Just a few days after things settled into a steady rhythm of cultivation, a scene appeared that left everyone stunned.
The amplification effect of the Sunlight Hall far surpassed anything in the wild.
The seed on Bulbasaur's back was like a greedy black hole, crazily devouring pure light energy.
Lin Xia could clearly feel the warm current of spirit power feeding back into him—several times faster than it had been during the journey.
Only seven days later, during a routine academy spirit power test, the teacher in charge stared at the crystal ball and exclaimed without thinking:
"Rank 5?! Lin Xia, your spirit power… is Rank 5?!"
How long had it even been since he enrolled?
The news spread through Plant Academy like wildfire.
The so-called "waste" and "backdoor admission" had risen two ranks in an absurdly short time.
Many people recalled the small figure who read books in the Sunlight Hall day after day, rain or shine—and that strange "garlic-head tortoise."
Mockery instantly turned into shock and curiosity. Those who had once laughed at Lin Xia felt as if invisible hands had slapped their faces.
After all, this cultivation speed spoke for itself, even if his innate spirit power really was only Rank 1.
While the academy buzzed with shock, Lin Xia was thinking about something else entirely.
Pokémon were naturally inclined toward battle.
Although the cultivation speed here was astonishing, combat was also one of the ways for Bulbasaur to grow stronger.
After careful consideration, Lin Xia decided to put that idea aside—for now.
At the very least, he would wait until after obtaining the first spirit ring.
Although Bulbasaur already had many moves, its endurance was still too low. This wasn't the Pokémon world.
Here, everything consumed spirit power. It wasn't like the anime, where shouting "Stand up!" or "Dodge!" magically worked.
With that idea shelved, Lin Xia used the permissions granted by his identity card and learned that lower-grade students could participate in a basic training project near the edge of the Emerald Black Soil Area—the Ingrain Trial.
This wasn't combat, but a test of a plant Spirit's vitality absorption efficiency and toughness in a special soil environment.
Simply put, the Spirit had to root itself into vitality-rich black soil as quickly and deeply as possible, then endure simulated wind pressure and mild earth-attribute tremors. The goal was to see how long it could hold its position and how much life essence it could absorb.
Of course, not all Plant-type Spirit Masters were suited for this kind of training.
Only a small number truly benefited from it—after all, this trial could significantly enhance real combat ability.
And Lin Xia happened to be one of them.
So he brought Bulbasaur over.
Most of the students present had vine- or root-type Spirits.
When Lin Xia released Bulbasaur, it naturally triggered another wave of low laughter.
"Hey, kid, it'd already be impressive if your garlic-head tortoise could scrape up some dirt with its claws. You want to try Ingrain?"
Lin Xia ignored them. He squatted down and said to Bulbasaur:
"Don't mind them. Today we're practicing Ingrain. See if we can develop more Grass-type techniques. Feel the earth—imagine your roots, like a seed about to sprout, reaching downward."
"Bulba!"
Bulbasaur seemed to understand. Guided by Lin Xia's intent and drawn by the rich earth essence, it instinctively released two emerald Vine Whips and plunged them straight into the black soil.
What followed shocked everyone.
Bulbasaur's Vine Whips seemed perfectly attuned to the earth's life network—more flexible and tougher than the Spirit roots of most Plant-type Spirit Masters of the same age.
They didn't force their way in. Instead, like living Spirit serpents, they traced the paths of richest vitality, greedily and efficiently absorbing energy.
When simulated wind pressure and slight "earthquake waves" struck, some students' Spirit roots were torn loose, while others wobbled unsteadily.
Bulbasaur's Vine Whips, however, displayed terrifying flexibility and adhesion. Like octopus suckers, they latched firmly onto vital energy nodes. Its body only swayed slightly, and its absorption efficiency didn't drop at all.
The nourishing energy feeding back to Lin Xia visibly formed a faint green halo swirling around him.
Once again, the surrounding students were stunned.
They were all at least Spirit Grandmasters.
Yet they were completely outperformed by a child with Rank 5 spirit power.
For a moment, no one could tell who the real "child" was.
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, three full months had gone by since Lin Xia entered Plant Academy.
During those three months, Lin Xia didn't cultivate obsessively like most students. The place he appeared most often was the academy's vast and ancient Emerald Library.
He moved through towering shelves of books, thirstily absorbing systematic knowledge—Spirit classifications, Spirit Beast traits, spirit ring absorption methods, continental geography, and even detailed principles of spirit power usage and meditation.
The heavy burden of cultivation fell almost entirely on Bulbasaur.
Inside the Sunlight Hall, Lin Xia would choose a corner with abundant light but minimal attention and set Bulbasaur down.
The massive seed on its back faced the descending light pillars, greedily inhaling the sunlight gathered and amplified by the Spirit-guiding dome.
Tiny, dazzling golden particles were swallowed like water by the seed, transformed into surging vitality and pure spirit power.
The academy's lush lawns and tree-lined paths were even more natural training grounds.
Lin Xia would only stop occasionally, letting Bulbasaur feel the sun and earth together.
Even so, the pure vitality feedback flowed into Lin Xia's body like a constant stream, day and night without interruption.
In this extraordinary symbiotic state—Lin Xia focusing on theory, Bulbasaur handling practice—a miracle quietly took shape.
A miracle powerful enough to shake the upper ranks of the Plant Academy.
The monthly spirit power test arrived.
The middle-aged teacher in charge remembered Lin Xia clearly—the "Rank 1 innate spirit power prodigy" personally recruited by Commissioner Yue Hongsheng.
In the first two months, Lin Xia's spirit power had surged like a rocket, from Rank 3 to Rank 5, then to an astonishing Rank 8. That alone had already drawn countless sideways glances.
Handing over the testing crystal ball, the teacher spoke with clear emotion in his voice:
"Come, Lin Xia. Let me see what surprise your 'little fellow' has brought you this month."
Lin Xia smiled, placed his hand on the crystal ball, and calmly circulated the increasingly dense spirit power in his body.
Hum—!
The crystal ball erupted with light far brighter and steadier than before. The entire testing room was bathed in a soft green glow.
The light climbed rapidly, the scale rising without pause—until it finally stabilized at the very top mark.
"Ten… Rank 10?!"
The teacher's eyes flew wide open. His voice cracked from sheer shock.
"How is this possible?! In three months—you went from Rank 3 to Rank 10?!"
"Are you really only innate Rank 1 spirit power?!"
His shout echoed out of the room, instantly drawing the attention of students waiting in the corridor and nearby instructors.
"What? Rank 10? Who reached Rank 10?!"
"Is it that new kid?!"
"Rank 10 in three months?! He was only Rank 3 when he enrolled!"
"Are you insane? Is the crystal ball broken?!"
Doubt, shock, envy, and jealousy all converged on Lin Xia.
The voices that had once mocked him as a "waste" were shattered as if struck by an invisible slap.
This rate of spirit power growth could no longer be described as talent.
It was something that completely overturned common sense.