Blazing Bird, First Soul Ring

After a long while, under the transformation of the Datura Snake Soul Ring, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul changed from fragile little blue blades of grass into something tougher and thicker, now carrying a faint paralyzing poison.

He had successfully absorbed his First Soul Ring, and the Mysterious Heaven Skill had broken through its bottleneck along with it, reaching the second level.

What was more, as the Mysterious Heaven Skill improved, the power of Tang San's Tang Sect Secret Arts—including the Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track—rose as well.

After checking his condition, Tang San opened his eyes in delight and got to his feet. He was about to share the good news with Yu Xiaogang when he saw that Yu Xiaogang's right arm was swollen and his lips had turned purple. He had already passed out. These were unmistakable signs of poisoning!

"Teacher!" Tang San cried in alarm. He hurried to Yu Xiaogang's side and asked Dean Ding and Ye Chen, "What happened to my teacher? Why is he poisoned?"

"Luo Sanpao must have been bitten by the Datura Snake's fangs. The backlash from his Martial Soul poisoned Grandmaster."

At Ye Chen's reminder, Tang San couldn't help feeling fortunate. Thankfully, Dean Ding had used his Soul Power in time to suppress the spreading poison in his teacher. Otherwise, even with his expertise in poison, Tang San might not have been able to save him in time.

Saving a life was what mattered now. Tang San stopped hiding his knowledge of poison and immediately began treating the poison wound on Yu Xiaogang's right arm.

Dean Ding stood to one side, watching Tang San's every move with a thoughtful look.

It was one thing for Tang San's father to forge Hidden Weapons capable of wounding Soul Beasts, but how was Tang San himself so skilled at treating poison and injuries?

Could his father be a blacksmith and his mother a doctor?

Unlike Dean Ding, who was puzzled, Ye Chen felt not the slightest surprise as he watched Tang San expertly treat the poison wound. Instead, he was thrilled.

Now that Tang San had revealed his knowledge of poison in front of him, Ye Chen could make use of it the next time Tang San challenged him to a fight and propose a wager.

If Tang San refused to wager his Tang Sect poison techniques, Ye Chen could compromise and settle for his knowledge of medicinal herbs.

How to get Tang San to accept the wager was a matter for later.

Coming back to himself, Ye Chen saw that Tang San had already removed all the poison from Yu Xiaogang's right arm and treated the wound. His movements were clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

As a decades-long friend, Dean Ding naturally couldn't leave Yu Xiaogang to fend for himself. After considering it for a while, he suggested, "Ye Chen, why don't we wait a few days before heading to the Core Zone to search for Soul Beasts? The most important thing right now is to keep Grandmaster safe."

"All right, Dean. I'll do as you say." Ye Chen readily agreed. After all, he had only known Dean Ding for a few days; naturally, they weren't as close as he and Yu Xiaogang.

Still, after waiting a few days, Dean Ding would probably feel indebted to him. Out of guilt, he would be even more patient in helping Ye Chen look for a Blazing Bird with a higher cultivation.

And so, Yu Xiaogang remained unconscious for two whole days. During that time, he repeatedly developed a fever, suffered from paralysis that left him unable to move, and felt stinging pain in his skin.

For those two days, Tang San looked after Yu Xiaogang, giving him medicine on schedule, wiping down his body, and keeping an eye on his condition.

Dean Ding stood guard, constantly alert to any movement nearby.

Ye Chen, meanwhile, took the herb illustrations Tang San had drawn and searched the area with Torchic for medicinal herbs that could help counteract the poison.

It was only on the third day, after being nourished by the detoxifying herbs, that the residual paralyzing poison in Yu Xiaogang's body was completely eliminated. The numbness vanished, and he finally woke from his coma.

After making sure Yu Xiaogang could walk normally and was no longer in any immediate danger, Dean Ding took Ye Chen to the Core Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest to search for a Blazing Bird.

Tang San had already obtained his First Soul Ring, so Yu Xiaogang took him out of the Soul Hunting Forest and hurried back to Nuoding Academy.

The following day, at noon.

Soul Hunting Forest, Core Zone.

Following the markings on the map, Dean Ding led Ye Chen into the Blazing Birds' habitat.

A volcanic landscape stretched out before them. The temperature was far higher than anywhere else in the Soul Hunting Forest, and even the wind blowing against them was hot.

Since it was noon, the sun overhead blazed fiercely. Heat shimmered faintly above the nearby rocks and ground.

As they reached the foot of the volcano, sweat ran down Dean Ding's face. He checked the map in his hand, then looked up and scanned the towering, scorching boulders ahead.

The matter of his old friend Yu Xiaogang's poisoning had delayed them for several days. So no matter how hot it was or how harsh the surroundings, Dean Ding didn't complain. Instead, he patiently helped Ye Chen search for signs of the Blazing Birds.

"Good thing my Martial Soul is also Fire-type. Otherwise, searching for Soul Beasts here would be sheer torture." Dean Ding wiped the sweat from his eyes and smiled. "The area around this Dead Volcano is the Blazing Birds' habitat."

"Ye Chen, stay close to me. Blazing Birds are fiercely territorial. The terrain here is complicated, making it ideal for them to lie in ambush."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dean Ding's attention was caught by a figure twenty meters to their right.

Ye Chen wiped the sweat from his face and looked over too. The figure he saw was a giant ostrich, more than three meters tall, its body wreathed in brownish-red flames. Its long legs were strong and powerful. When it raised its head and let out a shrill cry, the flame at the back of its neck, which looked like a scarf, suddenly flared up. Its color shifted from brownish-red to purplish-red.

