Boom!
The ground beneath Lin Qian's feet shattered as he propelled himself forward, leaping into the air and charging toward the massive Earth King Bear.
Facing Lin Qian, who was suddenly rushing at it, the Earth King Bear let out an enraged roar, clearly displeased by this human who dared challenge its authority. In this region, it had always been the undefeated ruler, with no creature daring to oppose it. Its powerful body, with thick skin and tough muscles, made it nearly invulnerable to most attacks.
Yet now, this tiny human, insignificant like an insect, had the audacity to offend it and even knock it down. Although the Earth King Bear was a soul beast, at its level of power, it possessed a degree of intelligence. It knew that it was furious and determined to crush Lin Qian into a pulp and devour him whole.
Seeing Lin Qian dare to charge at it again, the Earth King Bear furiously raised both of its massive paws and slammed them down toward him.
Smack!
The thunderous clap of the bear's paws was deafening, prompting many to cover their ears as they anxiously looked on.
However, what they saw next shocked them. The Earth King Bear's tightly pressed paws began to part, revealing a gap between them. Inside, Lin Qian had used his arms to force the bear's paws apart. Then, he swiftly pulled his arms back, clenched his fists, and the sheer force of his grip caused the air to explode.
In the next instant, Lin Qian unleashed a powerful punch, landing squarely in the center of the Earth King Bear's right paw. His overwhelming strength caused the bear's right arm to fly backward.
Using the momentum from his punch, Lin Qian pivoted his body and delivered a fierce kick to the bear's left arm, forcing it aside as well.
In a flash, the Earth King Bear's defenses were broken, and its face was exposed right in front of Lin Qian.
With a sudden burst of power from his legs, Lin Qian launched himself through the air, the force of his steps creating explosive shockwaves as he hurtled toward the bear's head.
The Earth King Bear, with its arms still recovering from the earlier blows, could only watch in wide-eyed horror as Lin Qian closed in on its face.
As Lin Qian drew near, he swung his right fist, landing a solid punch squarely on the bear's massive face. The tremendous impact sent the Earth King Bear stumbling backward.
The Earth King Bear, enraged and seemingly losing its mind, got back up and wildly swung its paws at Lin Qian in a frenzied attack.
The bear's strength was indeed terrifying, but its speed was always its weakness. Because Lin Qian wanted to hone his body and refine the remaining medicinal energy within him, he chose not to dodge. Instead, he opted for a head-on confrontation, matching the bear blow for blow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The echoes of their intense clashes reverberated through the forest, with onlookers clearly seeing that Lin Qian was not using any soul power. Throughout the battle, Lin Qian didn't use flight techniques, instead relying solely on his physical prowess to leap and counter the bear's attacks.
A human, using only his physical body, was going toe-to-toe with an Earth King Bear, a soul beast renowned for its terrifying strength!
It was known that although the Earth King Bear was a soul beast in the Life and Death Realm, its physical strength was nearly on par with an Awakening Realm soul warrior. Though it was only close, it was still incredibly formidable.
Barrett watched Lin Qian deliver punch after punch to the Earth King Bear, forcing it to roar in pain, and he could hardly breathe. He had heard that even a Redhorn Clan protector in the Life and Death Realm would not dare face the Earth King Bear in a physical fight without using soul power.
In their eyes, Lin Qian was no longer just a human—he was a humanoid tyrannosaurus.
"He's only twenty-six years old!" Barrett suddenly heard Liu Fang's voice exclaiming in astonishment beside him.
It was only then that Barrett snapped out of his daze, remembering Lin Qian's age, and found himself utterly speechless.
Amid their awe, the crowd watched the ongoing battle with rapt attention.
To them, this was no longer a fight between a man and a beast—it was a clash between two monsters.
This bare-knuckle brawl made their blood boil. Every time the massive Earth King Bear, once a symbol of doom in their eyes, was struck solidly by Lin Qian, it would howl in agony and retreat.
The sheer destructive power of Lin Qian's punches was evident in the bear's reactions.
The area around them had turned into a wasteland. The ground was cracked and broken, and numerous towering ancient trees lay shattered on the ground.
In the end, the battle concluded with Lin Qian emerging victorious.
The Earth King Bear lay exhausted on the ground, its entire head swollen to twice its normal size. After Lin Qian had landed his first punch on the bear's face, he had found it particularly satisfying and had continued to target the bear's head at every opportunity. He had enjoyed himself immensely, reveling in the fight.
As a result, the Earth King Bear's head had swollen up so much that even the spectators felt sympathy for it. Its teeth had been completely shattered by Lin Qian's relentless blows, and its mouth was filled with blood.
"Hey, do you give up?" Lin Qian asked with a grin, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he walked up to the bear's face, clearly pleased with himself.
The Earth King Bear looked at Lin Qian with fear in its eyes, its nose twitching. Finally, it let out a pitiful whimper.
Lin Qian watched in surprise as the bear whimpered, finding the sight quite amusing.
Not only Lin Qian, but also Barrett, Liu Fang, and the others who had witnessed the battle, were all staring in shock.
Because...
The Earth King Bear had been beaten to tears by Lin Qian.
"Hahaha..." Seeing the bear's eyes welling up with tears, the crowd couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Hearing the laughter, the Earth King Bear cried even harder. Tears streamed down its face as its whimpers turned into sorrowful sobs.
"Look how pitiful you are. You blocked our path and attacked us, and all I did was give you a good beating, and now you're crying. What if I decided to kill you?" Lin Qian's eyes suddenly grew sharp as a cold killing intent enveloped the bear.
Sensing the lethal intent from Lin Qian, the Earth King Bear immediately stopped crying and stared at him in terror, its eyes filled with pleading.
"Alright, since you helped me train for so long, I'll let you off this time. Go on, get out of here," Lin Qian said, his killing intent vanishing as he waved the bear away with a smile.
To Lin Qian's surprise, the Earth King Bear didn't leave immediately after getting up. Instead, it returned to its cave and retrieved an object, which it carefully placed at Lin Qian's feet.
Lin Qian's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the item at his feet.