I'm the Man Who'll Become a Pokémon Master

"Come at me!"

After his taunt rang out, the arena fell silent for a full three seconds.

The Crownless went from bewildered to furious with humiliation.

Anyone could tell the Crownless was angry. It had even stopped baring its teeth.

Although it didn't quite understand what the Crownless's gesture meant, it could see the contempt in his eyes.

[Ding! Option three completed. Reward obtained: 'Run So Stylishly' increased by one level.]

The system notification sounded in Lu Li's mind.

With an enraged roar, the Crownless charged straight at Lu Li.

Its fist tore through the air toward Lu Li's face at an unmatched speed.

Lu Li flinched. "So you're the fastest guy on Solaris!"

"And there's a code out here-no hitting the face!"

Lu Li hurriedly dodged backward.

Luckily, the newly upgraded 'Run Like a Boss' let him narrowly evade that heavy punch.

Then Lu Li began his ridiculous routine of taking the Crownless for a walk.

He ran, it chased, and even wings wouldn't have saved him.

Yangyang still hadn't recovered from her shock. "Does... does he know what he's doing?"

The corners of Rover's lips lifted. "He's drawing its aggro for us. Let's go!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Rover slashed at the Crownless with her Sword.

Attacked from both front and back, the Crownless ignored Rover and the others steadily dealing damage behind it.

Instead, its reddening eyes remained fixed on the man running circles in front of it.

Up ahead, Lu Li was delighted. Looks like 'Run Like a Boss' really does work!

He kept just the right distance from the Crownless, neither letting it catch him nor leaving its aggro range.

When the Crownless realized it couldn't catch Lu Li no matter what, it became frantic, practically seeing red.

Combined with Rover and Yangyang's relentless attacks from behind, this forced the Crownless into its second form!

Purple light poured from its body as murky Havoc energy erupted.

A pair of dark purple wings sprouted from the Crownless's back, and a spear appeared in its hand.

It flew into the air and looked down on everyone like an evil god.

Lu Li glanced back and blanched. "You can freaking fly, too?"

Although Lu Li was panicking a little, a real man had to know when to stand tall and when to bend.

He instantly dashed over to Rover and clung to her leg.

Lu Li looked up at her pitifully. "You wouldn't just abandon me, right...?"

He had secretly observed them earlier, and Rover had been dealing the most damage by far.

At the sight of him, Rover's lips curved into a Nike swoosh, and she patted Lu Li's head.

"I'll protect you. Stay behind me."

The slightly doting look in Rover's eyes made Lu Li fall for her on the spot.

Was this the legendary blessing of an immortal's hand upon my head?

Rover's strength made me feel so safe!

Then Rover and Yangyang joined forces for another round of attacks on the Crownless, with You Tan providing support while Lu Li stayed in the back and deployed his mighty morale-boosting technique.

Amid the flashing blades, the Crownless proved that its strength as an Overlord-class Remnant was truly formidable.

But in the end, even two fists couldn't contend with four hands.

As Rover's finishing move landed, the Crownless's defiant roar echoed throughout the Tacet Field.

The next moment, its body dissipated, leaving only a golden phantom.

[Ding! Option two completed. Reward obtained: Pangu Terminal Pro Max Plus Edition.]

[Pangu Terminal Pro Max Plus Edition: Contains a complete Echo catalog for Solaris. Remnants you defeat are guaranteed to leave behind Reverberations, which can be absorbed as Echoes.]

[Once absorbed, Echoes can be purified to obey your commands. Cannot absorb Remnants defeated by others.]

Pangu what now? Lu Li stared thoughtfully at the gourd that had appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Just then, the surrounding barrier dissipated, and Chixia and Bai Zhi rushed in, their faces full of worry.

"Yangyang! Rover!"

"Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"

Rover shook her head. "I'm fine."

Yangyang said, "I'm fine, too."

You Tan also returned safely to Bai Zhi's side.

Chixia said, "I was worried sick! That stupid barrier was visible, but you couldn't touch it, pass through it, smash it, or break it!"

Yangyang said, "...I've never fought a Remnant as powerful as the Crownless before, but Rover managed to defeat it completely."

Rover held Lu Li's arm to keep him from escaping.

At those words, she patted Lu Li's shoulder. "It's thanks to this friend drawing its aggro that we won so easily."

Lu Li gave an awkward laugh.

He really wanted to leave. As the man who would become the strongest on Solaris, he was destined to be misunderstood by the world.

But he hadn't become the strongest man yet, had he? So for now, he chose to seek protection.

This wasn't cowardice. It was tactical self-preservation.

As he'd already said, a man had to know when to stand tall and when to bend!

Yangyang covered her mouth with a soft laugh. "This young man's taunting skills really are... quite unusual."

Hearing that, Bai Zhi studied Lu Li with some curiosity. She hadn't expected the man they'd caught by accident to prove useful.

Chixia said spiritedly, "Now you're being modest, Rover! Who knew you'd been holding back before? I saw everything from outside the barrier! A few grunts and swings, and you knocked that Remnant apart!"

Then she turned to Lu Li and teased, "And you looked pretty stylish running away after taunting the Crownless, too!"

Lu Li felt that 'Run Like a Boss' reflected, at most, one percent of his stylishness.

"Huh?!"

Before Lu Li could reply, Chixia exclaimed again.

"Look, everyone!"

Chixia jogged over to the golden phantom left behind after the Crownless's destruction.

Yangyang said, "Ah, is this... a lingering Echo?"

Chixia said, "Whoa, whoa! An Echo of this level... how lucky are we?!"

Wait, an Echo?

Did you just say Echo?

So the Pangu Terminal is for absorbing this thing?

Lu Li also looked curiously at the golden phantom.

Yangyang said apologetically to Rover, "Sorry, we got carried away talking among ourselves. You don't remember 'Reverberations' or 'Echoes' either, do you, Rover?"

"Everything in the world is made of frequencies, and every sound leaves an echo."

"The lingering echoes left behind after a Remnant is defeated are generally called 'Reverberations.' They can be collected using the Pangu Terminal's Data Bank."

Chixia chimed in, "The Pangu Terminal is the gourd every Rover carries around. Huanglong technology-quality guaranteed!"

Lu Li looked down at the Pangu Terminal Pro Max Plus Edition in his hand. If even their ordinary version is a quality product, doesn't that make mine, with its whole string of fancy titles, an immortal-grade treasure?

Chixia continued, "But Reverberations only appear by chance, and that chance is also affected by your Data Bank's level."

Yangyang and Chixia took turns explaining. "The higher the Data Bank's level, the greater the chance that an Echo will remain intact..."

"Only intact Reverberations can be converted into 'Echoes.' Resonators can transform into Echoes and use their power in combat."

Now Lu Li understood completely. Although he wasn't a Resonator yet and couldn't transform into an Echo to fight,

his Pangu Terminal could purify Echoes and release them into battle!

Wasn't that just...

Pokémon?!

Who'd want to be the strongest Resonator on Solaris now?

I'm the man who'll become a Pokémon Master!

[System: ...]