First Soul Skill, Blaze

There had only been a few seconds of Telepathy. Before Ye Chen could recover from his shock, the connection between his Body Martial Soul and Torchic's Martial Soul snapped.

The feeling of their minds becoming one and their thoughts connecting vanished. Ye Chen realized that his state of resonance with Torchic had disappeared as well.

Only then did he belatedly realize that his Body Martial Soul was his own body. So when the Soul Ring's energy flowed into him, it was essentially flowing into his Body Martial Soul.

The one absorbing that Soul Ring energy was Torchic's Martial Soul. Thus, linked by the energy of the Soul Ring, his body and Torchic's Martial Soul had resonated, creating Telepathy.

Although he didn't know how to deliberately link his Body Martial Soul with Torchic's Martial Soul, after experiencing Martial Soul Resonance just now, Ye Chen was certain that his Body Martial Soul and Torchic's Martial Soul could perform a Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Not only that, since both his Body Martial Soul and Torchic's Martial Soul possessed their own consciousness, their future Self Martial Soul Fusion Skills would likely take two different forms.

One form would be a Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill led by his Body Martial Soul—in other words, himself.

The other would be led by Torchic's Martial Soul.

Setting aside his thoughts about the Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill for the moment, Ye Chen focused all his attention on absorbing the Soul Ring's energy.

This Soul Ring energy had come from a Blazing Bird with over five hundred years of cultivation, exceeding the absorption limit for a First Soul Ring.

If he didn't devote himself completely to absorbing the Soul Ring's energy, the slightest mistake could leave him at risk of exploding.

About half an hour passed.

As the vast Soul Ring energy coursed through his body along with his Soul Power, Ye Chen could clearly feel the Yellow Soul Ring spinning around him. It first fought fiercely against Torchic's Martial Soul, then slowly began to merge with Torchic's Martial Soul Origin.

That meant the Soul Ring energy had been tamed, and there was no longer any danger of his body exploding.

Once he confirmed this, not only Ye Chen but Dean Ding, standing nearby, also breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

As an outsider, Dean Ding didn't know that Ye Chen had dared to use a Blazing Bird with over five hundred years of cultivation as his First Soul Ring because, besides Torchic's Martial Soul, he also possessed a Body Martial Soul.

After months of keeping up with various physical training exercises, his Body Martial Soul had grown stronger along with his improved physique.

On top of that, the battle experience he'd gained from defeating the Blazing Bird had fed back into him, raising his Soul Power to level nineteen.

In other words, he was absorbing his First Soul Ring with level-nineteen Soul Power. With level-nineteen Soul Power strengthening the body that served as his Body Martial Soul, he could safely absorb a First Soul Ring that exceeded five hundred years.

As it turned out, Ye Chen had been right. An hour later, the Yellow Soul Ring spinning wildly around him finally settled down completely.

Seeing this, Dean Ding's face lit up with delight. If there wasn't much commotion when the Soul Ring merged with the body during absorption, it meant the Soul Master had fully claimed the Soul Ring's energy.

All that remained was to wait for the body and Martial Soul to absorb the Soul Ring's energy completely and comprehend the Soul Skill it bestowed.

After his delight, Dean Ding gave a relieved smile. Although he and Ye Chen had known each other for only a few short days, they were both fire-attribute Soul Masters, and Ye Chen was a gifted genius with a fine disposition.

If Ye Chen had died from absorbing a five-hundred-year First Soul Ring beyond his level, Dean Ding would certainly have regretted it.

Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.

Now, his academy hadn't just avoided losing a genius—it had gained a monster.

Thinking of this, Dean Ding couldn't help finding it amusing. A Soul Master could absorb a five-hundred-year First Soul Ring beyond their level.

If his old friend Yu Xiaogang heard about this, his expression would surely be hilarious.

But it wasn't just Yu Xiaogang—even Dean Ding, a fire-attribute Soul Master himself, hadn't expected the secret behind Torchic's ability to absorb a five-hundred-year First Soul Ring beyond its level to be its naturally exceptional affinity for fire.

