Outside Skywater City, in the secluded back mountain, "Come out, Zygarde!"
"Woof~!"
One yellow and one purple Spirit Ring appeared beneath Bai Mu's feet as he summoned Zygarde.
"Xiao Ruan, let me see your new move."
He raised his hand and pointed at a massive boulder ahead. "Use Land's Wrath!"
"Roar!"
Zygarde let out a low growl. Its body gleamed with a brilliant green light, and the ground around it instantly cracked apart in a spiderweb pattern.
The next instant, countless green pillars of light erupted from the earth, shattering and collapsing the ground.
Boom!
Amid the deafening blast, the boulder on the ground instantly exploded.
As the pillars of light dimmed and the boulder crumbled, the entire area was left in ruins.
"Damn, it actually has this much power—"
Bai Mu suddenly felt that the power of moves in the game, like Pokemon height and weight data, could only be used as a reference!
How was this only base 90 power?!
I'd believe it even if you said 150!
"I wonder what it would look like when a Core Enforcer used it."
Bai Mu could not help looking forward to it. After calming himself, he continued testing.
"Use Dragon Dance!"
"Roar, roar~"
The moment it used the move, Zygarde immediately began hopping around like an overexcited husky, shaking its head and wagging its body in an ostentatious display!
It was as though it were performing some mysterious ritual.
The instant the dance ended, white light flashed over its body, and its speed and attack increased!
"Use Land's Wrath again!"
"Roar~"
After having Zygarde use Land's Wrath again for testing, Bai Mu found that the move's power had indeed increased by fifty percent.
"The effect is pretty good. The rules haven't changed, but—"
He paused and stared at Zygarde speechlessly. "But your Dragon Dance is way too complicated. There won't be time for you to dance around for ages in battle."
"You need to try simplifying the movements later. As long as you can use it, that's enough. Cut out every unnecessary movement until you can multitask and perform Dragon Dance enhancements during battle."
"I will try my best!"
Zygarde was not entirely sure whether it could achieve that in a short time.
"It's fine. Take it slow."
Bai Mu comforted and encouraged it. "If you can do it, then in battles against opponents of the same level, your strength and speed will definitely be the greatest!"
"Try Substitute again."
"I will try."
White light bloomed from Zygarde's body, and a Dragon Dog Substitute identical to it successfully appeared before it.
Under its control, the Substitute moved nimbly.
It ran, darted, and maneuvered rapidly through the valley, its movements smooth and natural.
"Stomp!"
Bai Mu tried taking control. Zygarde's Substitute decisively stomped the ground, creating a weaker shockwave.
"Not bad. If necessary during battle, I can control the Substitute for you."
Bai Mu revealed a satisfied smile.
This Substitute in the real world was far more useful than the one in the game, aside from the fact that opponents could directly attack the real body.
"To me, this move's greatest use is as a shield."
Zygarde, however, was not particularly impressed by the move.
"Isn't that enough?"
"You practice on your own first. I need to get familiar with it too."
Bai Mu's Second Spirit Ring lit up. As his stamina was drained, a Substitute immediately condensed beside him.
But he did not stop and activated Substitute again!
The next second, a second Substitute successfully condensed.
"Is there a quantity limit?"
Filled with doubt, Bai Mu began continuously using Jungle Healing to restore his stamina and create Substitutes.
When the number reached five, he clearly felt an enormous Spiritual Power burden.
Moreover, although the Substitutes could still carry out simple commands, their movements began to grow stiff and their reactions sluggish.
It was like AI computing power had run out, turning Artificial Intelligence into Artificial Stupidity.
"As expected, the more there are, the more the difficulty of controlling them rises exponentially."
"With my current ability, I can perfectly control only one without affecting myself. I can control two if precision is not as important. Any more than that, and everything becomes a complete mess."
With a faint ache in his head, Bai Mu dismissed the Substitutes and rubbed the space between his brows.
"I never expected that Soul Power and stamina wouldn't limit me, while Spiritual Power would become my greatest limitation."
"Looks like I need to find a way to improve my Spiritual Power later."
As for how to improve it, he currently had only three options—
A Self-Created Cultivation Method, the Immortal Herb Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, and a head Spirit Bone.
"The only head Spirit Bone that can greatly increase Spiritual Power seems to be the Wisdom Skull Tang San obtained during the Spirit Master Competition, right?"
Did that mean he had to participate in the Spirit Master Competition too?
That did not seem impossible.
"Forget it. I'll just let nature take its course!"
Bai Mu rubbed his temples and temporarily stopped worrying about so much.
Anyway, with his abilities, as long as his level kept up, he could join any academy and crush everyone else when the time came.
Half a year passed quietly.
Bai Mu's life was extremely regular. Every day, he cultivated, ate, read, and trained.
Whenever he was bored or free, he would go shopping or spar with Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er.
Over those six months, Shui Yue'er also used hundred-year, thousand-year, and Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber to temper her body, then hunted and obtained a thousand-year Second Spirit Ring.
Bai Mu also naturally advanced to level thirty.
One day, after Zygarde digested the Immortal Herb's power, it split off another new Z-Cell.
Yet Bai Mu could not feel happy about it.
Good news: There were now forty-nine Z-Cells!
Bad news: Four of those Z-Cells had failed to split because they had not digested the Immortal Herb's power!
"So slow! Only two split off in half a year."
"At this rate, it'll take at least another year to truly gather all forty-nine Z-Cells!"
Bai Mu was getting impatient.
The original plan had been to emerge after transforming into Z-Snake.
The plan has changed. Prepare to break through!
"Rather than staying stuck at level thirty and waiting for a year, I might as well go to Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for my Third Spirit Ring, break through directly, gather all the Z-Cells, and transform into Z-Snake!"
The next day, Bai Mu decisively bid farewell to the Shui Family Mother and Daughter.
"You're going to Star Dou Great Forest?"
Shui Yunxin's brows furrowed tightly. "That place is far more dangerous than Ice Forest. The outer regions are manageable, but if you go deeper inside, Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts are everywhere. At the very depths, there are even the legendary Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python."
"It's okay, Auntie. I won't go too deep recklessly."
Bai Mu grinned. "I'll just train properly in the outer regions, then return to Nuoding City to visit Old Dean."
"Sigh, you child."
Shui Yunxin sighed and took out a map. "This is a Map Copy of part of Star Dou Great Forest that the academy has collected. It marks several dangerous areas and the habitats of Special Spirit Beasts. You must be extra careful and don't take unnecessary risks."
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll be careful."
Bai Mu accepted the map with a smile. "When it's convenient, I'll write to you and let you know I'm safe!"
"Stay safe. Until we meet again."
Shui Bing'er grabbed Bai Mu's wrist and spoke seriously.
"Mm, I will."
Bai Mu gently squeezed her icy little hand.
"Bai Mu, you absolutely have to be okay!"
Shui Yue'er turned her head away with slightly reddened eyes, looking fierce and cute. "Otherwise, I'll find a boyfriend even more handsome than you and make you mad to death!"
"Then I'm relieved. After all, there isn't a second person on the entire continent more handsome than me!"
"You!"
Bai Mu smiled and vigorously ruffled Shui Yue'er's hair.
Before she could get angry, he turned and strode away with flair.
Before you continue