its Houtian counterparts. It was currently roaring in a frenzy, intimidating the entire forest.
"Only arriving now? Too slow."
Ye Chen was not at all surprised by the appearance of the Frenzied Mountain Bear; instead, he found it perfectly reasonable.
While pursuing the Xiantian giant crocodile, he had encountered this Frenzied Mountain Bear. He had casually attacked it, angering the beast, then continued chasing the crocodile. The Frenzied Mountain Bear had then given chase to Ye Chen, only catching up now.
"How can there be another Xiantian demonic beast... This place has too many Xiantian demonic beasts," several pretty young women from the Xia Feng Academy said, their faces pale with fright, devoid of color.
"Impossible. This isn't the territory of the Frenzied Mountain Bear. How could this Xiantian demonic beast appear here?" The leader of the Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps was also greatly surprised. He often led his corps into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range to hunt, so he was quite familiar with the conditions of many areas within it.
West Peak Mountain could only be considered the central region of the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, not too deep inside. Xiantian demonic beasts rarely appeared here under normal circumstances. Now, shortly after the appearance of the Xiantian giant crocodile, another, even more terrifying Frenzied Mountain Bear had shown up. This situation was rather peculiar.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Ye Chen, and his expression changed slightly. He immediately understood that the appearance of the Frenzied Mountain Bear was likely also due to this mysterious young expert.
*Roar—*
The Xiantian Mountain Bear let out a roar that seemed to blast the air apart. A paw the size of a water vat directly swatted at Ye Chen. That single paw strike contained the force of ten thousand jun; an ordinary Xiantian expert would undoubtedly be smashed to pieces like tofu, with bones shattered throughout their body.
But Ye Chen's body was extremely agile. Stepping with mysterious and profound footwork, his arm directly wrapped around Vivian's soft waist. With a *shua* sound, both of them instantly shifted sideways by three zhang, evading the bear's claw strike.
*Boom—*
A deafening crash like the collapse of heaven and earth rang out. The Xiantian giant crocodile beneath Ye Chen was directly sent flying, crashing into a house-sized boulder in the distance and being smashed into stone dust that scattered everywhere. The ferocity and terror of the Xiantian Mountain Bear could be glimpsed from this single action.
Everyone present was horrified, retreating far away, maintaining as much distance as possible. They understood the fearsomeness of the Frenzied Mountain Bear; even the slightest contact could potentially crush them to dust.
"You, step aside," Ye Chen said without turning his head to the young woman beside him.
Vivian snapped out of the slight bashfulness she felt from being suddenly embraced by Ye Chen. She hurriedly uttered an "Mm" and left Ye Chen's side, retreating to a safe distance.
Ye Chen himself retreated dozens of zhang away, maintaining sufficient distance. With a flick of his hand, the pale white spear suddenly appeared in his grasp.
*Howl—*
The Frenzied Mountain Bear charged forward. Its massive, hill-like figure was not slow when running; in fact, it seemed quite agile. Its charge gave people a strong sense of impact. The earth trembled violently with rumbling booms.
At this moment, Ye Chen held a long spear. Human Yuan Power circulated, golden light shimmering as he directly clashed head-on with the Frenzied Mountain Bear—
*Boom—*
After a terrifying explosion, the solid earth directly cracked apart. Fierce winds whipped up, blowing away grass and trees. A dreadful shockwave wantonly spread out, tearing the ground and scattering vegetation and rubble—truly horrifying.
*Pa pa pa—*
Ye Chen received a heavy blow, his figure retreating step by step. With each step, he left a deep footprint on the ground, cracks spreading out from them. He retreated a full twenty-three steps before finally halting.
On the other side, the Xiantian Mountain Bear had also crashed to the ground, causing the earth to tremble repeatedly.
Clearly, in this direct clash, Ye Chen had actually managed to contend with the legendary Frenzied Mountain Bear, famed for its terrifying strength—and a Xiantian realm Mountain Bear at that—without being at a disadvantage.
