'Looks like there's going to be a thunderstorm soon.'
Wang Shóu thought as he glanced at the sky filled with dark clouds. The rumbling of lightning could be faintly heard.
It had already been a few days since Wang Shóu revealed his true identity as a Pokémon to Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu.
Of course, they were very surprised, especially after witnessing Charmeleon's evolution into Charizard.
But aside from that, Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu didn't treat Wang Shóu and Huo Long any differently.
For this, Wang Shóu was grateful. He knew that Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu would react that way, but before it actually happened, it was terrifying to think about what would happen if things didn't go as he expected.
He also told Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu that his name was not Lei Feng but, in fact, Wang Shóu.
There was no reason to tell them this little detail, but aside from himself and the system, no one knew his true name.
Over the past few years, he had grown exhausted from being called a fake name by friends he genuinely trusted.
'Anyway, system! Load my Status Window!'
Quickly, the blue panel showed up, displaying Wang Shóu's information.
[Name: Wang Shou]
[Race: Pikachu]
[Ability: Lightning Rod]
[Type: Electric]
[Level: 49 (9,500 years old)]
[Charizard (46), Clefairy (41), Corvisquire (39), Basculin (36)]
'Hehe, I've become a lot more powerful.'
Wang Shóu couldn't help but smile, looking at his Status Window.
He also didn't forget to give Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu the Scarlet Blood Fruit.
As for the problem of it being consumable only by spirit beasts 5,000 years or older, that was no problem at all.
The reason spirit beasts below 5,000 years old couldn't consume Scarlet Blood Fruit was due to its intense Blood Essence, which would cause the spirit beasts to explode from too much energy.
So, the problem was that it had too much energy for spirit beasts below 5,000 years to handle. If that was the case, then simply lower the energy the fruit had.
Therefore, Wang Shóu cut the Scarlet Blood Fruit in half, effectively reducing the energy of the Blood Essence by half too.
This allowed Wang Shóu's Pokémon forms that were under 5,000 years old to level up.
Of course, it was not very efficient since the other half would dissipate, but Wang Shóu had hundreds of them, so it didn't really matter as long as the people involved could get stronger.
But for Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu, it was an entirely different matter.
They both possessed a top-level bloodline among all spirit beasts and had strength far beyond their ages.
Zhuzhu naturally didn't need to worry about consuming it since she was 6,000 years old.
And for Xiong Yong, due to his top-level bloodline, he could fully consume the Scarlet Blood Fruit without any issues.
Now, Xiong Yong had officially advanced to 2,000 years old while Zhuzhu had advanced to 7,000 years old.
And their combat power had grown at an even more exaggerated rate!
'Damn talent!'
Wang Shóu couldn't help but shed a fake tear.
'But thankfully, I have the system...' Wang Shóu thought as he wiped away the fake tear from his eyes.
'With this system, I will be able to grow faster than any talent.'
'And I'm curious to see what privilege I will unlock when I reach level 50...'
Absentmindedly wondering what the system would unlock, Wang Shóu suddenly received a pat from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Zhuzhu fidgeting with her spider leg.
"Screech, screech?" (Umm, Big brother Wang Shóu? Where are we heading?)
Zhuzhu said, still awkwardly pronouncing his name. She hadn't gotten used to calling Wang Shóu by his true name.
"Roar!" (Yeah, Boss Wang Shóu! Where are we going?)
Xiong Yong said enthusiastically, saying Wang Shóu's name with no trouble. In his mind, it didn't matter what Wang Shóu's name was, he was still Xiong Yong's boss!
"Pika, pika." (Well, we are heading to the inner region.)
Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu both showed surprised expressions, then Zhuzhu displayed a concerned opinion.
"Screech, screech?" (But will we be alright? Spirit beasts in the inner region are very strong!)
"Pika, pika!" (It's alright. We all are very strong here, and besides, Huo Long has just evolved, so he's very powerful!)
Wang Shóu said, patting Huo Long, who was beside him.
"Pika, pika!" (And with me here, there will be no problem in our journey to the inner region!)