"That's a Blazing Bird!"

Dean Ding instinctively pulled Ye Chen behind a boulder and warned him in a hushed voice, "Grandmaster said the limit for absorbing a First Soul Ring is 423 years. Judging by its physical features and the color of its flames, this Blazing Bird is at least five hundred years old. It's already past the limit for a First Soul Ring."

"Ye Chen, if you use it as your First Soul Ring, you'll risk having your body explode. So let's wait patiently and see if a Blazing Bird with a cultivation of around four hundred years shows up."

"No!" Ye Chen whispered. "Dean, let's capture this Blazing Bird first. My Torchic Martial Soul has an exceptionally rare talent for fire. It should be able to absorb a Fire-type Soul Ring beyond its level. I'll explain later."

"Fine, then let's attack." Dean Ding didn't dwell on it and immediately released his Fire Ring Martial Soul.

To make sure his first strike hit, he even activated his strongest, fourth Soul Skill.

Purple light from a Thousand-Year Soul Ring shone out from behind the boulder. The next moment, five red rings wreathed in flames shot toward the Blazing Bird.

Amplified by Dean Ding's fourth Soul Skill, each red ring's attack speed and the power of its flames increased dramatically.

With their speed enhanced, the five red rings seemed to teleport.

The Blazing Bird was basking in the sunlight, comfortably spreading its wings and leaning its neck back as if stretching.

Just then, the five seemingly teleporting red rings came screaming through the air, striking in an instant and encircling the Blazing Bird's neck, both wings, and legs.

"Ying?"

When the Blazing Bird realized it couldn't break free of the red rings, it instinctively turned and fled. It kicked off the ground with its powerful long legs, and in the blink of an eye, it had vanished from the spot.

The next moment, it streaked among countless boulders, leaving a string of afterimages. It moved so fast that it was hard to react in time.

"Still trying to run? Third Soul Skill, Control!"

Dean Ding froze for a moment, then leaped onto a boulder and reached out with both hands. As his yellow third Soul Ring lit up, the fleeing Blazing Bird was caught by the five red rings and abruptly lifted into the air.

Fierce flames burst from the five red rings, burning the Blazing Bird's neck, both wings, and legs.

Unfortunately, the Blazing Bird was a high-grade Fire-type avian Soul Beast. Though it wasn't good at flying, its Fire-type power was formidable. Dean Ding's five red rings could only restrain it; they couldn't inflict serious burns.

"Ye Chen, I'll keep it restrained. You and Torchic attack it with everything you've got. We need to finish this quickly, or we'll draw more Blazing Birds!"

At Dean Ding's warning, Ye Chen swiftly made a throwing motion with his right hand. A streak of red light flew from his grasp.

With a muffled thud, the red light took the shape of Shiny Blaziken.

"Blaziken, use Focus Energy, then attack with Scratch!"

As he gave the order, Ye Chen immediately channeled Soul Power into his legs and ran behind the Blazing Bird using Agility.

Propelled by the momentum of the throw, Torchic first used Focus Energy to improve its chances of striking a vital point, then used Scratch to kick at the Blazing Bird's abdomen.

The Blazing Bird's neck, wings, and legs were firmly trapped by the five red rings, leaving its body suspended in midair, spread out like a starfish and unable to move.

With Torchic's Jump Kick almost upon it, the Blazing Bird tried to dodge, but couldn't. It could only take the kick head-on.

Ying—

After taking Torchic's Jump Kick to the abdomen, the Blazing Bird let out a painful cry. Its weakness was right there, and with Focus Energy and Scratch enhancing the blow, Torchic's kick struck like a critical hit.

At the same time, Ye Chen had circled behind the Blazing Bird and launched his own attack. He climbed a five-meter boulder, leaped into the air, and brought down a Mega Punch on the back of the Blazing Bird's head.

After the kick to its abdomen and the Mega Punch to its head, the Blazing Bird was nearly unconscious. Finally, Torchic kicked it in the forehead, knocking it out completely.

"Ye Chen, stop fighting and run! It's dangerous here. Let's retreat to the Outer Zone first, then decide whether to absorb the Soul Ring!"

After warning him, Dean Ding withdrew his Fire Ring Martial Soul. He hoisted the Blazing Bird he had withdrawn along with it onto his head and ran toward the Outer Zone.

Ye Chen and Torchic followed close behind Dean Ding. The boy and bird worked together seamlessly, watching their surroundings as they retreated in case nearby Soul Beasts tried to ambush them.

At dusk, as the sun sank in the west.

Soul Hunting Forest, Outer Zone.

In the middle of a clearing.

Ye Chen took a sharp dagger from the pouch at his waist and plunged it into the Blazing Bird's neck. As bright red blood flowed out, the Blazing Bird died.

Strands of yellow light rose slowly from the Blazing Bird's corpse, then gathered into a yellow Soul Ring.

Sitting cross-legged, Ye Chen followed Dean Ding's instructions and channeled his Soul Power. Soon, he drew the yellow Soul Ring above the Blazing Bird's corpse into himself.

I'm finally about to become a One-Ring Soul Master. Torchic, you're finally going to evolve for the first time! Ye Chen murmured inwardly. He shut his eyes and focused on absorbing the Soul Ring.

As the Soul Ring's energy flowed into his body, Ye Chen and Torchic's Martial Soul Origins seemed to connect. For a brief moment, the boy and bird experienced Telepathy.

It felt as if their minds and intentions had fused, bringing them into a state of perfect resonance.