Lou Gao's lips trembled, yet not a single coherent word could leave his mouth.
Even the Phoenix Divine Flame he had always taken such pride in seemed to dim within the raging sandstorm surrounding him. Its terrifying heat, capable of melting divine metals and reducing iron to liquid, was actually being suppressed and isolated by the dry sands that filled heaven and earth, imbued with the power of natural laws.
He felt as though he had been transported into an entirely different world, a world ruled solely by the colossal beast before him, overflowing with ancient, primordial power.
Every question he had.
About the mecha's energy source.
About where all those resources had come from.
About the secret behind Lin Xia's heaven-defying increase in Soul Power.
All of them seemed to have found the most direct, most shocking, and most reasonable answer at this very moment.
With a Martial Soul like this, Calling it merely capable of "finding treasure and mining ore" was a gross understatement.
This was nothing less than a walking natural disaster.
The very embodiment of power.
Standing beside Tyranitar's mountain-like foot, Lin Xia appeared incredibly small amid the endless yellow sands, yet his figure was unmistakably clear.
He looked up at his towering partner, his eyes filled with deep trust and an unbreakable bond.
He could feel the steady, overwhelming strength flowing from Tyranitar like the pulse of the earth itself, along with the absolute loyalty it reserved for him alone.
Then he turned toward Lou Gao, who now looked almost insignificant within the sandstorm.
Seeing his teacher standing there, utterly dumbfounded, his expression one of complete disbelief as though his entire understanding of the world had been rewritten, Lin Xia smiled.
It was a smile carrying both the pride of youth and the respect of a devoted disciple.
His voice pierced through the howling winds and reached Lou Gao's ears with perfect clarity.
"Teacher..."
"This is Tyranitar."
"Our Tyrant of the Sandstorm."
Those words sent even greater waves crashing through Lou Gao's already overwhelmed heart.
He gazed up at the colossal figure that stood between heaven and earth, a creature capable of changing the very landscape with every breath.
Within his crimson-gold divine eyes was reflected Tyranitar's savage yet majestic silhouette, as immovable as the earth itself.
The air had become heavy and viscous.
Every grain of sand seemed to carry the weight of natural law, pressing down upon the Nirvana Golden Flames surrounding him.
For the first time since becoming a candidate for the Phoenix God, Lou Gao experienced so clearly a pressure born from the very origin of the ancient world, a pressure that came from nothing but pure, overwhelming strength.
At that moment, Tyranitar, standing like an immense mountain, slowly lowered its massive head.
Hidden beneath the shadow of its thick, dark-gold helmet, its eyes resembled two crimson furnaces burning amid the sandstorm.
Its gaze settled upon Lou Gao.
That gaze no longer carried the cold indifference of a supreme predator looking down upon all living beings.
Instead it held an unusual emotion.
A trace of familiarity, one that originated from the depths of its soul and had survived countless years of evolution.
"Roooar..."
A deep, drawn-out rumble emerged from Tyranitar's chest.
It no longer carried the aura of destruction.
Instead, it resembled distant rolling thunder, sending strange ripples through the raging sandstorm.
Rather than inspiring fear, the sound carried something else.
The cautious recognition of an old friend reunited after a long separation.
As the low growl echoed out, countless fragments of long-slumbering memories suddenly lit up within Tyranitar's mind.
They were not memories of devouring ore veins.
Nor were they the agonizing moments of evolution.
Instead, they were tiny, precious moments filled with warmth.
Though five years had passed, every scene remained crystal clear.
Deep within those dark crimson eyes, as calm and heavy as the planet's core, an unmistakable trace of affection surfaced.
The pure, wholehearted closeness that had belonged to it back when it was still a Larvitar.
"ROOOOAR!!"
This roar was no longer one of cautious testing.
It was filled with unconcealed joy, the delight of a child finally seeing a beloved family member after years apart.
The tremendous roar split metal and shattered stone, carrying nothing but the exhilaration of unrestrained power.
