The Mystery of Martial Souls

"Boss, you absorbed another soul ring? Has your Soul Power already reached level 20?"

Tang San's voice was full of shock and confusion. His question also startled Qian Bing, who said blankly:

"Yeah, why was I able to absorb the Mandala Snake's soul ring?"

Could that surge of heat from his palm have directly pushed his Soul Power to level 20?

Filled with anticipation and doubt, Qian Bing raised his right hand and summoned his Spirit Ball Spirit.

Unfortunately, the ball was still the same ball as before—red and white, the size of a bowl, with no change whatsoever in appearance or size.

However, the Pidgeotto image imprinted on the lower half of the Spirit Ball looked considerably brighter. Qian Bing would likely be able to summon it again soon.

Qian Bing then summoned his soul ring. Aside from the first soul ring's color becoming much dimmer, there were likewise no other changes, let alone any sign of a second soul ring.

Clearly, Tang San's guess had been wrong.

Fortunately, Qian Bing had not held out much hope to begin with. After withdrawing his martial soul and soul ring back into his body, he quietly began to speculate.

I knew it. Something as good as reaching the heavens in a single step couldn't possibly fall into my lap. The Mandala Snake's soul ring was absorbed by me for no apparent reason, so it's probably related to my unusual martial soul.

Most likely, just like that Netherworld Wolf I absorbed before, it became nourishment that increased my Soul Power.

By then, Qian Bing had completely calmed down. The rational conclusion he reached was also nearly the truth.

In fact, Qian Bing's Spirit Ball Spirit still had many unexplained functions waiting for him to discover.

Among the functions he could currently use but had yet to fully understand was one simple, crude, yet highly practical ability: capturing soul beasts, or collecting the soul rings formed from the condensed energy of a soul beast's entire body after it was killed, then using them to nourish Qian Bing's own Soul Power.

During the previous wave of soul beast attacks, the Spirit Ball Spirit had independently captured a Netherworld Wolf with only a little over ten years of cultivation.

At Qian Bing's current Soul Power level, the Spirit Ball Spirit would originally have slowly digested and absorbed that Netherworld Wolf over the next three to five days, directly converting it into roughly half a level of Soul Power for Qian Bing.

However, because Pidgeotto had been seriously injured and Qian Bing's Soul Power had been completely depleted, the Spirit Ball Spirit had used some extreme method to violently digest the Netherworld Wolf as though it were fuel.

Most of the extracted energy had been used to heal Pidgeotto's injuries, while a smaller portion restored Qian Bing's empty reserves of Soul Power.

Under normal circumstances, this would naturally have been an enormous waste, because Qian Bing's Soul Power and Pidgeotto's injuries could both gradually recover with time.

Though he had now regained "quantity," it had come at the cost of losing an increase in "quality."

Put plainly, after three to five days of normal digestion, that Netherworld Wolf could originally have raised Qian Bing's Soul Power from level 14 to level 14.5.

But after the Spirit Ball Spirit handled it like this, it had only served the purpose of a Blue Potion. Apart from instantly restoring a small portion of his Soul Power, it had brought almost no other benefit.

However, the wonder of life was that, many times, the outcome of gain and loss did not depend on one's own will.

The Spirit Ball Spirit burning a soul beast to restore Qian Bing himself had become an extraordinarily fortunate thing for him at this particular moment.

Because the Spirit Ball Spirit could only capture one soul beast or one soul ring as nourishment at a time, it was precisely because the Netherworld Wolf had happened to be consumed that Qian Bing could obtain the nearly four-hundred-year Mandala Snake soul ring as nourishment.

It was simply the best proof of the saying, "Only by losing can one gain."

Still, the thought only flashed through Qian Bing's mind. He did not take it too seriously, merely shaking his head as he said to Tang San:

"My Soul Power hasn't increased. It's still level 14.

"Probably, the soul ring had simply reached the time when it was supposed to disappear, creating the illusion that I had absorbed it."

Tang San had personally watched Qian Bing show him his martial soul and soul ring. Although he still had a trace of doubt, he no longer dwelled on it and turned his attention back to retrieving the Short Sword from the snake's corpse.

As he retrieved the sword, he still found time to speak with Qian Bing.

"Boss, the Snake Venom in your body hasn't been cleared yet, so it's best not to move too much.

"Once I've taken out the Short Sword, we'll find another place to rest for the night. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to look for an antidote."

Only then did Qian Bing realize that Tang San had been planning to find him an antidote. Earlier, he had thought Tang San was busy retrieving the sword merely so they could continue hunting soul beasts afterward.

After hearing Tang San say so, he recalled his background and realized that when it came to detoxification and dealing with poisons, he really should follow Tang San's arrangements.

"You're still going to find me an antidote? The Soul Hunting Forest is so vast, and are you even familiar with the poisonous herbs here? Can you tell what can cure Mandala Snake venom?"

When Qian Bing brought up his specialty, confidence immediately appeared on Tang San's face as he said:

"Don't worry, Boss. I'll definitely find you an antidote tomorrow.

"There's an old saying in my hometown: 'Where venomous snakes appear, an antidote can be found within seven steps.'

"It may be a little exaggerated, but in reality, it means that within a certain range of where venomous snakes live, there's a high chance of medicinal herbs that can relieve or cure snake venom.

"I believe this experience applies anywhere. Even if the Mandala Snake is a soul beast, there should be an antidote somewhere near its den."

Just as Tang San trusted Qian Bing's knowledge as a Soul Master, Qian Bing did not doubt Tang San's judgment when it came to identifying, using, and curing poisons. He nodded.

"Mm, that makes sense. But then, how can you find the Mandala Snake's Snake Den?"

Tang San pointed to his nose and smiled.

"I smelled it earlier. The Mandala Snake's scent is a strange compound fragrance—a strong fishy odor mixed with a faint aroma of tea. It's easy to distinguish.

"Also, after we killed the Netherworld Wolf, it immediately rushed to the scene, which means it had been hiding nearby all along.

"I think there's a high chance its Snake Den is somewhere around here. Once it's light, I'll look around, and I should be able to find it."

Seeing that Tang San had already made his judgment and arrangements, Qian Bing simply nodded and asked no more questions.

At that moment, Tang San finally cut a small opening in the Mandala Snake's body and retrieved the Short Sword.

He took out a waterskin from his pack and carefully rinsed the Short Sword several times to wash away the strongly fishy snake blood. Then he took out a handkerchief and thoroughly dried the sword.

Only then did he toss the handkerchief where it was, choose a direction, and lead Qian Bing away from the scene.

Before long, the two found another dry rock wall a kilometer away and rested there.

Tang San carefully scattered Realgar Powder around the area, while Qian Bing, before Tang San had even finished, leaned against the rock wall and fell asleep under the effects of the Snake Venom.

When he woke again, he found himself lying on a spotless white bed.

Without the slightest surprise, he had returned to the Pokémon World.