Perfect Balance, Return!

Lin Xia's voice brimmed with excitement.

"The soul skill, 'Life Poison,' formed by integrating the traits of the Emerald Ghost King Vine, is like constructing an incomparably precise, optimized Life-Poison Cycle of our own within its body."

"I can sense that while it absorbed the energy and completed its soul ring fusion, this cycle also became completely stabilized within Bulbasaur's body!"

"It is no longer barely maintaining balance. It has reached... perfect balance!"

Lin Xia opened his eyes, both of his mismatched pupils shining brightly.

"It is as if every cell in its body, even that miraculous seed on its back, instinctively knows how to achieve the most efficient and stable conversion and coexistence between life energy and poison-element energy."

"Its sleep is not merely for recovering from its injuries. It is more like it is deeply adapting to this innate state of harmony!"

"I have a strong feeling that when Bulbasaur wakes up, its understanding and use of these two attributes will rise to an entirely new level!"

"The foundation within Bulbasaur's body will become more solid than ever before, enough to support it as it travels farther and climbs higher down this path of Life-Poison Unity!"

After hearing Lin Xia's clear and insightful explanation, Yue Hongsheng looked at the joy shining in his eyes over his companion's transformation. Extreme gratification first appeared on his gaunt face, before turning into a deep sigh.

Yue Hongsheng patted Lin Xia on the shoulder, his voice low and firm.

"Good! What a Life Poison! Lin Xia, you and Bulbasaur have truly opened a path that belongs to you alone."

"Refine poison through life, use poison to nourish life in return; offense and defense as one, endless and unceasing... this skill has limitless potential!"

After resting for a moment, Yue Hongsheng's expression lost its earlier delight and turned solemn.

"This is no place to linger! Those Emerald Ghost King Vines could catch up at any moment, and that fiend is guarding the way ahead. You have only just broken through, and your condition is unstable. We must leave immediately!"

Lin Xia understood at once. The faint sounds of vines scraping together and the chilling fluctuations of Soul Power coming from the depths of the Emerald Forest hung over them like a sword.

"I'll follow your arrangements, Senior!"

Yue Hongsheng said no more. His figure drifted out of their hiding place like a wisp of smoke. Rather than heading directly toward the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's territory, he moved through the shadowy woods like the most skilled hunter, circling back as his lightning-sharp gaze swept the surroundings.

Before long, Yue Hongsheng found his targets—several Millennial Ironclad Rhinos and Venom Vine Arrow Boars that had been disturbed by the unrest in the depths of the forest and were grazing on moss at the outskirts.

These soul beasts were thick-skinned, tough, and brimming with vitality. They were the ideal "bait."

His withered fingers pointed through the air. Dark purple Soul Power spread soundlessly like fine spider silk, transforming into resilient poison traps.

The soul beasts struggled in terror, but Yue Hongsheng's Soul Sage-level poison control was incomparably precise. In an instant, it numbed their nerves without killing them, leaving them in a painful, suffocating state where they could not move.

"Come!"

At Yue Hongsheng's call, Lin Xia immediately hurried over.

With a flash of cold light, Yue Hongsheng raised his hand and brought down his blade, carving several enormous, horrifying wounds deep enough to expose bone across the massive beasts!

"Splat—!"

"Aoo—!"

Scalding beast blood, carrying the sickly sweet scent of rust, sprayed forth like gushing springs!

The intense, pungent stench of blood was like a boulder thrown into still water, instantly shattering the deathly silence at the edge of the Emerald Forest!

Yet after seeing this, Yue Hongsheng did not stop. Instead, he sliced open his own wrist and splashed his blood over the soul beasts.

The scent of the vigorous life essence of millennial soul beasts mixed with the unique allure of human blood, like the most potent catalyst. In an instant, it spread through every corner of the dense forest and drifted toward the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's territory!

Wracked by agony and poison, the several soul beasts let out low, despairing howls that carried far through the silent forest.

"Go!"

"These soul beasts aren't nearly as enticing as humans!"

The moment Yue Hongsheng said this, without waiting for Lin Xia to react, he grabbed Lin Xia's arm, and his speed instantly surged to its limit!

Rather than charging straight through, Yue Hongsheng raced along the relatively sparse edge of the territory. Like two shadows skimming over the ground, they sprinted almost along the very line of death!

Almost the instant the thick scent of blood spread—

"ROAR—!!!"

A terrifying roar filled with brutality, greed, and excitement exploded from the heart of the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's territory, like the furious bellow of an ancient fiend!

The earth trembled beneath that roar! Buzz!

Heavy footsteps thundered like war drums, rapidly drawing closer at an appalling speed!

Every step made the soil and rocks within a hundred meters shake and crumble!

Towering ancient trees swayed violently, leaves raining down!

A terrifying pressure, like a tangible tsunami, instantly locked onto the source of the blood scent!

It was coming! That ten-thousand-year bloodthirsty monster!

Lin Xia felt an icy suffocation seize his throat, as though his heart were about to stop beating.

He could even feel that terrifying aura scrape across his back like a cold razor.

When he turned his head to look back, he could vaguely see through gaps in the dense branches that stretch of forest being pulverized by an invisible force. A huge dark-gold figure was charging toward the source of the blood scent with an aura that threatened to destroy everything in its path!

Yue Hongsheng's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's. Shielded by the shifting light and shadows of the forest, he darted like a spirit snake, pulling Lin Xia along close to the massive tree roots.

They could even clearly hear from not far behind them the horrifying sounds of dark-gold claws tearing through flesh and crushing bones, followed by the last brief, shrill cries of dying soul beasts!

It was the sound of death at their heels!

Taking advantage of the precious opening while the beast lured by the blood was wholly consumed by the delicious "bait," Yue Hongsheng and Lin Xia did not slow down in the slightest!

Faster! Just a little faster!

Gritting his teeth, Lin Xia desperately circulated his Soul Power despite the weakness wracking his body, doing everything he could to keep up with Yue Hongsheng's pull.

Lin Xia knew that even the slightest delay could turn them into that monster's next meal.

Finally, just as the savage sounds of feeding and the terrifying pressure that seemed capable of freezing their souls felt only a few steps away—

The oppressive emerald poison miasma blanketing the forest ahead suddenly thinned! The familiar air of the outer region rushed toward them!

They had crossed the final boundary of the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear's territory! They had escaped the most terrifying depths of the Emerald Forest!

Only then did Yue Hongsheng's taut nerves loosen slightly. Yet his feet did not pause at all. He continued pulling Lin Xia through the relatively "safe" area for several more miles, only coming to a sudden stop beneath a concealed rock wall after he could no longer sense that hellish pressure.

After cautiously probing the surroundings and confirming that there was no danger, he finally let out a long breath of foul air tinged with blood.

He looked back at the dark forest behind them, like the maw of some man-eating beast. A trace of lingering fear flashed in his eyes, but there was even more resolute determination born from surviving disaster.

"Whew... We finally... made it out without incident."

Yue Hongsheng's voice carried a trace of exhaustion and an indescribable heaviness.

Glancing at Lin Xia, whom he had dragged to the verge of collapse, he said in a low voice:

"We cannot stay here. First, we leave the edge of this forest and find somewhere safe to rest. Then... we return to the academy!"

Lin Xia panted heavily, his chest heaving violently and his face pale as paper. Cramp-like pain shot through every part of his body—the aftermath of extreme tension and exhausted Soul Power.

"Alright!"

Lin Xia turned back for one long look at the depths of the Emerald Forest, where four guards had been buried and where he himself had endured trials of life and death. In the shadows, his mismatched green and purple eyes glimmered faintly, filled with complex, unreadable emotions.