Ingrain

"Mu'er, your Martial Soul seems to have mutated from my Green Toad."

On the way back to their territory, Qing Tianfeng shared his discovery with Qing Mu.

After hearing Qing Tianfeng's words, Xu Yao curled her lips. "Couldn't it have mutated from my Narcissus Flower? Look at the thing on this little guy's back—it looks exactly like a narcissus seed."

Seeing this, Qing Mu hurriedly said, "Dad, Mom, I think your Martial Souls were probably similar in quality, so they fused and mutated together. That's why it turned out like this."

Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao were both stunned after hearing Qing Mu's explanation. It really did seem to be the case.

About an hour later, the carriage arrived at their territory.

Qing Tianfeng was a viscount of the Hagen Das Kingdom. He governed a small town and more than a dozen nearby villages, with a population of three to four thousand. Every year, the territory brought Qing Mu's family several hundred, perhaps even over a thousand, Gold Soul Coins in taxes.

Of course, Qing Mu's family's actual income was certainly far greater than that. Spirit Masters found it relatively easy to make money. Qing Mu's mother, Xu Yao, received 1,200 Gold Soul Coins a year just from Spirit Hall subsidies.

The currency system of this world, from lowest to highest, consisted of Copper Soul Coins, Silver Soul Coins, and Gold Soul Coins. The exchange rate was 1:10, meaning one Gold Soul Coin was equal to one hundred Copper Soul Coins.

Based on Qing Mu's own tests, one Gold Soul Coin had roughly the purchasing power of over a thousand yuan from his previous life. However, commoners in this world earned very little, usually only two to three Silver Soul Coins a month.

This was especially true for farmers. They might not even save a single Silver Soul Coin in an entire year.

That was why Spirit Masters held such high status. Even the lowest-ranked One-Ring Soul Master could receive one Gold Soul Coin from Spirit Hall every month without doing anything, equivalent to four or five months of wages for an ordinary person.

However, becoming a Spirit Master was not so easy. It depended on one's bloodline and required Innate Soul Power. Spirit Master families and factions were more likely to produce them. Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul had mutated from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon into a Gong Pig, yet he still possessed Soul Power, which proved the point.

As for ordinary commoner families, the chance of awakening Innate Soul Power was less than one percent. Even if they did awaken it, it was generally no higher than level three, with most people only reaching levels one or two.

Once the carriage entered the castle and returned to his own territory, Qing Mu finally had the chance to study his Bulbasaur Martial Soul.

"Come out, Bulbasaur!"

After arriving in the castle garden, Qing Mu summoned his Martial Soul. Bulbasaur immediately appeared before him.

After being summoned, Bulbasaur looked around. Discovering that he was standing on grass and sensing the scattered Wood Attribute elements around him, he could not help but chirp happily, "Bulba, bulba~"

Qing Mu smiled at the sight. "Looks like you really like this kind of environment."

Then Qing Mu crouched down and asked Bulbasaur, "Bulbasaur, can you use moves now?"

The first thing Qing Mu needed to figure out was whether Bulbasaur could comprehend moves on his own like in the games and anime, or whether he was like the Martial Souls of Douluo Continent and needed Soul Rings before gaining abilities.

Logically speaking, a level-five Bulbasaur should already know moves.

"Bulba?"

After hearing Qing Mu's question, Bulbasaur tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why Qing Mu would ask something so obvious.

Qing Mu's heart immediately tightened. If Bulbasaur could not comprehend moves on his own, then the greatest advantage of his Bulbasaur Martial Soul over this world would no longer exist.

"Forget it. If he can't comprehend them, then he can't. At least I have innate level-five Soul Power, and Pokémon are born with the genes for evolution. Maybe I can let Bulbasaur evolve later on."

Qing Mu lowered his head and sighed inwardly.

But just as Qing Mu was about to accept reality, two slender vines suddenly extended from either side of Bulbasaur's neck and gently touched Qing Mu's shoulders.

Feeling the touch on his shoulders, Qing Mu froze for a moment before quickly looking up.

Then he saw the vines extending from Bulbasaur's shoulders.

"This is... Vine Whip!"

After staring blankly for a moment, Qing Mu was overwhelmed with joy.

What did the appearance of Vine Whip represent? It meant that Bulbasaur might be able to use moves from Pokémon. He was not entirely a Martial Soul of this world.

Still, Qing Mu forcefully suppressed his excitement and began having Bulbasaur demonstrate his other abilities.

After all, Vine Whip alone could not prove everything. Many Wood Attribute Martial Souls possessed similar abilities.

However, as Bulbasaur began displaying the other moves he had mastered, Qing Mu could no longer suppress the grin on his face.

Hahaha! His Bulbasaur really was the Bulbasaur from Pokémon. He had not been affected by the laws of this world at all.

In his excitement, Qing Mu directly scooped Bulbasaur into his arms and began spinning in circles.

After testing him, Qing Mu confirmed that Bulbasaur currently knew three moves: Vine Whip, Tackle, and Ingrain.

There was nothing much to say about Vine Whip and Tackle. Both were ordinary offensive moves. What was interesting was Ingrain.

It was a recovery-type move. When used, Bulbasaur's four feet extended countless roots into the ground, absorbing nutrients from the earth to continuously heal his injuries.

What surprised Qing Mu even more was that when Bulbasaur used Ingrain, the Soul Power in his body was not consumed. Instead, it slowly increased.

This was extremely important. At Qing Mu's current level, he originally could not keep Bulbasaur summoned for long. If Bulbasaur used moves, the duration would be even shorter. That was why Qing Mu had needed to summon Bulbasaur again after returning home.

But now that he had Ingrain, he no longer needed to worry too much about Soul Power consumption and could train for extended periods.

Yes, train. Simply being able to use moves was not particularly meaningful. Only by mastering them thoroughly and being able to release them in the most appropriate way at any moment could one truly unleash their full power.

This principle applied everywhere. Even the Spirit Masters of this world did not spend all their time cultivating; they also devoted time to training how to use their soul skills.

A while later, Qing Mu's excitement finally settled down. He rubbed his face against Bulbasaur as though cuddling a cat before setting him down.

"It's so good to have you!"

At this moment, Qing Mu's heart surged with emotion. With his unrestricted Bulbasaur Martial Soul, he would surely make a name for himself on this Douluo Continent.

Perhaps, many years from now, people would respectfully call him...

Bulbasaur Douluo!