Tang San and Tang Hao

Agility was a technique that used Soul Power to strengthen the legs, greatly increasing their endurance, explosive power, and running speed.

Over the past month, Ye Chen had tested and compared his abilities. He had concluded that after releasing his Body Martial Soul, his physical strength increased, allowing him to run a hundred meters in about nine seconds.

When he used Agility, he could run a hundred meters in just four seconds.

Although it couldn't create the confusing illusion of countless afterimages like Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, the speed Agility produced was not much slower.

From the original story, he knew Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was powered by the Mysterious Heaven Skill's inner force—in other words, Soul Power. Agility was also powered by Soul Power.

So whether it was Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track or Agility, their effectiveness was proportional to Soul Power Level.

If both users had the same Soul Power Level, then Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track should be a little faster than Agility.

Unfortunately, Tang San's current Soul Power Level was at most twelve, while Ye Chen's was fifteen.

With a full three-level gap in Soul Power, Ye Chen's Agility made him far faster than Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

And so, when Tang San circled around Torchic and prepared to attack Ye Chen, Ye Chen had already used Agility to reach him first.

Tang San clearly hadn't expected Ye Chen to suddenly move so fast. In his panic, he tried to retreat with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but Ye Chen grabbed his shoulder, leaving him unable to move.

"You lose!" Ye Chen said, pressing his left index finger against Tang San's chest.

Just as Tang San realized what was happening, he clenched his fist and focused his power with Inch Punch, sending a heavy blow crashing into him and hurling him ten meters away.

This was Mega Punch, performed by using Soul Power to strengthen the arm.

Of course, "a million tons" was only an exaggeration, a way of describing the tremendous force. The punch couldn't actually unleash the power of a million tons.

Still, caught completely off guard, Tang San felt as if a million-ton weight had slammed into his chest. As he was sent flying, the impact left him nearly unconscious.

Fortunately, the Mysterious Heaven Skill protected him. Tang San gritted his teeth and endured the blow, then clutched his chest and stood up. He was about to use Blue Silver Vine to Bind his opponent when Torchic, right behind him, struck first with a Jump Kick to his back.

"Arghhh—"

With a scream, Tang San was kicked forward. He tumbled several times before passing out at Ye Chen's feet. And so the sparring match came to an end.

Tang San would never have imagined that he'd be knocked unconscious before he could use his Hammer Martial Soul and Hidden Weapon techniques to launch a surprise attack.

That showed just how much the gap between their abilities had grown.

Looking down at Tang San lying at his feet, Ye Chen realized his Soul Power had increased. Torchic had defeated Tang San, and the battle experience had fed back to him, raising his Soul Power from level fifteen to level sixteen.

He could have poured all his Soul Power into Mega Punch just now and knocked Tang San unconscious with one blow.

He hadn't done so because he was afraid he might accidentally injure Tang San badly and provoke Tang Hao's revenge.

Besides, only if Torchic defeated Tang San himself could Ye Chen gain the battle experience feedback. Otherwise, he would have wasted an opportunity to increase his Soul Power through combat.

What disappointed Ye Chen was that even after his Soul Power reached level sixteen, Torchic still hadn't evolved.

It seemed Torchic needed to obtain its First Soul Ring and advance. Otherwise, it would be like it had an Everstone that suppressed evolution built in: even if its Soul Power reached level one hundred, it still wouldn't evolve.

Just as Ye Chen fell into thought, the fire-type essence within Torchic suddenly stirred. It raised its head and let out a strange "Torchic, Torchic!" cry, spitting countless small flames from its mouth and sending them shooting into the sky.

The air around them instantly grew hot. Old Jack jumped at the sight of Torchic using Eruption and instinctively backed away several steps.

Tang San was still unconscious at Ye Chen's feet and couldn't see what was happening. Ye Chen, on the other hand, looked delighted.

Although Torchic hadn't evolved when its Soul Power reached level sixteen, its aura had surged, far surpassing that of an ordinary Martial Soul. It had also learned a fire-type skill called Ember.

The skill sent small flames shooting at its opponent. Its power wasn't great, but it could attack from a distance and might leave the opponent with burns.

Torchic was a fire-type Martial Soul to begin with. Now, with the addition of its fire-type skill Ember, it had both ranged and close-combat options, and its strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. It was probably already no weaker than a Hundred-Year Soul Beast.

Thinking of this, Ye Chen said excitedly, "Torchic, you did great!"

At the praise, Torchic stopped using Ember, then danced around happily, letting out its strange "Torchic, Torchic!" cry.

"Xiao Chen, I never imagined your Torchic Martial Soul would be so powerful."

Looking at Ye Chen and Torchic, Old Jack was both excited and a little regretful. "Sigh, Grandpa can't bear to give you up to another village now. But I already promised them, so I can't go back on my word. Come on. Let's take Xiao San back to the blacksmith's shop first, then head to Pallet Village."

Noon.

Holy Soul Village, blacksmith's shop.

Inner room.

Tang San suddenly sat up in bed. He rubbed his still-aching chest and realized his back was burning with pain too.

"If you're awake, drink the porridge on the table," a rough voice called from outside.

Looking toward the doorway, Tang San saw that the speaker was Tang Hao, who was hammering metal at the forge.

"Dad, did I get knocked unconscious again?" Tang San finally remembered his sparring match with Ye Chen that morning. He had taken a heavy punch and a hard kick, and after that, he couldn't remember anything.

Seeing the bewilderment on Tang San's face, Tang Hao couldn't help recalling the morning's match.

He had watched from the shadows. He'd thought that after losing twice, Tang San had learned enough lessons and would definitely win this time. Instead, he'd suffered a third consecutive defeat.

That showed Tang San wasn't weak. Rather, this child named Ye Chen was far stronger than others his age.

As he realized this, a thoughtful glint appeared in Tang Hao's eyes.

This child named Ye Chen had a Torchic Martial Soul that could learn skills on its own, and Ye Chen himself could learn skills on his own too. Could all these advantages come from his positively mutated External Martial Soul?

Or was this child the orphan of some Soul Master family, and the skills he'd learned on his own were actually secret family techniques?

If he was the orphan of a Soul Master family, that would be fine. But if he had any connection to Spirit Hall, Tang Hao would have no choice but to kill him before he became a threat!

Coming back to himself, Tang Hao realized that his son, Tang San, had suffered three straight defeats.

It seemed that next time Tang San went to spar with Ye Chen, Tang Hao would have to secretly give him a hand.

Otherwise, losing again and again would surely damage Tang San's confidence, making him doubt whether his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was worth cultivating.

At the thought, a trace of sadness appeared in Tang Hao's eyes. Whenever anything related to Blue Silver Grass came up, he always felt a little more lonely and forlorn.

"Dad, you said I should cultivate the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and never reveal my Hammer Martial Soul in front of anyone, and that I shouldn't give the Hammer Martial Soul any Soul Rings. But after fighting Ye Chen three times, it seems like the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul has no potential for cultivation. If..."

Before Tang San could finish, Tang Hao said sharply, "The Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul isn't as simple as you think! Xiao San, if you don't listen to me, you can spend your whole life in this village as a blacksmith. Don't even think about becoming a Soul Master. After all, you said being a blacksmith was pretty good, didn't you?"