Double Battle

Seeing Torchic charge toward him, Tang San snapped out of his daze. Fortunately, Torchic's speed boost hadn't activated, so his Purple Demon Eye could still see through Torchic's movements, and he could keep up with its speed using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

A faint smile curled his lips. Tang San stepped into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and darted around Torchic, leaving a string of afterimages as he headed straight for Ye Chen, who was directing the fight.

Ye Chen was about to defend himself when Tang San flicked his right hand. With the help of the Tang Sect Secret Art Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, several Blue Silver Vines shot from his hand and instantly bound Ye Chen in place.

After tearing through the Blue Silver Vines, Ye Chen saw that Tang San had appeared right in front of him. Tang San bent his left arm and drove an elbow hard into Ye Chen's chest.

Caught by the sudden elbow strike, Ye Chen was sent flying ten meters before crashing to the ground.

Torchic sprinted at full speed and immediately shielded Ye Chen, who lay motionless on the ground. Its sharp eyes glared at Tang San.

Seeing this, Tang San was a little surprised. Ye Chen had already been knocked unconscious, so why hadn't Torchic, as his Martial Soul, disappeared?

Could Torchic's Martial Soul exist independently of its host, fighting on its own even when its host was unconscious?

Just as Tang San was puzzling over this, Ye Chen got to his feet as if nothing had happened.

"How is that possible?" A flash of surprise crossed Tang San's eyes.

A six-year-old child had been unable to defend himself against Tang San's Bind, then taken a full-force elbow strike without passing out?

Had he not even suffered a single injury?

Was this the kind of physical strength a six-year-old should have?

Meeting Tang San's astonished gaze, Ye Chen gratefully covered the spot on his chest where he'd been struck.

Fortunately, a Body Martial Soul could grant a Soul Master exceptional physical strength and control over their body.

His chest was part of his Body Martial Soul, too. The moment he channeled Soul Power into the muscles and bones there, the defense of his entire chest had increased.

And after a month of physical training, his Body Martial Soul had grown stronger along with his body. How could a mere elbow break through his defenses?

What Ye Chen hadn't expected was that Tang San hadn't learned his first Soul Skill, Blue Silver Bind, like in the original story, but had already learned to use Blue Silver Vines to restrain his opponents.

It seemed Tang San's strength had leapt forward after a month of training.

After binding Ye Chen with Blue Silver Vines, Tang San had followed up with a full-force elbow strike. It had been incredibly hard to guard against.

If Ye Chen hadn't thought in time to call on his Soul Power and reinforce his chest, that elbow might have knocked him out.

Seeing Ye Chen unharmed, Tang San was surprised for only a moment before stepping into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and launching his next attack.

At the same time, Ye Chen tried channeling Soul Power into his eyes and brain, enhancing his vision and mental strength.

To his surprise, he could faintly make out how Tang San moved while using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Calmly, he said, "Torchic, stay behind me."

At his command, Torchic ran behind Ye Chen, its sharp eyes watching everything behind them.

Ye Chen kept his eyes on the front. That way, no matter where Tang San moved with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Ye Chen would spot him immediately and counterattack.

Tang San truly had been a disciple of the Tang Sect in his previous life. He was in the habit of carrying small Hidden Weapons, and as he moved with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he took stones from his waist and flicked them at Ye Chen.

With the insight of the Purple Demon Eye and his exquisite Hidden Weapon techniques, Tang San sent each stone flying straight, diagonally, or along a curve. Yet they all had the same target: Ye Chen.

Torchic was outside Tang San's attack range. If he attacked it and missed, he would only help it build up speed.

Once Torchic's speed was fully built up, Tang San would surely be the one to lose.

Realizing this, Tang San deliberately avoided fighting Torchic. Instead, he focused on knocking out Ye Chen, who was directing the fight. As long as the host was defeated, Torchic would disappear on its own as a Martial Soul.

After flicking all ten stone Hidden Weapons, Tang San immediately called on his Soul Power to activate his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

The Blue Silver Grass transformed into long Blue Silver Vines, each ten meters in length. With a sharp whistle, they shot out and bound Ye Chen tightly, leaving him unable to move his body or limbs.

At the same time, stones flew in from all directions, striking Ye Chen in both shoulders, his back, abdomen, forehead, and legs. His whole body went numb, and he suddenly dropped to one knee.

To stop Ye Chen from directing Torchic, Tang San even controlled several Blue Silver Vines to wrap around Ye Chen's mouth. When the stones struck him, he couldn't even groan.

There was no doubt that Tang San had improved enormously since their last spar.

Anyone else would probably have been utterly defeated by that barrage of attacks.

At first, Ye Chen thought he was doomed to lose, too.

But when the stone Hidden Weapons hit him and left his skin and flesh numb without causing any real injuries, he realized that his own strength had improved tremendously over the past month as well.

Especially his physical strength.

Since his Body Martial Soul was his entire body, the various exercises he'd kept up every day for the past month were no different from adding points across the board to his Body Martial Soul's attack, defense, and speed!

With the boost from his Body Martial Soul, his body was now tough enough to minimize the damage from Tang San's stone Hidden Weapons, even without reinforcing it with Soul Power.

