Why had this living nightmare shown up here?
Even as a member of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear clan, this particular beast had been thoroughly beaten into submission by Arthur.
On top of that, it had just witnessed Arthur harvesting a massive number of soul beasts with its own eyes. It had come fleeing this way as a refugee from the chaos, never expecting to run straight into this.
Without a moment's hesitation, the enormous bear turned and bolted.
"Hmph. Think you can run?"
Arthur made no move to chase it.
Instead, he slapped one hand against the ground and called out, "Spirit Summoning!"
"Roar!"
Na'er had arrived!
A dragon's cry erupted like thunder, reverberating through the forests and mountains.
A golden streak of light came crashing down from the sky like a meteor, slamming directly into the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear as it tried to flee.
BOOM!
The impact sent dust and debris billowing in every direction, and the ground caved in, leaving a deep crater in its wake.
Inside the crater, the golden dragon phantom behind Na'er solidified, its head raised high, golden dragon eyes staring down at the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with icy calm.
A regal draconic pressure spread outward, so overwhelming that even the wind seemed to freeze in place.
Then, a beat later.
Na'er stood up straight, both hands on her hips, a smug grin spread across her pretty face. "Big brother, was my aim good?"
"Perfect!" Na'er's flawless coordination left Arthur feeling deeply satisfied. He had already started imagining what kind of role-playing scenario he could get her to do with him next time.
The scene left Tang Wulin and the others completely speechless.
Xie Xie's jaw dropped as he stared at the colossal dragon phantom looming over the sky. He swallowed hard. "Good grief, Na'er is terrifying!"
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi were equally dumbstruck.
Their earlier interactions hadn't quite driven it home.
But now, seeing it side by side like this...
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear that all of them combined couldn't so much as scratch had been obliterated by a single strike from Na'er. The gap between them was nothing short of astronomical.
They all turned to look at Gu Yue at the same time, the same thought crossing their minds. If Gu Yue could hold her own against Na'er on a regular basis and not fall behind, just how strong was she?
The more they thought about it, the more it dawned on them that Gu Yue had always been holding back. Drastically so.
Xu Xiaoyu was so frightened her legs had turned to jelly. She stared at the massive golden dragon, then at Arthur, who stood there completely composed.
She quietly sidled over to her little sister, preparing to slip away without a sound.
Xu Xiaoyan paid her brother no attention.
She was fixed on Arthur's back, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Hm?" Sensing the gaze from behind, Arthur turned around. When he spotted the two siblings, he asked casually, "You two alright?"
A figure, sunny and strikingly handsome, filled her vision.
Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly dropped her gaze, her cheeks flushing hot in an instant, and her fingers unconsciously tightened around the shaft of her small ice staff.
Even her breathing became careful and restrained.
Arthur's good looks, his strength, and the way he had arrived at exactly the right moment to turn the tide...
It felt like being a princess rescued by a knight straight out of a fairy tale.
From the depths of despair to the heights of heaven.
A sheltered young girl who had barely stepped out into the world, what chance did she have of keeping her composure against something like this?
Xu Xiaoyan couldn't handle it. If even Na'er could barely hold up, what did she have to fight with?
"N-no... I'm fine." Xu Xiaoyan's voice came out barely above a whisper, her earlobes so red they looked like they might bleed.
She kept her head down, but the corners of her eyes betrayed her, sneaking glances she couldn't help.
The golden-haired boy standing in the sunlight, the little antenna of hair swaying gently in the breeze, swayed its way right into her heart and refused to leave.
Xu Xiaoyu tugged at her sleeve and hissed under his breath, "Xiaoyan, let's go."
He had no desire to linger here. The boy's power unsettled him deeply, and so did the girl who had just crushed the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in a single hit. As long as they stayed, their lives were entirely at the other party's discretion.
But Xu Xiaoyan acted as though she hadn't heard a word, still gazing at Arthur in a daze.
"Tch. Pathetic," Na'er muttered, her lips curling in displeasure. She was pleased that someone was admiring how amazing Arthur was, but Xu Xiaoyan's inability to stop staring put her in a bad mood.
