Completely ignored, the Flame Lion grew furious. It clawed at the railing harder and harder, but the barrier didn't budge. All it could do was roar helplessly from behind, engaging in a meaningless verbal battle.
Finally, its pupils rolled.
It seemed to have thought of something.
Boom!
The ground trembled slightly.
Xiao Jin slowly stood up, one bear paw brushing its back.
A scorched smell rose from beneath it.
The grass on the artificial hill had been burned black, leaving a large charred patch behind—but Xiao Jin's fur remained completely unharmed.
"..."
At last, it looked directly at the Flame Lion.
A faint trace of killing intent stirred in its eyes.
"Oh no! Quick—go find Elder Gong!"
"This Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is about to rampage!"
"Damn it! Does that beast really think it's fierce enough to provoke a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?!"
Chaos erupted outside the arena.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's fearsome reputation was well known among all the professionals present. And this one—recently obtained by Elder Gong from who-knows-where—was only a thousand years old, yet possessed combat power comparable to a ten-thousand-year soul beast!
In other words, very few soul beasts in the entire arena could rival it.
Whether the metal railing could stop it… was anyone's guess.
"Roar!"
As Xiao Jin stepped forward, the Flame Lion finally sensed the threat of death.
Its massive body lowered instinctively. It bared its teeth and let out deep, cautious growls. The earlier excitement drained away with each heavy footstep approaching.
Thousand-year soul beasts possessed intelligence.
In the past, few creatures could withstand its fireballs—but this giant bear had tanked the flames without even singeing its fur!
This was completely different from what it had imagined.
Fortunately…
The fence was still there.
Seeing Xiao Jin stop in front of the railing, the Flame Lion's fear eased slightly, and it began to growl defiantly once more.
Xiao Jin looked at it indifferently.
BOOM—!!!
With a violent crash—
The incredibly sturdy metal fence shattered from a single blow!
Metal fragments flew everywhere, mixed with chunks of cement torn from the foundation. Alarms blared throughout the Beast Fighting Area, and dozens of staff members stared in terror, their hearts nearly leaping out of their chests.
The dust slowly settled.
Only then did everyone realize—
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear hadn't even advanced.
Meanwhile, the Flame Lion was trembling uncontrollably.
The arena reeked of urine.
Xiao Jin slapped the lion's head in disgust, sending the nearly three-meter-long beast flying through the air. Blood sprayed from its mouth, splattering across the ground.
Thud!
The Flame Lion crashed heavily onto the floor.
Foaming at the mouth, it lay completely unconscious.
While the surrounding staff stood frozen in fear, Xiao Jin casually returned to its rockery, carefully avoiding the scorched patch of grass, then lay down and resumed sleeping as if nothing had happened.
Several minutes passed.
Seeing that Xiao Jin made no further movements, the staff cautiously approached to deal with the Flame Beast.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a low growl came from behind them.
Several staff members nearly screamed and tried to flee—only to be blocked by the wall. Despair filled their eyes.
But Xiao Jin merely pointed at the artificial hill.
"You mean… the grass was scorched? You want us to fix it too?" a quick-witted man asked nervously.
"Roar~"
Xiao Jin nodded in satisfaction.
"O-okay… we'll take care of it right away…"
A few minutes later, Elder Gong arrived in a hurry.
After listening to the report and glancing at the unconscious Flame Lion, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Elder Gong, should we take precautions? Reinforce the fence?" someone asked shakily.
"No need." Elder Gong sneered. "If it truly wanted to kill, that beast would already be dead."
"That ignorant brat brought this upon itself."
The white-haired old man narrowed his eyes.
"Put them together."
"Are you serious?!" everyone exclaimed.
"Nonsense." Elder Gong snorted.
"If that beast hadn't provoked us, would Little Gold have intervened? At most, it'll suffer a few minor injuries—just enough to teach it a lesson."
"If it really wanted to kill it… heh."
He sneered coldly.
"It's always been arrogant and domineering. I fed it meat the other day, and when I wasn't paying attention, it dared to roar at me—and even guarded its food!"
"..."
Everyone looked at the Flame Lion with pity.
Before the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear arrived, your attitude toward it was nothing like this…
You even gave it a name.
This favoritism was outrageous.
Still, no one could deny it.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was truly top-tier.
Its dark gold fur shimmered in the sunlight, its jet-black claws sharp and elegant. Looking across the entire Star Dou Great Forest, it would be hard to find another bear of equal quality.
Recently, many academy disciples had come to spar with it, and it always restrained its strength carefully…