Battle Makes You Stronger, Right?

The Sky Screen shifted, and like Charizard before it, Gengar's life story began to unfold.

Within a space where light and darkness were inverted, defying all reason.

A Pokemon Egg wreathed in faint purple mist quietly cracked open. A blurry mass of purple gas, seemingly formed from shadows and fog, drifted out, innocent and ethereal.

Then, it "saw" that figure. Its form could not be described; only a colossal black shadow that blotted out the sky and filled its vision, as though it were the origin and destination of all shadows.

Within that profound darkness, there was only a pair of enormous blood-red pupils that flickered in and out of sight, flowing like magma and blood, proclaiming the presence of a supreme existence beyond comprehension and reach.

The tiny Gastly, as if drawn by an invisible force, stubbornly followed behind that enormous black shadow.

It did not undergo any "training." Day after day, it simply drifted quietly along the edge of the black shadow's path.

When the black shadow roamed across shattered mountains and twisting currents of energy, it drifted along; when the black shadow hovered in silence, it lingered around it.

Occasionally, it fought a yellow Pokemon holding a spoon over several Berries radiating strange halos. Even their battles were as sly and silent as a game of shadows.

Yet, amid this seemingly aimless "following," something once again happened that seemed utterly "unfair" in the eyes of everyone on Douluo Continent.

Gastly merely existed within the pure Ghost-type energy naturally emitted by that enormous black shadow, dense as tangible black mist. Its body, like a parched sponge, endlessly absorbed and assimilated that energy on its own.

Before long, the gas condensed, and it evolved into Haunter.

It continued following. Its energy swelled, and its form changed once more.

In the end, Gengar's deep-purple round body, its wide mouth stretched into a mischievous grin and its red eyes gleaming with ghostly light, froze upon the screen.

Level 89.

The scene ended.

All across Douluo Continent, an eerie silence fell once more, followed by an even greater uproar filled with absurdity and bitterness!

"What... what was that?"

"That Gengar just... just 'walked' around for a few years... and reached level 89?!"

"It didn't even fight from birth like Charizard did! Wasn't it supposed to get stronger through battle? It never even fought seriously!"

"It can level up like that? How is that any different from traveling? What kind of training is that?"

"What exactly was that black shadow? Just following it could let a soul beast... no, one of those ghost creatures, level up while sitting around?!"

"Why?! We hunt soul beasts, absorb soul rings, and break through on the brink of death. This Gengar is even more outrageous than Charizard! I thought its path as a prodigy would involve even more violent battles!"

"But there was nothing at all! Wasn't it supposed to get stronger through battle? It could reach level 89 like this?"

Countless Spirit Masters, especially those struggling at the bottom who understood the hardships of cultivation all too well, stared at Gengar's "easygoing" path to advancement.

Compared to their own near-death experiences, the frustration in their hearts was almost impossible to let go of.

Extreme North, core region.

Snow Empress's breathtaking face, usually as cold and aloof as eternal ice, now showed violent tremors in her ice-blue eyes as she stared fixedly at the enormous black shadow that had flashed across the Sky Screen and those blood-red pupils.

Only then did she recall Gengar's evaluation: "It had followed the divine beast, Supreme Shadow, for many years."

"That was..." Her voice carried a slight tremble she did not notice herself. "A divine beast... a true god, one that stands above Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts... Supreme Shadow."

As a Heavenly Snow Woman with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, she could sense the essential pressure within that black shadow, surpassing the level of mortal life, more clearly than even human Titled Douluo. Even through the Sky Screen, she could confirm it.

That was absolutely not a soul beast, but an existence of a higher order.

Ice Empress's petite body was trembling as well. Her emerald eyes were filled with shock and... a trace of uncontrollable fervor. "Snow Empress, did you see that? That black shadow... merely the energy naturally emitted by its existence was enough to let a weak ghost creature reach a level close to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast within a few years!

Is... is this the domain of a 'god'? Are we soul beasts... truly doomed never to reach it?"

Soul beasts of Douluo Continent could not become gods. That was an iron law and a despair pressing upon the hearts of all high-level soul beasts.

But at this moment, the other world displayed by the Sky Screen seemed to offer an entirely different possibility.

That Gengar had merely followed a divine beast, yet its strength had grown so rapidly.

This realization was like a bolt of lightning, splitting apart the frozen wasteland Snow Empress and Ice Empress had guarded within their hearts.

They exchanged a glance, and each saw the flames named "hope" and "desire" ignite in the other's eyes.

If... if they too could find such an existence, or... if they went to the Pokemon World, could they become divine beasts?

One could not become a god on Douluo Continent, but the Pokemon World was clearly different.

It seemed possible to become gods there.

Their strength had both reached a bottleneck. They were not even confident they could survive their next Hundred-Thousand-Year Heavenly Tribulation.

This was absolutely their only chance to become divine beasts.

Ice Empress and Snow Empress exchanged another look, and both had already made their decision.

Where Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were.

Dugu Yan had already covered her face, unable to bear watching any longer.

After witnessing Gengar's "ridiculous" growth and being intimidated by Giratina's figure, Dugu Bo's eyes gradually regained clarity.

Yet deep within them, an incredibly faint trace of... guilt flickered?

Once his reason returned, Dugu Bo's expression instantly froze.

His knees gave way, and he dropped to the ground. Staring at his own hands in disbelief, he said:

"What... was I doing just now?"

"Grandpa, is it possible that, as a chosen prodigy, you can't be too cowardly when you go up on the arena later? If you surrender as soon as you get up there, could there be some kind of punishment?"

Seeing that Dugu Bo had regained his senses, Dugu Yan also felt that something was off.

But once she voiced that thought, Dugu Bo became even more despairing.

He knew his own worth best. Compared to most people, his talent was indeed outstanding.

But among Titled Douluo, what kind of prodigy was he?

Now he was expected not to fight too cowardly after stepping onto the arena. Wouldn't his opponent just kill him in seconds?

But he could not gamble on something like this. Who knew what exactly was going on with the Sky Screen?

Dugu Bo took a deep breath and dusted off his clothes, looking like a man prepared to die.

"Fine. Since I'm fighting on behalf of Douluo Continent, wouldn't surrendering immediately make me the laughingstock of the world?"

"With my strength, exchanging a few moves with this Gengar shouldn't be difficult. At the very least, I'll last longer than that old dragon did."

Just then, the Prodigy Arena manifested, its golden light solidifying.

On one side, green light surged as the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor coiled in place.

Dugu Bo did not lower his guard in the slightest. The moment he appeared, he activated his martial soul.

Though he had seen Gengar's bizarre growth experience, the dignity of a Titled Douluo and his confidence in his own Toxic still made him want to fight.

On the other side floated Gengar, its iconic wide mouth split into a mischievous grin.

Its red eyes rolled about as it looked at Dugu Bo with curiosity.

It was considering roughly how much strength it should use to avoid scaring its opponent away.

"Hmph, no matter what kind of ghost you are, before this old man's Toxic... you will have to keep your distance!" Dugu Bo struck first. "Seventh Spirit Skill, Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor True Body!"

The enormous jade-green serpent phantom suddenly solidified. Its pressure spread outward, while poisonous mist churned from its opening jaws.

However, Gengar moved even faster. It did not use any seemingly powerful Ghost-type attack. Instead, it raised its tiny claw and smashed it fiercely toward the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor True Body.

A strange, viscous, dark-purple Toxic energy, like a living shadow, ignored the protective poison miasma around the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor and seeped directly inside, clinging to the giant serpent's energy body!

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor was stained with a trace of purple.