According to Ye Chen, this fire affinity made it relatively easy for Torchic's Martial Soul to absorb fire-attribute Soul Rings.

And it was precisely because of its high affinity for fire that Torchic's Martial Soul came with the Ember skill.

What Dean Ding didn't know was that Ye Chen had made up everything he'd said about fire affinity.

To come up with a suitable reason for absorbing a First Soul Ring beyond his level, and to conceal his Body Martial Soul and level-nineteen Soul Power, he'd had no choice.

As the Soul Ring energy was completely absorbed by his body and Torchic's Martial Soul, Ye Chen felt his Soul Power surge wildly. His muscles, bones, meridians, every other part of his body, and his physical attributes all improved significantly.

These were all benefits brought by the increase in Soul Power.

The increase in Soul Power meant he had broken through his level bottleneck.

He'd successfully absorbed his First Soul Ring!

Ye Chen suppressed his excitement and carefully examined the Soul Power within his body.

Before absorbing his First Soul Ring, he'd already accumulated enough Soul Power to reach level nineteen.

Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his level had also given him three more levels of Soul Power.

Together, these meant he'd accumulated enough Soul Power to reach level twenty-two. He could go and obtain his Second Soul Ring now.

As for the First Soul Skill bestowed by his First Soul Ring, it was called Blaze.

From what he'd gleaned while absorbing the Soul Ring, the First Soul Skill, Blaze, had formed by combining the Blazing Bird's fire-attribute enhancement ability with the unique properties of Torchic's Martial Soul.

For half an hour after activating this Soul Skill, Torchic would enter a Blaze state, increasing the power of its fire-attribute skills by seventy percent.

Besides the Blazing Bird's fire attribute, the First Soul Ring also possessed its excellent speed attribute.

Torchic's Martial Soul had a Speed Boost Ability, so the First Soul Ring's speed attribute and the Speed Boost Ability produced a linked effect.

Specifically, while Torchic was in the Blaze state from its First Soul Skill, its fire-attribute skills gained a seventy-percent increase in power.

But after each round of combat, if its speed attribute increased, the power of its fire-attribute skills would also increase by another ten percent from its current level, continuing until it could no longer improve.

In short, the First Soul Skill, Blaze, was a sustained enhancement Soul Skill. The faster its speed stacked, the higher its fire damage.

Unless its opponent was immune to fire damage or could prevent Torchic from stacking speed.

Otherwise, with the combined enhancement of Blaze and its Speed Boost Ability, Torchic could be called invincible among its peers and capable of cutting down foes above its level.

What delighted Ye Chen most was that after being transformed by the First Soul Ring, Torchic's Martial Soul Origin had not only accumulated the Blazing Bird's superior fire-attribute bloodline but had also gained an ostrich's running speed and powerful legs—all while remaining a domestic chicken.

Just as Ye Chen was marveling at this, a red light shot from above his head into the sky, instantly taking the shape of Torchic as it hovered in midair.

"Chamo, chamo, chamo—"

Torchic let out a childish yet exceptionally excited cry. Its voice rang clear and strong, brimming with barely contained joy and agitation.

The next moment, a soft yet dazzling white light suddenly burst from Torchic's body, enveloping it completely.

Dean Ding, standing nearby, was stunned by the sight, his eyes filled with shock.

Ye Chen had just finished using Calm Mind. He looked up at the sky and froze, his heart suddenly racing.

Torchic was shrouded in white light, obscuring its form. All he could make out was its silhouette, twisting and stretching.

Then something extraordinary happened.

Torchic's originally small silhouette slowly lengthened, stretched out, and grew taller in the white light. Its little wings on either side lengthened too, becoming a pair of long, powerful wing-arms, while its two chicken feet grew bigger and stronger.

Ye Chen immediately understood. This expanding aura, reshaping body, and light-wrapped form were unmistakable signs that Torchic was about to evolve!