"Now tell me. Where is the treasu-"
A sudden rumble in the sky interrupted the white tiger.
The white tiger's smile faded.
"Hmmm!?"
Frowning, the white tiger looked up, and his expression instantly changed.
In his perception, dark clouds gathered overhead, swirling ominously. The air grew thick with raw electricity, the crackling energy making the white tiger's fur stand on end.
Rumble!
[Thunder Lord Kirin]
"When did he have time to use it?!"
Numerous thoughts flashed through the white tiger's mind as he tried to recount the previous battle, struggling to recall when Wang Shóu had the chance to prepare this move.
But he could have never imagined that Wang Shóu had laid this out from the very beginning.
While Wang Shóu hadn't mastered Thunder Lord Kirin to the highest level, nevertheless after five years of extensive training, he was able to remotely summon Thunder Lord Kirin by using Electric Terrain as a medium.
And now, this plan was about to pay off!
A condensation of the lightning storm, akin to a Kirin, emerged from the sky, opening its mouth. With a roar, it descended like a strike of Thor's hammer, illuminating the heavens and the earth.
BANG!
The blinding explosion of lightning engulfed the white tiger, shaking the earth with a deafening roar.
The force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris. A sharp metallic scent filled the air, mingling with the acrid burn of ozone.
For a long moment, there was silence, only the distant rumble of fading thunder lingering in the sky. Then, the dust began to settle.
Wang Shóu, his chest heaving, forced himself up from one knee. His body ached from the trauma of the white tiger's crescent slash.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, taking slow, measured steps to the edge of the crater, shrouded in smoky fumes.
"Ouch... this white tiger did some nasty damage to me. But now he shoul-"
Wang Shóu's expression immediately changed, and he instantly jumped back a few steps.
As the hazy smoke dispersed, the white tiger could be seen, wobbly standing up, with metal shards falling from his body. It was obvious that the white tiger had immediately coated himself in metal to protect himself.
But even so, the white tiger was seriously injured, with one of his legs burnt and scorched. It was estimated that it will be completely useless.
But the white tiger no longer cared. Pure, unadulterated murderous intent poured out of him, like a raging dragon.
If the white tiger had initially treated Wang Shóu as prey, now he was treating him as an equal being, someone who must die!
Facing this, Wang Shóu could only grin helplessly.
"Damn it... I can't keep fighting for much longer."
Even though he said that, he got on all fours, faint electricity crackling around him. It was obvious that Wang Shóu was ready to fight!
"ROAR!"
The white tiger's deafening cry sent shockwaves through the battlefield. Multiple small tornadoes, infused with sharp metallic shards, arose from the ground, howling with destructive power.
With a single commanding motion of the white tiger's paw, the tornadoes converged, fusing into a massive swirling vortex of death, over hundreds of meters tall!
Wang Shóu narrowed his eyes. His body tensed, instincts screaming danger.
"That's—!" He didn't have time to finish his thought.
WHOOSH!
The colossal metallic tornado tore through the battlefield, uprooting trees, splintering boulders, and even distorting the air itself with its sheer force. The swirling metallic winds crackled with electricity, unintentionally enhanced by Wang Shóu's Electric Terrain. It threatened to destroy everything in its path!
Wang Shóu clicked his tongue. "Tch. That's not good."
He was seriously injured, and if he tried to dodge, the white tiger would pounce on him. But if he didn't move, the massive metallic tornado would consume him, killing him instantly!
He is seriously injured and it is estimated if he tried to dodge it, he will be pounced by the white tiger. But if he doesn't dodge, the huge metallic tornado will consume him, killing him!
Either way, it was a dead end.
But in this precarious situation, Wang Shóu didn't panic. Instead, he became calmer.
The more dangerous the situation, the calmer he had to be. This was a valuable lesson he had learned after countless battles of life and death.
Since it was a dead end either way, then he just needed to break through and create a new path!
The crimson patches on his cheeks sparked wildly. His entire body crackled with an overwhelming charge as golden electricity surged through his limbs, amplifying his speed and strength beyond their limits.
"Let's see who's stronger!"
