The giant bear had caught up. The sudden burst of flames from the boy in front startled it, but the light from the fire also allowed it to see more clearly, as bears generally have poor eyesight.
It leaped up, its massive paws outstretched in the air, aiming to strike the moving fire-man.
At this critical moment, Ma Hongjun summoned his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, finally breaking the seal on the two itchy spots on his back.
A pair of seven-colored wings burning with flames unfurled, and a clear phoenix cry rang out.
Just as the bear's paw was about to strike, Ma Hongjun flapped his wings, creating distance and dodging the attack.
He then took flight, but being his first time flying, he was unaccustomed to it, and the giant trees in the forest provided cover.
With a thud, Ma Hongjun, losing control, crashed into a tree, like an out-of-control airplane, his wings swaying wildly as he drifted down.
"Damn it, what bad luck!"
Ma Hongjun cursed under his breath.
The giant bear roared, "Roar! Awooo! Roar! Awooo!" mocking Ma Hongjun, the fallen phoenix.
Then, as soon as Ma Hongjun landed, it leaped back, its massive paw slamming down again.
Suddenly, a sound came from the tree.
An owl swooped down, flying towards the giant bear, its two sharp talons digging into the bear's shoulders. The powerful force lifted the bear from the ground, then propelled it into the air, slamming the massive bear against a tree trunk.
The trunk snapped in two with a thud, and the giant bear crashed to the ground.
However, the bear seemed unaffected, rising again and roaring.
"This defense is insane."
The owl reappeared, and Ma Hongjun finally saw its appearance clearly.
"A four-eyed owl."
However, this wasn't a spirit beast, because seven dazzling spirit rings shone on its body:
yellow, purple, and black.
"Soul Saint, True Martial Soul."
Ma Hongjun already knew who he was. He hadn't expected that a simple shout would actually bring him to his rescue.
It was reminiscent of Li Shimin and Xue Rengui, except that Flander wasn't his subject, but his future teacher. "
A heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard," that saying was true.
The Explosive Bear truly knew nothing of death, or rather, rage had robbed it of its last shred of intelligence, leaving it already foolish.
It attacked the tree where the Four-Eyed Cat-Eagle was, slamming it into the tree.
The giant tree collapsed.
The Cat-Eagle swooped down again, its gleaming claws aimed directly at the Explosive Bear's neck.
"Spare its life!"
Ma Hongjun shouted.
The Cat-Eagle's claws, which had been aimed directly at the neck, changed direction, severing one of the Explosive Bear's paws and bringing it to the ground.
In the Soul Saint's hands, the Explosive Bear's powerful defense was like paper.
The Cat-Eagle flew down, transforming into human form upon landing.
He looked to be around fifty years old, with a muscular build. His black and white hair was tied back, with a strand falling to the side.
He pushed up his black-rimmed crystal glasses, the old-fashioned square frames perfectly matching his demeanor. There was even a hint of unconventional trendiness to it.
However, his face was full of flaws: a slightly protruding chin, wide cheekbones, a flat face, and a somewhat hooked nose. If one had to describe it in one word, it would be that his face resembled a shoe sole.
Ma Hongjun felt a pang of disappointment; this future teacher's appearance was a disgrace to him.
"Have you gotten lost from your family, kid? What's wrong with you? Don't you know how to retract your martial spirit?"
Flander curiously scrutinized Ma Hongjun, who was currently enveloped in flames. The phoenix had been retracted, but the evil fire lingered.
Flander had arrived earlier. He seemed to have faintly heard someone calling his name. After arriving, he observed from the tree for a while and saw Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, so he concluded that the flame was still not completely withdrawn from the Martial Soul.
"It can't be withdrawn. Even if it were, it would still be burning inside the body, so it's better to leave it as it is," Ma Hongjun said helplessly.
"We can only try to suppress it!"
"Oh, that's amazing. So what method do you want to use?"
Just then, another Explosive Bear came running over.
The little Explosive Bear finally caught up and saw the big Explosive Bear lying on the ground with a broken paw next to the person, struggling to get up.
This was Flander's powerful strength as a Soul Saint; the aura he exuded suppressed the Explosive Bear, preventing it from getting up at all.
"Right now, we can only deal with it," Ma Hongjun said, pointing to the little Explosive Bear that had run over and was standing there looking bewildered and at a loss.
"Could you please keep an eye on that giant bear for me? Don't let it get away. I'm going to use its spirit ring as my second spirit ring later."
After saying that, Ma Hongjun summoned the Dragon Soul Spear, with a yellow spirit ring surrounding it, and charged towards the little bear.
This little raging bear was probably seven or eight hundred years old and very strong, but Ma Hongjun was currently consumed by evil fire, his physical power about to explode. The outcome of a fight against the little raging bear was uncertain.
At this moment, he needed a powerful opponent like the little raging bear to help him dissipate the power of his evil fire.
Without hesitation, Ma Hongjun attacked the little raging bear, which, also hot-tempered, immediately engaged him in battle.
Flander had already automatically ignored the boy's nonchalant attitude when ordering him around.
In just a few minutes, this boy had redefined his understanding of genius.
"Phoenix!"
"Silver Spear!"
"Twin Martial Souls!"
If he hadn't misheard, this boy had just said he wanted the spirit ring of the giant raging bear as his second spirit ring.
Although Ma Hongjun was tall and strong, Flander could still tell from his slightly immature face that the boy was only about ten years old.
Filled with astonishment, Flander watched Ma Hongjun and the little raging bear fight intently.
Two more people ran out of the forest and stood beside Flander.
"Dean;"
"Dean, this is…"
"Don't speak, watch first!"
The two were teenagers. The taller one had blond hair and a handsome face, presumably the Evil-Eyed White Tiger Dai Mubai.
The shorter one had a full beard but regular features, with a pair of peach blossom eyes, looking somewhat like an old man. If there were no surprises, it was Oscar, the sausage vendor.
The three watched quietly from the side, their expressions of shock evident.
"Boss Dai, this Flame Kid seems stronger than you. That Explosive Bear is at least seven hundred years old, and he can actually fight it head-on without being at a disadvantage, and he's even getting stronger as the fight goes on."
Oscar whispered to Dai Mubai.
"It's not just being competitive, it's truly freakish."
Dai Mubai's face was solemn, his throat dry. As a power-attack type Soul Master, his feelings were much deeper than Oscar's, a food-type Soul Master with little combat experience.
He was now a level 28, two-ring Soul Master, and even with his current strength, he couldn't guarantee a complete victory against this 700-year-old Explosive Bear.
Yet this Flame Boy, with only one Soul Ring, was actually fighting the Explosive Bear to a standstill.
Most importantly, judging from the Flame Boy's appearance, he seemed much smaller than him.
The Explosive Bear wasn't agile enough, allowing Ma Hongjun, with his Phoenix Playing with a Hundred Birds Technique, to move with ease in the battle. The
Explosive Bear's massive body became the perfect target; every strike of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear landed on it, allowing Ma Hongjun to better unleash the combo effects of the technique.
After a twenty-move combo, the little Explosive Bear's thick fur was riddled with bullet holes.
The little Explosive Bear's strength had weakened; if it continued to be attacked like this, it would surely die.
Seeing the little Explosive Bear being tormented, the big Explosive Bear's eyes widened in fury, its body radiating purple light. It burst to its feet and, under Flander's immense pressure, charged towards Ma Hongjun.
It wanted to save the little Explosive Bear.