Fifteen days later.
Ten kilometers northeast of Heaven Dou City lay a dense forest called Sunset Forest.
Though it was not in a cold region, most of the plants in Sunset Forest were temperate species native to the north, and they did not grow very densely.
That made it very convenient to move around Sunset Forest, and it was easy to find traces of Soul Beasts in the sky or underground.
As for its Soul Beast population, Sunset Forest had no shortage of either Soul Beasts or species. However, there were few with cultivation levels over ten thousand years. To encounter a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, one had to enter the Core Zone.
At that moment, in the Outer Zone of Sunset Forest,
a hawk Soul Beast was fleeing through the sky above the forest.
A closer look revealed that its entire body was a vivid vermilion, its sharp eyes were golden, it was five meters long, and its feathers were exceptionally full.
Its wings were especially striking. Not only were they covered in exquisitely detailed vermilion feathers, but every feather absorbed the sunlight, making them look dazzling.
Most remarkable of all, whenever the hawk Soul Beast flapped its wings, some of its vermilion feathers fell away and turned into balls of flame, causing the surrounding air to heat up sharply. It was clearly a Fire-type bird Soul Beast.
And that was exactly what it was. This hawk Soul Beast was called the Blazing Sun Eagle, a high-grade Fire-type Soul Beast with a cultivation level just over two thousand years. It was born with a talent called Flash Fire.
When attacked with flames or radiant heat energy, the Blazing Sun Eagle could use its Flash Fire talent to absorb that energy into its body. This rapidly raised the temperature around it, amplifying its Fire-type attacks or burning its enemies.
While Flash Fire was active, the Blazing Sun Eagle could also absorb heat and light from the sun and convert that energy into whatever kind it needed to recover, allowing it to fly without tiring.
The figures hot on the Blazing Sun Eagle's heels were Ye Chen and Combusken.
The Blazing Sun Eagle flew extremely fast above Sunset Forest. Ordinary Soul Masters could never catch up.
So as he chased it, Ye Chen sparred with Combusken, constantly helping it build up speed.
After twenty speed boosts, Combusken's Speed had reached its limit. At top speed, it stomped through the air with its feet. Though it could not fly, it chased the Blazing Sun Eagle across the sky like a giant, human-shaped bird.
This was where the Blazing Bird's running speed, like that of an ostrich, came into play.
With the Blazing Bird Soul Ring's running speed and its Speed pushed to the limit, Combusken stomped through the air at top speed and caught up to the Blazing Sun Eagle in just five breaths.
"Achamo—!"
With an excited cry, Combusken lunged forward and appeared ahead of the Blazing Sun Eagle. It stomped through the air with its left foot and kicked the eagle in the head with its right.
Before the Blazing Sun Eagle could be sent flying, Combusken instantly twisted its body, planted its right foot in the air, and swung its left leg high, kicking the eagle even higher into the sky.
Focus Energy boosted that Double Kick, making it very easy to strike a vital spot. With the help of its specially trained perception, Combusken landed both kicks on the Blazing Sun Eagle's weak points.
The pain sent the Blazing Sun Eagle reeling. After it was kicked higher into the sky, it became a punching bag, taking Combusken's Explosive Eight-Stage Kick to its back, belly, and head in rapid succession.
Thud, thud, thud—screee!
The kicks' whooshing impacts and the Blazing Sun Eagle's cries rang out one after another across the sky.
After taking the full force of Explosive Eight-Stage Kick, the Blazing Sun Eagle was knocked unconscious. When it hit the ground, its dazzling wings had stopped absorbing sunlight, and the heat around its body quickly faded.
Fortunately, Combusken had the Fire attribute, which made it immune to the intense heat released by the Blazing Sun Eagle.
Although the Blazing Sun Eagle's Flash Fire talent could absorb Combusken's Fire-type skills, Combusken had Fighting-type skills as well—and could even stomp through the air at top speed.
Combusken had completely dominated the battle, especially with its Speed Boost Ability pushing its speed to the limit.
At such extreme speed, Explosive Eight-Stage Kick packed a force that a low-cultivation thousand-year Soul Beast could never withstand.
However, the more powerful a skill was, the greater the strain it usually placed on the body.
Explosive Eight-Stage Kick was no exception. Every move was performed at top speed and combined with rapid stomps through the air. The explosive burst of power took a heavy toll on Combusken's stamina and leg endurance.
After using Explosive Eight-Stage Kick, Combusken suffered backlash. Its legs ached and gave out, leaving it temporarily unable to move.
Ye Chen finally caught up using Agility. Seeing Combusken half-crouched on the ground, he asked worriedly, "Combusken, are you all right?"
"Achamo!" Combusken shook its head to show it was fine. It tried to stand, but the backlash hit again, and it dropped to one knee.
Ye Chen ran over to Combusken and took a plant called Dragon Ganoderma Grass from his bag, feeding it to the Pokémon.
According to the Herb Transcript, Dragon Ganoderma Grass accelerated injury recovery and restored Soul Power, making it a low-grade heavenly treasure.
Under ordinary circumstances, Dragon Ganoderma Grass took a hundred years to take root and sprout, then grow into a vine. After a thousand years, it would grow leaves.
Dragon Ganoderma Grass with leaves was also called Dragon Ganoderma Leaf. Its healing and Soul Power recovery effects were even better, and it was considered a higher-grade medicinal herb.
Ye Chen had spent the past few days searching Sunset Forest for a thousand-year Soul Beast to serve as his Second Soul Ring. Along the way, he had come across a few Dragon Ganoderma Grass plants and picked them to use as healing medicine.
"Achamo, achamo!" After eating the Dragon Ganoderma Grass, Combusken's backlash disappeared completely. Its body was back in good health, and it had recovered half of its lost stamina and Soul Power.
"Come on. Let's find a safe place to absorb the Soul Ring." As he spoke, Ye Chen lifted the Blazing Sun Eagle's body above his head with both hands, then used Agility to run toward the entrance to Sunset Forest.
Combusken stayed by his side, ready to protect him at any moment.
About half an hour later,
one kilometer from the entrance to Sunset Forest,
in a hidden clearing among a grove of young trees, the Blazing Sun Eagle lay still. It had regained consciousness once on the way out of Sunset Forest, but Combusken had knocked it out again.
While it was still unconscious, Ye Chen killed it with a dagger.
Wisps of purple light slowly rose from the Blazing Sun Eagle's corpse, gathering into an ethereal purple ring of light.
After returning Combusken to his body, Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to circulate his Soul Power.
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