Torchic Evolves, Combusken

About ten seconds later, the white light dissipated, and the transformation ceased.

The Torchic floating in mid-air looked vastly different from its previous appearance.

The former Torchic had the look and build of a small chick, making anyone who saw it assume it was merely a pet for pampering rather than a creature with combat prowess; it was precisely for this reason that Su Yuntao had dismissed the Torchic as a useless martial soul.

Following the series of changes within that white light, the current Torchic appeared to be a hybrid of human and chicken.

It possessed a human-like physique, with the upper body primarily yellow and the lower body a deep orange. Those short, stubby wings had transformed into long, slender arms like those of a human, and its two claws and legs had become significantly thicker and more powerful.

When the drastically changed Torchic landed before him, the excitement in Ye Chen's heart was beyond words. The evolution had finally succeeded.

The humanoid Torchic standing before him now was none other than the Combusken that should have only emerged once it reached the sixteenth level of soul power!

As a Shiny Pokemon, once the Torchic arrived on the Douluo Continent and became a martial soul, it was classified as a golden soul beast due to its shimmering golden body, granting it formidable physical capabilities.

Consequently, all physical attributes of the Torchic martial soul were doubled, and its quality and rarity were comparable to a golden beast martial soul.

Now that it had evolved into a Combusken, not only had its appearance changed, but the quality of the martial soul had also ascended to the top tier.

Since the martial soul quality had upgraded, its speed, attack, defense, and all other attributes had naturally received a massive boost.

Furthermore, after the Torchic evolved into a Combusken, its martial soul origin gained a Fighting attribute on top of its Fire attribute, and it spontaneously comprehended a Fighting-type skill called "Double Kick."

As the name suggests, Double Kick is a kicking technique that strikes the enemy twice with both feet.

Staring at the Combusken standing before him, Ye Chen realized that after absorbing his first soul ring, his own height had grown to at least 1.5 meters, and the Combusken's head reached exactly to the bridge of his nose.

Judging by their builds, he and the Combusken no longer looked like a host and a pet, but rather like two individuals of similar age standing together.

"Chamo—" The Combusken let out a burning, intense cry. Its previous calls had been slightly childish, giving off a sense of playfulness, but now its voice carried a distinct note of maturity.

Ye Chen patted the Combusken on the shoulder, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and instructed, "Combusken, congratulations on finally evolving. However, we must train even harder from now on. Don't get carried away by this, understand?"

"Chamo!" The Combusken nodded, its eyes filled with drive.

Watching the interaction between the boy and the creature, Dean Ding was stunned for a moment before he reacted, asking in surprise, "Ye Chen, has your Torchic martial soul mutated again? How could its appearance change so drastically?"

"Yes." Ye Chen retracted the Combusken into his body and bluffed, "The Blazing Bird soul ring I just absorbed was highly compatible with the Torchic martial soul, triggering a martial soul evolution. I've named this evolved form of the Torchic martial soul 'Combusken'."

"Martial soul evolution?" Dean Ding rubbed his chin, saying thoughtfully, "I have heard that some martial souls do indeed possess the potential for evolution, but that usually only occurs after crossing a certain watershed. To think that you would experience a martial soul evolution just after becoming a soul master? It seems this is all thanks to absorbing a soul ring beyond your limits!"

"Ye Chen, tell me quickly, what was the exact age of the Blazing Bird soul ring? What is the first soul skill it granted you?"

Hearing Dean Ding's inquiry, Ye Chen withheld some information, saying, "The Blazing Bird soul ring was right at the five-hundred-year limit, which is why I was barely able to absorb it. The first soul skill it granted me is called Blaze. It is an amplification-type soul skill that increases the power of fire-attribute skills."

"Is that the only effect of the soul skill?" Dean Ding was somewhat surprised. "Logically speaking, a five-hundred-year first soul ring belongs to the super-top-tier category. How could it only have one soul skill effect?"

Ye Chen shook his head. "I don't know either, Dean. Could it be because most of the soul ring's energy was used to evolve the martial soul?"

Dean Ding nodded upon hearing this. "Hmm. That is entirely possible. Martial soul evolution is usually accompanied by an upgrade in martial soul quality, which is a lifelong benefit."

"And the first soul skill is the weakest skill a soul master possesses; the further one progresses, the less useful that skill becomes. From a long-term perspective, having most of the soul ring energy go toward evolving the martial soul is actually a good thing."

