Chapter 78: The Corrupted Bear Lord — The Art Style Has Collapsed!
Gu Yue was, as usual, furious, and Jiang Chen was, as usual, busy coaxing the dragon.
Like pacifying a child, he soothed her back to her place and even dumped Huo Yun'er there for company, before slipping away with the Little Snow Empress.
On the plane, Jiang Chen sat beside the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress asked curiously, "This time, are we going to find the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua?"
It had already been a year since the Ice God's Pearl had sealed the corpse of the Ice Dragon King. The fusion was nearly complete—now was the time to forge the divine weapon.
The materials prepared were extraordinary: Ice God's Pearl, Ice Dragon King's bones, Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, the Cold Jade Marrow Bed (since the Snow Empress had never followed Huo Yuhao, the Haotian Sect never obtained Yi Lao's sacrifice, so Jiang Chen exchanged for it from them), the Twin Ice God Lotus, Aureum of Life, and Eight-Angled Profound Ice Grass, among others.
Each one was an ultimate ice-element treasure of immense value.
With these materials and a series of supportive components, Jiang Chen planned to forge a vessel for the Snow Empress.
Even if the resulting object failed to qualify as a true divine artifact, it would serve as a vessel. When the Snow Empress ascended to godhood, it would become a real divine weapon.
Jiang Chen nodded in response to her question.
Truthfully, if he could choose, he would rather have the Silver Dragon King forge it than Zhen Hua.
But he didn't dare take the risk—if the Silver Dragon King decided to convince his ally to switch sides, he might end up empty-handed, reduced to a laughingstock.
He couldn't gamble on that. A woman's thoughts were far too unpredictable, and if she discovered his little secrets, she might just kill him on the spot.
Most importantly, he could never let her know that he held both the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' remains, nor that he intended to refine the Ice Dragon King's skeleton into a divine weapon.
Otherwise, she'd go berserk again, kicking up another storm, and he hadn't the faintest clue how to appease her next time.
So he simply ditched the Silver Dragon King.
Tian Dou City—once the capital of the Tian Dou Empire—remained prosperous even after decades of change.
It was also conveniently close to the Sunset Forest. The last time Jiang Chen had been here, he'd rushed through on his hunt for the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Wells, and never showed the Snow Empress around.
Now, Tian Dou was one of the eighteen grand cities of the Douluo Federation. Within it resided both Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua and, as sub-master of the Spirit Pagoda branch, one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts—the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, known as Bear Lord.
At that very moment, Bear Lord was studying the craft of forging alongside Zhen Hua, striving to break through to Divine Craftsman rank.
Even with his immense natural talent, the Bear Lord's progress had been slow by human standards—it had taken him ten thousand years just to reach the level of Saint Craftsman.
Yet the advantage of his beast body was clear: near-endless vitality, immense blood energy, and the lineage of the Behemoth Beast—his strength aligned with the ultimate attribute of metal itself.
Anything forged by him far exceeded that of ordinary Saint Craftsmen. Unlike humans, who needed long rests to recover their blood essence after forging, the Bear Lord could work endlessly.
His efficiency was unmatched.
Every member of the Ten Ferocious Beasts wore a Three-Word Battle Armor crafted by him personally.
Though none had reached the Four-Word level, it wasn't due to lack of Divine Craftsmen. Those armors were unique—they could transform, adapting perfectly between human and soul beast forms, and only Bear Lord could craft them.
"Brother Bear! I've come to see you!"
At the Spirit Pagoda, Jiang Chen—even as a human cultivator—could walk sideways under the Huo Family's banner, unopposed.
Without hesitation, he marched straight for the top floor: Bear Lord's office.
He didn't knock—Bear Lord hated human manners. He liked things direct. Everyone knew it.
So Jiang Chen pushed open the door without ceremony—
—and froze.
Inside sat a massive man in a tight black suit, muscles bulging, holding two stunning, scantily clad women in his arms.
Both women blushed furiously, hiding their faces against his chest.
"Tower Master~ stop, please~"
Jiang Chen: ...
???
Ahem!
"Who's there?!"
Startled, the man jumped up. "Didn't I tell you people to knock before entering?!"
"Who's the rude one this time?!"
Bear Lord grumbled, hurriedly pushing the two women aside and straightening his posture.
Only then did he notice the familiar face before him.
Wait. Wasn't that... Jiang Chen?
"You... you're Jiang Chen?"
Jiang Chen looked at the two human women fleeing out the door and sighed. "What the hell happened to you?"
"This feels... off-brand."
Bear Lord tugged his collar to hide the kiss marks on his neck, then spoke seriously, "Hmph. Blame those two traitors who formed the Yuanen Clan—it made the Federation obsessed with our bloodlines."
"Even Ditian got annoyed dealing with them."
"But you know me—I'm firm in my will. I'll never forget I'm a soul beast. I'd never betray the soul beast race."
He hesitated, then added, "Don't worry. They can't get pregnant."
Jiang Chen: …
Bear Lord awkwardly cleared off the mess of wine bottles and clothing under his desk, sighing. "It's been ages. So, what brings you here? You never visit for nothing."
Indeed, Jiang Chen had never once shown up without an ulterior motive.
When he first met Ditian, he'd demanded dragon scales. Every meeting after that, he'd squeezed something out of him.
Clearly, he was here for business again.
Jiang Chen didn't bother hiding it.
"I need your forging skills. Though, judging by how much you've been... entertaining yourself lately, I hope your craft hasn't gone rusty."
"Impossible!"
Before Jiang Chen even finished, Bear Lord roared in protest.
At first, when Jiang Chen had told him to learn forging, Bear Lord had been reluctant.
Why should a soul beast of his stature learn a human craft? He could crush most humans with one swipe of his paw!
But then Jiang Chen had saved two of his cubs from human hunters. As repayment, he begrudgingly agreed to give forging a try.
To his surprise—it was love at first strike.
Especially after creating his first suit of battle armor, he was stunned by how perfectly it enhanced his natural strength.
Soul beasts had never favored weapons because none could withstand their power; their own bodies were much stronger than any weapon.
But battle armor was different. It didn't change one's fighting style—it amplified it.
After crafting his first set, Bear Lord immediately challenged Ditian.
Not for the title of Soul Beast Sovereign. He just wanted a good fight.
That's who he was—Bear Lord, the eternal battle maniac.
And it had worked marvelously. He nearly defeated Ditian—until Ditian used the Dragon God Claw to win.
Instead of discouraging him, it only deepened his love for forging. One day, he vowed, he'd forge an armor strong enough to withstand the Dragon God Claw—and then, he'd step on Ditian's head himself.
"Jie jie jie jie jie~~~~"
Ahem. Jiang Chen coughed. Time to reel in this lunatic before he drifted off into his fantasies again.
Bear Lord straightened up. "I'm currently studying under Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua. I've already touched the threshold of the Divine rank. I believe I'll soon be able to forge Four-Word Battle Armors for you all."
"I hope so," Jiang Chen muttered, too tired to comment further.
Who would have thought this Bear Lord—once the fearsome beast of the wilds—would sink into human temptations like this?
You big, burly, loyal brute... Who knew you were such a playboy beneath those thick eyebrows?
Bear Lord thumped his massive chest. "Tell me—whatever it is, leave it to me!"
(END CHAPTER)
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