This sight made everyone else present involuntarily suck in cold breaths of air. This was simply too terrifyingly strong.
"As expected of the Frenzied Mountain Bear, its strength is indeed boundless. Even though my Human Yuan Golden Body has reached minor completion, I almost fell to a disadvantage facing it," Ye Chen sighed inwardly as he watched the Frenzied Mountain Bear rise again. Yet, his eyes blazed with fervor. He raised a single arm to the sky, his spear pointing distantly towards the firmament, his black hair flying in the wind, exuding unparalleled domineering aura.
The next moment, Ye Chen directly charged out, actually engaging the Frenzied Mountain Bear in close combat. Streams of golden Human Yuan Power flowed over the surface of his body, the spear condensing into a golden lance shimmering with light. He truly managed to fight the Frenzied Mountain Bear in close quarters without falling behind.
*Boom boom boom—*
Man and demonic beast engaged in a fearsome, intense battle within the mountain forest. The Frenzied Mountain Bear possessed boundless strength; each paw strike contained the force of ten thousand jun, stomping the earth until it trembled and groaned. Thick trees all around were snapped one by one, collapsing with thunderous crashes.
"Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art!"
Ye Chen shouted lightly, cold light flashing in his eyes. His entire musculature trembled, vibrating with an extremely subtle rhythm.
The Frenzied Mountain Bear's strength was terrifying, but the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art was not merely a simple body refining technique. Its control over the physical body could also reach an astonishing level, containing profound methods for dispersing force. It could vibrate the muscles to continuously divert the terrifying force from the Frenzied Mountain Bear's strikes into the earth, vanishing without a trace.
Now that his Human Yuan Body Art had reached minor completion, the flexibility of his body was even higher. He had already cultivated to the ninth diagram, stimulating and amplifying his strength even more.
Moreover, after the minor completion of the Human Yuan Body Art, his physical strength was also terrifyingly unimaginable, in no way inferior to that of a Xiantian demonic beast. Each swing of his spear caused the void to tremble, carrying the momentum of ten thousand jun, exploding with thunderous booms.
Therefore, Ye Chen could now achieve a situation of being evenly matched with the Frenzied Mountain Bear.
*Boom—*
The earth trembled violently, cracking inch by inch. Ye Chen slightly vibrated all his muscles, completely diverting the terrifying force. He then swept his spear horizontally. The spear shaft spun and vibrated rapidly, like a white dragon emerging from the sea. With a *hong* sound of an air explosion, Human Yuan Power attached to it as he angrily cleaved downwards, causing the air to explode.
*Boom—*
This spear sweep struck the Frenzied Mountain Bear's waist and abdomen. The force of ten thousand jun suddenly erupted, directly sweeping away this thousand-jin heavy Xiantian demonic beast, sending it flying with a crash.
This scene left everyone from the Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps and the Xia Feng Academy utterly dumbfounded. Such strength was simply too absurdly terrifying. The mighty Frenzied Mountain Bear, famed for its strength, had actually been suppressed in terms of raw power. Could this youth please not be so excessively strong?
However, the Frenzied Mountain Bear lived up to its name as a Xiantian demonic beast, being thick-skinned and hardy. Although this spear strike was also fearsome, it quickly stood up again, even more frenzied and enraged. Moreover, an earthy yellow light began to spread out, covering an area within a five-zhang radius.
With a *hong* sound, where the yellow light covered, the very void seemed to solidify completely. An immense pressure descended, causing everyone's expressions to change.
"Not good! It's the Frenzied Mountain Bear's innate ultimate move—Gravity Domain!" Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps Leader Li Wei exclaimed in alarm, his face paling greatly.
The Frenzied Mountain Bear was a naturally unique species of demonic beast, closely attuned to the earth. Once it broke through to the Xiantian realm, it would naturally comprehend a move called "Gravity Domain"!
