Kung Fu Torchic

"Hmm," Ye Chen said, feigning some ignorance, "I heard some things about Soul Masters from my parents in the past. It is said that only those who possess a Martial Soul, soul power, and a soul ring are qualified to call themselves a Soul Master."

"Soul ring?" A flash of brilliance crossed Tang San's eyes. "What is a soul ring? How can one obtain one?"

"A soul ring is the glowing halo that was on Master Su. Different levels of soul rings have different colors," Ye Chen said, pretending to have only a partial understanding. "If a Soul Master wants to obtain a soul ring, it seems they have to hunt soul beasts; that is a very dangerous task. Only powerful Soul Masters have the ability to hunt them."

"And what are soul beasts?" Tang San pressed.

Ye Chen shook his head. "I don't know either. To learn about Soul Masters and soul beasts, one must go to a specialized Soul Master Academy."

"I see." Muttering to himself, Tang San fell into deep thought. Could his Mysterious Heaven Skill's inability to break through the first bottleneck be related to these soul rings and soul beasts?

To obtain a soul ring, one must hunt soul beasts. And to hunt soul beasts, one must have sufficient strength.

With his current strength, could he hunt a soul beast?

After weighing it for a moment, Tang San asked, "Ye Chen, I remember Master Su Yuntao saying that your chicken Martial Soul is a beast-type Martial Soul, right? Among soul beasts, do creatures like your chicken Martial Soul exist?"

"It's possible. It is said that many beast-type Martial Souls have corresponding soul beast populations on the continent. Perhaps my chicken Martial Soul also originates from some kind of soul beast."

"In that case, why don't we spar?" Tang San proposed.

"Spar?" A thoughtful light flickered in Ye Chen's eyes.

According to the original story, Tang San had already mastered the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Mysterious Jade Hand, and the Purple Demon Eye, among other Tang Sect techniques.

If they were to spar, he had his Body Martial Soul to rely on, plus the foundation of martial arts he brought from the Blue Star, so he could certainly protect himself.

However, his Torchic Martial Soul had not yet been augmented with a soul ring; it currently only had the skills 'Scratch' and 'Growl', so it would likely be difficult to defeat Tang San.

But if he did win, he would gain a wealth of combat experience.

With that combat experience feeding back into his body, he might even be able to increase his soul power by a full level!

"Well? Shall we spar?" Tang San's voice interrupted Ye Chen's train of thought.

After weighing the pros and cons, Ye Chen nodded. "Fine. Let's spar. But I have a condition. Regardless of the outcome, for the next three months, the loser can challenge the winner, and the winner must accept. What do you think?"

"Hmm. That's no problem. Let's begin." As he spoke, Tang San extended his right hand in a gesture of invitation.

Old Jack, watching from the side, hurriedly advised, "Little Chen, Little San, you are not allowed to fight!"

"Grandpa Jack, we aren't fighting; we are engaging in a soul duel between Soul Masters. It will help improve our combat techniques. Don't worry, Tang San and I will stop at the right moment. We won't sneak attack or strike at each other's vital points."

Hearing Ye Chen's words, Old Jack looked at Tang San. Tang San nodded, signaling that he would not cause any harm.

"Alright, you are future Soul Masters after all; getting familiar with Soul Master combat early on isn't a bad thing. Children, let's move to the side to watch, and be careful not to get caught in the crossfire."

With that, Old Jack led the other seven children back, clearing a thirty-meter space for Ye Chen and Tang San.

Looking at Ye Chen standing opposite him, Tang San felt a surge of emotion. Six years. It had been exactly six years since he left the Tang Sect, and the techniques he brought to this world were finally going to be put to use.

Tang Sect, if there is a chance, I will definitely make you famous in this world!

Silently making up his mind, purple light swirled in Tang San's eyes, and his hands simultaneously turned into Mysterious Jade; this was the Tang Sect's eye-training technique, the Purple Demon Eye, and their hand-training technique, the Mysterious Jade Hand.

"Come out, Torchic."

As Ye Chen flicked his right hand forward, with a bang, a red light was thrown out.

When the red light landed, the Torchic Martial Soul, which was only the size of an adult's palm, appeared before everyone.

Immediately after, a golden light swirled around Torchic, giving it a shimmering, golden appearance.

"Torchic, Torchic, Torchic!"

Torchic let out an excited cry, then its two chicken feet began to bounce left and right, its eyes filled with fighting spirit.

This scene not only stunned Tang San and the onlookers like Old Jack, but even Ye Chen, its master, was slightly taken aback.

He watched in surprise as Torchic bounced left and right; it looked as if the Torchic was dancing.

But in reality, that side-to-side bouncing was a complex movement pattern that fused pendulum steps, sliding steps, butterfly steps, and fencing footwork.

The movement was not only light and elegant but also extremely rhythmic and fluid, capable of greatly increasing the efficiency of transitions between offense and defense.

Unlike Tang San and Old Jack, who were surprised by the sight, Ye Chen was surprised because the footwork Torchic was using was a combination of various styles from the Blue Star.

The martial arts films he had watched on the Blue Star, the martial arts philosophies he had encountered, and the modern combat arts he had learned—such as Wing Chun, boxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu—everything in his memory related to martial arts had been inherited by the origin of the Torchic Martial Soul during his awakening.

The Torchic appearing before Tang San now was a Torchic that had watched martial arts films and possessed numerous combat concepts and martial philosophies.

Coincidentally, Torchic currently only had the fire attribute, but once it evolved into Combusken, it would possess both fire and fighting attributes.

This "kung fu" Torchic was undoubtedly a natural-born combat genius; once it evolved the fighting attribute, it was hard to imagine just how powerful it would become!

"Can we start?" Tang San had recovered from his surprise and asked calmly.

Ye Chen nodded. "Let's begin. Torchic, take the initiative, use Scratch."

Receiving the command, Torchic's two claws glowed with white light, and at the same time, a wave of soul power emanated from Ye Chen.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Tang San used the observational power of the Purple Demon Eye to see through Torchic's attack trajectory. He dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the claw attack Torchic had launched while leaping into the air.

Immediately following this, Tang San unleashed the Tang Sect technique, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. He turned and extended his right hand forward; the Mysterious Jade Hand suddenly exerted a suction force, actually pulling the Torchic, which was close at hand, toward him.

"You've lost!" As he spoke, Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand gripped Torchic's neck. He then turned to face Ye Chen and said with some disappointment, "It seems your chicken Martial Soul isn't as powerful as I imagined."

Ye Chen smiled upon hearing this. "Tang San, do you think you've won just because you caught my Torchic? It's a pity, but my Torchic can be retracted at any time like a tool-type Martial Soul, rendering grabs and other attacks ineffective."