Lin Ran’s palm instantly conjured a green laser scalpel, which he plunged into the Steel-Maned Grizzly's head.
"Roar!"
The Steel-Maned Grizzly's scream of agony was even louder than when Amaterasu had hit its backside.
After all, the gamma knife was a special attack that could bypass external defenses and directly target internal organs.
Sometimes, after killing someone, there wouldn't even be an external wound left on the body; it was particularly perverse.
This strike had severely damaged the Steel-Maned Grizzly's brain, causing it to flail uncontrollably and mindlessly for a while.
Lin Ran took a heavy swipe from it amidst its thrashing, instantly sent flying dozens of meters.
However, thanks to his formidable defense, though Lin Ran looked somewhat battered, he only felt a rush of blood and a dizzy spell from the fall.
The actual damage sustained was negligible.
After all, not only did he possess the Natural Spirit Body, but he had also equipped his luxurious gold and platinum magic-infused gear with defense-boosting stats!
Many awakened individuals with output-oriented talents often chose equipment with stats like physical damage amplification or magic power amplification to ensure their offensive capabilities.
This, in turn, left their defenses considerably weak.
Lin Ran's offensive methods, however, were a form of dimensional reduction strike for this world.
Therefore, even without any offensive amplification, he could still unleash terrifying destructive power.
Thus, stacking defense became the most cost-effective choice.
It was precisely because of this that he could withstand the claw strike from a Tier 4 Steel-Maned Grizzly…
However, that charge, which could even shatter Susanoo, should still not be taken head-on.
That was clearly a charging skill of the Steel-Maned Grizzly, and taking it head-on would likely injure him significantly.
Unfortunately, the Steel-Maned Grizzly likely wouldn't have the chance to use that skill again!
Shinra Tensei!
A vortex that tore through space instantly appeared at one of the Steel-Maned Grizzly's legs, instantly twisting and snapping it clean off, bone and all.
*Crack!*
Without a leg for support, the Steel-Maned Grizzly could no longer stand. It collapsed onto the ground in frustration, its remaining three legs scrabbling at the earth.
Seeing that the situation was under control, Lin Ran finally stood up from the ground, panting heavily.
After unleashing the final Shinra Tensei, his magic power was completely depleted.
He managed to recover slightly by relying on the cooled-down Ring of Souls.
Good heavens, it truly lived up to its reputation as a Tier 4 ferocious beast; he had leveled up a bit too much.
Under such high pressure, his magic power consumption had also been greatly increased.
However, with his myriad of tactics, he was still the one who had the last laugh!
Looking at the Steel-Maned Grizzly, its brain damaged, front leg broken, rear end on fire, and with sword marks on its belly, Lin Ran slowly walked up to it.
Scalpel!
Lin Ran reached out and grasped at the air, and the Steel-Maned Grizzly's massive heart was delivered into his hand.
Furthermore, the heart was extracted along with the surrounding muscle tissue. Even after leaving the Steel-Maned Grizzly's body, the heart continued to beat.
The heart was placed inside a small spatial cube generated by the Operation-Operation Fruit, preserved as a living entity.
As for the Steel-Maned Grizzly, it didn't die immediately upon the heart's removal. It merely collapsed powerlessly on the ground, a diamond-shaped wound appearing on its chest.
Excellent! The most valuable part of the Steel-Maned Grizzly had been extracted; the remaining organs were not as important.
Under normal circumstances, the heart of a Tier 4 Steel-Maned Grizzly would not sell for less than 3 million Dragon Coins.
The fresher the heart, the higher the price.
For a fresh, living heart like the one Lin Ran had preserved through special means, 10 million Dragon Coins was not impossible.
He, a hunter, was making far more money than ordinary hunters!
Massive storage space + highly efficient hunting methods + miraculous preservation techniques…
Wasn't money just pouring in?
Let's continue!
At least the battle with the Steel-Maned Grizzly just now had proven that he could hunt Tier 4 ferocious beasts, and do so with relative ease.
After all, the tiers of ferocious beasts were often inflated; their true combat power was generally one tier or more lower than humans.
They couldn't equip magic-infused gear to enhance themselves…
A Tier 4 ferocious beast was roughly equivalent to a Tier 3 A-class talent awakened individual with full silver-grade equipment.
Furthermore, ferocious beasts generally had lower intelligence than humans.
And logically speaking, Tier 4 ferocious beasts were already a rarity on the first level of the Black Dragon Abyss, so he had no reason to be afraid.
Let's keep killing!
Looking at the area around him, which had already been cleared by his slaughter, Lin Ran continued deeper.
…
Twenty-five days later.
Qingjing.
Yan Yun University.
The white-bearded elder sat in the principal's oversized armchair, calmly observing Lü Qiufeng, Ling Shangqing, Gao Xian, and Xu Lei, who had arrived conveniently.
"Where is Lin Miao? Why hasn't she arrived yet?"
Lü Qiufeng scratched his head.
"She's been busy taking Luo Qingyan around lately, doing some Angel Special Training. She's probably quite busy."
"Perhaps the distance is a bit far, so she's a little late…"
Before he finished speaking, a whirlwind of a Lin Miao burst through the door.
"Boss, I'm here!"
The white-bearded elder glanced at Lin Miao's hurried demeanor and couldn't help but chuckle.
"How is that mysterious special training you're conducting with that young girl Luo Qingyan progressing?"
The mention of this instantly perked Lin Miao up.
"Haha, the results are extremely good!"
"Qingyan is making the wisest choice by following me!"
"Not only has her combat power soared, but her development of the Sacred Angel talent is also exceptionally outstanding!"
"I've also given her all the information I've collected on the Angel lineage."
"There are countless secret techniques, cultivation laws, and meditation methods!"
"Her grasp of the manifestation ability of the True Angel Body has also greatly improved."
"If it weren't for Lin Ran appearing this year as a prodigy, Qingyan would absolutely be the number one freshman!"
"She might even be the number one freshman in history!"
The white-bearded elder stroked his beard with satisfaction.
"Then, according to you, that Lin Ran kid is even more exaggerated?"
"Excellent! With these two in our Yan University, we might have a chance for a grand slam in this year's freshman exchange competition!"
Ling Shangqing spoke up at this moment.
"So, Boss, what is the purpose of calling us five here today?"
"Arranging the freshman grand competition? Handling registration? Preemptively setting up the freshman exchange competition?"
The white-bearded elder shook his head.
"I've already made arrangements for all of that; why would I need to trouble you?"
"I called you here today to inform you of a major event…"
"It's already July 20th, and the new batch of freshmen will be arriving soon, followed by the allocation to the five major departments."
"Don't you want to know which department Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan will be assigned to?"
The white-bearded elder smiled with considerable slyness.