Martial Soul Resonance

This scene not only shocked Tang San, but also caught Combusken by surprise. It stared at Ye Chen, who was standing in front of it, its eyes filled with shock and self-reproach.

Ye Chen had crossed his arms in front of himself and was using Soul Power to reinforce his entire body, shielding Combusken from the countless Blue Silver Hidden Weapons flying toward them.

After the series of battles, Tang San had very little Soul Power left, so the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons he fired this time were nowhere near as powerful as before.

Ye Chen had little Soul Power left as well, but his Level 30 Soul Power was twice Tang San's Level 15 Soul Power, so he had more remaining.

With Soul Power reinforcing his defenses, Ye Chen suffered only superficial injuries from the barrage of Blue Silver Hidden Weapons. He hadn't been seriously hurt.

Even so, the blood flying from his wounds left Combusken stunned.

As an External Martial Soul, protecting its master was its duty. Yet it had been so useless that its master had to step forward and shield it with his own body.

At the thought, Combusken fought desperately to break free of Blue Silver Bind.

Unfortunately, its Level 20 Soul Power had already been withdrawn, and it was badly injured. No matter how desperately it struggled, it couldn't break free of Blue Silver Bind's grasp. All it could do was watch helplessly as Ye Chen was struck by countless Blue Silver Hidden Weapons.

"Combusken—"

Consumed by guilt and the desperate urge to protect its master, Combusken roared at the sky. At that moment, Ye Chen seemed to sense its emotions.

Combusken, too, sensed the pain Ye Chen was enduring. Man and chicken reached a state of perfect communion in an instant, their thoughts and hearts as one.

Was this Martial Soul Resonance?

Ye Chen suddenly remembered that when he absorbed his First Soul Ring, he and Combusken had also experienced a state of perfect harmony and shared thoughts—a Martial Soul Resonance.

There was no Soul Ring energy connecting them this time. Could it be that their Martial Soul Resonance had been triggered because he'd risked his life to protect Combusken, and Combusken had been desperate to protect him?

As the feeling of Martial Soul Resonance grew stronger, Ye Chen sensed a surging wave of fire-element energy flowing through his body. He gathered strength in his dantian, opened his mouth, and spat out a vortex of flames that incinerated every Blue Silver Hidden Weapon.

A look of astonishment flashed through Tang San's eyes. He never would have expected Ye Chen to use Combusken's Fire Spin.

What was going on?

Having studied Martial Soul theory under Yu Xiaogang for several months, Tang San quickly thought of one possibility. Perhaps Ye Chen had just possessed Combusken's Martial Soul in some unique way, allowing him to use Combusken's abilities.

Tang San's guess proved correct. The sudden Martial Soul Resonance had indeed brought Ye Chen and Combusken into a state of shared thoughts and perfect harmony, much like Semi-Martial Soul Possession.

Semi-Martial Soul Possession referred to a Soul Master using the abilities of a Beast Martial Soul without their body taking on any of the beast's traits.

But this was different from Semi-Martial Soul Possession. Ye Chen could not only use Combusken's abilities, but had also inherited its eighty percent boost to speed and its one-hundred-and-fifty-percent increase to the power of fire-element skills.

That was why the Fire Spin he had just unleashed hadn't only incinerated all of Tang San's Blue Silver Hidden Weapons; it had also burned up the stones Tang Hao had secretly thrown at him.

Before Tang San could react, Ye Chen used Agility with his eighty-percent speed boost. Like a flash of lightning, he appeared in front of Tang San, his right foot wreathed in crimson flames as he slammed a Rolling Kick into the side of Tang San's face.

The flames sliced through the air in a dazzling arc. Tang San was sent flying by the kick and crashed heavily into a large tree before falling to the ground, unconscious.

The Blue Silver Vines restraining Combusken dissolved into light. Ye Chen went over and helped Combusken, who had fallen to its knees, to its feet. Smiling, he said, "Combusken, you did great. Thanks for all your hard work. We won the spar."

Hearing this, a flicker of emotion appeared in Combusken's guilt-filled eyes. It looked at the many wounds left by the Blue Silver Hidden Weapons, each one oozing blood.

"Don't worry. They're only superficial wounds." Ye Chen patted Combusken on the shoulder, then said with concern, "Your injuries are more serious than mine. Go back and rest for now."

"Combusken." It answered, then turned into a beam of red light and returned to Ye Chen's body.

There were no fixed places like Pokémon Centers on Douluo Continent where Pokemon could go to recover.

Fortunately, after becoming a Martial Soul, Combusken could heal its injuries on its own, as long as its Martial Soul Origin wasn't damaged. Judging by the severity of its injuries, it would fully recover after spending a few hours in its Martial Soul Origin.

The next morning.

At the entrance to Nuoding Academy.

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

During the spar the day before, Ye Chen had defeated Tang San and Xiao Wu working together, earning the Herb Transcript Tang San had put up as a wager.

Tang Hao had secretly injured Combusken during the spar as well. Since Ye Chen was still too weak, he naturally didn't dare pursue the matter.

But Ye Chen had already sworn to himself that once he was strong enough, he would repay Tang Hao in kind.

For now, to avoid attracting too much of Tang Hao's attention, he'd better leave Nuoding Academy and lie low somewhere else while he grew stronger.

With Tang San, Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng, and the other work-study students watching, Ye Chen climbed into the carriage.

"Hyah!"

At the driver's shout, the carriage sped toward Nuoding City's western gate.

Dean Ding hadn't come out to see him off, but he stood at the window of his office, smoking his pipe as he watched the carriage disappear into the distance.

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

It had spent almost a whole day in its Martial Soul Origin, and its injuries had already healed.

"Combusken?" Combusken asked who they'd be fighting later.

Ye Chen smiled and shook his head. "We're not fighting today. Remember yesterday's Martial Soul Resonance? We can use the time on the road to focus on sensing each other's Martial Souls."

"Combusken!" Combusken answered, then copied Ye Chen and sat cross-legged on the wooden chair. It closed its eyes and entered Calm Mind.

Ye Chen closed his eyes and began Calm Mind as well. Man and chicken focused on sensing each other's Martial Soul Resonance.

About half an hour later.

The carriage passed through Nuoding City's western gate and entered the main road. It headed west toward Heaven Dou City.

Inside the carriage.

Ye Chen and Combusken were still meditating with their eyes closed. After half an hour of trying, neither could sense the Martial Soul Resonance they'd felt before.

Another hour passed.

Ye Chen and Torchic opened their eyes at the same time. They looked at each other and let out a disappointed sigh. It was clear they'd gotten nowhere.

"Combusken?" Combusken asked what had happened.

Ye Chen shook his head. "I don't know for sure either. Maybe Martial Soul Resonance only happens when we're pushed to a crucial moment and our minds connect."

At this, Ye Chen fell into thought. During the spar with Tang San the day before, he had stepped forward to protect Combusken, while Combusken had felt guilty and furious at seeing him injured.

Those intense emotions had probably brought their minds and thoughts together, creating a connection between them and ultimately triggering the brief state of Martial Soul Resonance.

Whether or not that was how it worked, Ye Chen was certain that after nearly half a year together, he and Combusken had grown closer and closer.