Martial Arts Training / A New Elemental HERO

Of course, many more people cannot endure this hardship, and there are countless examples of people who give up halfway through.

You Zhi even felt that the fact that his disciples could become professional trainers had little to do with martial arts training. People with strong will and hard work were more likely to succeed than others, A-Si's teaching method was just a way to select such people.

But none of this mattered to You Zhi, and he had no intention of challenging the dojo. After obtaining the badge, he returned to his hotel to rest for a day, and at the same time contacted Yuan Ying using the Pokédex —they had added each other as friends when they parted last time.

According to Yuan Ying, she found Morty, who was willing to help with divination out of You Zhi for Yuji. However, Morty had just finished his work at the dojo and had used up a lot of his spiritual energy. He needed to rest for a while and wait until he recovered before he could guarantee the accuracy of his divination. Unfortunately, there were many challengers during this period, and he couldn't abandon his job. So he asked Yuan Ying to temporarily take over as the dojo master.

After listening, You Zhi knew that Morty was slacking off again. His argument sounded reasonable, but he was just using Yuan Ying as free labor.

However, he did not expose the matter. After all, it was only natural for Yuan Ying to help him out when he needed something. If he had asked him personally, perhaps Morty would have readily agreed. But friendships cannot be one-sided; that would not be conducive to maintaining the relationship.

Anyway, judging by the time, the Sea Dragon God is probably still on his journey to find his subordinates, so there's no rush. The appointed day is still far away, and besides, serving as the acting head of the gym is also a good form of cultivation.

"Next, we need to figure out a way to level up Neon Stone Sprite and help her evolve... She should have an evolved form, right?"

You Zhi looked at the Neon Stone Sprite's Pokémon Card, his tone lacking confidence.

(Author's note: Here's a little Yu-Gi-Oh! trivia: When a Continuous Yu-Gi-Oh! & Trap Card is destroyed, its effect will not activate, and any activated effect will be negated. This isn't just me making things up. The part I'm making up is about the activation speed of Spell & Trap Cards; the speed at which they activate depends entirely on the trainer's hand speed.)

Chapter 193 Martial Arts Cultivation

While waiting for news, You Zhi visited the Azure Gym every day, dueling with the professional trainers there, and occasionally sparring with the gym leader A-Si.

In the previous gym challenge, You Zhi and A-Si sparred remotely across the arena, exchanging blows and neither gaining the upper hand.

Now that they were truly in close combat, You Zhi discovered that without using his Strength-Weakness Mimicry, he was no match for his opponent.

In terms of physical ability, he was not much worse than A-Si; the key was in their fighting techniques.

In his previous life, You Zhi was obsessed with martial arts. He practiced Sanshou, Tai Chi, Bagua, Xingyi Boxing, boxing, wrestling, and judo, and had a deep understanding of several of them. He wouldn't say he was invincible, but he felt he was not afraid of any opponent of similar physique.

The problem is that the martial arts he learned were all "pure physical martial arts," which did not require spiritual power and could not be combined with spiritual power.

After arriving in this world, he tried to combine the two, but unfortunately found that the spiritual energy in this world was different from the internal energy in martial arts novels, and did not have the effect of increasing destructive power when circulated in the palm of the hand.

The technique of Strength-Weakness Mimicry is open to all kinds of energy, and can absorb and utilize any kind of vital energy. However, this technique only trains the body and does not involve any combat techniques.

The martial arts that You Zhi developed based on this, including the Eight Sanshou Throws he taught to Phile, are excellent for physical training and ensure a "youthful and healthy state." However, their effectiveness is greatly reduced when used in combat. In fact, he had always felt good before, but after sparring with A-Si, he realized that it was just his illusion.

"You can't punch like that! You have to imagine you have a Spirit-Accumulating Spell Card in your hand, and you need to output spiritual power to forcefully activate it. Punch with that feeling... No! You can't actually release the spiritual power. What you need is that feeling of holding back, storing up and then bursting forth."

Beside the artificial waterfall, A-Si instructed You Zhi on how to use spiritual power.

It must be admitted that the techniques that the other party has spent more than 30 years figuring out are far superior to You Zhi's haphazard attempts.

"That's really strange. You clearly don't know how to use spiritual power. How did you manage to release internal energy underwater during the previous duel? Can you really do that with just physical strength?" A-Si was very puzzled.

"Who knows? I just used it because I wanted to. I don't know the specifics."

In fact, You Zhi simulated the skills of the Pokémon, but he couldn't say that, otherwise it would confirm the scientific conjecture put forward by some researchers that "humans are also a kind of Pokémon".

"Hmm... It seems you used spiritual power unconsciously, but you weren't aware of the underlying principles, so you couldn't replicate it in other actions."

A-Si offered his guess, his admiration for You Zhi's talent growing ever stronger.

Without the guidance of a renowned teacher, he has achieved such results through his own trial and error. If he were given the right guidance, his future achievements would be phenomenal!

In fact, You Zhi's performance lived up to that praise.

He already had a foundation in martial arts cultivation, and his achievements in his previous life proved that he was indeed exceptional in his comprehension. Now, with the ability to alter his physique by Strength-Weakness Mimicry, he could continuously adjust the details according to actual needs until he became the most suitable body for him.

