For fire-attribute Soul Beasts, the volcano was a treasure trove, so Soul Beasts came to challenge Zeng Tian from time to time.
But Zeng Tian drove them all back, and many Soul Beasts even lost their lives here.
In the face of the formidable strength Zeng Tian displayed, he became the overlord of this volcano.
Soon, the nearby Soul Beasts all knew that a new overlord had emerged on the volcano, one whose strength surpassed even a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.
And so, Zeng Tian became the volcano's overlord, while the crater where he lived became forbidden ground among the Soul Beasts.
No matter how fiercely they fought in their everyday lives, none dared set foot inside the crater.
After that, Zeng Tian enjoyed the most peaceful days since his transmigration, and his strength steadily improved.
Time flowed by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Had anyone looked down from the edge of the crater, they would have seen the scalding magma below. Under normal circumstances, no living creature that fell into it could possibly survive.
Yet at that moment, a red Charmeleon was swimming through that crimson sea of magma.
"This volcanic magma really is good stuff. So warm and comfortable."
Zeng Tian rested both hands behind his head and spoke in a leisurely tone.
As a Fire-type Pokémon, Charmeleon was naturally highly adapted to extreme heat. As Zeng Tian's strength gradually increased, the magma could no longer harm him; instead, it had become the best aid to his training.
Compared with three months earlier, Zeng Tian's strength had undergone a change that overturned heaven and earth.
Not only had weaker moves such as Scratch, Smokescreen, and Dragon Breath all essentially reached their maximum levels,
even Flamethrower and Heat Wave, whose proficiency was relatively difficult to improve, had reached lv6 through Zeng Tian's relentless practice day and night. Their power had nearly doubled compared with when he first learned them.
The only thing Zeng Tian remained somewhat dissatisfied with was probably his level.
After he passed level twenty, leveling up had become much more difficult.
Before level twenty, Zeng Tian could gain a level every two or three days, or even every day or two when things went quickly.
After level twenty, however, even with the volcano's support, Zeng Tian needed four or five days to gain a level.
Moreover, Zeng Tian discovered that the higher his level rose, the harder it became to advance. He had now been stuck at level thirty-three for half a month, with no sign of a breakthrough.
"Roar!!"
Just then, a deafening roar came from afar, accompanied by a shock wave that surged forward with the force to topple mountains and overturn seas.
Hearing that roar, Zeng Tian opened his eyes. "I didn't think there were still Soul Beasts in this Mixed Zone that dared challenge me."
Then Zeng Tian kicked off with both feet. Flames instantly enveloped him as he shot upward.
Tap, tap~
Landing on the volcano's rim, Zeng Tian looked toward the source of the roar, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.
"So it's a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast. No wonder it dares challenge me."
The creature before Zeng Tian was a canine Soul Beast more than three meters long, covered in dark red fur. It had three lionlike heads, and its canine teeth gleamed crimson-gold.
Judging by the aura radiating from it, it was unmistakably a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.
"Roar!"
The Soul Beast let out a low roar, and every Soul Beast on the volcano immediately prostrated itself on the ground, trembling.
At the sight, Zeng Tian frowned slightly and thought, This pressure... its bloodline must be formidable. A three-headed, fire-attribute canine Soul Beast. Could it be one of the Scarlet King's kin?
The Scarlet King's true form was a Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound, a top-tier fire-attribute Soul Beast. The hellfire it wielded was infinitely close in quality to ultimate fire.
If his opponent really was a Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound, this battle probably would not end so easily.
Seeing that Zeng Tian was not intimidated by its oppressive aura, a flicker of surprise crossed the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound's eyes. Then it spoke to him:
"Roar!" (You're the lord of the volcano everyone's been talking about lately? Surrender this volcano, and I'll let you leave.)
"Rawr!" (If you want the volcano, come and take it yourself.)
Over the past few months, Zeng Tian had already learned the Soul Beasts' language, allowing him to communicate with them normally.
"Roar!" (A mere thousand-year Soul Beast dares act so arrogantly? In that case, don't blame me for what happens next.)
Upon hearing Zeng Tian's reply, the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound instantly became a streak of dark red light and charged toward him.
Seeing that a great battle was about to erupt, the other Soul Beasts panicked and fled the area frantically.
They had witnessed Zeng Tian's strength, which was no weaker than that of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast. Once, a nine-thousand-year Soul Beast had tried to challenge his position and seize the volcano's best spot, only to be defeated instantly by a single blast of fire. It had nearly lost its life here.
The Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound was even more extraordinary. It stood at one of the pinnacles of fire-attribute Soul Beasts. Aside from certain legendary Soul Beasts, Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hounds were already among the strongest.
And this one was a ten-thousand-year specimen at that. Even an ordinary twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast probably would not have been its match.
"Come on, then!"
Seeing the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound charging at him, Zeng Tian's first reaction was not anger, but excitement.
Charmeleon was naturally extremely combative. Although Zeng Tian's soul suppressed that instinct, Charmeleon's nature still influenced him to some extent.
Besides, life had been so peaceful lately that Zeng Tian had grown somewhat bored. The appearance of this Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound gave him the perfect chance to vent his desire for battle.
Immediately, flames enveloped Zeng Tian's entire body, and he turned into a streak of red light, charging forward.
As he sprinted, Zeng Tian grew faster and faster, until his speed actually surpassed that of the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound.
This was one of the fruits of Zeng Tian's three months of training: the Fire-type move Flame Charge.
Zeng Tian knew full well that his slow speed was a weakness, so as soon as he settled down, he began researching Flame Charge.
After spending two months on it, Zeng Tian finally learned Flame Charge.
He had now trained it to lv6, allowing him to double his speed in just a few breaths.
In mere moments, the distance between them had shrunk to less than a hundred meters.
The Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound let out a series of deep growls. Its three heads opened their mouths almost simultaneously, firing three dark red beams from their lionlike jaws. The beams merged into one enormous dark red column of light that shot toward the oncoming Zeng Tian.
Meanwhile, Zeng Tian refused to be outdone. Seeing the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound's movements, he gathered a vast amount of energy in his throat and instantly spewed out an enormous blue-white pillar of fire.
The next instant, the dark red beam collided with the blue-white pillar of fire. Two intense surges of Fire-type energy clashed, their shock waves sweeping across a hundred-meter radius like waves of sound, flinging up countless stones and clouds of sand and dust.
Fortunately, they were near the volcano, with no trees around. Otherwise, that single collision would have been enough to start a forest fire.