Chapter 10: Charmander Descends
Nuoding Academy, Back Mountain.
After leaving the dining hall, Lin Mo carried the little fire dragon egg and headed straight for Nuoding Academy's back mountain.
He had been coming here often over the past 6 months, so he was already familiar with the surroundings. During the day, there were very few people. At night, it was so quiet that only the wind and the buzz of insects remained.
It was barely a decent place to cultivate, quiet enough, and rarely disturbed.
The woods on the back mountain were not deep. Following the narrow dirt path worn smooth by footsteps, Lin Mo soon saw a lone small pavilion standing ahead.
The pavilion was not large, and it looked old and weathered.
Whenever Lin Mo stayed on the back mountain, he spent most of his time in this slightly dilapidated pavilion. Tonight was no exception.
He found a relatively clean stone stool, sat down, took a few deep breaths, and savored the rare silence.
With a slight shift of thought, the warm little fire dragon egg, its shell covered in strange patterns, appeared in his arms.
Lin Mo lowered his head and gently rubbed the eggshell with his fingertip. As if responding to him, the egg trembled faintly under his touch.
"Just a little more…" he murmured, his gaze turning firm.
He had come to the academy's back mountain for one reason, to break through the Rank 10 Spirit Power bottleneck. His cultivation had already reached the peak of Rank 9.
He was only one step away.
But Lin Mo did not rush to assault the bottleneck immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and carefully adjusted his breathing.
He calmed the heartbeat that had sped up from running and excitement. This moment would be critical, and he needed his essence, qi, and spirit at their best.
While steadying his mind, he also split off a thread of attention and checked the panel that only he could see.
[Name: Lin Mo]
[Age: 6 years old]
[Spirit Power: Lv9 (Shared)]
[Martial Soul: Heart (Blood)]
[Self created Spirit Skill: Blood Burst (First stage Boiling Blood)]
After scanning the panel, a surge of confidence rose in his chest.
Compared to half a year ago, when he had just awakened his Martial Soul, the panel had not changed much. The most obvious difference was that his Spirit Power had risen from Lv6 to Lv9, and the "Shared" marker was still there.
That meant his hard cultivation over the last 6 months had not been wasted. The egg in his arms had been absorbing Spirit Power alongside him. Cultivating together really was far faster than cultivating alone.
The extra line at the bottom, "Self created Spirit Skill: Blood Burst (First stage Boiling Blood)," made Lin Mo feel a deep sense of satisfaction.
Blood Burst was a technique he had slowly refined by combining his understanding of qi and blood from the heart meridian in his first life, along with his exploration of the main body Martial Soul in this life.
Being recorded on the panel meant it had gained a level of recognition. It was no longer the crude, surface level use of qi and blood from before.
Still, Lin Mo knew this stage of Blood Burst was only the beginning, which was why he called it "first stage boiling blood." There was plenty of room to improve.
First stage Blood Burst allowed him, through the Heart Spirit, to precisely mobilize the power of qi and blood in his body. In a short burst, he could strengthen a specific body part or even his entire body, letting him erupt with greater speed or strength.
The drawbacks were just as clear. Once the burst ended, the strengthened area would fall into weakness. How severe it was, and how long it lasted, depended directly on how much qi and blood he had consumed.
It was a trump card to be used in a life or death fight, or as a decisive surprise attack. It could not be treated as an everyday method.
Before long, Lin Mo's breathing became long and steady, and his heartbeat returned to its natural rhythm.
His state was ready.
He sat cross legged on the stone stool with the egg in his arms. Five Hearts Facing the Sky, he assumed the standard cultivation posture.
The elementary Calm Mind method taught by Nuoding Academy was etched into his memory. Its efficiency was not impressive, but it was stable, and stability was what he needed to break through.
He had already brushed against that bottleneck days ago. Back then, his condition had not been perfect, so he had not forced it.
But tonight was different.
Lin Mo could clearly feel it. The barrier was still solid, yet it had begun to loosen.
He did not dare be careless. Again and again, he guided the Spirit Power inside his body to strike the obstacle.
Fine beads of sweat slowly seeped across his forehead.
No one understood better than him what breaking through Rank 10 Spirit Power meant.
It was not only the first major threshold on a Spirit Master's path, the prerequisite for obtaining a first Spirit Ring. It was also the key to bringing back his former partner.
Whether Charmander could hatch depended on this moment.
That was exactly why he had chosen this secluded back mountain.
Breaking through Rank 10 itself might not cause much commotion, but if Charmander's hatching was added on top of it, it would be hard not to draw attention.
Ordinary people were one thing. Lin Mo was confident he could deal with them.
But Tang San and Xiao Wu were not ordinary. Their senses were sharp, and Lin Mo did not want to gamble.
More importantly, Tang Hao might still be watching Tang San. That man was the real reason Lin Mo kept his distance.
Before he had enough power to protect himself, keeping a low profile was always the right choice.
Time passed.
Lin Mo's breathing gradually grew heavier as the repeated impacts wore on him.
Even the little fire dragon egg seemed to sense the surging Spirit Power inside him. The eggshell became warmer, almost hot, as if it were offering encouragement and support.
The distant sky slowly turned pale, the hour nearing 3 or 4 in the morning.
At last, the Spirit Power Lin Mo had accumulated for so long found the perfect opening.
In a single instant, the surge pierced through every last obstacle.
Breakthrough.
Almost the exact moment Lin Mo's Spirit Power officially stepped into Rank 10, the little fire dragon egg in his arms changed violently.
The eggshell, warm just a moment ago, turned scalding hot. A blinding white light burst from its surface.
Lin Mo instinctively hugged the egg tighter, eyes locked on that ball of light.
Crack.
The crisp sound was especially clear in the quiet dawn.
A crack appeared on the eggshell, then a second, then a third.
The fractures multiplied, spreading like a spiderweb across the entire shell.
Soon, fragments fell away. A warm, slightly heavy little fellow dropped neatly onto Lin Mo's crossed legs.
Then, with an agile hop, it landed on the pavilion's rough stone floor and stood steady.
It was a small dragon type Spirit Beast, entirely orange yellow with a lighter belly. Its big blue eyes were bright and clear. At the tip of its tail, a vigorous flame burned, swaying gently with each breath.
It was Lin Mo's first partner from the Pokémon world in his previous life.
Charmander.
.....
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