Chapter 55 Transformation, King of Beasts

Chapter 55: Chapter 54: Transformation, King of Beasts

The image suddenly shattered, then reassembled itself amidst agonizing pain.

This time, he was an adult Molten Gold Battle Tiger, engaged in a desperate deathmatch in the muck with a massive green python measuring dozens of meters long.

The snake’s thick, slippery body coiled around his torso. His bones shattered inch by inch under the constricting force, sending a piercing, excruciating pain through him.

On the brink of death, his single eye, burning like molten gold, locked onto the python’s vital spot. Gathering all his remaining strength, his tiger claws tore through its scale armor and gouged out its still-beating heart.

In its death throes, the python unhinged its massive, hideous jaws, and its dense rows of fangs punctured his abdomen...

The scene shifted again.

The aging battle tiger sat alone atop a snowy peak, where the blizzard cut like knives.

Three pale skeletons, ten meters tall, crawled out from a glacial fissure, eerie Soul Fire dancing in their eye sockets.

Their rotting bone claws smashed the permafrost, unleashing a biting storm of death that swept toward him.

"ROAR!"

The tiger’s roar shattered the glacier. Tangible streams of light erupted from his tiger eyes, burning right through the ribcages of the skeletal monstrosities. However, a massive broken rib shot forward like a javelin, impaling his only remaining right eye.

His vision was entirely swallowed by darkness and agony...

In that despairing moment of near-death, all the illusions shattered and collapsed like glass struck by a heavy hammer.

The Spiritual Shock brought on by experiencing "death" over and over again nearly made Han Ning pass out.

Yet, an icy power forcefully anchored his consciousness.

In the boundless darkness, all that remained was a pair of gigantic pupils suspended in the void, flowing with molten, magma-like golden liquid.

These eyes were as large as stars, radiating a cold, majestic, and indifferent aura. With a will that could crush ants, they gazed down at Han Ning, who was as insignificant as a speck of dust.

"Human, can you bear my will?"

BUZZ!

An invisible mental pressure descended, crashing down like a collapsing mountain range.

Han Ning’s spirit body groaned under the overwhelming weight, clear cracking sounds echoing from every inch of his "body."

"Argh..." An intense agony originating from the depths of his soul washed over him, threatening to tear Han Ning into pieces.

As his consciousness grew chaotic, a heavy, grounded aura wrapped around his spirit, granting him a brief respite from the torment.

Han Ning raised his nearly crumbling "body" and channeled every ounce of his mental willpower to shout back at the giant Molten Gold Eyes. His consciousness exploded through the void:

"Of course!"

The void fell dead silent for a moment.

The giant Molten Gold Eyes contracted, their flowing golden light seemingly solidifying.

BUZZ!

The eyes vanished, collapsing into an intensely searing thread of gold.

Ignoring the barriers of the mental space and bypassing Han Ning’s resistance, the golden thread pierced deep into the center of his brow like a red-hot branding iron.

"Ah!"

In reality, Han Ning’s eyes snapped open. His body trembled violently as a mixture of rain and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

At the center of his brow, a roaring tiger head mark outlined in molten golden liquid suddenly flared to life. Its golden glow pierced through the curtain of rain, painting the surrounding murky waters with a layer of liquid gold.

From the edges of the mark, intricate golden patterns spread downward, creeping over his forehead and covering both of his cheeks before finally sinking beneath his skin. All that remained was a faint network of golden veins pulsing faintly below the surface, exuding a subtle, imposing majesty.

[Beast Spirit Mark: Molten Gold Battle Tiger has been branded!]

[Beast Form (Basic Level) (2/2000) - Molten Gold Battle Tiger]

"Hah... Hah..."

Han Ning dropped to one knee in the muddy water, panting heavily. As the freezing rain struck his scorching hot skin, it produced soft SIZZLING sounds.

With a thought, he activated the newly branded Molten Gold Tiger Head Mark on his brow.

BUZZ!

The Spiritual Power within his body flowed, drawn out by the molten gold mark.

