Chapter 123: Jin Dian's Tremendous Supernatural Strength

Despite facing a life-or-death crisis, its massive body moved with surprising agility, climbing ten meters up in the blink of an eye.

"Squeak, squeak..." Golden Point gripped the iron rod and began to strike.

The creature kept waving its bear paws to block, refusing to descend from the tree.

Lu Chen had certainly not forgotten how to climb trees, but due to his ever-increasing size, it had become particularly difficult. Moreover, ordinary trunks and branches could not support his weight. However, for Lu Chen, there was a simpler method.

He let out two calls to Golden Point, signaling the creature to retreat to a more distant tree. Then, he opened his maw and fired a compressed energy blast.

Boom!

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the roots of the massive tree were shattered, and the trunk, thick enough for two men to embrace, collapsed with a thunderous crash. *Snap, crackle...* Two neighboring trees were caught in the wake, slowly toppling over and sending up a cloud of dust and debris.

In an instant, the dense jungle became open and bathed in light.

As the dust settled, a massive crater over ten meters deep and several hundred square meters wide appeared. The Black Bear King, still clinging to the tree, had not even reacted before plummeting back to the ground. However, its ability to withstand falls was superior to Golden Point’s; it shook its head and prepared to turn and flee.

The Monkey King would naturally not let it go, charging forward once more, swinging its iron rod. Seeing Golden Point take action, Lu Chen decided to stand aside and watch.

***

Inside the conference room, a group of humans stared at the footage captured by the drone, their faces etched with shock.

Compared to two months ago, the mutant giant crocodile’s offensive power had increased significantly. The magical energy attack it released possessed a destructive force several times that of a conventional missile. And this, perhaps, was not even its limit. If this creature were to appear in a human city, it would undoubtedly trigger an indescribable catastrophe, causing thousands or even tens of thousands of casualties in a very short time.

The mechanism behind this energy release remained a mystery to humans; they had no idea how it was generated. According to existing scientific frameworks, it was impossible for a biological organism to store such immense bio-energy.

Lu Chen was well aware that his actions were being recorded by high-altitude drones, but he did not care. As the saying went, strength determines everything.

The bombardment he had just unleashed was intentional—a warning to the humans hiding in the shadows not to provoke him lightly. They should consider the consequences of pushing him too far. *If you do not offend me, I will not offend you.*

"Its attack power exceeds all known beasts on Earth; even those from the other-dimensional rifts are likely no match. Furthermore, we cannot be certain if it possesses other latent abilities. Unless it poses a direct threat to humanity, we do not recommend attempting a capture. The cost of failure would be catastrophic."

"The Dragon King entered the Tiannan Mountain Nature Reserve—could it be searching for something?" another attendee asked. Given that the creature possessed high intelligence, its actions were surely purposeful.

"Could it be spirit stones?" Professor Wu suddenly asked.

At these words, the eyes of many attendees lit up, finding this theory highly plausible. After all, according to the information they had gathered, the earliest mutation of this saltwater crocodile occurred over a year ago, and the location was confirmed to be within the Tiannan Mountain Nature Reserve. This suggested that a spirit stone vein existed there as well, quite possibly in that same nameless valley...

If their deduction was correct, the creature had returned to Tiannan Mountain to mine spirit stones. They recalled Professor Wu’s proposal: as long as the mutant crocodile had needs, there was a possibility for cooperation. Of course, they would not pin their hopes entirely on a beast; they simply wanted another option.

The era of the "Great Transformation" on Earth had only just begun, and all of human society was feeling its way across the river. No one could predict what changes would come. Therefore, having an extra option and an extra ally was always better—a form of precaution that might prove invaluable one day. Even if it failed, it would merely be a waste of time.

The three-meter-tall macaque nearby was clearly the Dragon King’s subordinate and had also undergone mutation. However, to the humans, it was too weak to be of concern and was automatically ignored. In the data they had received recently, there were already over a dozen beasts of similar rank within the Xia nation alone.

"It is decided. I will submit the proposal immediately. Once approved, I will personally handle the contact with the Dragon King," Captain Dong stated.

***

In the jungle, grass and dust flew as roars echoed continuously. The battle had turned white-hot from the start.

With Lu Chen backing it up, Golden Point fought with great ferocity. Relying on its speed, it darted back and forth, seizing every opportunity to land a heavy blow on the Black Bear King’s head with a dull thud. Lu Chen estimated that each strike carried at least a thousand pounds of force. Yet, faced with such a thick-skinned, highly defensive opponent, the attacks had little effect.

Lu Chen watched for a few minutes, growing impatient. At this rate, the battle would not be decided for another half hour. He simply signaled for Golden Point to retreat, opened his mouth, and fired another compressed energy blast.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted. The Black Bear King was blasted over ten meters away, its massive body tumbling through the air before slamming into a tree and coming to a halt. It was not dead yet, but its movements were significantly sluggish as it tried to rise and flee.

"Squeak, squeak..."

Golden Point once again stopped Lu Chen from intervening. It rushed forward, iron rod in hand, its eyes suddenly turning a deep, blood-red as it inhaled sharply.

*Is it going to use its ultimate move?*

Lu Chen could feel Golden Point’s aura shifting. The creature’s fur bristled, and a series of crackling sounds erupted from its body from head to toe. Its bones and tendons swelled rapidly... The three-meter-tall monkey grew to four meters in an instant.

"Roar!"

With a bellow, Golden Point leaped seven or eight meters into the air. Raising its iron rod high with both paws, it smashed down with devastating force!

*Thud...* The Black Bear King’s skull was crushed instantly; its body collapsed, stone dead.

After killing the bear, Golden Point squeaked and trotted over to Lu Chen to claim its reward. Having witnessed the battle at close range, Lu Chen had a rough estimate of the creature's combat capability. The final strike had likely carried several tons of force—only slightly less than his own.

*So, it has evolved a 'Super Strength' ability?*

Moreover, its speed and jumping ability were astonishing; its strength was likely at the early Fourth Tier.

Golden Point’s bloated body quickly shrank back to its normal size, and it began to look lethargic. This was the price of a sudden burst of power—the exhaustion of energy stored within the body. Lu Chen had experienced similar fatigue and did not think much of it. With a bit of food and rest, it would recover soon enough.