Steady Improvement

After returning home, Aron claimed it was hungry, leaving Jiang Jing speechless. It had only been a short while since they exercised, yet it was already hungry again.

He had no choice but to prepare a late-night snack for it. As it happened, he was hungry too, so he pulled out his late-night partner: instant noodles.

"Ah, this is great!"

After ten-thirty, Jiang Jing lay in bed post-shower. After scrolling through Douyin for a while to watch videos by the Steel Gym Leader, Chen Feng, he decided it was time to sleep. He would never tell anyone that he spent some time scrolling through videos of pretty girls before finally putting his phone down.

Aron was already curled up asleep in its little nest.

Looking at Aron, he thought of the bead pattern on his own chest.

He closed his eyes, turned off the lights, and the room fell into darkness and silence.

Jiang Jing relaxed completely, calming his mind. After a while, his spirit sank, and his consciousness drifted into the void.

It was indeed here. Jiang Jing looked around; there was only a giant colorful bead surrounded by gray currents.

However, compared to the last time he entered, the gray currents remained the same, but he could now feel countless gray currents flowing continuously into the colorful bead.

Driven by curiosity, Jiang Jing moved closer to the colorful bead. As he got closer, his palm touched the surface of the bead before he could even process the sensation.

His body jolted, and he instantly vanished from his spot, appearing in a new area.

This was a colorful space, containing nothing but streaks of colorful currents that permeated the entire area.

Looking around, he could only see a two-meter radius centered on himself; the rest of the space was shrouded in colorful currents, making it impossible to see anything else.

Jiang Jing tried to control the streaks of colorful currents, his consciousness acting like a net to capture and guide them outward.

Pop. His consciousness shuddered. He had failed, so Jiang Jing tried again.

Second attempt, failure.

Third attempt, failure.

Fourth attempt, still a failure.

This time, Jiang Jing stopped trying and began to reflect on the reasons for his previous failures.

My consciousness seems too scattered. And perhaps these currents shouldn't be captured, but guided?

With this thought, Jiang Jing made another attempt. His consciousness formed a point at the end of a current, hooking it like a barb, and then he began to move, guiding it outward.

Jiang Jing felt a surge of joy. It worked.

He quickly calmed himself, continuing to guide the current out of the colorful bead and into the gray space, then continued to lead it outward. Three seconds passed just like that.

The space began to shift instantly. A colorful current appeared inside Jiang Jing's body, and in this state, he could sense his own internal organs.

Moreover, he didn't even know where the colorful current had emerged from in that instant; it simply appeared at his chest.

He continued to guide the current through his chest and out into the air. The entire dark room seemed to brighten just a little.

Only Jiang Jing could see the colorful current drifting in the air with the wind.

What exactly was the use of this colorful current?

So far, all the changes that had occurred to him were likely related to this current.

First, over the past three months, he had grown more handsome, his height was still increasing, and his physical fitness had improved by an unknown factor.

In physical education class, he was always the strongest one.

Then, there was the improvement in Aron's talent, which had risen from two stars to three. He wondered if it could continue to improve.

Finally, the appearance of the Data Eye was also thanks to the colorful current.

So far, he only knew of these three functions. As for whether there were other effects or how to utilize the colorful current, he would need to spend time exploring.

After playing with the colorful current for a while, he guided it back into his body. He had already decided to study the colorful current thoroughly during this summer vacation.

Five days later, July 4th.

At seven in the morning, Jiang Jing woke up on time. His mother was still sleeping in, while he had already started washing up.

At seven-twenty, a prepared Jiang Jing took Aron out for a morning run.

Ten days had passed since Aron hatched. After eating and drinking for so many days, it had gradually grown, and its size was now a circle larger than when it first hatched.

Pokémon: Aron Type: Steel, Rock Talent: ★★★ Level: LV7 Ability: Heavy Metal

After five days of feeding and moderate activity, its level had successfully reached 7. Starting today, Aron could begin formal training.

Although Aron had joined him for morning runs over the past few days, he hadn't let it run for too long.

Today was different. Jiang Jing took out his phone and opened the running function of his fitness app.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Let's go, Aron! Keep up with me. Today's goal is ten kilometers."

Aron stomped its feet heavily on the ground, exhaling white currents from its nostrils before bursting forward into a run.

Jiang Jing was heading toward the Battle Park. One loop along this road was five kilometers, so two loops would be ten.

In the morning, the sun wasn't as hot as it would be at noon, and countless workers had already begun their daily grind.

Jiang Jing, however, was running leisurely along the side of the road. The morning air was always fresh.

Aron chased blindly behind him. After running two kilometers, it already felt some fatigue in its body.

After three kilometers, its speed slowed down directly. Seeing this, Jiang Jing reduced his pace, maintaining a three-meter distance from it.

After four kilometers, Aron was moving as slowly as an elderly person taking a stroll. It was sluggish, and every step was exceptionally difficult, yet it still hadn't given up.

At this point, they had completed one round trip. Jiang Jing recalled it into its ball and said, "Alright, Aron, you rest for a bit."

After saying that, he picked up his pace and continued running; his morning run wasn't over yet.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Jing returned, covered in sweat, his clothes soaked.

While resting, Jiang Jing released Aron. After coming out, it had recovered quite a bit of stamina.

However, its stomach was hungry, and it kept calling out.

Jiang Jing said, "Fine, let's go back and have breakfast."

He first bought two portions of steamed buns, dumplings, and soy milk from the old-fashioned breakfast shop at the entrance of the residential complex.

After returning home, he prepared Aron's breakfast. Unfortunately, Aron didn't find human food flavorful and couldn't enjoy the delicacy.

Soon, it finished its usual breakfast portion. It still wasn't enough, so Jiang Jing had to take out the remaining food and ore.

Watching Aron quickly finish the remaining Pokémon food and ore, he realized Aron's appetite was quite large today.

He wondered if Aron's appetite would become even bigger once it started training.

After returning home, Jiang Jing took a shower and went back to the living room. By then, his mother, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff were also up, just in time to have breakfast together.

While eating, he turned on the TV; the National Championship was still ongoing.

After so many days, the first round hadn't even finished yet, and many people hadn't even stepped onto the field.

While watching the match, Aron's training couldn't stop either.

Thanks to book friend Universe's Number One Incineroar for the 500 Qidian Coins tip.