A violent, tearing sensation spread across his entire body.

To Han Ning’s astonishment, his bones were enveloped in an emerald-green natural light. They stretched and deformed while his muscle fibers began rapidly reconstructing themselves.

CRACK! CRACK!

His body grew taller and expanded at a visible rate.

His originally well-fitting windbreaker was ripped to shreds inch by inch by his bulging muscles, revealing the skin beneath, which was quickly being covered by dark gold fur.

His fingers morphed into tiger paws covered in dark gold keratin, hook-like sharp claws extending from the tips.

His spine reinforced itself, and his legs became significantly thicker and digitigrade. His feet transformed into massive tiger paws that dug deep into the muddy ground.

Han Ning’s facial bones protruded forward as his snout elongated. Bone-white fangs pierced through his lips, forming a majestic tiger’s maw.

His eyes completely shifted into tiger eyes.

Golden flames slowly swirled within his pupils, looking exactly like flowing magma.

On his forehead, the mark of the Molten Gold Tiger Head clearly emerged, like a king’s crown.

The entire process took less than five seconds.

A robust, half-man, half-tiger figure over two meters tall now stood amidst the wind and rain.

His chest, abdomen, back, and overall silhouette still maintained human characteristics.

[You are currently in the Molten Gold Battle Tiger (Partial) state; Spiritual Power is undergoing continuous consumption.]

[Spiritual Power: 72/90 (40/50)

Mental Power: 4 (2)]

[Values in parentheses are base stats; outer values are stats after the Beast Form and Earth’s Blessing bonuses are applied.]

[In the Molten Gold Battle Tiger state, you have awakened the ’Molten Gold Eyes’ Talent, and additionally obtained the ’Gold-Splitting Claw (Basic Level)’ and ’Hot Breath (Basic Level)’ Skills.]

He maintained his upright posture, his entire body covered in dark gold fur. The muscles of his sturdy lower limbs bulged inch by inch, containing explosive power.

A tiger tail covered in dark gold rings slowly swayed behind his back, a small cluster of golden flame burning at its tip.

His human torso and feline traits blended together perfectly, forming a half-beast state brimming with powerful aesthetics and wild majesty.

Wherever his Molten Gold Tiger Eyes swept across, even the dense rain was distorted and evaporated by invisible heat.

"ROAR!"

Han Ning couldn’t hold back a roar towards the sky.

The soundwave was no longer a simple human shout, but a vibrating sonic boom mixed with a tiger’s roar. It caused the surrounding floodwaters to ripple violently and made distant floating wooden planks BUZZ and rattle.

"WHIMPER..."

Snow Cake, who was lying down not too far away, was completely dumbfounded.

It wasn’t until Han Ning let out his deafening tiger roar that it violently shuddered. As if it had encountered its natural predator, the entire lizard curled into a ball, trembling in fear.

Han Ning looked down at his pair of tiger claws.

A dark gold keratin layer covered the backs of his hands. His five sharp claws were exceptionally keen, glinting with a chilling, cold light like curved daggers.

"This strength, this surging sense of power!!"

In his transformed state, Han Ning felt a fire burning in his heart that desperately needed an outlet.

His eyes flashed. Lowering his body slightly, he thrust his two tiger arms out and slammed them into the empty air on both sides.

BOOM!!

The fierce wind and rain erupted with a terrifying detonation, creating two complete vacuum zones.

With a mere thought, he raised his right claw and casually swiped at a concrete streetlight pole half-submerged in the water beside him.

WHOOSH!

A shrill sound of tearing air echoed.

CRASH!

Under that seemingly casual strike, a deep, spiderweb-like indentation was smashed into the thick concrete-encased pole.

The exposed rebar beneath the concrete glimmered with a dark red glow. The terrifying residual heat from the tips of his claws evaporated the rainwater near the incision into a massive cloud of white mist.

[Molten Gold Eyes]: Your attacks are imbued with Molten Gold heat, dealing bonus burn damage to both spirit bodies and physical entities, and significantly enhancing Spirit Resistance.