Chapter 158: A Drop of Blood to Acknowledge Its Master??

"Roar!"

Having finished gathering its momentum, the creature let out another low roar. Then, its feet stamped against the ground, and it charged forward wielding the iron staff in its hands.

The iron staff, originally over three meters long, looked like a tiny stick in its grasp. It appeared thoroughly uncoordinated and even somewhat comical. However, its offensive power was not diminished in the slightest.

When it was still more than ten meters away from Lu Chen, Jin Dian suddenly leaped nearly twenty meters into the air.

Its body was like a thousand-ton boulder. Gripping the iron staff tightly with both hands, it descended, carrying a wave of tyrannical killing intent and a foul wind!

Boom!!

The massive energy impact sounded like a string of bombs exploding all at once.

The shockwave carried billowing air currents that surged in all directions, sending grass, trees, and dust flying within a radius of several zhang...

Amidst the violent explosion, the tea-cup-thick iron staff could not withstand such an impact and shattered into two pieces with a loud snap.

In contrast, Lu Chen remained completely motionless where he was, not even bothering to dodge, taking the opponent's full-force blow head-on.

This fellow was naturally endowed with immense strength; a single swing of its staff packed a force of at least ten-odd tons.

Had it been any other fierce beast, its body likely would have been blasted apart on the spot.

However, Lu Chen’s scale defense value was as high as six thousand, capable of resisting even missiles, let alone a purely physical attack.

Even with its weapon destroyed, Jin Dian had no intention of stopping.

It roared again and charged to close the distance, throwing a fist the size of a millstone.

Hum, hum...

The surrounding air trembled and oscillated in response, resembling layers of invisible, rolling waves that sought to completely engulf its opponent.

Could this be... the Law of Energy?

A hint of pleasant surprise flashed in Lu Chen’s beastly pupils. No wonder this fellow refused to give up after its defeat—it had actually awakened the law pertaining to strength.

If so, he could play along.

In Lu Chen’s perception, before the opponent's fist even landed, a terrifying aura surged forth overwhelmingly, causing the void within several meters to inexplicably collapse.

It felt as though it were unbreakable and capable of shattering all things.

Such momentum was unstoppable!

Lu Chen had no intention of stopping it either; he prepared to take another punch head-on.

Sonic booms echoed continuously, sand and stones flew...

The momentum of this punch was several times greater than the previous one.

Yet Lu Chen remained completely unharmed.

When all was said and done, the gap in their realms was simply too vast, not to mention that Lu Chen's scale defense was outrageously formidable.

Could surviving a missile with just his physical body be fake?

Courtesy demands reciprocity, and Lu Chen had no intention of acting like a fool who only took beatings without retaliating.

Seeing that Jin Dian was about to flash backward and retreat, he made his move.

In a flash, he crossed a distance of over twenty meters.

The Law of Energy surged within his body, and the boundless swamp black mud churned, instantly coalescing into a gigantic claw.

It descended from above!

Since this fellow initiated the attack with physical strength, he would let it experience what true strength looked like.

At that moment, panic continuously flickered in Jin Dian's two eyes.

It felt as though the top of its head was shrouded by a vast dark cloud, completely obscuring the sun, moon, and stars. It wanted to dodge away, but found that the surrounding space was imprisoned, making escape utterly impossible.

Helplessly, the little guy could only adopt a countermeasure similar to Lu Chen's—resisting with its physical body!

Its upper limbs lashed out alternately, unleashing a series of sonic booms in an attempt to block the massive claw.

Bang!

Boom...

In an instant, Jin Dian felt as though its entire body had been crushed by a massive mountain.

Its arms lost all sensation, its muscles, bones, and skin continuously burst apart, and its straight spine was bent inward.

The ground cracked and shattered with crisp snapping sounds, forming a deep pit spanning over a hundred square meters.

Jin Dian was directly pressed down to the bottom of the deep pit, blood oozing simultaneously from its mouth, eyes, nostrils, and ears!

"Squeak, squeak..." Regaining its senses, the creature leaped out of the deep pit in a flash.

When its gaze landed on Lu Chen, it was filled with even greater fear and submission.

It had originally thought that after its strength skyrocketed, even if it couldn't defeat the Dragon King boss, the gap between them shouldn't be too vast.

