Speed Boost Ability

As he spoke, Ye Chen's thoughts stirred, and the Torchic Tang San had been gripping by the neck vanished into his body like a Tool Martial Soul being recalled. The next moment, the Torchic that had disappeared reappeared before everyone.

Strangely, a layer of flowing white light suddenly enveloped Torchic. When the light faded, Torchic's side-to-side hopping had clearly become faster.

Watching through his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San noticed that Torchic's hopping steps had not only grown faster, but also seemed exceptionally strange, as though they contained some profound secret. Could this be an ability inherent to the Martial Soul itself?

Ye Chen was likely the only one present who knew that the Torchic Martial Soul did indeed come with a certain ability.

That ability was a trait called "Speed Boost."

At the end of each round of combat, Torchic could use its Speed Boost Ability to increase its Speed stat by ten percent.

The Speed Boost Ability would only stop working once its Speed stat reached the limits of its body.

"Piplup, Piplup, Piplup!"

Hearing Torchic's increasingly excited cries and watching its faster hopping, Tang San smiled instead of showing fear.

Having just been reborn on the Douluo Continent, he really didn't know much about Martial Souls. But how much did this boy named Ye Chen know about the Tang Sect Secret Arts?

Torchic's Martial Soul had an ability that increased its speed. As it happened, among the secret arts he had brought from the Tang Sect into this world was a movement technique that could also increase speed, called Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

Back then, it was thanks to the countless, elusive afterimages of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track that he had escaped the Tang Sect elders' pursuit several times. Unfortunately, when he reached the cliff called Ghost Sorrow Cliff, there was nowhere left to run. Otherwise, with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track at his disposal, who could have possibly taken him down?

Coming back to himself from his memories of the Tang Sect in his previous life, Tang San chose to take the initiative. His feet moved in Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and his small frame left a string of afterimages as he charged at Torchic.

" Torchic, dodge first, then use Pendulum Step to keep evading!"

At Ye Chen's instruction, Torchic hopped half a meter to the left, its round body nimbly dodging Tang San's straight punch.

At the same time, a layer of flowing white light shone from Torchic's body. As the light faded, the Speed Boost Ability raised its Speed stat by another ten percent.

Though startled, Tang San kept his composure. Moving in Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he appeared behind Torchic without a sound, raised his right leg, and kicked at its rear.

Ye Chen had already ordered Torchic to keep dodging, so as soon as Tang San's right foot came at it, Torchic had hopped half a meter forward and avoided the attack again.

The same scene kept playing out. Whenever Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and attacked with his knees, elbows, or other body parts, Torchic managed to evade by the skin of its teeth.

And whenever Tang San moved into Torchic's blind spot, Ye Chen, watching the fight from the sidelines, could always give it an instruction to dodge in a certain direction at once.

After ten rounds of combat, Tang San hadn't managed to hurt Torchic in the slightest.

Torchic, meanwhile, had used the Speed Boost Ability to raise its Speed stat by a full hundred percent through those ten rounds of dodging.

Gradually, Tang San's attacks began to lose their force, while Torchic's dodges grew effortless.

By the twentieth round of combat, Torchic's Speed stat had increased by two hundred percent. It couldn't rise any further.

But it seemed there was no need to increase its speed anymore, because Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track could no longer keep up with Torchic.

Every time Tang San tried to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to circle behind Torchic and attack, Torchic could circle behind him first. Combined with the swaying of its body as it hopped from side to side, it gave off an imposing sense of pressure.

After twenty rounds of combat, Tang San was already panting heavily, and his face had grown even paler.

He had only just begun learning about Martial Souls and Soul Masters, so he clearly didn't realize that the inner force cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill had already been converted into Soul Power. Once he circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, using up inner force was the same as using up Soul Power.

Seeing Tang San standing there, panting, Ye Chen advised him, "Tang San, give up. You can't keep up with Torchic anymore. If you keep fighting, you'll only lose even more badly."

At those words, Tang San looked at Ye Chen and realized there was a problem. From beginning to end, Torchic had been following Ye Chen's instructions. If that was the case, then why not just knock Ye Chen down?

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track could no longer keep up with Torchic's speed, but it was more than enough to deal with Ye Chen, who had no combat ability at all!

Having figured this out, Tang San moved in Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and charged straight at Ye Chen.

Seeing this, before anyone could react, Torchic's instinct as a Martial Soul had already kicked in to protect its master. It appeared in front of Ye Chen at a speed that surpassed Tang San's.

"Piplup!"

Torchic suddenly let out an angry cry. It was clearly furious that Tang San, its opponent, wasn't fighting it and instead wanted to hurt its master.

Without needing Ye Chen to give it an order, Torchic immediately charged at Tang San. Its speed was nearly at its limit; even Tang San's Purple Demon Eye couldn't see the trajectory of its attack.

A golden flash cut through the air. With a sharp boom, Torchic leaped and kicked out with its clawed feet, striking Tang San in the abdomen.

Tang San felt his blood and qi churn inside him, and he nearly vomited.

But thanks to his experience with the Tang Sect in his previous life, he reacted quickly. He immediately circulated his Mysterious Heaven Skill inner force to dull the pain, then used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to retreat and open some distance.

At the same time, Torchic landed safely, then used its extreme speed to catch up in an instant and silently appear in front of Tang San once more.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Torchic leaped high into the air, its two clawed feet shining with white light as it relentlessly struck and kicked Tang San in the abdomen.

Tang San was already using every trick at his disposal, yet he still couldn't match Torchic with its Speed Boost Ability fully stacked. He could only be suppressed from every side, reduced to a wooden dummy taking a beating.

"Piplup, Piplup, Piplup—"

In an instant, Torchic's strange cries, the thuds of its clawed feet pounding Tang San's chest, and Tang San's muffled grunts rose and fell through the air.

Bang, bang, boom, boom—ah!

After enduring more than ten frenzied blows, Tang San was kicked in the abdomen by both of Torchic's feet. He flew ten meters through the air before crashing to the ground.

Old Jack and the seven children watching from the sidelines were dumbstruck.

Even Ye Chen, Torchic's master, couldn't help but pause in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected Torchic's nearly maxed-out Speed stat and furious state to give it such terrifying fighting power. It had left Tang San utterly unable to fight back.

Staggering to his feet, Tang San clutched his aching abdomen and began panting heavily. His face was deathly pale.

He had never imagined that his Tang Sect Secret Arts would lose to a chicken!

No!

The Tang Sect Secret Arts were meant to be used alongside Hidden Weapons, striking when the enemy least expected it. That was the way to win.

Even without Hidden Weapons, an attack launched by surprise would let him unleash the true power of the Tang Sect Secret Arts!

Thinking this, Tang San was about to move in Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and launch a surprise attack when Old Jack stopped him from the sidelines.

"Stop! You two, that's enough!"

"Xiao San, Xiao Chen. Keep it to a friendly spar. Grandpa won't allow you to fight just to prove your strength!"

At Old Jack's words, Ye Chen's thoughts stirred, and he recalled Torchic into his body.

As Torchic vanished in a flash of red light, the fierce look in Tang San's eyes finally faded. He clenched his fists helplessly. This was his first time using the Tang Sect Secret Arts in a fight on the Douluo Continent, and he hadn't expected to lose so badly.

With his strength as it was now, he couldn't even beat a child who had just awakened his Martial Soul. How could he possibly hunt Soul Beasts and obtain a Soul Ring?

Without a Soul Ring, he couldn't determine whether breaking through the bottleneck of the first level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill had anything to do with a Soul Ring.