"Scarlet King, come to me at once!"
A deep voice rang out from the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest, low and majestic, like rolling thunder. Even the sky seemed to darken a few shades in an instant.
"Di Tian? He's awake again?"
Upon hearing that voice, the Scarlet King's expression immediately grew solemn. He had no idea what could have happened for Di Tian to summon him so urgently.
The Scarlet King turned to Zeng Tian and the Auspicious Beast. "Di Tian has summoned me, so I won't be able to keep training with you. Sorry."
With that, the Scarlet King's body became a streak of dark crimson light as he raced toward the Lake of Life.
Judging by his speed, he had actually used his newly learned Flame Charge.
After the Scarlet King vanished from sight, the young lady Auspicious Beast edged closer to Zeng Tian, raised her eyebrows, and whispered, "Zeng Tian, aren't you curious what Di Tian wants with him? Why don't we follow him and take a look?"
Zeng Tian's eyes flickered at her words, but a moment later, he shook his head.
"That's not a good idea. Since Di Tian only called for the Scarlet King, there's probably something he doesn't want me to know. Even if we went, he'd most likely throw us out. Why invite a snub?"
The Auspicious Beast thought it over, then said with acceptance, "True. Di Tian is such a stick in the mud. There probably isn't anything interesting going on this time anyway. We might as well keep training."
"But, Zeng Tian..."
Suddenly changing the subject, the Auspicious Beast studied Zeng Tian curiously. "Your strength has been improving way too fast. Ever since your cultivation passed ten thousand years, even the Scarlet King hasn't been able to get the better of you. Just how strong have you become?"
"Only a tiny bit stronger than you."
As he spoke, Zeng Tian made a gesture that seemed to fit an entire universe between his fingertips.
After digesting most of the thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Blazing Fire Grass in the Blazing Flame Valley, Zeng Tian had reached level 51, the equivalent of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
As his level rose, Zeng Tian not only learned many new moves, but could also put many of the tactics and ideas in his head into practice. His strength had grown even faster than he had expected.
Even the three-hundred-thousand-year-old Scarlet King could no longer truly suppress him in their sparring matches, which showed just how much Zeng Tian's strength had grown.
Taking Deep Crimson Blaze into account, Zeng Tian now had the potential to defeat the Scarlet King.
Even with the Scarlet King's newfound mastery of Flame Charge, defeating Zeng Tian in his Deep Crimson Blaze state would be very difficult.
As for the Auspicious Beast, Zeng Tian's rapid improvement had prompted her to ask the other ferocious beasts for treasures that could increase her cultivation. She had raised it to nearly twenty thousand years, but compared to Zeng Tian, her growth was still far too slow.
It could be said that, aside from raw strength, Zeng Tian now completely outclassed the Auspicious Beast, leaving her no chance to turn the tables.
"Like hell I'd believe you."
Looking at the universe Zeng Tian held between his fingertips, the Auspicious Beast rolled her eyes, refusing to believe a word of it.
Zeng Tian merely smiled at her reaction, neither confirming nor denying anything.
It really pays to have backing. Without these spirit herbs, I'd have needed at least several more years of training to reach my current strength.
Zeng Tian couldn't help marveling inwardly.
But soon, Zeng Tian suddenly sighed. From now on, it would probably be difficult for his strength to make another dramatic leap in a short time.
The higher a Pokémon's level, the harder it became to advance. Beyond level 40, each level required several months. Although Zeng Tian had relied on vast quantities of Blazing Fire Grass to reach level 50 in three months, that had already been the limit.
Blazing Fire Grass could now do very little for him, which meant his progress would slow, returning to a pace of one level every few months.
Unless he could find spirit herbs comparable to eighty-thousand-year Blazing Fire Grass, or even better!
At that thought, Zeng Tian rubbed his chin and mused inwardly, Looks like I'll have to visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well sooner or later.
Originally, Zeng Tian hadn't intended to visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He wasn't strong enough, and going there would only be serving himself up on a platter.
But things were different now. There were still several years before the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well opened, and that would give him enough time to boost his strength again.
The safeguards Tang San had left behind were certainly formidable, but if Zeng Tian became strong enough, he might still be able to brave them.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet King had arrived at the Lake of Life and met Di Tian.
"Scarlet King, your strength seems to have improved considerably. Did you come across some fortuitous opportunity?"
Di Tian's eyes flickered as he looked at the utterly transformed Scarlet King before him and posed the question.
His former self could never have achieved such speed. Something must have happened.
Seeing that this was the first thing Di Tian asked about, the Scarlet King felt a swell of pride and replied, "I didn't come across any particular opportunity. I've just learned a few things from Zeng Tian over these past three months, so my strength has improved a little."
"Zeng Tian? You've been learning from him?"
Surprise flashed through Di Tian's eyes, and a hint of curiosity entered his voice.
The Scarlet King nodded. "That's right. Zeng Tian has an extraordinary talent for understanding skills, and others can learn his skills too. What I just used was the Flame Charge he created. It harnesses the power of fire to greatly increase the user's speed."
"Flame Charge... Scarlet King, use it again and let me see."
The Scarlet King nodded once more. Dark crimson flames then enveloped his entire body, and he became a streak of dark crimson light as he began running around the Lake of Life.
As he ran, the Scarlet King's speed kept rising, until he formed a ring of dark crimson firelight around the Lake of Life.
Watching the Scarlet King's movements, Di Tian's eyes glimmered faintly with golden light.
A short while later, the Scarlet King stopped before Di Tian again. "Di Tian, that was Flame Charge."
"A very impressive move. That move alone increased your speed nearly threefold. Even compared with soul beasts of the same rank that specialize in speed, you wouldn't fall short."
After the Scarlet King stopped, Di Tian couldn't help voicing his approval. A skill that allowed an endurance-oriented soul beast like the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound to rival speed-oriented soul beasts was truly remarkable.
The Scarlet King said, "And that's with me having only just learned it. Once I'm more proficient, I'll be even faster."
"Excellent. With your current strength, even if you encounter a Level 98 Super Douluo among the humans, you'll be able to escape unscathed."
Listening to the Scarlet King, Di Tian nodded in satisfaction.
Among all the ferocious beasts, the Scarlet King's strength had originally been rather unremarkable. But if he continued at this pace, he might one day become a great general on par with the Myriad Demon King and Xiong Jun.
That would give Di Tian a little less to worry about. After all, Xiong Jun and the Myriad Demon King had certainly given him more than their share of headaches.
After praising the Scarlet King, Di Tian's face returned to its usual majestic expression, and he continued:
"I summoned you here because of Zeng Tian. After spending these past few months with him, what do you think of him?"