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 all four feet, continuously drawing nutrients from the earth to slowly restore the Soul Power Qing Mu had expended.
Even so, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur remained wary of Fire Lamp Grass's direction, afraid that the barrage of ultimate attacks had failed to kill it and would provoke a frenzied counterattack.
Although Bulbasaur was powerful now, before obtaining Mega Evolution, it was still rather vulnerable to fire. Moreover, it had yet to learn Solar Beam, so it could not afford to be injured without restraint.
However, Qing Mu's worries ultimately did not come true. When the smoke from the explosions dispersed, a pale purple Soul Ring appeared in his field of vision several hundred meters away.
As for Fire Lamp Grass's corpse, aside from a tree stump and a few remnants, everything else had long since been blasted into scraps by Bulbasaur's massive Seed Bomb bombardment.
Seeing this, Qing Mu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The Soul Ring had appeared, which meant Fire Lamp Grass 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 his Soul Power had recovered to around seventy or eighty percent did he slowly walk toward Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring.
Looking at the pale purple Soul Ring before him, Qing Mu could not help feeling nervous. His future development rested on this single Soul Ring.
If he could obtain Sunny Day, Qing Mu would be able to complete the battle system he had envisioned, and Bulbasaur would become an undying damage-dealing turret.
After all, with combinations such as Sunny Day + Solar Beam + Growth + Solar Beam + Power Whip + Giga Drain, as well as supporting moves like Ingrain, Grassy Terrain, and Leech Seed, Bulbasaur would be impossible to kill in battle unless it encountered an opponent with overwhelmingly superior strength.
If he failed to obtain Sunny Day, Qing Mu's future plans would need some adjustments. He might lean toward another approach afterward: a fast-attack style based on Grassy Terrain and Grass Slide.
But even if he chose that style, Sunny Day would still be extremely important, because Bulbasaur's trait was Chlorophyll, which doubled its speed under sunny weather.
Qing Mu then drew Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring onto himself, but instead of refining it immediately, he said to Bulbasaur beside him, "Bulbasaur, take me back to that place from earlier."
"Bulba, Bulba~"
Bulbasaur also understood the seriousness of the situation. It immediately extended its Vine Whip, placed Qing Mu atop its head, and began running swiftly.
As for why Qing Mu did not run himself, it was because even maintaining his current state was already difficult for him. If he ran at high speed as well, Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring might slip out of his control.
A minute later, Bulbasaur found the cave they had discovered earlier. It flung countless tiny leaves from both sides of its body to tidy up the interior, then placed Qing Mu inside.
Once he had reached his destination, Qing Mu stopped suppressing himself and began refining Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring.
While Qing Mu refined the Soul Ring, Bulbasaur remained outside. The downside was that it could no longer receive a continued supply of Soul Power from Qing Mu's body, and once its energy ran out, it would return to Qing Mu's body.
Furthermore, because using Soul Rings required a Spirit Master's assistance, Bulbasaur could not use the skills of Qing Mu's Soul Rings.
Fortunately, these problems were not much of an issue for Bulbasaur.
Although it could not use Qing Mu's Soul Ring skills, Bulbasaur still had its own moves. 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 carry over a large boulder 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 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, the Soul Ring Qing Mu absorbed was slightly older, and combined with the experience Bulbasaur had gained from defeating Soul Beasts earlier, it allowed him to break through directly to level thirty-two.
"Bulba, Bulba~"
When Bulbasaur saw Qing Mu awaken, it quickly turned its gaze toward him, its eyes seemingly filled with a trace of worry.
Though only a little over an hour had passed, the feeling of being disconnected from Qing Mu made Bulbasaur feel as if a long time had gone by.
Qing Mu gently stroked Bulbasaur's head and smiled. "Easy, easy. You know my physique, don't you? 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."
After absorbing Fire Lamp Grass's Soul Ring, Qing Mu had indeed fortunately obtained a move called Sunny Day. Now, as long as this Sunny Day could trigger the Chlorophyll in both him and Bulbasaur, his idea would work.
A pale purple Soul Ring then appeared around Qing Mu. As it lit up, a white ball of light the size of a fist quickly appeared in his hand.
In an instant, the darkness within the cave was driven away, and the place became incomparably bright.
"Go!"
The next moment, Qing Mu tossed the white ball of light upward. Like a firework, it exploded above Qing Mu and Bulbasaur's heads.
Yet strangely, even after the ball of light exploded, the brightness within the cave did not vanish. It was as though they were being scorched by the sun.
But when Qing Mu saw Bulbasaur's body becoming increasingly emerald green, he could not help bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! It's Sunny Day! It really is Sunny Day! I finally did it!"
At this moment, Qing Mu was incomparably excited. As long as Sunny Day worked, he could continue along the path he had originally planned and bring Bulbasaur to its strongest state.
Only after a long while did Qing Mu calm down from his excitement, then leave the cave together with Bulbasaur.
After leaving the cave, sunlight shone onto Qing Mu's face, immediately making him feel a wave of comfort.
Influenced by Bulbasaur, he now liked sunlight as well. His heart was filled with joy, and he felt that his future, like the warm sunlight before him, was incomparably bright!
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