Arthur caught Xu Xiaoyan's reaction and found it vaguely familiar. He had a strange sense of deja vu.
He thought about it carefully, and the moment he heard Na'er's click of the tongue, it clicked.
Hadn't Na'er herself reacted exactly the same way the very first time they met?
Which meant the next part of the story should go like...
"Big brother, I think they're not bad people. There's no need to run away, right?"
Xu Xiaoyan met her brother Xu Xiaoyu's stunned stare, as though he was seeing her for the first time, and asked hopefully, "We were kind of fighting together just now, weren't we? Could we team up to hunt soul beasts going forward?"
Xu Xiaoyan had mustered up her courage. After all, if these people truly had bad intentions, neither of them could escape anyway.
Exactly right!
Arthur thought, because he knew this script better than anyone.
Na'er had done the same thing back then, refusing to leave.
That was just how things worked on the Romance Continent.
He was confident about it.
Still, Arthur had noticed that the young man earlier had called the girl "Xiaoyan," and paired with the small ice staff in her hand...
"Xu Xiaoyan?"
"Huh?!" Xu Xiaoyan's eyes lit up. "You know who I am?"
"More or less. I've heard of you," Arthur said. He recalled that in the natural course of events, Xu Xiaoyan was supposed to eventually join Class Zero.
In a way, she was practically one of his own people.
So bringing her along to gain spirit rings together was not out of the question.
Just then, Na'er came sprinting over, clutching something in both hands, her voice bright with excitement. "Big brother, look, look! That dumb bear dropped a spirit bone!"
In an instant, everyone's attention snapped to her at once, a chorus of shocked exclamations bursting out. "A spirit bone?!"
Tang Wulin and the others scrambled to their feet, eyes locked onto whatever was resting in Na'er's palm, their breath catching in their throats.
Since when did the Spirit Pagoda's training tower drop spirit bones?!
Just how generous was the Spirit Pagoda being?!
Spirit bones were rare enough to drive any soul master into a frenzy.
Xie Xie was the first to dash over, crowding up beside Na'er and craning his neck to look. "Miss Na'er, is that really a spirit bone?"
Na'er lifted her chin with a proud tilt, and opened her small hand to reveal a spirit bone shaped like a bear's claw, resting quietly in her palm.
"Which part of the body is this bone from?" Xie Xie asked, puzzled.
"Dark Gold Terrorclaw, external attachment spirit bone," Arthur explained briefly.
"An external attachment spirit bone?!" Wang Jinxi sucked in a sharp breath, his voice trembling. "The legendary kind that can be directly attached to the body's surface without taking up a spirit bone slot?!"
Zhang Yangzi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He rushed over and reached out to touch it, then stopped himself at the last moment.
Xu Xiaoyu stood rooted to the spot, knees weak, staring at that dark gold claw, his throat bobbing up and down. He caught a glimpse of Arthur's silhouette and quickly crushed the covetous thought that had just flickered to life.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was the guardian of this beginner-level Spirit Pagoda trial ground, and its very essence was bound to this external attachment spirit bone.
In truth, Arthur could have come to claim it whenever he pleased, given his standing.
He simply hadn't bothered, because the item offered him no meaningful boost.
Arthur took the external attachment spirit bone from Na'er's hands and put it away.
The staff monitoring the area saw this, thought it over, and decided to look the other way.
Even if they had objections and filed a report, the outcome would simply be Su Wuyan signing off on it with a note.
It had dropped, so let it be taken. Simple as that.
He had no intention of giving it to anyone else either. Nobody else had contributed anything meaningful, so what was there to divide?
As for Na'er, she had no use for it at all.
So Arthur held onto it for now.
Maybe it would come in handy as a trade later. And if not for personal use, it would make an excellent tool for winning over talented people down the line.
"Using the Spirit Pagoda's resources to handle my own affairs." Arthur's mental abacus clicked away with satisfaction. "I really am a genius."