Wang Shóu said confidently, patting his chest.
"Well, well. I never thought I'm this lucky, hahaha!" An arrogant voice rang out from behind Wang Shóu.
"!!!"
Wang Shóu, Xiong Yong, and Zhuzhu quickly looked at the source of the voice. They saw a young man who obviously looked like a playboy and a middle-aged man silently walking beside the young man.
"My...this is an unusual scene," Wu Tie said with surprise in his tone.
It was not every day that you would see a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, a huge spider, and a lizard-dragon following a yellow furry mouse.
'Me and my stupid mouth! Why did I have to set up a red flag?' Wang Shóu gritted his teeth as he glanced at the middle-aged man who exuded a powerful aura.
'He is obviously the most powerful one here... System, detect what spirit rank he is!'
[Scanning... it is estimated to be a Spirit Saint, rank 76. However, what is important to note is that this man possesses a Two-Word Battle Armor.]
'Two-Word Battle Armor?!' Wang Shóu's face suddenly changed, and he knew that they needed to retreat immediately.
While he didn't remember Legend of the Dragon King too well, he still remembered the power of Battle Armor. It was a crucial part of the latter part of the book that allowed spirit masters' combat power to skyrocket!
Even disregarding the Two-Word Battle Armor, a Spirit Saint was not something they could fight against!
"Pika, pika!" (Everybody, retreat! I will cover for you guys!)
Wang Shóu shouted with unprecedented seriousness in his voice.
Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu both could sense the danger from the middle-aged man, and they nodded seriously.
Then Huo Long opened his mouth and spewed majestic, powerful flames at Wu Tie and Han Feng.
'Flamethrower!'
"Hmph, just a mere lizard's fire." Wu Tie coldly snorted and swept his arm, blowing the Flamethrower away.
However, the same couldn't be said for Huo Long.
"A-ah, help me, Wu Tie!" Huo Long panicked, shouting and flailing his arms as he felt the intense heat of the Flamethrower coming at him.
"Argh, damn it." Wu Tie groaned in frustration at his master's uselessness.
Nevertheless, he quickly stepped in front of Huo Long and directly activated his Spirit skill.
"4th Spirit Skill! Dark Demon Tiger's Shock Roar!"
Seven rings with two yellow rings, four purple rings, and one black ring showed up behind Wu Tie. Then a purple ring lit up, signifying it was about to be used.
A large ferocious dark tiger's head appeared above Wu Tie, and it bellowed, issuing a loud roar.
"ROARR!!"
The roar contained shockwaves, quickly meeting the Flamethrower head-on. After a fierce confrontation, the Flamethrower was no match and eventually dispersed.
However, with the dispersion of the Flamethrower, dark smoke suddenly shrouded the area.
"Cough, cough! Damn it, where is the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear?!"
Huo Long continuously coughed, glaring around, trying to see beyond the dark smoke.
After a few seconds, the dark smoke eventually cleared, and there was no longer Xiong Yong, Zhuzhu, or Huo Long. Only Wang Shóu remained.
"What?! Where did the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear go?!" Huo Long shouted in shock.
"Huh, well played, yellow mouse. I can see why you are their leader," Wu Tie commented, glancing at Wang Shóu.
He could see that the yellow mouse knew a few seconds was not enough to let the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, spider, and the lizard escape.
So, the yellow mouse intended to stay here, hoping to delay them further even if it was just for a few seconds.
'This is not something a mere spirit beast can think of. And even more rare for a spirit beast to sacrifice itself!' Wu Tie couldn't help but think with surprise. Though, he didn't care too much about it.
'Hahaha, I never thought I'd get into this situation because of my mouth.'
Wang Shóu couldn't help but grin in the face of this grim situation.
At this rate, he might really die here...
---
A/N: Well, what did you think so far. Did I do okay, leading up to Han Feng and Wu Tie's appearance? If not, then I apologize for that. Character interaction has always been my weakness, and I have been working to fix this. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.