I choose you, Pikachu

This sudden countercharge made Xiao Wu falter slightly. Once she reacted, she stopped dodging, and a ring of gentle yellow light abruptly lit up beneath her feet. The Yellow Soul Ring's glow spread along her waist and abdomen, enveloping her entire body in a faint yellow light.

"First Soul Skill-Waist Bow!"

In an instant, she could clearly feel the strength in her waist and abdomen more than double, while her flexibility also improved dramatically.

With her Soul Skill's enhancement, she pushed hard off the ground with her toes, abruptly accelerating as she charged straight into Pikachu's pounce.

At the instant before they collided, Xiao Wu decisively turned sideways, then reached out with both hands to seize the fur at the back of Pikachu's neck and leaned backward. The entire sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water. She clearly intended to use Waist Bow's tremendous strength to give this electrified little mouse a solid back throw.

But the instant her fingertips touched its golden fur, a tingling electric current shot up her fingers into her forearms. Xiao Wu's arms suddenly went numb, and more than half the strength she had gathered dissipated at once. Pikachu immediately broke free of her grip and darted away, flicking its tail.

"I'm no match for it at all..."

Xiao Wu shook her numb right hand, her eyes already narrowing.

Facing a three-hundred-year Soul Beast at level ten was still too much of a stretch. From beginning to end, Pikachu had treated it as play, never taking her seriously at all.

Otherwise, that collision just now would have already left her unable to fight.

She glanced around, her gaze settling on Su Lin, who was still striking a pose nearby. Her eyes darted about, and she suddenly had an idea.

She feinted a step toward Pikachu, prompting the little fellow to swing its tail and release electricity again. The next second, however, she abruptly changed direction, her feet tapping rapidly against the ground as she swept past Pikachu's position. By the time Su Lin reacted, Xiao Wu was already less than a step away from him.

By the time he came to his senses, Xiao Wu was right before him. Flipping upside down like a golden hook, she wrapped both legs around his neck, then gave her waist a slight twist with the lingering strength of Waist Bow.

"Huh? Wait-"

Before he could finish speaking, his feet suddenly left the ground. His whole body was dragged through half a turn, his center of gravity tipped, and he landed solidly on the soft grass.

Su Lin lay on the turf and blinked, his mind blank for a full two seconds before he realized what had happened.

Xiao Wu had back-thrown him.

"That's a foul! Why did you ambush me?" Su Lin lay spread-eagled, letting out an amused laugh without hurrying to get up.

"I couldn't beat Pikachu." Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue and sat down beside Su Lin.

[Your battle report has been generated]

[Your Pokémon Lightning Rat went through an easy battle, defeated an opponent of mediocre strength, and gained 10 experience points]

Looking at the battle report that popped up before him, Su Lin inwardly lamented that he had failed to exploit a bug.

He had originally had a little scheme in mind. Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form. Although her cultivation was now sealed at the level of a level-ten Soul Scholar, her true form's foundations were still there. Surely Pikachu fighting an existence like that ought to trigger some extra reward along the lines of a "boss battle against a higher-level opponent."

He had even specifically used Soul Link before the battle to tell Pikachu to drag things out, exchange a few more rounds, and not end the fight so quickly. Ideally, it would create the impression of finally winning after a grueling battle. Perhaps the panel would be pleased enough to award a few extra experience points.

In the end, the facts proved that the panel was an impartial, iron-faced judge.

Whether the opponent was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast beneath their skin or an ordinary village mutt, the reward criteria only considered their cultivation level during the actual fight and the intensity of the battle. The opponent's true background had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Of course, it was not as though he had gained nothing.

As he had expected, the experience earned through actual combat was far more substantial than what came from sitting around meditating.

Although it was only a mere 10 points, that was also because Xiao Wu was currently too weak, making this a noob-stomping match. Once he encountered truly formidable opponents in the future, he should be able to gain a little more experience.

Besides, 10 experience points was hardly a small amount. He was positively starving for them.

As for right now...

Su Lin sat up from the ground and looked at Xiao Wu again. "Xiao Wu, let's fight another round."

"Huh? Again?"

"Yes!" Su Lin nodded decisively.

Although Xiao Wu found it rather baffling, that last fight had indeed been satisfying, and she had not had her fill either. She stopped declining and took up her stance again.

Ten minutes later, Su Lin, who had once again been thrown to the ground, looked at the completely unchanged panel before him and could not help pursing his lips.

Great. His plan to rapidly grind Xiao Wu for quick levels had officially ended in complete failure.

Now he just did not know whether he could only select one opponent as a battle target within a given period, or whether each opponent only had one chance to count as a battle target.

To verify which it was, he would have to wait until tomorrow. Another fight with Xiao Wu would make everything clear.

If it was the former, that was fine. If it was the latter, it meant he could not keep shearing the same sheep until it went bald. He would have to keep changing opponents.

In that case, perhaps the Soul Hunting Forest or the Soul Fighting Arena was where he ought to go instead.

They hastily wrapped up their sparring. Since school had only just started today, proper, systematic lessons would not begin until tomorrow morning. After resting there for a while, Su Lin and Xiao Wu got up, left the back hill, and wandered around the school.

Only after dinner did the two return to their respective dorm rooms.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!" The moment they entered the room, Pikachu could not help climbing onto Su Lin's shoulder and chattering quietly.

"Look how anxious you are." Su Lin chuckled and raised a hand to rub its fluffy little head, his tone soothing. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

After signing a contract with Su Lin, the little fellow's perception had become extremely keen. After fighting Xiao Wu, it had vaguely sensed her true identity, and the moment they returned, it hurried to tell Su Lin.

Su Lin played with Pikachu for quite a while. Only when the little fellow curled up beside his pillow and began yawning did he walk over to the desk, sit down, and turn on the brass kerosene lamp.

Warm yellow light spilled out, illuminating the old-fashioned book lying open on the desk.

Across its pages, ink lines traced the paths of the twelve main meridians, from Baihui at the crown of the head to Yongquan on the soles of the feet, densely annotated in small regular script.

The Complete Explanation of Human Body Meridians was among the foundational texts he had asked Grant for before leaving.

As the saying went, a craftsman who wished to do his work well must first sharpen his tools. Whether he wanted to become a magnetic-field lunatic or Magneto, the most basic step was to know his own acupoints and meridian pathways like the back of his hand.

Until his spiritual power grew strong enough to let him look inside his own body, Su Lin could only rely on the clumsy method of rote memorization for now.