"By the way, what's the Auspicious Beast doing now?"
Having finished discussing Zeng Tian, Di Tian suddenly changed the subject and asked how the Auspicious Beast was doing.
At his question, the Scarlet King smiled. "After she ate her fill, she took Zeng Tian home with her. The two little ones should be playing together now."
"Those two little ones certainly are close, but that's a good thing."
Di Tian shook his head slightly at that, then vanished from the spot in a flash.
Watching the direction Di Tian had left in, the Scarlet King sighed. "To think Di Tian has actually entertained that idea."
He dared not imagine how the entire Star Dou Great Forest would be shaken if word spread that Di Tian was preparing to choose a successor.
Especially Xiong Jun. He had coveted Di Tian's position for a long time. Who knew what he would do after hearing the news?
And then there were the humans. If they learned of this, would they consider snuffing out the threat before it could grow? All of that remained unknown.
"The skies over the Douluo Continent are about to change!"
"Zeng Tian, why is your tail always on fire?"
In a resplendently golden valley, Miss Auspicious Beast looked at the red flame burning at the tip of Zeng Tian's tail and asked curiously.
Zeng Tian took a bite of the roast meat in front of him and answered, "This is my life flame. It reflects my physical condition. If it goes out one day, that means my life has ended."
"Really? Then it had better not go out. I want you to stay with me forever."
Startled by his answer, the Auspicious Beast hurriedly spoke.
Warmth filled Zeng Tian's heart at her reaction, and he reached out to rub her head.
He had never expected the first being in this world to truly care about him to be a Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Yet the moment Zeng Tian placed his hand on her head, Miss Auspicious Beast shook it irritably and took a step back.
"Don't rub my head. Are you treating me like a cub? I've lived for over ten thousand years."
Hearing her complaint, Zeng Tian could not help chuckling and withdrew his hand.
Indeed, in a certain sense, he was the one who needed a pat on the head.
After all, it had only been a little over four months since he was born-not even half a year.
Under normal circumstances, many soul beasts would not even have been weaned in such a short time. Yet thanks to the astonishing growth rate of Pokémon, he already possessed the combat strength of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Zeng Tian even thought that, in another world, he could already compete in a League tournament. Perhaps he could even win a championship if there were no powerful opponents.
Of course, compared with true Legendary Pokémon, the current Zeng Tian still fell far short.
Groudon could bring scorching sunlight, cause volcanoes to erupt, and rapidly expand the land.
Kyogre could make rain pour from the heavens, stir up raging tsunamis, and submerge the land.
And Rayquaza could step in to break up a fight when those two were really going at it. Its strength spoke for itself.
Zeng Tian had yet to learn Sunny Day, and he still lacked the power to change the weather. Even in terms of sheer destructive force, a single Flamethrower only left a crater a hundred meters across. He was far behind true Legendary Pokémon.
Even so, his combat strength was respectable even among Titled Douluo.
Titled Douluo in Douluo II had been portrayed as increasingly formidable, and their combat strength had grown considerably as well. In Douluo I, the current Zeng Tian could instantly kill any opponent below Golden Crocodile Douluo.
After all, the abilities of Titled Douluo in Douluo I generally only covered a little over a hundred meters. Facing the current Zeng Tian, they were doomed to suffer a crushing strike from a higher dimension.
Soon, Zeng Tian finished the roast meat in front of him and let out a satisfied burp.
This meal had been of excellent quality: a ten-thousand-year Radiant Tiger. The picky Miss Auspicious Beast had eaten only its brain, naturally leaving the rest of its body to him.
After letting his food settle a little, Zeng Tian stood and headed out of the valley, planning to train and digest the energy in his stomach.
"Hey, Zeng Tian, where are you going?"
Seeing him move, the Auspicious Beast looked puzzled, unsure what he intended to do.
Zeng Tian answered casually, "I'm going to train. Want to come?"
"Train? I'll come with you."
With that, the Auspicious Beast caught up with Zeng Tian, and they headed out of the valley together.
She seemed to have discovered the secret behind Zeng Tian's strength.
"This spot will do."
A short while later, Zeng Tian reached a clearing, briefly looked around, and stopped.
Then Zeng Tian turned toward the Auspicious Beast beside him and asked, "I'm going to practice some new moves so I can use them smoothly in future battles. Do you have any training plans?"
"Me?"
At Zeng Tian's question, the Auspicious Beast froze. What? Aren't innate ultimate moves something you naturally know how to use? They need practice too?
And isn't cultivation about digesting energy to increase your cultivation age? Why is Zeng Tian practicing innate abilities he already knows instead of increasing his cultivation?
Seeing Miss Auspicious Beast's utterly bewildered expression, Zeng Tian pressed a hand to his forehead, speechless. "Don't tell me you've never specifically practiced using your abilities since you were born?"
Miss Auspicious Beast nodded sheepishly.
"No wonder you always seemed to fight on instinct when we battled. A soul beast's instincts are certainly powerful, but instinct alone is nowhere near enough to bring out your full combat strength."
After some thought, Zeng Tian decided to help Miss Auspicious Beast, so he said:
"Take that Golden Dragon Fist of yours, for example. Every time you throw it, you need half a breath to gather power first.
After you strike, your body keeps moving with that momentum for another half a breath. That stops you from using Golden Dragon Fist quickly and repeatedly. So why not train to streamline the process?
If you can solve that problem, you'll be able to unleash Golden Dragon Fist much faster."
The Auspicious Beast paused. That's right. If I can do that, I'll be able to unleash lots of Golden Dragon Fists at once. But is that really possible?
Seemingly noticing her hesitation, Zeng Tian continued, "Even if you can't shorten that process, you can chain it with other abilities, hiding the buildup and momentum within the transitions between them. As long as you can do that, your combat strength will definitely rise by more than a single level."
Aside from a handful of abilities like Pressure, the Auspicious Beast's skills mostly enhanced her physical attributes. In a sense, almost all her attacks were enhanced basic attacks.
As long as she linked the windup and recovery smoothly, improving her combat strength would be easy.
Because that did not require any particularly complicated execution.
As she listened to his words, Miss Auspicious Beast's eyes lit up.
"That's great! Zeng Tian, hurry and teach me how to practice so I can fix those problems."