Martial Soul Resonance

This scene not only startled Tang San, but Combusken was also taken aback. It stared at Ye Chen, who had blocked its path, its eyes filled with surprise and self-reproach.

At this moment, Ye Chen had his arms crossed in front of his face, using his soul power to reinforce his entire body to withstand the barrage of countless Blue Silver Hidden Weapons for Combusken.

After a series of battles, Tang San's soul power was running low, so the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons fired this time lacked their previous potency.

Ye Chen's soul power was also nearly exhausted, but his level 30 soul power was twice that of Tang San's level 15, leaving him with a slightly larger reserve.

With soul power reinforcing his body's defenses, Ye Chen only suffered superficial wounds despite being struck by the various Blue Silver Hidden Weapons; he sustained no critical injuries.

Yet, even so, the blood splattering from his wounds left Combusken stunned.

As an External Martial Soul, its duty was to protect its master, yet its own incompetence had forced its master to step forward and use his own body as a shield.

At this thought, Combusken struggled frantically to break free from the Blue Silver Bind.

Regrettably, its level 20 soul power had already been retracted, and coupled with its severe injuries, no matter how hard it struggled, it could not break the restraints of the Blue Silver Bind, leaving it to watch helplessly as Ye Chen was pelted by the barrage of Blue Silver Hidden Weapons.

"Combusken!"

Deep self-reproach and an urgent desire to protect its master forced a roar from Combusken, and at that very moment, Ye Chen seemed to sense Combusken's emotions.

Combusken, in turn, sensed the pain Ye Chen was enduring. Man and Pokémon had reached a state of mental connection and unity of body and soul in an instant.

Is this Martial Soul Resonance?

Ye Chen suddenly recalled that when he absorbed his First Soul Ring, he and Combusken had also entered a state of Martial Soul Resonance where their minds and spirits were one.

Now, without the connection of soul ring energy, could it be that his willingness to sacrifice himself to protect Combusken, combined with Combusken's desperate urge to protect its master, had triggered this resonance?

As the sensation of Martial Soul Resonance grew stronger, Ye Chen felt a surging fire-attribute energy flowing within him. He attempted to channel power from his dantian, opened his mouth, and exhaled—a Fire Spin erupted from his throat, incinerating all the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons.

Seeing this, a look of astonishment flashed in Tang San's eyes. He never would have imagined that Ye Chen could unleash Combusken's Fire Spin.

What on earth was happening?

Having studied martial soul theory under Yu Xiaogang for several months, Tang San quickly considered a possibility: perhaps Ye Chen had performed a unique form of Combusken Martial Soul Possession, allowing him to utilize the abilities held by Combusken?

Facts proved Tang San's conjecture correct. Driven by the sudden Martial Soul Resonance, Ye Chen had indeed achieved a state of mental connection and unity with Combusken, a state similar to Semi-Martial Soul Possession.

So-called Semi-Martial Soul Possession occurs when a soul master performs beast martial soul possession without the physical traits of the beast appearing, yet they remain able to utilize the beast's abilities.

However, this was different from standard Semi-Martial Soul Possession, because at this moment, Ye Chen could not only use Combusken's abilities, but he had also inherited Combusken's 80% speed attribute boost and the 150% power amplification for fire-attribute skills.

Because of this, the Fire Spin he just exhaled not only incinerated all of Tang San's Blue Silver Hidden Weapons but also destroyed the stone Tang Hao had secretly thrown to ambush him.

Before Tang San could react, Ye Chen utilized Agility with his 80% speed boost. Like a flash of lightning, he appeared before Tang San, his right foot igniting with scarlet flames as he delivered a roundhouse kick to Tang San's cheek.

Accompanied by the brilliant arc of flame cutting through the air, Tang San was sent flying by the kick. He slammed heavily into a large tree before falling to the ground, unconscious.

The Blue Silver Vines binding Combusken dissipated into light. Ye Chen walked over to help the kneeling Combusken up, smiling, "Combusken, you did well. You've worked hard. We won this spar."

Hearing this, the self-reproach in Combusken's eyes softened. It looked at the many wounds on Ye Chen's body caused by the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons, each one dripping with blood.

"Don't worry, they're just superficial wounds." Ye Chen patted Combusken's shoulder, concerned, "By comparison, your injuries are more severe. Go back and rest first."

"Combusken." With a response, Combusken turned into red light and returned to Ye Chen's body.

There were no fixed locations like Pokémon Centers on the Douluo Continent to help Pokémon recover their health.

Fortunately, once it became a martial soul, as long as the Martial Soul Origin remained undamaged, Combusken could recover from its injuries on its own. Judging by the extent of its wounds, it would only need a few hours within the Martial Soul Origin to fully heal.

The next day, morning.

At the gates of Nuoding Academy.

Aside from Tang San, ten work-study students from Dorm Seven, led by Xiao Wu, stood before the academy gates to see Ye Chen off.

In yesterday's spar, Ye Chen had defeated the combined efforts of Tang San and Xiao Wu, successfully obtaining the Herb Transcript that Tang San had put up as a wager.

It was also during yesterday's spar that Tang Hao had secretly injured Combusken. Given his current lack of strength, Ye Chen naturally dared not pursue the matter too far.

But Ye Chen had silently vowed to himself that once he possessed sufficient strength in the future, he would surely return the favor in kind.

For now, to avoid attracting too much of Tang Hao's attention, it was best to leave Nuoding Academy quickly and find somewhere else to lay low and develop.

Under the gazes of Tang San, Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng, and the other work-study students, Ye Chen boarded a carriage.

"Giddy-up!"

Following the driver's shout, the carriage sped toward the west gate of Nuoding City.

Although Dean Ding did not come out to see him off, he stood at the window of the dean's office, smoking his pipe while watching the carriage disappear into the distance.

Inside the carriage, Ye Chen sat cross-legged on a wooden chair, with Combusken sitting opposite him.

Having spent nearly a day within the Martial Soul Origin, its injuries had long since healed.

"Combusken?" Combusken asked who they would be fighting next.

Ye Chen shook his head with a smile, "We aren't fighting today. Do you remember yesterday's Martial Soul Resonance? Let's take advantage of the travel time to properly sense our resonance within the carriage."

"Combusken!" Responding, Combusken mimicked Ye Chen, sitting cross-legged on the wooden chair, and closed its eyes to enter meditation.

Ye Chen also closed his eyes to meditate, and man and Pokémon began to sense their Martial Soul Resonance with their hearts.

About half an hour passed.

The carriage exited the west gate of Nuoding City, entered the main road, and headed west toward Heaven Dou City.

Inside the carriage.

Ye Chen and Combusken were in a state of meditative focus. After half an hour of sensing, the man and the Pokémon still could not detect the Martial Soul Resonance they had experienced previously.

Another hour passed.

Ye Chen and Torchic opened their eyes simultaneously. They looked at each other and sighed in regret, clearly having gained nothing.

"Chamo?" Combusken asked what was going on.

Ye Chen shook his head. "I don't know the specifics either. Perhaps the Martial Soul Resonance only occurs when we are stimulated by a critical moment and achieve a telepathic connection."

At this point, Ye Chen fell into deep thought. During his spar with Tang San yesterday, he had stepped forward to protect Combusken, while Combusken had felt both remorse and fury over his injury.

It was likely that this emotional volatility had brought their minds into alignment, causing their intentions to merge, which in turn triggered the telepathic connection and ultimately formed that brief state of Martial Soul Resonance.

Regardless of whether that was the exact principle, Ye Chen was certain that after nearly half a year together, the bond between him and Combusken was growing stronger by the day.