At that moment, Ye Chen truly understood what it meant to reap what you sow.

Over the past month, he hadn't just stuck to physical training. To lay the groundwork for the "Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill," he'd also trained with Torchic to sense each other's presence and work together in perfect harmony.

There was still no sign of a Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill, but they had developed an exceptional rapport.

Even without giving Torchic verbal instructions, a single glance was now enough for it to know what to do.

At Ye Chen's silent signal, Torchic threw its head back and let out a strange cry. The fire attribute source within it erupted, and scorching Soul Power radiated from its round body, instantly burning away the Blue Silver Vines binding Ye Chen.

Although startled, Tang San didn't panic. He kept his attack locked on Ye Chen.

He was certain that after the earlier elbow strike and the ten stone Hidden Weapons, Ye Chen had to be badly hurt even if he hadn't been knocked unconscious. One more punch would settle the outcome!

With his target set, Tang San quickly took a step forward, leaving a string of afterimages as he appeared in front of Torchic.

Suddenly, Tang San spun around. Approaching Torchic had been a Feint; he quietly appeared to Ye Chen's right. At the same moment, he clenched his Mysterious Jade Hand into a fist and threw a full-force punch at Ye Chen's right cheek.

With his enhanced vision and mental strength, Ye Chen quickly caught sight of the incoming fist. Still kneeling, he raised his left hand and caught Tang San's punch with perfect precision.

Tang San's first punch missed, but his other fist followed immediately, swinging toward Ye Chen's face.

Amazingly, Ye Chen's free right hand shot out on instinct and intercepted Tang San's fist before it could land.

Tang San's fists were now caught in Ye Chen's crossed hands. He tried to wrench himself free, only to find that Ye Chen's strength was evenly matched with his own. The two were locked in a stalemate, unable to move.

"Tang San, you've lost this spar. Surrender now and you can avoid a beating. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rough!" Ye Chen warned him.

Tang San laughed dismissively. "Ye Chen, I may not be able to break free of your grip, but don't think you can attack me easily, either. This spar isn't necessarily mine to lose!"

"I may not be able to attack you, but don't forget—I'm not alone. This has always been a Double Battle."

With that, Ye Chen ordered, "Torchic, use Bounce twice, then attack with Scratch!"

At his command, white light glimmered on Torchic's feet. While Tang San and Ye Chen remained locked in their stalemate, Torchic leaped into the air and slammed its left foot into Tang San's abdomen.

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

But Torchic's attack wasn't over. After kicking Tang San in the abdomen with its left foot, it used the force to bounce onto Ye Chen's shoulder. It then stomped on Ye Chen's shoulder with its right foot, leaped into the air, and launched a Jump Kick at Tang San's face.

"Chamo—!"

"Ah—!"

Torchic's strange cry was followed by Tang San's muffled groan.

Both kicks had been empowered by the Scratch Skill, boosting their attack power, and strengthened further by the Focus Energy Skill. They had struck Tang San's vitals with ease, dealing devastating damage.

By the time he took the first kick, Tang San was already in such agony that he was nearly unconscious. The second kick landed squarely on his face, rattling his head and knocking him out completely.

After Ye Chen let go, Tang San flew backward and landed flat on his back, unconscious.

A closer look revealed a deep chicken-foot print on Tang San's face. That showed just how powerful Torchic's Jump Kick had been. It had used the Inch Punch technique to unleash a tremendous burst of force.

Forget an unprepared Tang San—even a One-Ring Soul Master would have been KO'd after taking those two kicks.

Seeing Tang San sprawled on the ground, Torchic cheered, "Chamo, chamo!" as it danced and waved its arms, clearly thrilled to have gotten revenge.

Ye Chen felt a rush of excitement, too. After Torchic defeated Tang San, he received the battle experience in return, just as he'd hoped.

As Soul Power surged through his body, Ye Chen realized that the battle experience returned to him this time was far greater than before.

Tang San had presumably not only learned to use Blue Silver Vines to bind opponents after a month of training, but had also become much stronger. That was likely why defeating a stronger Tang San had yielded a greater return of battle experience.

Thanks to the battle experience returned to him, the boost to his Soul Power was far greater than he could have achieved through months of Calm Mind. His Soul Power had leapt two levels from level twelve, taking him straight to level fourteen.

Torchic only needed two more levels of Soul Power to meet the conditions for evolution.

Coming back to himself, Ye Chen found that the Soul Power he'd just depleted had already been fully restored. That was probably one of the benefits of leveling up his Soul Power.

He walked over to Tang San and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had a Body Martial Soul and had kept up with physical training, making him far stronger than his peers. Otherwise, he might not have beaten Tang San.

Tang San was still unconscious and wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

After a moment's thought, Ye Chen decided to take Tang San back to the blacksmith's shop. If Tang Hao had secretly watched the spar, Ye Chen's actions would surely lessen his hostility.

And if Tang Hao hadn't been watching in secret, then after taking Tang San back to the blacksmith's shop, Ye Chen could truthfully say that Tang San had challenged him, only to be accidentally knocked unconscious by Torchic's Martial Soul during their spar.