Third Spirit Skill, Sunny Day

After stopping the Seed Bomb barrage, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur immediately retreated at high speed.

Only after withdrawing several hundred meters and changing direction did Bulbasaur grow countless roots from its four feet, continuously drawing nutrients from the earth to slowly replenish the Soul Power Qing Mu had expended.

Even so, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur remained vigilantly focused on the direction of the Fire Lamp Grass, afraid that the bombardment of their ultimate move had failed to kill it and would provoke a frenzied counterattack.

Although Bulbasaur was powerful now, before gaining Mega Evolution, it was still rather afraid of fire. Furthermore, it had yet to learn Photosynthesis, so it could not afford to be injured without restraint.

However, Qing Mu's worries ultimately did not come to pass. Once the smoke from the explosions dispersed, a pale purple Soul Ring appeared in Qing Mu's field of vision several hundred meters away.

As for the Fire Lamp Grass's corpse, aside from a tree stump and a few remnants, the rest had long since been blasted to bits by Bulbasaur's barrage of Seed Bombs.

Seeing this, Qing Mu could not help but sigh in relief. The Soul Ring had appeared, meaning it was truly dead. Not every Soul Beast could be like Xiao Wu and come back to life after dying.

Still, just in case, Qing Mu waited a while longer. Only after the Soul Power in his body had recovered to around seventy or eighty percent did he slowly head toward the Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring.

Looking at the pale purple Soul Ring before him, Qing Mu could not help but feel nervous. His future development hinged on this single Soul Ring.

If he could get Sunny Day, Qing Mu would be able to complete the combat system he had envisioned, and Bulbasaur would become an immortal damage-dealing turret.

After all, with a combination of Sunny Day + Photosynthesis + Growth + Solar Beam + Power Whip + Giga Drain, along with supporting moves such as Ingrain, Grassy Terrain, and Leech Seed, it would be practically impossible to die in battle unless they encountered an opponent whose strength absolutely crushed theirs.

If he did not get Sunny Day, then Qing Mu's plans for the future would need some adjustments. He might instead lean toward another approach: a fast-attack style centered around Grassy Terrain and Grass Slide.

But even if he took that path, Sunny Day would still be extremely important, because Bulbasaur's ability was Chlorophyll, which doubled its speed under sunny weather.

Qing Mu then drew the Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring toward himself, but rather than refining it immediately, he said to Bulbasaur beside him, "Bulbasaur, take me back to that place from before."

"Da Na, Da Na~"

Bulbasaur understood the seriousness of the situation as well. It immediately extended its Vine Whip, placed Qing Mu atop its head, and began running at high speed.

As for why Qing Mu did not run himself, it was because maintaining his current state was already extremely taxing. If he ran at high speed as well, the Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring might very well break free from his control.

A minute later, Bulbasaur found the cave they had discovered earlier. It flung out countless tiny leaves from both sides of its body to clear out the interior, then placed Qing Mu inside.

Now that they had reached their destination, Qing Mu no longer suppressed it and began refining the Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring.

While Qing Mu was refining the Soul Ring, Bulbasaur remained outside. The drawback was that it could no longer receive a continued supply of Soul Power from Qing Mu's body, and once its energy was depleted, it would return to Qing Mu's body.

Moreover, because using Soul Rings required the help of a Soul Master, Bulbasaur could not use the moves from Qing Mu's Soul Rings.

Fortunately, these problems were not much of an issue for Bulbasaur.

Although it could not use the moves from Qing Mu's Soul Rings, Bulbasaur still had its own moves available. In addition, Ingrain could provide energy to a certain extent, so it would not easily return to Qing Mu's body from energy depletion.

Afterward, Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to move a large boulder over and block the cave entrance, hiding itself and Qing Mu within the cave.

Time passed quickly. More than an hour later, Qing Mu finally finished refining the Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring and opened his eyes.

"Level thirty-two—not bad!"

Feeling the surge of Soul Power within his body, Qing Mu revealed a satisfied smile.

Under normal circumstances, absorbing a Soul Ring could increase one's Soul Power by at most one level. However, because the Soul Ring Qing Mu absorbed was somewhat older, coupled with the experience Bulbasaur had gained from defeating Soul Beasts earlier, he directly broke through to level thirty-two.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

After seeing Qing Mu awaken, Bulbasaur quickly turned its gaze toward him, its eyes seemingly filled with a trace of worry.

Though it had only been a little over an hour, the feeling of being disconnected from Qing Mu made Bulbasaur feel as though it had endured a long period of time.

Qing Mu gently stroked Bulbasaur's head and smiled. "Relax, relax. Don't you know how strong my body is now? A mere two-thousand-year Soul Ring is still far from my limit."

After soothing Bulbasaur's emotions, Qing Mu stood up and took a deep breath. "Success or failure rests on this one attempt."

After absorbing the Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring, Qing Mu had indeed luckily obtained a move called Sunny Day. Now, as long as this Sunny Day could trigger the Chlorophyll on both him and Bulbasaur, his idea would work.

A pale purple Soul Ring then appeared around Qing Mu. As it lit up, a white orb the size of a fist soon appeared in his hand.

In an instant, the darkness within the cave was dispelled, and the entire place became incomparably bright.

"Go!"

The next moment, Qing Mu tossed the white orb upward. Like a firework, it exploded above Qing Mu and Bulbasaur's heads.

Yet strangely, even after the orb exploded, the brightness within the cave did not fade. It was as though they were being scorched by the sun.

But as Qing Mu looked at Bulbasaur's body, which was growing ever more emerald-green, he could not help bursting into laughter.

"Hahahaha! It's Sunny Day! It's really Sunny Day! I've finally succeeded!"

At that moment, Qing Mu was incomparably excited. As long as Sunny Day worked, he could proceed according to his original plan and bring Bulbasaur to its strongest state.

Only after a long while did Qing Mu finally calm down from his excitement, and he left the cave together with Bulbasaur.

After walking out of the cave, the sunlight shone upon Qing Mu's face, immediately making him feel a wave of comfort.

Influenced by Bulbasaur, he now liked sunlight as well. Moreover, he was in an exceptionally good mood, feeling that his future was as brilliant as the warm sunlight before him!