The Road to the Championship Hits a Bottleneck

Chi Hong said nothing. He merely released his three thousand-year Soul Rings and held a Poké Ball in his hand.

"Three thousand-year Soul Rings? That's impressive, but he's only a Soul Elder. He can't beat seven people on his own, can he?"

In the stands, Ma Rulong of Sun Moon Imperial Academy looked doubtful. Shrek was supposed to be their biggest rival for the championship this year.

But Shrek had sent out only one Soul Elder. Weren't they being overconfident?

The captain of Tianling Academy breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how strong this Soul Elder was, his strength had its limits.

They could win!

[The Road to the Championship has begun. Congratulations on qualifying for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament. Defeat every opponent and claim the championship. (Opponents defeated in this tournament will grant double experience points.)]

[Championship rewards: Ho-Oh's Sacred Flame and a permanent contract with a random Legendary Pokémon.]

Chi Hong tugged down the brim of his hat again, a smile curling at his lips.

"At last, the moment has come. I choose you, Charizard!"

He hurled the Poké Ball.

With a pop and a flash of brilliant white light, Charizard's form gradually appeared in the arena.

"ROAR!!!"

The moment he appeared, Charizard spread his wings and roared at the sky. The sound seemed powerful enough to shake the heavens, drowning out even the cheers of the crowd.

The roar carried the scorching heat of Charizard's Solar Fire. He was only standing there, swishing his tail, yet people in the stands could feel the temperature rising.

"A Soul Beast? Someone from Shrek can summon a Soul Beast?"

"No, wait. That's a dragon—a true dragon! That aura, and the flames on its tail... No doubt about it. That's Ultimate Fire."

"Good grief. Shrek really has become an academy of monsters."

The students of Tianling Academy ducked their heads and covered their ears. Charizard's roar had nearly stunned them senseless.

Their captain, standing at the front, was braver. He kept his head up, though he swallowed to ease his dry throat.

Then he accidentally met Charizard's icy gaze and saw his fearsome face.

A shudder ran through him. His whole body went rigid, and he could not move.

If their status panels could have been displayed, each would surely have shown the same condition: "Flinching."

That was Charizard's move: Scary Face.

"I-is that a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast? Are we going to make it out of here alive?"

The captain kept glancing at the referee, as though hoping the man would see how terrified he was and step in to save him.

To them, Charizard was a savage, powerful Soul Beast—the kind they would flee from the moment they encountered him in the wild.

And now they were supposed to fight a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast?

Seven people? Weren't they afraid of overfeeding this fire dragon?

The other team members huddled behind their captain, trembling.

"Captain, maybe we should surren—"

Chi Hong had no intention of letting these experience points slip away. He thrust out a hand and pointed.

"Charizard, Fire Spin! Take them all out in one hit!"

Flames kindled in Charizard's mouth. He raised his head and snapped it forward, sending a spiraling ring of fire surging out.

"Whoosh!!"

The flames rose like a tornado, trapping all seven Tianling Academy students inside. Scorching tongues of fire lashed at their bodies.

Their screams rang out from within the fiery vortex, so agonized that some spectators shut their eyes.

The referee finally snapped out of his shock and rushed forward to break through the fire tornado.

"What? This Ultimate Fire is so strong!"

Fear spread across the referee's face. It took him considerable effort to disperse the Fire Spin and rescue the seven members of Tianling Team, who were barely conscious.

All seven bore burns of varying severity and had lost any ability to fight.

After checking their conditions, he stood and announced:

"Shrek wins this match."

The crowd froze in collective silence. Then, a moment later—

"Whoa!!! Shrek! Shrek!"

Cheers erupted from the stands, loud enough to shake the sky. That extraordinary one-hit victory had set the crowd's blood pumping.

A Soul Beast against Soul Masters.

Wasn't this just like a fight in an octagonal Beast Arena?

This kind of wild, thrilling battle was the best spectacle of all!

The referee sighed and said to Chi Hong:

"Student of Shrek, I know you're strong, but your opponents are people too. Please don't hit them so hard again."

Chi Hong stopped and looked back at him in confusion. Then he said helplessly:

"Sorry. That was my weakest move."

There was nothing he could do about it. Fire Spin was a sustained, area-of-effect attack. In theory, each hit dealt slightly less damage than even Charizard's Claw.

That was without accounting for the boost to his flames, but it really was his weakest Fire-type move.

The referee's mouth twitched. He had no reply.

"Wow! That's bold. Just what you'd expect from Shrek."

"Ah, the teams facing them next are in for a rough time. They spent so long studying Shrek's main lineup, only to be caught off guard by some unknown kid with a Soul Beast."

Over by the Sun Moon Imperial Team, Ma Rulong could not help slamming a fist against the railing.

"Shrek is a formidable opponent. Just where did that Soul Beast of his come from? There's no information on anything like it anywhere on the continent."

A white-haired youth with eyes of different colors leaned against the wall, arms folded.

"What are you afraid of, Brother Ma? That Soul Beast hasn't even reached ten thousand years of cultivation. Even with Ultimate Fire, it's only about as strong as a Soul King or Soul Emperor. What's there to fear?"

Meng Hongchen smiled faintly.

"We're human. We know how to use our heads. A beast with hardly any intelligence can't stand against the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools."

Ma Rulong paused. On reflection, she had a point.

He clasped his hands together, confidence lighting his eyes.

"Just wait, Shrek. I'll crush you with my Soul Cannon."

Back at the hotel, Chi Hong let all three of his Pokémon out.

That single battle had raised Charizard's age to 9,999 years. He was only one step away from becoming a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

"Ice Empress, why has my Charizard hit a bottleneck? How do we get past it?"

Chi Hong looked puzzled.

The Ice Empress examined Charizard for a moment before giving her assessment.

"Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts are different from thousand-year ones. As they cross that threshold, their intelligence grows rapidly until it can rival a human's. Their bodies and Inner Focus undergo a tremendous leap as well."

"Your Charizard is already highly intelligent—no less so than a human. But there's something strange about his bloodline. He doesn't seem subject to this world's heavenly tribulations. To reach ten thousand years, though, he may need something special to awaken his potential and bloodline."

Chi Hong frowned. At last, he made up his mind...

[Ding-dong! Calling Professor Oak...]