Ye Chen and Combusken

After rummaging through the Blazing Bird's carcass for quite a while, Ye Chen failed to find any bone-like objects containing soul power fluctuations, which meant the Blazing Bird had not produced a Soul Bone upon its death.

It was to be expected; if a six-hundred-year-old Soul Beast could drop a Soul Bone, it would be considered extremely rare in a certain sense.

After disposing of the Blazing Bird's remains, Ye Chen packed up a few pieces of Soul Beast meat and left the spot.

He wasn't sure if Dean Ding had truly left or was hiding in the shadows observing him, so he decided to spend today wandering the Outer Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest and wait until tomorrow to enter the Core Zone to hunt.

Beyond concealing the true cultivation age of the Blazing Bird, Ye Chen had also hidden his real purpose for staying in the Soul Hunting Forest from Dean Ding.

He was indeed seeking battles with Soul Beasts to increase his practical combat experience, but unlike other Soul Masters, thanks to the feedback from combat experience, this practical training could be converted into soul power to level up.

Ye Chen planned to grind levels in the Core Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest using century-old Soul Beasts. He was currently at level 22 soul power and intended to reach level 30 before returning to Nuoding Academy.

By then, he could submit an application for early graduation to Dean Ding. With level 30 soul power to reinforce his Body Martial Soul, and with Combusken fighting by his side, he should be able to obtain his second Soul Ring on his own.

With this plan in mind, Ye Chen spent the first day in the Outer Zone. Generally speaking, century-old Soul Beasts rarely appeared in the Outer Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest, and a four-hundred-year-old Soul Beast like a Datura Snake was even rarer.

Perhaps it was fate that led Tang San and Yu Xiaogang to encounter a four-hundred-year Datura Snake in the Outer Zone, a beast that just happened to be perfectly suited as Tang San's First Soul Ring.

After lingering in the Outer Zone for a day, Ye Chen hadn't found many century-old Soul Beasts. Combusken had only fought some Soul Beasts that looked physically large, and the feedback from the combat experience was minimal.

It wasn't until nightfall that Ye Chen took Combusken into the Core Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest. They quickly encountered several defensive-type Soul Beasts like the Iron-Armored Rhino, as well as speed-attack types like the Ghost Tiger, with cultivation ages ranging from one hundred to three hundred years.

If it were still a Torchic, it might have been suppressed in terms of size when facing these beasts, and its martial arts might not have been able to break through the Iron-Armored Rhino's defense or keep up with the Ghost Tiger's speed.

But after evolving into Combusken, things were different; its physique had not only grown larger and more humanoid, but its overall stats had also seen a massive increase.

In particular, the doubling of all stats brought by being a Shiny Pokémon meant that when its stats increased after a successful evolution, they doubled as well.

The Jolly Nature had maxed out its speed talent, and the Blazing Bird Soul Ring had further reinforced its speed and leg strength. Combined, these advantages allowed Combusken, in its normal state, to possess the power to shatter an Iron-Armored Rhino's defense with a single kick and the speed to easily catch up to a Ghost Tiger.

After defeating these Soul Beasts, Combusken gained a clearer understanding of its current strength, and Ye Chen also received a significant boost in soul power from the combat experience feedback.

Although it didn't directly raise his soul power by a full level, at this rate of growth, he believed he could reach the level 30 bottleneck in less than a month.

Fortunately, defeating these Soul Beasts provided combat experience feedback without needing to kill them, which not only solved the problem of excessive slaughter but also allowed Combusken to fight the same Soul Beast day after day.

While searching for Soul Beasts to grind in the Core Zone, Ye Chen also carefully observed the habits of every beast he encountered. Before he knew it, another day had passed.

As the sunset faded, night descended.

Just as Dean Ding had said, when camping in the territory of Soul Beasts, one must never light a fire casually, as it would attract unwanted attention.

However, if one's strength was sufficient, these taboos could be ignored.

A normal Combusken could completely dominate a three-hundred-year-old high-quality Soul Beast. Once boosted by its First Soul Skill, Blaze, and its Speed Boost Ability, it was more than capable of fighting a six-hundred-year-old Soul Beast.

Therefore, as long as he ensured his soul power was sufficient and Combusken was in good condition, Ye Chen wasn't afraid of lighting a fire in the Core Zone.

Furthermore, the meat he had cut from the Blazing Bird the night before needed to be roasted over a fire to be edible.

Finding a spot near a water source, Ye Chen began scattering realgar powder and insect repellent around the large tree where he planned to camp.

Combusken piled up the dry wood it had gathered and ignited it using the Ember skill.

Regrettably, due to the fire-attribute enhancement brought by its evolution, Combusken's Ember skill had become much more powerful. Countless small flames erupted from its beak, instantly reducing the pile of firewood to ashes.

Seeing this, Ye Chen shook his index finger and teased, "Combusken, no. That's not how you start a fire. It seems you haven't learned to control your strengthened fire attribute yet. It's a good thing I didn't let you help me roast the meat with Ember, or my dinner would have turned into charcoal."

"Actually, the method to control your energy is quite simple. You can try taking a deep breath, then focus your power in your Dantian, and exhale slowly. Once all the air is out, inhale again and repeat the process. If you do this continuously, you'll master the technique of controlling your energy soon enough."

At this point, Ye Chen finished spreading the repellent and patted his stomach, explaining, "The so-called Dantian is roughly located in your abdomen. Think about it: every time you use the Ember skill, don't you feel a sense of fire-attribute energy rising from your belly? As long as you control this feeling with intent, you should be able to learn how to channel power from your Dantian."

"Chamo—" Combusken replied. Immediately after, it opened its beak, took a deep breath, and attempted to channel power from its Dantian, slowly exhaling the air.

Seeing it practicing so intently, Ye Chen didn't disturb it. He went to gather some more dry wood to start a fire and then placed the prepared Soul Beast meat over the flames.

A long while later, several skewers of meat, devoid of oil or seasoning, were finished.

Ye Chen hadn't expected to stay in the Soul Hunting Forest for training, so he hadn't brought any seasonings and had to make do.

After finishing its Dantian practice, Combusken sat by the fire with Ye Chen to eat. Ye Chen shared many life lessons with it, such as always staying vigilant when going to the river to drink, as there might be water-attribute Soul Beasts lurking nearby.

Combusken listened with great interest; it seemed that after evolving, it was much better at thinking and learning than it had been as a Torchic, and it held a strong curiosity about everything.

Just like that, with the bright moon overhead, the campfire in the forest cast the shadows of the man and the bird onto the ground. The two ate their roasted meat and chatted, getting along quite harmoniously.

It was at this moment that the sound of rhythmic footsteps drew closer. Just as Ye Chen and Combusken sensed the approach of soul power, an abrupt voice rang out, "What are you doing here?"

The second before the voice sounded, Combusken had already entered a combat state. It sprang up from the campfire, flashed forward, and immediately shielded Ye Chen behind it, staring intently in the direction from which the voice came.