Never had it imagined that the gap in their realms was still as vast as an impassable chasm.

After taking a thorough beating, it became completely well-behaved.

However, this fellow was remarkably resilient. After taking such a heavy blow, it now acted as if nothing had happened at all.

Lu Chen had no intention of holding a grudge against Jin Dian. Seeing that its iron staff weapon was destroyed, he suddenly remembered the spear spirit tool residing within his inner space.

Keeping it for himself was useless; he had originally planned to trade it with humans for spirit stones.

Now, it would be better to gift it to Jin Dian, thus making the best use of everything.

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Chen retrieved the spear spirit tool and tossed it over.

This spirit spear was about the same length as the iron staff, which naturally looked somewhat disproportionate compared to Jin Dian's massive frame.

However, since Lu Chen did not know how to forge artifacts, he could only let this fellow make do with it for now. Later on, he could bother Dong Mingjun to help forge a longer iron staff.

"Hisss, hisss-hisss (Here it is for you, see if it suits you)..."

Jin Dian had been somewhat depressed because its original weapon was destroyed.

Upon seeing the spear spirit tool sent over by the Dragon King, feeling that it wasn't too short after all, it grabbed it excitedly.

"Hisss, squeak..." It cried out endlessly.

With the spear spirit tool in hand, Jin Dian noticed that the blood staining its palms was rapidly absorbed by the rune array. Following the method taught by the Dragon King, it channeled the Law of Energy inward, and instantly felt a connection as if they shared the same bloodline.

The next moment, a crisp bird cry rang out.

The shadowy phantom of a bizarre giant bird appeared in the night sky, and a biting killing intent soared into the heavens.

The spear shaft also underwent changes, continuously lengthening and thickening. Originally just over three meters long and as thick as a duck egg, it now surged to over six meters in length, as thick as a bowl.

The runes on its surface flickered with light, looking extraordinary indeed.

Gripping the spear, Jin Dian's aura climbed continuously as well. At that moment, it resembled a god of slaughter reborn, seemingly capable of crushing the heavens and shattering mountains and rivers.

What the hell, how could this happen?

The rune array contained within this spear spirit tool was far more intricate than imagined; it probably wasn't an ordinary spirit tool at all.

Lu Chen was genuinely startled, and a hint of doubt inevitably surfaced in his beastly pupils.

When he had previously injected the Law of Energy into it, there had definitely been no such changes.

Could it be that his unlocking method was wrong?

Wait...

Or perhaps, as described in web novels, it required a blood recognition bond.

Earlier, Jin Dian had taken a blow that caused blood to flow from its seven orifices, and afterward, it had wiped its face with its paws.

Realizing what must have happened, Lu Chen felt as though he had been struck by a bolt out of the blue.

Earlier, he had laughed at Dong Mingjun and the others for being blind and failing to recognize a treasure, never expecting that he wasn't much better himself, letting a magical artifact slip right through his fingers.

Since he had already given it to Jin Dian, he felt too embarrassed to take it back.

Things like fortuitous encounters were truly unpredictable; what belonged to you was yours, and what didn't could not be taken even if placed right before you.

He wouldn't be able to give away the next few spirit tools for free. Having endured countless years without decaying, they were extraordinary in their own right.

Leaving them in his possession was useless; he might as well sell them for a good price.

Holding the spiritual spear, Jin Dian felt boundless heroism surge in its heart, brandishing it within the hot spring valley until the wind howled.

Every single swing was accompanied by countless bird cries.

With a single thrust of the spear, streaks of red light shot straight out to a distance of seven or eight zhang, causing several large trees the thickness of a thick embrace to crash down instantly.

Seeing this, Lu Chen felt slightly better—at least the spear spirit tool wasn't being wasted in Jin Dian's hands.

Since he was already doing a good deed, he might as well see it through to the end.

With that thought, Lu Chen retrieved two more spirit stones from his inner space and had the creature swallow them.

The little guy had just suffered a blow that caused bleeding from its seven orifices, and while it currently looked fine, for safety's sake, it was better to consolidate its foundation.

Spirit stones did not have healing properties, but they could promote mutation and strengthen one's physique.