Even the endless sea of sand seemed to freeze for an instant.
As that joyful declaration rang across the sky, Tyranitar's mountain-sized body suddenly erupted with brilliant dark-golden light!
Buzzz—
Space itself emitted an overloaded hum.
Under the astonished gazes of Lou Gao, Lin Xia, and Zhu Zhuqing, the terrifying hundred-meter-tall beast began collapsing inward, as though grasped and reshaped by an invisible giant hand.
The thick, dark-gold armor covering its body flowed like living metal.
It shifted, transformed, and rapidly shrank.
Its fierce, dragon-like helmet softened somewhat while retaining its intimidating appearance.
The enormous spear-like spikes that had resembled weapons of death rapidly shortened and drew inward, yet the terrifying sense of power they contained became even more concentrated.
The sandstorm gradually subsided as Tyranitar restrained its power.
Having lost its source, the countless grains of sand drifting through the sky quickly settled and dispersed, as though pressed down by an invisible hand.
Sunlight once again broke through the clouds, illuminating the volcanic wasteland that had just witnessed a battle worthy of gods and the arrival of a colossal beast.
Within only a few breaths, the Tyrant of the Sandstorm, whose overwhelming presence had even oppressed a divine being had disappeared.
In its place stood a miniature Tyranitar, roughly the same height as Lin Xia about 1.7 meters tall.
Although its size had shrunk countless times over, the overwhelming pressure that originated from the very core of the earth had not vanished. It had simply become more restrained, more condensed.
Its body was still covered in its signature suit of thick, dark crimson-gold armor, though its proportions were now far more balanced and streamlined.
Its fierce head had become smaller, yet its razor-sharp fangs and helmet-like armored shell still radiated a savage aura.
The spikes along its back and shoulders were much shorter now, but they gleamed like blades forged from divine metal, their edges cold and razor-sharp.
Most distinctive were the obsidian-like diamond-shaped inner armor plates across its chest and abdomen, polished to a mirror-like finish, along with the deep triangular vents embedded throughout its armor. Though reduced in size, they remained exactly as before, resembling mysterious energy nodes set into a suit of divine battle armor.
Standing there, it was no longer a colossal beast capable of laying waste to heaven and earth.
Instead, it resembled a scaled-down humanoid war machine, overflowing with explosive power and ancient majesty.
Lou Gao's pupils were still slightly dilated from shock.
But the moment he got a clear look at the miniature Tyranitar before him especially when he met those dark crimson eyes that carried the exact same affection and faint, almost childlike expression of "Please praise me" that Larvitar had once worn.
Every trace of shock, Every ounce of astonishment.
Every feeling of reverence toward its overwhelming power was instantly replaced by an overwhelming surge of warmth.
It was a joy that transcended species.
Transcended its dramatic transformation.
A pure happiness rooted in shared memories and an unbreakable bond.
"L... Little guy?!"
Lou Gao's voice trembled with disbelief before bursting into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! It really is you! My heavens! It really is my little guy!"
He completely forgot the dignity expected of a candidate for godhood.
Without the slightest hesitation, he took a single step forward and arrived right in front of the miniature Tyranitar.
Those enormous hands that had only moments ago wielded the Phoenix Adamantine Chisel, hands powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone, were now trembling with excitement and filled with extraordinary gentleness.
Throwing his arms wide open, he pulled Tyranitar into a tight embrace.
Clang!
A deep metallic impact echoed through the air.
What Lou Gao embraced was not flesh and blood, but an incomparably sturdy suit of armor that carried both the weight of the earth and a strange, comforting warmth.
Yet he did not mind in the slightest.
Instead, he hugged Tyranitar even tighter.
His fan-like palms repeatedly slapped Tyranitar's heavily armored back.
Clang! Clang!
The ringing metallic sounds echoed like a master blacksmith joyfully hammering upon a peerless piece of divine metal.
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