When the two are combined, it becomes what outsiders perceive as "rapid Extreme Speed" and "easy learning."

A-Si didn't become apprehensive or hide his skills for fear of being surpassed. On the contrary, he taught even more diligently.

Generally speaking, those who like to teach prefer students who can "learn as soon as they are taught." As the owner of a martial arts school, A-Si has encountered too many stubborn students who can't learn no matter how he teaches them, and who only make their teachers so angry that they get stomach aches.

One side teaches with dedication, the other learns with focus; both are single-minded and do not consider anything else.

Thus, in just nine days, You Zhi not only mastered the method of using spiritual power, but also learned the opponent's unique skill of "Void Resonance".

Bang!

With a loud popping sound, as You Zhi threw a punch, the artificial waterfall in front of him briefly flowed upwards.

"Although I thought you would definitely be able to learn it, the speed at which you learned it still exceeded my expectations. I thought you would master the Flow-Cutting Slash cuts off waterfalls within half a month at most, but you have even learned the Outrage Force. Now it's just a matter of practicing it skillfully. I have nothing more to teach you."

A-Si sighed.

"My current achievements are all thanks to your meticulous guidance, and I will always remember this kindness."

You Zhi bowed to the other party and expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

Although he hadn't formally joined the Cianwood Martial Arts Hall and they weren't master and disciple, he felt it wouldn't be excessive to kowtow to the other party for all the guidance they had received these past few days.

"With your talent, even without my guidance, you would have figured it out sooner or later, and perhaps even taken a completely different path—thinking about it that way, I'm starting to regret it."

"What's done is done; it's too late for you to regret it now."

Their eyes met, and they smiled knowingly.

After laughing, A-Si asked, "Are you leaving Cianwood City?"

You Zhi nodded and said, "Yes, tomorrow is the day I made an appointment with my friend, I have to go."

As the master of the school, A-Si was used to seeing his disciples off upon graduation, so he wasn't particularly reluctant. He laughed heartily and said, "I hope that when we meet again, you will have surpassed me."

Are you referring to martial arts or Spirit Duel?

Both of them.

A-Si escorted You Zhi to the gym entrance and couldn't help but say, "I'll ask my friends for information about your Ikejade Sprite, but it's very rare, so don't get your hopes up too high."

"I understand, thank you for your help."

During this period, besides practicing his spiritual power techniques, You Zhi spent his time dueling with others, and he would send out Neon Stone Sprite in every duel. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that he wanted to focus on training this spirit.

However, even after reaching level 38 and becoming the second-best Pokémon after the Celestial Gold Knight, Neon Stone Sprite still did not evolve. You Zhi tested it with all types of Evolution Stone, but none of them produced any response. On the contrary, Gem-Knight Quartz evolved with Earth Stone and can now evolve into Gem-Knight Lady Rose Diamond without needing Spell Card.

At this point, the possibility of Neon Stone Sprite having a normal Superior Form and Fusion Form is basically ruled out. You should know that the level cap for many Pokémon is 30. In A-Si's experience, he has never seen a Pokémon that hasn't reached level 38 and hasn't met the evolution requirements.

However, they were completely baffled as to how to evolve into other forms.

This is the downside of having rare Pokémon; you can't find any precedents to learn from or refer to, unlike the starter Pokémon, which have a dazzling array of evolution forms, allowing you to choose your favorite.

But this is not a big deal. Pokémon naturally have a distinction between main and reserve players. Even a champion cannot be perfect in every aspect and make all of their Pokémon capable of becoming main players.

You Zhi was already mentally prepared for Neon Stone Sprite to have no evolved form; anyway, it was fine for him to be a mascot alongside Laundry Dragonmaid.

After bidding farewell to A-Si, You Zhi rode on the Azure River Dragonmaid's back to Whirl Island.

Chapter 194 New Elemental Heroes

When You Zhi arrived at Whirl Islands, Yuan Ying was already waiting there.

There were no pleasantries; they went straight to the point, since they had previously communicated using the Pokédex.

"This is a scene copied by Master Morty using psionic energy," Yuan Ying, taking out two sheets of paper. One resembled a satellite image, and the other was a sea map. "By comparing it with the map of the Johto sea area, I confirmed the location. It's roughly west of the Whirl Islands, near Goldenrod City."

Clearly, she had done her homework; she hadn't just grabbed a piece of paper from Morty and rushed over to ask You Zhi for help.

You Zhi took the two maps and glanced at them. The sea map had nothing on it except for a circle drawn on it. The map that Morty copied with his Psychic was just an ordinary little island, with nothing special about it.

"It's amazing that you found the corresponding location based on just one picture."

"It'll just take a little more time. Now that we have a lead, I have the patience."

You Zhi nodded. When they entered the Heavenly Might Realm together, Yuan Ying had already demonstrated her perseverance, which was no less than his.

"Then it's simple: find the Sea Dragon God and have them help explore this area."

Don't be fooled by the fact that it looks like a small circle on the map; it corresponds to a vast ocean area in reality. Moreover, searching in the ocean is much more complicated than searching on land, since land is flat while the ocean is three-dimensional.

