[Bai Mu (Rank 10)]
[Spirit Ability: None]
[Spirit: Zygarde (10% Form) (1 Core, 9 Cells)]
[Attributes: Dragon, Ground]
[Ability: Aura Break (Can destroy and reverse an opponent's Aura/Domain for its own use)]
[Capabilities: Invisibility, Synthesis, Telepathy, Land's Wrath (Can gather Cells from across the world to integrate into higher forms)]
[Moves: Bite, Dragon Breath, Heavy Stomp, Glare, Safeguard]
—
"So strong?!"
After skimming the panel, Bai Mu realized he had severely underestimated Zygarde.
He never expected that after coming to the Douluo Continent, Zygarde's Aura Break would undergo such a drastic change—once an opponent released an Aura or Domain, it could directly shatter it and even reverse it for Zygarde's own use!
Although he couldn't yet face enemies of that level, this was undeniably a terrifying trump card.
Even more shocking was that he had originally thought he'd need to slowly train Zygarde to learn moves from scratch. Instead, it already possessed five moves immediately after completing Body Integration!
"Look at you—how is the Grandmaster's Luo San Pao, which can only fart three times a day after eating carrots, supposed to survive this?"
Bai Mu vigorously rubbed Zygarde's head, his grin stretching so wide it was almost impossible to suppress.
Bite and Dragon Breath were straightforward—one close-range, one long-range. One had a chance to make the enemy flinch, the other a chance to inflict paralysis. Solid, but fairly standard.
Heavy Stomp, however, was a large-scale AOE move, indiscriminately striking everything on the ground around it and reducing their speed.
Its downside was obvious—it didn't distinguish friend from foe. In a team battle, enemies might survive, but allies could get knocked out first.
"Wait—wouldn't I also be inside your attack range?"
Bai Mu suddenly froze and turned to Zygarde with a suspicious look.
If this wasn't clarified, it would be incredibly awkward if his own Spirit crippled him at a critical moment.
"Woof~"
Zygarde shook its head slightly. Thanks to their innate telepathic link, it wouldn't truly harm him unless absolutely unavoidable. At worst, the attack direction could be fine-tuned during combat.
"That's good!"
Bai Mu finally relaxed, then turned his burning gaze toward the last two moves.
Glare — Paralyzes the target, reducing speed by half and giving a chance they can't move.
Safeguard — Shrouds the user in mysterious energy, preventing all abnormal conditions for a period of time.
"Moves that seem ordinary in the Pokémon world are ridiculously overpowered in Douluo!"
Bai Mu couldn't help but marvel.
Glare sounded scary—but it was actually terrifying.
Even Ning Fengzhi, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's Sect Master and the strongest support Spirit Master on the continent, could only boost speed by 80% to 180%.
If an already-buffed enemy were hit by Glare, their speed could instantly drop from 180% to 90%—and it would last for the entire battle!
"If Tang San were paralyzed, he probably wouldn't even be able to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track."
Bai Mu thought darkly.
Safeguard looked plain at first glance, but in some ways, it was even more outrageous.
When it came to abnormal statuses, the first name that came to mind in the Douluo world was Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
"With Safeguard, even someone like Dugu Bo probably couldn't poison me or Zygarde, right?"
"Wait—something's not right!"
Midway through his smug thoughts, Bai Mu suddenly froze.
"Dugu Bo can't poison me?"
"Dugu Bo… can't poison me?!"
His eyes gradually lit up, as if he'd just discovered a brand-new path.
The Douluo Continent was full of beauties, but the top of the must-marry list wasn't Zhu Zhuqing, Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong, Xiao Wu, or Ah Yin—
It was Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
In theory, winning Dugu Yan's heart was equivalent to obtaining a Titled Douluo bodyguard, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, and countless Immortal Herbs.
Other early-game methods to acquire Immortal Herbs either involved joining a major power and "negotiating" with backing—or gambling with Dugu Bo by curing his poison.
Succeed, and you live. Fail, and you die.
But now, Bai Mu had a third option.
"As long as I can locate the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and track Dugu Bo's whereabouts, I can totally sneak in under Safeguard and steal Immortal Herbs!"
"And once my Rank is high enough, I'll openly defeat Dugu Bo and take over the place myself—heheh~"
The thought made Bai Mu restless.
Xiao Wu and Ah Yin were great, but they weren't obtainable in the short term.
Immortal Herbs were different. If he played it right, he might truly get them early!
"Alright. Time to plan my first spirit ring—and early graduation."
There were still three years before Tang San graduated at age twelve. Bai Mu needed to start thinking about his own future.
Especially—
"The choice of the first spirit ring must be extremely cautious."
He sat down, deep in thought, while Zygarde lay beside him like a loyal guard dog.
Spirit rings mainly served three purposes:
1. Breaking bottlenecks to increase Rank
2. Granting Spirit Abilities
3. Modifying or enhancing the Spirit itself
Low-rank spirit rings had minimal impact on Rank, and Zygarde's inherent status was far too high to be significantly altered by them.
Therefore, the choice didn't need to be limited by whether the Spirit Beast was a plant or animal, or whether it carried Dragon blood—only whether the Spirit Ability was suitable.
"It's common knowledge that early offensive Spirit Abilities usually get phased out in the late game unless there are special circumstances."
"And Zygarde already has five powerful moves, so there's absolutely no need to choose an offensive Spirit Ability."
"…Just to be safe, let's test the power first."
Bai Mu snapped back to attention, pointing at a half-meter-tall rock dozens of meters away.
"Little Soft—Dragon Breath!"
"Woof~"
Zygarde rose instantly, green energy gathering in its mouth before blasting out a beam of Dragon Breath.
Boom!
The rock exploded into countless fragments.
"So strong?!"
Before Bai Mu could fully process it, Zygarde shot forward like a green arrow.
Dark energy coated its fangs as it crushed another rock with a single Bite.
Bai Mu had no doubt that this attack could easily shatter human bones.
Then Zygarde lifted its leg and slammed it down.
Buzz—!
A visible shockwave rippled outward.
In the blink of an eye, all surrounding rocks shattered.
"The power is terrifying, but…"
Bai Mu glanced at a nearby tree that had survived the shockwave unscathed.
"It seems attribute effectiveness still follows Pokémon rules."
Ground-type was super effective against Rock, hence the explosions. Grass resisted Ground, so the tree endured.
Fortunately, Dragon/Ground Zygarde was only weak to Ice, Fairy, and Dragon.
Fairy didn't exist here. Dragon-type attacks were extremely rare. Ice was more common—but manageable.
"Am I basically invincible below Spirit Grandmaster… before even officially becoming a Spirit Master?"
After testing, Bai Mu felt absurdly strong.
Therefore—
"From now on, Spirit Abilities should all be enhancement or support-oriented."
"Zygarde can learn Dragon Dance in the future, and hunting low-rank Spirit Beasts makes it hard to obtain amplification abilities anyway."
"For the first Spirit Ability, the optimal choice right now…"
"A healing-type Spirit Ability!"
Bai Mu's eyes flashed as he made his decision.
As an external Spirit, if Zygarde were dispersed in battle, Bai Mu himself would be injured—and Zygarde couldn't be resummoned for a short time.
Zygarde's Synthesis was a racial ability, not a move, and its recovery rate was too slow to matter in real combat.
A healing Spirit Ability would be invaluable—for training, exploration, and arena fights.
And if it could heal others as well?
That would be perfect.