After a moment of silence, Zeng Tian said calmly, "Since Senior Bi Ji has spoken, we'll let this matter rest."
Hearing this, all the Soul Beasts present breathed a sigh of relief.
The Myriad Demon King looked at Zeng Tian and thought, This fellow is more magnanimous than I expected.
Normally, someone who possessed such strength at Zeng Tian's young age would inevitably be proud and arrogant, looking down on everyone else.
The Myriad Demon King asked himself what he would do in Zeng Tian's place. He certainly would not spare Xiong Jun now.
After all, Xiong Jun had further awakened his Behemoth Giant bloodline, and his future achievements would only grow greater. With an enemy like that still alive, the Myriad Demon King would never sleep soundly.
What the Myriad Demon King did not know, however, was that Zeng Tian had never considered Xiong Jun a true rival. At his current rate of improvement, he would completely surpass Xiong Jun in a year or two at most, even if Xiong Jun awakened his Behemoth bloodline further!
"But..." Zeng Tian suddenly changed tack, looking at Xiong Jun as he continued, "Xiong Jun, as the price for this, you cannot refuse any requests I make of you in the future!"
"Yes! Understood."
Xiong Jun lay sprawled on the ground and answered weakly.
At this point, he had no right to refuse.
"Um!"
Then Xiong Jun spoke again, pleading, "Could you remove your flames first? If they keep burning like this, I don't think I'll live much longer. Aaagh!!!"
As he spoke, black-and-blue flames flared across his entire body again, forcing a howl of agony from him.
At the sight, the other Soul Beasts all took a step back, a trace of fear entering their eyes as they looked at Zeng Tian.
Xiong Jun was normally fearless in the face of pain, yet these flames had reduced him to this state. That alone showed just how sinister they were.
But Zeng Tian's eyes lit up as he watched the flames ignite on Xiong Jun. Was this a burn?
Reaching his limit earlier had clearly triggered Deep Crimson Blaze, and one of its traits was to inflict burns with his attacks.
Now that Xiong Jun had been burned, there was a strong chance that his original Ability remained active even after his Mega Evolution.
Sunny Day plus Deep Crimson Blaze plus Tough Claws plus increased base stats. Looks like my combat strength after Mega Evolution will be formidable.
Zeng Tian thought to himself.
Sunny Day increased the power of flames by fifty percent.
Tough Claws, Mega Charizard X's Ability, increased the power of contact moves by thirty percent.
Once triggered, Deep Crimson Blaze not only allowed his attacks to inflict burns, but also increased the power of Zeng Tian's own flames by two hundred percent.
Even without the usual fifty-percent damage boost from Deep Crimson Blaze, the power of his melee special moves was already close to five times its normal level.
That did not even account for the increased stats brought by Mega Evolution. The actual maximum boost was certainly far greater than fivefold.
Looks like misfortune turned into a blessing. If Xiong Jun hadn't driven me into a corner just now, I could never have made this much progress. In a way, perhaps I should even thank him.
Walking up to Xiong Jun, Zeng Tian opened his mouth and inhaled. The black-and-blue flames on Xiong Jun's body turned into wisps of fire and were drawn into Zeng Tian's belly.
The next instant, Zeng Tian's eyes lit up. "Such pure flames! These are the flames I gained after evolving into Mega Charizard X. I'll have to study them carefully when I get back and see whether I can enter the Mega Charizard X form again!"
After Zeng Tian reclaimed all the fire-type energy, Xiong Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief, his heart settling back into place.
Those flames were far too strange. He had been unable to expel them at all.
Moreover, they were different from every flame he had encountered before. Rather than dealing damage just once, they were like a curse, flaring up at regular intervals. Even suppressing them with all his strength only delayed them slightly.
Most importantly, the damage those flames inflicted was simply too great!
Zeng Tian had battered him with all sorts of moves earlier, yet all that damage combined was less than what a single flare of those flames had inflicted.
He even suspected that, had Dragon Claw never injured him and he been at his peak, falling prey to those strange, evil flames would still have left him slowly burning to death.
Emerald motes of light descended from above. Seeing that Zeng Tian had withdrawn the flames, Bi Ji began treating Xiong Jun.
"By the way, where's the Scarlet King?"
Zeng Tian glanced around but found no sign of the Scarlet King, prompting him to ask in puzzlement.
"Ah!"
Only upon hearing this did the young Auspicious Beast seem to remember something. She exclaimed, "He was injured trying to stop you earlier. He's still lying in that pit over there!"
"...He's injured, and none of you treated him?"
Zeng Tian fell silent for a moment before pressing further.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion scratched her head sheepishly and stuck out her tongue. "Things were too urgent just now. Besides, he wasn't going to die anytime soon."
Hearing this, Zeng Tian fell silent again. Wasn't the Scarlet King's lot in life a little too miserable?
"Senior Bi Ji..."
"You can call me Sister. That's what the Auspicious Beast calls me."
Before Zeng Tian could finish, Bi Ji turned toward him and spoke gently.
Zeng Tian said, "Sister Bi Ji, sorry for the trouble, but please treat the Scarlet King."
After spending these past days together, Zeng Tian felt that the Scarlet King was a decent fellow, though his luck seemed rather poor.
"Of course. I'll go right away," Bi Ji replied with a smile.
With Bi Ji's powerful healing abilities, most of Xiong Jun's injuries were soon healed, and he stood up again.
"There. The remaining injuries will heal after a period of quiet rest!"
With that, Bi Ji rose into the air. The jewel-like wings on her back fluttered, and she became an emerald streak of light flying toward the Scarlet King.
After getting up, Xiong Jun shook his head and said solemnly to Zeng Tian, "What happened earlier was my fault. I, Xiong Jun, draw a clear line between debts and grudges. Since I've given my word, I won't go back on it. If you ever need me to do anything, just come find me."
"Don't worry. I might have something for you before long."
The corners of Zeng Tian's mouth twitched slightly. Naturally, he had not spared Xiong Jun merely because of a few words from Bi Ji. He wanted to make Xiong Jun his future sparring partner for grinding experience.
With his current strength, the Scarlet King could hardly put him under enough pressure anymore. He needed a stronger sparring partner.
And Xiong Jun, the strongest fighter below Di Tian, was undoubtedly an excellent choice.
Watching this, Di Tian nodded inwardly. Killing Xiong Jun would not have been out of the question, but it would have been a pity nonetheless. If Zeng Tian could bring Xiong Jun into his service, that would naturally be the best outcome.
Suddenly, a clear, melodious voice rang out nearby.
"To think Xiong Jun's bloodline could still be activated. How interesting."
At the sound of that voice, Di Tian shuddered. He immediately dropped to one knee toward its source and said respectfully:
"Master!"