Stretching out his right paw, a yellow crystal appeared in Wang Shóu's grip. A marking of Pikachu's tail could be faintly seen on the crystal.
It is Pikanium Z, the exclusive Z crystal of Pikachu!
Wang Shóu pressed the Pikanium Z close to his body, and a miraculous scene unfolded.
It began to meld into him, and as if the world itself had responded, an overwhelming amount of natural energy appeared, pouring into Wang Shóu's body!
A millisecond later, an intense aura like a sun burst out of Wang Shóu's body, and a faint symbol of Z-Power appeared in the air before disappearing.
[Z-Move: Catastropika]
In the next instant, Wang Shóu vanished, creating a sonic boom.
Like a golden streak of a shooting star, he shot forward, directly into the heart of the giant metallic tornado.
The moment Wang Shóu made contact, a violent explosion of energy erupted within the tornado. Waves of electricity clashed against metallic winds, creating a chaotic storm of destruction.
For a moment, Wang Shóu was nowhere to be seen. From a distance, it seemed as if he had been swallowed whole.
But then—
A blinding golden light erupted from within the tornado, illuminating everything in its path and piercing through the core of the tornado!
BOOOOM!
The entire tornado imploded from within as an overwhelming force obliterated it completely.
The sheer impact generated a devastating shockwave, shaking the entire battlefield. The white tiger's eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he witnessed the scene.
Unable to contain himself, the white tiger directly cursed.
"FUCK!"
Then before the white tiger could react, Wang Shóu emerged from the dissipating tornado, surging with an absurd amount of condensed electricity, like the descent of the God of Lightning aiming straight for the white tiger.
A surge of panic flickered in the white tiger's eyes, and he attempted to dodge but it was too late.
The final impact landed squarely on the white tiger's chest.
BAAANG!
---
Star Fortress, outside of the Great Star Dou Forest.
Inside a technologically advanced building, numerous operators worked efficiently at their computers, functioning like a well-oiled machine.
Suddenly, alarms blared across the room, signaling an anomaly.
"Sir, we have detected a massive surge of lightning energy within the Great Star Dou Forest! The energy levels are estimated to rival that of a Titled Douluo!"
"Simultaneously, another energy signature has appeared, also on par with a Titled Douluo! It appears that two 100,000-year-old spirit beasts are engaged in battle."
"Do we want to intervene, sir?"
One of the operators respectfully turned to a tall, middle-aged man exuding a powerful, imposing aura.
He is Qiangu Dongfeng, the current Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda!
Qiangu Dongfeng didn't answer, his expression unreadable. Inwardly, however, he was slightly surprised. He had only come for a routine inspection but he didn't expect such things to happen.
He ponder for a few seconds, considering the situation carefully
A spirit beast that had just reached 100,000 years was already a rare find, let alone two.
Capturing them for their soul rings and spirit bones would be undoubtedly an invaluable harvest!
But the problem is... the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest and those terrifying beings residing within it.
Thinking of several Great Beasts in the core region, especially the golden-eye black dragon, fear flashed in Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes.
Even as a Limit Douluo equipped with a four-word Battle Armor, he wasn't certain he could defeat Di Tian alone. It would take at least two other Limit Douluos with four-word Battle Armor to stand a chance.
The other Great Beasts, though weaker than Di Tian, were still not to be underestimated.
Thankfully, they had not taken any action yet for some reason. Otherwise, although the Spirit Pagado will most likely win, the victory would come at a terrible cost.
Even the loss of a single Titled Douluo would make him feel painful. Losing multiple Titled Douluos—or worse, a Limit Douluo—was unacceptable.
After careful deliberation, Qiangu Dongfeng finally spoke in a deep voice. "Ignore it for now. Besides, it doesn't matter who wins. Either way, it's beneficial to us."
Because it means one less high-level combat powers to worry about, when the time comes to occupy the Great Star Dou Forest.
Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes gleamed with a fierce glint.
---
As the dust and debris settled, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence.
Wang Shóu exhaled slowly, residual electricity crackling around his body. His gaze remained locked onto the massive crater, where a faint blackened corpse lay motionless.