If no clues are found on the island in the picture, it means that the real clues are in the deep sea below the island. In any case, it might take half a year for You Zhi's Neon Stone Sprite and Yuan Ying's Steam Healer to find them all.

However, when the two found Empen and asked them to help contact the leader of the Sea Dragon God, they received bad news.

"In other words, one of the Sea Dragon God's subordinates was reborn in the territory of the Mermail and was forcibly recruited as their subordinate, leading to a conflict between the two sides."

Through the translation of the Laundry Dragonmaid, You Zhi and Yuan Ying exchanged a glance, both showing helpless expressions.

Fortunately, this possibility had been mentioned before, so it wasn't entirely unexpected; it was simply a bad situation that we could have predicted.

Yuan Ying quickly composed herself. The most pressing matter wasn't complaining, but rather how to deal with the situation. She asked Empen, "How long will this conflict last? If the Sea Dragon God loses many more men this time, will the search continue?"

Empen: "Quack quack quack..."

The Laundry Dragonmaid, "It said the result would be in two days at the earliest and five days at the latest. These kinds of battles happen frequently. Since no one is going to die, and they are worried that their subordinates will be reborn in someone else's territory, both sides will be very restrained when they fight. Unless they are confident that they can wipe out the opponent, they will not start a full-scale war. Usually, they will send their generals to fight one-on-one, and then the leaders will fight one-on-one. The winner can make their demands."

It was only because he encountered someone like You Zhi who didn't follow the rules that Neo-Daedalus wouldn't have lost so many men that night.

"It seems we can only continue to wait, or perhaps you and I should go and explore the island first to see if we can find any clues."

If it takes several dozen days, or even longer with no definite timeframe, You Zhi might change his mind and try to negotiate cooperation with other ocean lords, but if it's only three to five days, it's still worth waiting.

Yuan Ying thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Waiting is just a waste of time. We might as well deal with your matter first."

During their last operation together, she had heard about the ice cave and knew that there was an Anomaly frozen inside, so she promised to help resolve it.

You Zhi thought for a moment. Neon Stone Sprite was already level 38, and there was no clue how to evolve it. It would be very difficult to continue to improve its level, so there was no point in dragging it out.

"Okay, but we need to have a contingency plan."

Next, the two carefully discussed how to deal with various emergencies, and after making thorough preparations, they went to the ice cave.

This battle naturally didn't need to follow any rules of the game. You Zhi summoned three spirits beforehand. Neon Stone Sprite was a key character and couldn't be absent. In addition, there was the old duo of Giant Divergent Lizard Yihao and Silent Magician. He also forged eight Spell Cards, which boosted Silent Magician's attack power to 5000.

While Celestial Gold Knight is very strong, her characteristics mean that she can only unleash her full potential when battling against trainers. When facing wild Pokémon, the more enemies there are, the more efficient she becomes. The current one-on-one battles are not suitable for her to perform well.

Yuan Ying also summoned three spirits: Elemental Heroes Clayman, Elemental HERO Nova Master, and another brand new Elemental Heroes.

[Elemental HERO Neos (7-star) Light]

[Genealogy: Fighting-type]

[Level: 35]

[Talent: Ferocity]

[Attack Power: 2500 (2500)]

[Defense Strength: 2000 (2000)]

[Warrior-Type, Description: New Elemental Heroes from the Neo Space, who unleash unknown powers through contact and Polymerization with the Neo-Spacians]

Looking at the muscular Pokémon with a superhuman aura, You Zhi asked curiously, "Is this your newly acquired Pokémon?"

"Didn't I say last time that I would go back to my family to undergo a test? After passing it, I will gain the elf's approval."

"Even without summoning the Great Tornado Hero from last time, he still won't obey your orders?"

"Well, my spiritual power level is only Seven-Star right now, so I still can't control him. But don't worry, Clayman has also gained a new evolved form, which can unleash its greatest power, especially when there is only one enemy."

You Zhi nodded, asked no further questions, and then gestured to Empen, saying, "Let's begin."

"Gurgle!"

Empen stretched out its short forelimbs and pressed them against the ice wall, and an invisible force spread throughout the entire ice cave.

In an instant, the ice cave shattered, and time resumed its flow!

You Zhi then realized that being frozen was only a facade; the people inside the cave were not truly frozen. What was truly frozen was the spacetime of this area. Therefore, after the ice was broken, some unbroken ice pieces fell to the ground.

"You bunch of chickens and dogs, you dare to try and stop me? How laughable!"

Once restored, the previously stalemate instantly erupted. The man in the center, wielding two swords, unleashed an astonishing evil aura, causing the entire cave to tremble precariously.

[Swordsoul - Longyuan (6-star) Flame]

[Lineage: Fire]

[Level: 60]

[Attack Power: 1200 (1800 + 1700)]

[Defense Strength: 2300 (3450)]

[Wyrm-Type, Effect: ①: Omitted; ② This effect can only be activated if this card is sent to the Graveyard as Synchro Material. Inflict 1200 damage to your opponent.]

"A single Fire-type?"