172: Shadow of the Past

Following Xiong Nian's breakthrough in strength, the Thunder Pool, which had become exceptionally volatile due to Xiong Nian and the blood soul crystal, was calmed down again. It was even much calmer than when Xu Yan and the others had first arrived.

However, although the Thunder Pool appeared placid on the surface, in Xu Yan's perception, the flow of energy, which should originally have been the Thunder Urgency Platform absorbing lightning and integrating it into the water, had reversed. Instead, the energy in the Thunder Pool's water began converging toward the center of the Thunder Urgency Platform.

As the energy accumulated in the Thunder Pool gathered toward the Thunder Urgency Platform, the lightning that originally struck the eight surrounding mountains according to a set schedule suddenly became violent and swift. Seven continuous bolts of lightning struck the eight surrounding mountains before descending onto the Thunder Urgency Platform.

Each time these lightning bolts struck the Thunder Urgency Platform, a phantom figure constructed of lightning appeared on the platform. These phantom figures gradually solidified under the supplement of power converging from the Thunder Pool onto the Thunder Urgency Platform.

At the same time, with Xiong Nian's breakthrough, the Heaven and Earth Baptism arrived as scheduled, and torrents of energy converged on Xiong Nian from all directions.

However, the energy gathered by Xiong Nian's Heaven and Earth Baptism did not act upon Xiong Nian. Instead, it was directly guided to descend upon the seven phantom figures on the Thunder Urgency Platform that were gradually solidifying, and was absorbed by them.

By the time Xiong Nian woke up from the realization of his Monarch Rank breakthrough, the process of the seven figures on the Thunder Urgency Platform transforming from phantom to solid was also drawing to a close. A row of bears, varying in appearance and size, lined up on the Thunder Urgency Platform, their eyes devoid of emotion.

Compared to Xu Yan, who was filled with curiosity and a desire to investigate, Xiong Nian felt a sense of surprise and shock.

For no other reason than this: although Xiong Nian did not recognize the bears lined up in the middle of the Thunder Urgency Platform, he was extremely familiar with the two bears located at the far corners.

The one on the far left was precisely the ancestor within the Profound Thunder Battle Bear tribe who had never formed a contract with a Beast Tamer, relying instead on himself to break the limits of his bloodline and achieve the Overlord Rank.

Although this Ancestor constantly cultivated in seclusion deep within the Luolei Mountain Range, due to Xiong Nian's own attribute variation, Xiong Nian had previously met him under the guidance of the tribe's elders and had received instruction from him.

And the one on the far right was the individual previously mentioned by Monarch-level Thunder Battle Bear: Xiong Chen, the Clan Uncle, who had triggered the Shadows of the Past on the Thunder Urgency Platform over thirty years ago. After being defeated by the Shadows of the Past, he chose to form a contract with a Beast Tamer and left the tribe.

Xiong Nian's initial understanding of this Clan Uncle Xiong Chen came from cheering for him through a screen, organized by the tribal elders, when Xiong Chen participated in the National Competition alongside his Beast Tamer.

When he returned to the tribe, he had already successfully broken through to the Overlord Rank with the help of his Beast Tamer. After returning, he only met with the tribe members, left some resources, and then departed shortly after with his Beast Tamer.

These two could be considered the strongest existences in the current Profound Thunder Battle Bear tribe, yet at this moment, they could only stand in the furthest corners of the group of bears, and the level of detail and responsiveness in their "modeling" was the lowest among the seven bears.

After the initial surprise, Xiong Nian reacted. He turned and glanced at Xu Yan on the bank, nodded firmly toward Xu Yan, and then leaped directly onto the Thunder Urgency Platform.

As Xiong Nian landed on the Thunder Urgency Platform, the bear in the center, whose eyes were originally dull and lifeless, suddenly gained a hint of vitality. Looking toward Xiong Nian, it raised its right paw and waved.

Following its movement, the two Shadows of the Past—the Ancestor and Xiong Chen—who were condensed from lightning and the Power of Heaven and Earth, left the line and came before Xiong Nian.

Following the movements of the two Shadows of the Past, the entire Thunder Pool was immediately enveloped by an energy barrier, and the remaining five Shadows of the Past also vanished from the Thunder Urgency Platform.

After the energy barrier formed, the words "Defeat them" appeared in Xiong Nian's ear, and the two opposing Shadows of the Past immediately began to move against Xiong Nian.

Their opening move consisted of several incredibly thick bolts of lightning, carrying the power to severely wound a Monarch Rank creature, rapidly descending toward Xiong Nian's current position and potential evasion points.

Simultaneously with the appearance of the lightning, the two figures arrived before Xiong Nian even faster, their claws, carrying the force of thunder and ten thousand jun of strength, striking toward Xiong Nian from different directions.

Xiong Nian showed no sign of panic regarding the sudden attack from the two "Elders." The massive mental energy resulting from his breakthrough to the Monarch Rank immediately erupted.

The lightning bolts originally targeting Xiong Nian were guided by Xiong Nian's mental energy to strike the surroundings, and the two bear claws, under the combined effect of mandatory repulsion from his mental energy and instantaneous illusionary guidance, failed to land on Xiong Nian.

Faced with this result, Xiong Nian sighed faintly while simultaneously counterattacking the two "Elders" with claw swipes and mental attacks.

Ultimately, it was still due to insufficient control over his own power following the recent breakthrough. His original goal was to evade the attacks while simultaneously guiding the attacks of the two "Elders" to strike each other. However, after all that maneuvering, he only managed to achieve the former.

Nevertheless, Xiong Nian wasn't particularly dissatisfied or regretful about this. Since he currently had two kind "Elders" here acting as sparring partners, if it didn't work once or twice, he would just try a few more times. Once he became more proficient in controlling his own power, he would naturally achieve the result he desired.

Yes, that's right. Facing the Shadows of the Past formed by two elders who had legendary experiences in the tribe and possessed extremely powerful Monarch Rank strength, Xiong Nian initially felt little fear, and this feeling only lessened after the preliminary exchange.

With just a brief proximity, without even physical contact, Xiong Nian's mental energy had already scanned both figures. Information such as their internal energy reserves, physical strength, and even mental resistance were all fed back into Xiong Nian's mind by his mental energy.

It could be said that the current Xiong Nian understood their physical condition perhaps better than they did themselves.

After receiving information about the two, Xiong Nian formed a preliminary judgment regarding the strength differential between them.

As long as the opponents didn't possess any ridiculously overpowered trump cards, or if the bear previously located in the C position didn't decide to flip the table, the two Shadows of the Past before him posed no significant threat to him.