A faint scent of burnt flesh lingered in the air, emitting from a charred remains that resembled a tiger
Glancing at the corpse, Wang Shóu merely shook his head.
"You were a worthy opponent. It's a shame that it turned out this way."
From the moment Wang Shóu intended to challenge the white tiger, he had known it was going to be a deadly battle.
But since Wang Shóu was the one who started the conflict, he had not intended to kill the beast.
But the white tiger was far stronger than he had anticipated, nearly killing him in the process.
If not for the Light Ball he carried, which significantly boosted his Attack and Special Attack, the outcome of the battle might had been very different.
So, one thing led to another, and it resulted in this current situation.
So, Wang Shóu felt a tinge of pity for the white tiger but if he had known what the white tiger had planned to do to him, his pity would instantly vanished.
A few seconds later, the system's voice rang in his mind, accompanied by several notifications.
[Congratulations! You have leveled up! You are now at Level 80!]
[Ding! Upon reaching Level 80, you have unlocked three privileges.]
[The three privileges are: Pokémon Island, Pokémon Center, and Pokémon Day Care.]
Wang Shóu's eyes lit up with excitement and he can't wait to see what those privileges can do.
"What are the functions of these privileges?"
[Pokémon Safari: An exclusive island for Pokémon. Pokémon on this island will grow stronger at an accelerated rate. Additionally, the time ratio is two-to-one, meaning time flows twice as fast on the island compared to Douluo Planet.]
[Pokémon Center: Located on Pokémon Safari, this facility provides absolute safety for healing and recovery. Any injuries sustained will be fully healed within seconds. It also sells various healing items.]
[Pokémon Day Care: A specialized ranch on Pokémon Safari for hatching and breeding Pokémon. Eggs will hatch at an accelerated rate, and newborns will grow much faster until they reach their juvenile stage.]
Reading through the descriptions, Wang Shóu was surprised.
Because they are... not what he was expecting.
Don't get him wrong, those privileges are undeniably powerful and useful,
It's just... they are vastly different from to the previous privileges, which had been focused primarily on combat.
These new privileges, on the other hand, were centered around Pokémon development.
While they might not be particularly useful in Wang Shóu's current situation, he knew that in the long run, they would be invaluable.
Still, the stark contrast to his previous privileges caused Wang Shóu to guess the reason for it.
"Does the system want me to start developing my own Pokémon force?"
Wang Shóu muttered thoughtfully, but before he could delve deeper into the matter, another system notification interrupted his thoughts.
[Ding! Since you have reached Level 80, you can no longer level up. You must complete a special mission to progress further.]
"I half-expected this, but it really happened..."
Wang Shóu sighed. He knew that spirit beasts had to undergo a heavenly tribulation upon reaching 100,000 years of age.
And coincidentally, Level 80 when converted to cultivation age, happens to be just exactly 100,000 years old!
Originally, Wang Shóu thought he might be exempt from this requirement since he gets stronger by leveling up. However, it seemed he was not an exception after all.
"Does this mission by any chance, involve facing a heavenly tribulation?"
[Yes. The only way to continue leveling up is by overcoming the heavenly tribulation.]
'Heavenly tribulation, huh...'
Wang Shóu frowned slightly. He had some knowledge of the heavenly tribulation. It was supposedly a punishment from the God Realm to prevent spirit beasts from attaining godhood.
However, from what he had heard, the truth was more complicated. According to readers that read Douluo Dalu 4, the tribulation wasn't actually issued by the Douluo Divine Realm.
Instead, it was the Dragon God himself who issued this command himself!
When Wang Shóu first learned of this, he had been completely dumbfounded.
Why was Dragon God thinking, making such a stupid choice, that hindered his own race and even pushed spirit beasts toward extinction??
Perhaps Dragon God had his reasons but unfortunately, Wang Shóu never find out why before he was reborn in the Great Star Dou Forest.
'Anyway, I should start preparing for the heavenly tribulation.'
Shaking off his thoughts, he had a heavy heart as he began strolling toward his companion's location. But Wang Shóu failed to realized one critical detail.
Spirit beasts naturally have to face the heavenly tribulation upon reaching 100,000 years of age.
But why does he, as a Pokémon, need to face it as well?