Larvitar! Did You Learn a New Move?

The four tall figures quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor, their heavy footsteps gradually fading away. At last, the room and its surroundings returned to silence.

Lin Xia stood at the doorway with an armful of brand-new daily necessities, watching his senior brothers leave. The corners of his mouth rose unconsciously.

Larvitar relaxed as well. It rubbed its little head against Lin Xia's trouser leg and let out a "Yō Jī," as if saying:

Those big guys seemed pretty nice?

After closing the door, Lin Xia immediately began tidying up.

He spread out the thick quilt that smelled of sunshine, changed the sheets and pillowcases, neatly arranged the toiletries on the washstand, and folded the new clothes into the wardrobe.

Under his care, the room was instantly transformed, filled with the warm air of everyday life.

After finishing all that, Lin Xia sat down at the table. With a thought, he took several dozen pieces of Mithril Ore, gleaming with a soft silver light, from the Spatial Soul Tool Ring Teacher Lou Gao had given him.

These ores were not large chunks, but clumps formed from something like condensed fine sand. They felt icy to the touch and emitted pure Metal Energy Fluctuations.

Lin Xia picked up a piece of Mithril Ore and put it into his mouth Without Hesitation. "Kā Chā." The crisp sound of it cracking rang out in the quiet room. He chewed it carefully, feeling the refined Metal Energy dissolve in his mouth and flow down his throat into his Limbs and Bones, nourishing his Soul Power and Physical Body.

At the same time, he opened the books Lou Gao had given him and began reading voraciously under the slanting sunlight streaming in through the window.

Meanwhile, when Larvitar saw the small pile of Mithril Ore that had suddenly appeared on the table, glittering with tempting silver light, its ruby-like eyes instantly burst with unprecedented brilliance!

"Yō—Jī!!!"

A shriek of utter surprise and delight shattered the room's silence!

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Larvitar pounced onto the table. Its short claws snatched up pieces of Mithril Ore at a speed too fast for the eye to follow, stuffing them wildly into its mouth!

"Kā Chā Kā Chā Kā Chā—! Gā Bēng Gā Bēng Gā Bēng—!"

Larvitar shook its little head so fast it became a blur. Its cheeks puffed up round, nearly splitting its Gray-green skin, while its throat gave satisfied little "mmph" sounds. Its eyes narrowed into slits from sheer bliss, and its tail slapped back and forth excitedly.

The way it ate was like a glutton who had starved for centuries finally seeing a feast fit for an emperor. Every bite carried both protest and compensation for the past Half a Month, when it had been forced to gnaw ordinary rocks and sleep in the open.

The icy, pure energy of the Mithril Ore made its entire body feel wonderful, as though every scale were cheering.

Lin Xia looked up from the pages and saw Larvitar acting like a starving ghost reborn, a merciless eating machine. The corners of his mouth twitched despite himself, torn between amusement and heartache.

This Little Guy had followed him across mountains and rivers ever since awakening its Martial Soul. The best thing it had ever eaten was a little Iron Ore. When had it ever seen such "high-end goods"?

No wonder it was so excited.

Lin Xia shook his head helplessly and indulgently. Larvitar was frantically sweeping through the dozens of Mithril Ore pieces on the table, and the little pile visibly shrank at a rapid pace. Yet it still seemed unsatisfied, using its Claws to rake across the tabletop as if searching for any that had escaped.

Lin Xia silently sighed and lightly tapped his Space Ring with a finger.

Crash—

Another small pile of Mithril Ore of the same amount appeared on the table as if by magic, instantly filling the gap Larvitar had cleared out.

"Eat slowly. There's plenty."

With a smile in his voice, Lin Xia watched Larvitar fall into wild delight once more and pounce on the new Ore Pile. He took out a piece of Mithril Ore himself and began eating it too.

Time passed quietly. About half an hour went by.

Suddenly, the "Kā Chā" sounds stopped abruptly.

Lin Xia instinctively turned his head and saw that Larvitar had lightly jumped down from the table.

Rather than lying down contentedly after eating its fill as usual, or curiously looking around, the Little Guy walked straight to Lin Xia's feet. It stretched out a Gray-green little claw and gently, somewhat urgently, tugged at Lin Xia's Trouser Leg.

Lin Xia's focused studying had been interrupted, but he was not the slightest bit annoyed. He set down his book, looked at the Little Dinosaur by his feet, and asked gently:

"Larvitar? What's wrong? Are you full?"

"Yō Jī! Yō Jī Yō Jī!"

When it saw its Master looking at it, Larvitar immediately cried out excitedly several times. First, it pointed forcefully at its round little belly with its short claw, then pointed at the tightly shut door and toward the yard outside. Its eyes sparkled, filled with the eager excitement of wanting to share something.

Then, it actually wrapped both little claws around Lin Xia's Trouser Leg, leaned its body back slightly, and made an effortful pulling motion, seemingly trying to drag Lin Xia straight outside.

"Hmm?"

Lin Xia was briefly stunned by Larvitar's unusual and urgent behavior.

But as he looked into the Little Guy's gleaming ruby eyes and felt the intense excitement it was conveying, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning!

Lin Xia crouched down until he was level with Larvitar, and enormous surprise instantly burst into his eyes.

"Larvitar! Did you... learn a new move?!"

"Yō Jī!"

Larvitar nodded its little head hard, making the Blunt Horn on its head sway along with it. Its response could not have been more certain.

It released Lin Xia's Trouser Leg, bounced impatiently in place twice, and pointed outside again, letting out an urging whine from its throat.

"Really?!"

Joy instantly exploded in Lin Xia's heart. A brilliant smile bloomed across his face as he immediately stood up.

"Let's go! Hurry and show me!"

Having received permission, Larvitar immediately shot toward the door like a Gray-green arrow. It nimbly pushed open the half-closed door with its little Claws and ran into the Backyard.

Lin Xia followed close behind, his heart beating faster with anticipation.

Larvitar did not run around the courtyard. Its Small Nose twitched slightly, as if searching for a suitable location.

Before long, it fixed its gaze on a relatively open patch of ground in the corner of the garden. There were only a few hardy weeds there, with no delicate flowers nearby.

It turned back and called "Yō Jī" at Lin Xia, signaling for him to watch.

Lin Xia held his breath, his gaze locked tightly onto Larvitar.

The Little Guy stood before that patch of soil and lowered its body slightly. An invisible Energy Fluctuation spread from its tiny body.

Then, its short front Claws and little head covered in Gray-green shell both lit up with an earthy yellow glow that seemed almost tangible!

The glow condensed without dispersing, carrying a heavy yet sharp aura, as though it had gathered Earth Power into a single point!

The next moment, Larvitar moved!

Its movements were astonishingly fast. The instant it finished charging up, its entire body became like a high-speed spinning drill and plunged headfirst into the soil beneath its feet!

"Puff—crash!"

There was no violent impact or cloud of dust as expected. The instant its earth-yellow-glowing head and Claws touched the soil, the hard earth seemed to turn into soft quicksand, easily parting and moving aside!

A round Hole nearly half a meter wide, with smooth edges and a bottom too deep to see, appeared before Lin Xia in the blink of an eye!

The displaced soil seemed to have been instantly transferred and compressed around the walls of the Hole by some invisible force. The entire process was unbelievably smooth!

Only a faint earth-yellow glow lingered around the edge of the Hole, along with wisps of earthy scent.

"This... this is?!"