Chapter 54: Transformation, the King of Beasts

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The scene shattered abruptly, then painfully reassembled once more. This time, he was the adult Molten Gold Battle Tiger, locked in a desperate struggle within a swamp against a massive green python stretching dozens of meters. The slick, powerful coils of the serpent wrapped around his body, crushing his bones to the brink of shattering, sending waves of excruciating pain through him. At the brink of death, his molten golden single eye blazed fiercely, fixating on the python’s vulnerable spot. Summoning every ounce of strength, his tiger claws tore through the serpent’s scales, ripping out the still-beating heart. The python, dying, opened its grotesque maw wide, its dense, sharp teeth piercing his abdomen... The scene shifted again. The aged Battle Tiger sat alone atop a snow-capped mountain peak, the wind and snow cutting like blades. From a glacier fissure, three towering, ten-meter-tall pale skulls crawled out, their eye sockets flickering with ghostly blue flames. Decayed bony claws smashed the frozen ground, stirring a bone-chilling storm of death that swept forward. A roar shattered the glacier’s silence. The tiger’s roar echoed, his eyes spewing tangible streams of light that burned through the skeletal chests. Yet a broken giant rib, like a spear, pierced straight through his only remaining right eye. Darkness and agony engulfed his vision... In that hopeless moment on the edge of death, all illusions shattered like glass struck by a heavy hammer, collapsing with a thunderous crash. The repeated trauma of "death" nearly overwhelmed Han Ning’s spirit, pushing him to the brink of fainting. Yet a cold, relentless force forcibly anchored his consciousness. In the boundless darkness, only a pair of enormous molten-gold pupils floated in the void. These eyes were as vast as stars, radiating coldness, majesty, and indifference, carrying the crushing will to annihilate the insignificant Han Ning, who seemed but dust beneath their gaze. "Human, can you withstand my will?" A low hum sounded. An invisible spiritual pressure descended like a mountain crushing down. Han Ning’s spiritual form groaned under the unbearable weight, every inch of his “body” cracking distinctly. "Ugh..." A fierce pain from the depths of his soul threatened to tear him apart. Amid the confusion of consciousness, a dense aura enveloped Han Ning’s spirit, easing his pain. He raised his nearly shattered “body” and with all his mental will shouted toward those molten-gold giant pupils. His awareness exploded through the void: “Of course!” Silence filled the void for a moment. The molten-gold pupils contracted, the flowing golden light seeming to freeze. Then a hum! The eyes vanished, collapsing into a searing golden line.

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The golden line ignored the barriers of the spiritual realm and Han Ning’s resistance, piercing deeply into his brow like a red-hot branding iron. "Ah!" In reality, Han Ning suddenly opened his eyes, his body trembling violently as rain mixed with cold sweat rolled down his temples. At his brow, a roaring tiger head mark drawn in molten gold liquid suddenly flared brightly. The golden light pierced through the rain, casting a flowing golden sheen over the murky water surrounding him. From the edges of the mark, fine golden lines spread downward, crawling over his forehead and down both sides of his face, eventually sinking beneath the skin, leaving faint golden veins visible under the surface, emitting a subtle aura of majesty. [Beast Spirit Mark: Molten Gold Battle Tiger imprinted!] [Beast Form (Basic) (2/2000) - Molten Gold Battle Tiger] "Huff... huff..." Han Ning knelt in the muddy water, gasping deeply. The icy rain splattered against his burning skin with faint sizzling sounds. He focused his mind to activate the newly imprinted molten gold tiger head mark on his brow. A hum! Spiritual energy surged within, drawn by the molten gold mark. Intense tearing sensations spread throughout his body. To Han Ning’s astonishment, his bones became enveloped in a vivid green natural glow, stretching and deforming while muscle fibers rapidly rebuilt. Crack! Crack! His frame visibly lengthened and expanded. The once-fitting jacket was torn apart by his swelling muscles, revealing the dark golden short fur rapidly covering his skin beneath. His fingers transformed into tiger paws, covered in dark golden keratin with hooked, razor-sharp claws at the tips. His spine was reinforced, legs thickened and bent backward, and his soles turned into massive tiger claws, digging deeply into the muddy ground. Han Ning’s facial bones protruded forward; his mouth and nose elongated, white fangs piercing his lips, forming a majestic tiger muzzle. His eyes completely transformed into tiger eyes, golden flames swirling slowly within the pupils like molten lava. The molten gold tiger head mark on his forehead stood out clearly, resembling a king’s crown. The entire transformation took less than five seconds. A towering, muscular half-man, half-tiger figure over two meters tall stood amid the wind and rain. His chest, abdomen, and back retained overall human contours. [You are currently in Molten Gold Battle Tiger (Partial) form, with spiritual energy continuously consumed.] [Spiritual Energy: 72/90 (40/50)] [Mental Strength: 4 (2)]

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[Numbers in parentheses are base values; external display shows values after transformation and Earth’s blessing bonuses.] [In Molten Gold Battle Tiger form, the ‘Molten Gold Gaze’ talent is awakened, granting the additional skills ‘Crack Gold Claw (Basic)’ and ‘Hot Breath (Basic).’] He maintained an upright posture, his body covered in dark golden short fur, with thick leg muscles bulging inch by inch, brimming with explosive power. A tiger tail, adorned with dark golden rings and burning with a small cluster of golden flames at the tip, swayed slowly behind him. The fusion of human torso and tiger features formed a half-beast shape full of raw power and wild majesty. Wherever his molten gold tiger eyes swept, even the dense raindrops distorted and evaporated from the invisible heat. "Roar!" Han Ning couldn’t help but howl toward the sky. The sound was no longer a mere human cry but a trembling roar mixed with tiger’s might, shaking the surrounding puddles violently, causing distant floating wooden planks to buzz in resonance. A nearby snow lizard froze in awe. Only when Han Ning’s deafening tiger roar erupted did it tremble violently, curling into a ball like it faced a natural enemy, shivering uncontrollably. Han Ning looked down at his tiger claws. Dark golden keratin covered the backs of his hands; the five claws were exceptionally sharp, curved like daggers, gleaming with a cold, deadly light. "This power, this surging strength!" In his transformed state, Han Ning felt a fire burning within his heart, yearning to be unleashed. His eyes flickered as he lowered his stance slightly, thrusting both tiger arms out to smash the empty space on either side. Boom! The raging wind carried rainwater, bursting forth with terrifying explosive sounds, creating two perfectly vacuumed zones. With a thought, he raised his right claw and casually swung at a half-submerged concrete streetlight pole nearby. Whoosh! A piercing sound of air splitting echoed. Crash! The pole, wrapped in thick cement, deformed deeply into a web-like dent under his seemingly casual strike. The steel rebar beneath the cement glowed faintly dark red, and the terrifying residual heat on his claw tips evaporated the rainwater near the cut into thick white mist. [Molten Gold Gaze]: Your attacks carry molten gold heat, dealing additional burning damage to both spiritual and physical forms, greatly enhancing spiritual resistance.