"Wait, could the Blaze of Ash's Infernape in the anime have been something other than ordinary Blaze, too—something like my Deep Crimson Blaze?"
Suddenly, Zeng Tian thought of Infernape, Ash's ace in the Sinnoh Region.
The boost to that Infernape's combat power after Blaze activated had definitely been far more than fifty percent. It would not even have been an exaggeration to say its power multiplied several times over.
If it, too, had been extraordinarily gifted, with an Ability different from others of its kind, then everything made sense.
After all, although mutated individuals were rare, a few were bound to appear among such an enormous population.
"To think it could actually change my Ability. Looks like I need to pay more attention to this world's heavenly treasures."
Looking at Deep Crimson Blaze's powerful effects, Zeng Tian could not help licking his lips.
Just one ten-thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit and one ten-thousand-year Dragon Blood Grass had strengthened his Ability this much. What would happen if he ate the genuine immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?
For a moment, Zeng Tian could not even imagine it.
Perhaps he could make Charizard's Mega Evolution his normal state.
"You're fighting me, and you still dare let your mind wander?"
While Zeng Tian was still marveling at his Ability's evolution, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had already burst out of the Haze. She rushed straight up to him and struck with a paw.
Not good!
The sudden attack snapped Zeng Tian out of his astonishment. He used Fire Claw with both hands to meet her full-force strike.
Bang!
But how could such a hasty counter withstand her all-out blow? Zeng Tian was immediately swatted out of the air and slammed into the sand, blasting out a huge crater.
The shock wave threw up countless grains of yellow sand, sending them billowing outward.
Zeng Tian climbed out of the crater and looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion a short distance away. His arms were still trembling from the tremendous force of the impact.
Although he had expected it, actually experiencing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's terrifying strength still struck Zeng Tian as absurd. Such was the allure of raw stats.
Fortunately, after his evolution and the effects of the ten-thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit and Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass, his body was much stronger than before.
Otherwise, taking her attack head-on under those circumstances would probably have broken both his arms.
Zeng Tian said helplessly, "Hey, hey, is it really fair to take advantage of a beast when he's vulnerable?"
"Who told you to let your mind wander while sparring with me? It's all your fault, Zeng Tian."
Miss Auspicious Beast smiled smugly.
"Oh?"
At those words, a gleam flashed through Zeng Tian's eyes. "In that case, I won't hold back anymore."
Flame Charge!
The next instant, red flames enveloped Zeng Tian. With a beat of his wings, he became a streak of red light and charged at her.
"Who's afraid of you? Today, I'll show you that your big sister is still your big sister!"
Golden light blazed from the Auspicious Beast, making her resemble a miniature sun. She turned into a streak of golden light and vanished from where she stood.
In an instant, the golden and red streaks collided.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...
Every collision set off a violent explosion in the air.
Huge craters appeared around their battlefield. The scorching heat radiating from the two even crystallized the sand, giving the craters a glassy sheen of interwoven gold and red.
"To think Zeng Tian could improve this much in just half a day. His strength is now every bit the Auspicious Beast's equal."
Nearby, the Scarlet King stared blankly at their battle, feeling as though his several hundred thousand years of life had amounted to nothing.
Too fast. Zeng Tian was growing far too fast.
Although the ten-thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit and Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass that Di Tian had given him might have played a part, at his current rate of growth, Zeng Tian would surpass him in ten thousand years at most.
Once Zeng Tian's cultivation broke through the hundred-thousand-year mark, he might even be able to contend with Xiong Jun. And when he reached two hundred thousand years, probably no one in the Star Dou Great Forest except Di Tian would be his match.
This youngster has the makings of a god!
Taking a deep breath, the Scarlet King became utterly certain of that.
The battle did not last long. At first, the golden streak could still keep pace with the red one. But as time passed, the red streak grew faster and faster, until the fight gradually became a one-sided assault on the golden streak.
A little later, the golden streak finally stopped, revealing the Auspicious Beast once more.
Seeing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly stop fighting, Zeng Tian also came to a halt a short distance from her.
"You... shameless!"
Miss Auspicious Beast shouted at Zeng Tian, her face flushed red.
That fight had been unbearably frustrating. She was clearly much stronger than Zeng Tian. If they had clashed head-on in a normal fight, he would undoubtedly have lost.
But Zeng Tian simply refused to meet her head-on. Toward the end, not a single one of her attacks had landed, while he kept seizing opportunities to wear her down.
Even in a situation like that, she should have had a solution. Her innate skill could immobilize a soul beast for a while, even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
But during the fight, she had discovered, to her maddening frustration, that this innate skill had absolutely no effect on Zeng Tian, just like her other powers. By the end, she had been reduced to taking a one-sided beating.
"Shameless? You're too slow, my Lady Auspicious Beast! Besides, if I know you're stronger than me and still clash with you head-on, wouldn't that make me an idiot? It's called tactics, understand?"
Zeng Tian was in an excellent mood. This tactical bout with the Auspicious Beast had convinced him that his combat power had definitely reached the level of a Titled Douluo-and he would not be considered weak even among them.
After all, he still had his final trump card, Deep Crimson Blaze, which he had not used!
"You... waaah! I don't care! You just can't fight like that! Waaah!"
Hearing Zeng Tian's words, Miss Auspicious Beast felt so aggrieved that she burst into tears.
How could this happen? I only took him in as my little brother this morning, and by the afternoon, he was already stronger than me. How could something like this happen in this world?
Seeing the Auspicious Beast crying, Zeng Tian helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead. In a flash, he appeared before her and comforted her. "All right, stop crying. I'll teach you how to get stronger and how to handle situations like this from now on. Will that do?"
At Zeng Tian's words, Miss Auspicious Beast raised her head from where she lay on the ground. Her eyes were misty with tears as she asked, "Do you really mean it?"
"Of course I do. You're actually very strong. You just haven't brought out all your strength. If you could use it fully, I definitely wouldn't have been your match just now."
Zeng Tian nodded, reached out to pat Miss Auspicious Beast's head, and answered firmly.
Zeng Tian was not lying. Without activating Deep Crimson Blaze, his basic physical capabilities really were far inferior to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's.
It was just that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's use of her strength was terribly crude, and she had very few skills. All Zeng Tian had to do was change his fighting style a little, and she was left floundering. That was why the battle had turned out the way it had.