Although called a domain, it wasn't truly one. Only upon reaching the Martial God realm did one qualify to condense a true domain. However, under the Frenzied Mountain Bear's gravity light, it resembled a domain, hence the name.
Within the Gravity Domain, everything would be subjected to immense suppression. A terrifying gravity would press down on the shoulders, slowing the movements of all living beings except the Frenzied Mountain Bear itself.
Visibly, within the Frenzied Mountain Bear's Gravity Domain, the originally lush, green grass was instantly pressed flat, turning into dust, creating a large, empty area five zhang in radius.
"Young Master, please be careful! This is a Gravity Domain!"
Vivian couldn't help but cry out in warning to Ye Chen.
Within the domain, the moment the Gravity Domain appeared, Ye Chen's entire figure seemed to shrink slightly. The ground beneath his feet caved in, showing just how immense the gravitational pressure he was enduring was, unimaginable to ordinary people.
*Pi li pa la—*
At this moment, Ye Chen's bones and sinews throughout his body were resonating, crackling incessantly. Every muscle was moving rhythmically, enduring immense pressure.
But the next moment, Ye Chen stood up straight again, his posture tall and erect as he stood within the Gravity Domain, seemingly completely unaffected. He shook his head, a look of disappointment on his face. "Is this all the gravity you have? Too disappointing."
Although his voice wasn't very loud, in the open forest, it was so clear, exploding in the ears of the others, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
The Frenzied Mountain Bear's Gravity Domain, when activated, would press down with several thousand jin of gravitational force. Even a Xiantian expert possessing ten thousand jin of strength would find all their actions severely suppressed within such a special gravitational field.
Yet Ye Chen was so arrogantly dismissive, not taking it seriously at all. It was truly too audacious.
But seeing Ye Chen standing unharmed within the Gravity Domain was again shocking.
Just who was this youth? Could it be that even the Gravity Domain couldn't suppress him?
Unfortunately, the others didn't know that after cultivating the Human Yuan Body Art, Ye Chen's physical body was already sufficiently robust. Although this level of gravity could affect him to a certain degree, circulating his Human Yuan Power was enough to offset most of it. Moreover, the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art could completely divert this gravity by vibrating his muscles, so it couldn't truly affect him.
The Frenzied Mountain Bear roared in fury. After reaching the Xiantian realm, demonic beasts also possessed a certain degree of intelligence. Knowing that its Earth Domain was completely ineffective against the youth, it angrily charged forward again to attack Ye Chen.
Ye Chen formed a hand seal. Human Yuan Power instantly transformed into a massive golden lion's head, enveloping his entire person.
Xiantian Martial Skill, Golden Lion's Roar!
That's right, a Xiantian Martial Skill.
Although Ye Chen wasn't a Xiantian expert, he used Human Yuan Power to substitute for Xiantian True Yuan, forcefully executing a genuine Xiantian Martial Skill.
The golden lion's mane bristled as it let out a roar containing the majesty of the king of beasts. The roar itself shook the mind as it blasted towards the Frenzied Mountain Bear. Invisible sound wave forces spread out in rings. This area completely erupted with a sonic boom, dust rising as the mental impact caused the Frenzied Mountain Bear to momentarily become dazed.
Seizing this opportunity, Ye Chen suddenly struck. The white bone spear *weng*ed as it vibrated, mysterious light flowing over it. He fiercely smashed it onto the Frenzied Mountain Bear's head. The force of ten thousand jun descended. With a *weng* sound, the Frenzied Mountain Bear's head could no longer withstand it, directly bursting open with red and white matter, its head splitting apart. The Frenzied Mountain Bear fell to the ground, dead.
Thus, following the Xiantian giant crocodile, the Frenzied Mountain Bear became another Xiantian demonic beast spirit under Ye Chen's spear.
This scene was destined to remain etched in everyone's minds for a long time, unwilling to fade.