First Victory, Life Orb Obtained

Golden flames burst forth.

The Heavenly Net swept down.

The result was plain to see: a huge hole was blasted through the mass of blue hair.

Fire spread along the web, and the acrid smell of singed hair filled the air.

Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo looked even more terrified. "No!"

They tried to release their Martial Soul Fusion Skill and pull their hair back.

But Charizard's Solar Fire did not go out. It raced along their hair toward them!

"Ahhh! My hair!"

The sisters screamed in unison.

Just as the flames were about to reach their heads, a gentle stream of water rushed in and extinguished them.

"That was close. I almost lost control of it."

Chi Hong let out a breath. Sensing trouble, he had summoned Greninja early to protect them.

What was that referee even doing? He had frozen on the spot.

The referee looked embarrassed. He had only just summoned his Martial Soul. The fire had spread so fast that he had not reacted in time.

After all, no one had expected such a powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill to be crushed in an instant.

Chi Hong had not expected it either. A moment ago, he had worried the flames would not be strong enough and had considered using Blazing Inferno.

But the Heavenly Net had looked impressive and proved useless. It could not withstand a single attack.

That gave Chi Hong a rough idea of how powerful the Martial Soul Fusion Skill was.

At any rate, it certainly could not have taken out Greninja and Charizard in one strike.

"Waaah..."

The twins on the other side began crying.

Chi Hong took a closer look and felt a little awkward.

The fire had burned away more than half their hair, and Greninja's water had soaked them both.

They looked like two wild girls with tangled hair.

Worse, Charizard's Solar Fire had a fierce burning effect. The twins' hair would not grow back anytime soon.

"Wow, that bully's too cruel! He even went after those adorable twelve-year-old twins."

"Awful. He burned off those girls' hair on purpose, then drenched them with water. That's disgraceful! We have to condemn him."

Chi Hong coughed twice and said:

"You hear that? You two went too far. Be more careful next time."

Charizard and Greninja exchanged an innocent look.

Weren't we following your orders? How can you blame us?

What a terrible trainer!

Charizard snorted two streams of steam. His eyes swept over the spectators who had spoken out, as though he might send a blast of hot air at one of them any second.

Everyone his gaze passed over shuddered and fell silent, afraid the irritable fire dragon would remember them.

The quicker-witted spectators had already changed their tune.

"Hey, look closely—Charizard's really cool! Powerful and imposing. He's every man's dream."

"Exactly! What's a little burned hair? The strong ought to humiliate the weak!"

"I've always been a loyal fan of Charizard and Greninja. Doesn't anyone else see how special these two Soul Beasts are?"

Seeing the crowd's true colors, Charizard cheered up. He raised his head proudly, and even his tail began to sway.

Meanwhile, Chi Hong had meant to comfort his opponents. But the moment the two sniffling girls saw him approach, they stopped crying and hurried off the field, leaving his kindness unappreciated.

[Defeated three trainers. Gained a large amount of experience.]

[Greninja's age has surpassed two thousand years!]

"Strange. Why did I get so much experience again?"

Chi Hong had fought Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo before, though they had not used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill that time.

Yet he had gained only a little experience then.

Could it be because this was a tournament match?

That was Chi Hong's guess.

The previous two times he had gained a lot of experience had been against Wang Dong, then Beibei and Xu Sanshi.

The rest had yielded very little, even when he defeated people of some renown.

So it works much like a game. Entering tournaments and defeating key figures—or several people at once—along the main storyline gives a lot of experience.

If I enter the Soul Master Tournament alone someday and sweep every team, won't my experience shoot up and my Soul Beasts keep getting older?

While Chi Hong was absorbed in his speculation, Yan Shaozhe had been quietly watching from outside the arena for some time.

Chi Hong's performance had been dazzling, and his Soul Beasts had defeated their opponents in no time.

Still, it had fallen somewhat short of Yan Shaozhe's expectations.

"Xuan Zi, what do you think of the boy?"

Beside him, a scruffy old man eating a chicken leg replied calmly:

"His Martial Soul is unusual. For a Soul Grandmaster to have two Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, he's far stronger than anyone else his age."

A gleam flashed in Yan Shaozhe's eyes.

"So you think he's worth training as a core disciple?"

"No, he isn't." Xuan Zi shook his head. "I was talking about his Soul Beasts, not him. You must have seen it too. All his fighting power rests with them. He himself is pitifully weak and relies entirely on their strength."

Yan Shaozhe nodded in agreement and sighed.

"True. These students have only just enrolled, so they're still naive. In a real fight, an experienced Soul Master would have targeted Chi Hong himself long ago. Once the master dies, the Soul Beasts he's tamed are nothing to fear."

Xuan Zi reached his conclusion.

"In the end, only your own strength truly counts. A Soul Master can rely only on himself. That boy depends too much on his Soul Beasts to amount to much. One day, when his life is on the line, he'll understand."

Yan Shaozhe smiled.

"So you don't rate him at all?"

Xuan Zi shrugged.

"I wouldn't go that far. He could become a core disciple or even enter the Inner Court. But as one of the Shrek Seven Monsters? I'm certain his Soul Beasts would eventually endanger this generation's Seven Monsters."

Yan Shaozhe sighed wistfully.

"Yes. The Shrek Seven Monsters have grown stronger with each of these last two generations. I wonder if they can match Mu En's generation. I look forward to seeing what they become."

Xuan Zi suddenly laughed with hearty confidence.

"Don't worry. With the Pavilion Master and me here, Shrek will have a bright future!"

Chi Hong walked back toward the dormitory.

He had no idea two of Shrek's higher-ups were talking about him behind his back. If he had, he would have found it hard to keep a straight face.

For now, his mind was on the messages the panel had displayed after his victory.

[Ding, ding, ding! Professor Oak is calling...]

[Ding! Professor Oak congratulates you on your first tournament victory.]

[Professor Oak is astonished that your Charizard has awakened a Hidden Ability.]

[Professor Oak has sent you a gift.]

[You have obtained an item: Life Orb.]