At this point, Dean Ding smiled with envy. "Ye Chen, you are lucky. Because of the benign mutation of your Torchic martial soul, not only did you gain innate full soul power, but you also gained the benefit of absorbing fire-attribute soul rings beyond your level, and now your martial soul has evolved. You, kid, definitely have the potential to become a Title Douluo in the future!"

After hearing these words, Ye Chen cupped his hands in thanks. "Dean, this is all thanks to your willingness to help me hunt the soul beast. I will always keep your great kindness in my heart. If I can truly become a Title Douluo in the future, I will certainly repay your favor."

"That won't be necessary. After all, I am the Dean and you are my student; helping you hunt a soul beast is part of my duty. Let's go. Since you have successfully obtained your first soul ring and advanced, we should return to the academy."

As he spoke, Dean Ding took off the pipe hanging from his waist and lit it with his fire-attribute soul power before taking a puff.

Ye Chen hesitated for a moment before suggesting, "Dean, I would like to stay in the Soul Hunting Forest a while longer to gain more practical combat experience against soul beasts. If possible, could you lend me your pass? I can stay here by myself."

Dean Ding waved his hand. "No, it's too dangerous for you to be alone. Let's go back together. Tang San has also obtained his first soul ring; you can gain just as much practical experience by sparring with Tang San and the other students back at the academy. There is no need to take risks in the Soul Hunting Forest."

"Sparring between students is like children playing; it cannot provide true practical combat experience." Ye Chen said sternly, "Dean, when I saw Tang San subdue the Datura Snake all by himself, I made up my mind to stay in the Soul Hunting Forest to train."

"I want to fight fierce soul beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest; that is true combat. Since Tang San can do it, I believe I can too. Please rest assured, I will only stay in the Outer Zone and will never step into the Core Zone."

Looking at the determined gaze in Ye Chen's eyes, Dean Ding fell into hesitation. Although their relationship wasn't deep, after this hunt, he felt a certain fondness for this student who also possessed a fire-attribute martial soul.

So, how could he let him stay in the Soul Hunting Forest to train alone?

But he couldn't stay here with him for too long either.

What to do?

Looking back at Dean Ding's contemplative expression, Ye Chen said resolutely, "Dean, after the previous battle with the Blazing Bird, you should have seen it."

"In terms of pure attack power, the Torchic and I together are enough to knock out a soul beast with four hundred years of cultivation. Now that I have my first soul skill and the Torchic has evolved into the more powerful Combusken, I believe I will be fine training in the Outer Zone."

"If you don't lend me the pass, I suspect I will just sneak into the Soul Hunting Forest on my own after we return to the academy. I want to become stronger too much!"

After hearing Ye Chen's explanation, Dean Ding said with amusement, "You are a six-year-old child, and you don't carry any deep blood feud, so why are you in such a hurry to become strong?"

"Because Tang San is very strong." Ye Chen said in a childish tone, "During our previous sparring, I won against Tang San three times. But I didn't expect that he was intentionally holding back and didn't use his hidden weapons. This time, Tang San defeating the Datura Snake alone was a huge blow to me. So, I want to fight soul beasts, I want to become stronger, otherwise, when I go back and spar with Tang San again, I will lose miserably!"

Hearing this, Dean Ding deliberated for a while before compromising. "Alright, then you can stay in the Soul Hunting Forest alone. However, I hope you come out as soon as possible and don't stay too long. Otherwise, the Martial Soul Hall enforcement team responsible for patrols will treat you as a suspicious person."

With that warning, Dean Ding took a pass out of his clothes and handed it over.

Taking the pass, Ye Chen cupped his hands. "Thank you, Dean, for your understanding."

"Alright, be careful while you are alone in the Soul Hunting Forest. If I don't see you at the academy in a month, I will find time to come back and collect your corpse." After saying this with a hint of teasing, Dean Ding turned and walked toward the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest.

Ye Chen remained where he was, watching Dean Ding walk away before he turned his gaze to the carcass of the Blazing Bird nearby.

Saying that this Blazing Bird had just reached five hundred years of cultivation was actually a lie.

The true cultivation of this soul beast was six hundred years; his first soul ring had a six-hundred-year limit, and his first soul skill was also a six-hundred-year skill.

Why hide the full effect of his first soul skill, Blaze, and the true age of his first soul ring?

Because Dean Ding and Yu Xiaogang were old acquaintances, and to prevent Dean Ding from accidentally letting something slip to Yu Xiaogang, it was better for him to keep it hidden.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Ye Chen tucked the pass into his belt, then used a short knife to peel open the Blazing Bird's carcass. He planned to take some soul beast meat for dinner and, incidentally, see if there was a soul bone inside the Blazing Bird's body.