"Does this count as a scalable trap?"
The Time Domain was powerful, but at its current one-percent flow rate, the effect was almost negligible.
Bai Mu set aside the matter of the external Spirit Bone for the moment and turned to look at Zygarde beside him.
"Little Soft, do you have enough cells for a new Body Integration form—"
Before he could finish, he realized Zygarde was already sprawled on the ground, eyes closed, breathing steadily, fast asleep.
"Looks like that high-intensity fight really took its toll."
Bai Mu chuckled softly, squatted down, and gently stroked Zygarde's head.
"Ooh…"
The Dragon Hound unconsciously rubbed against his hand in its sleep, a faint purring sound rising from its throat.
"Get some good rest."
With a thought, Bai Mu recalled Zygarde into his Spirit Space so it could recover properly.
After that, he turned his attention to the corpse of the Tusk Hunter.
The body of this ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast was riddled with wounds. Its once-beautiful Eye of Time Drilling had gone completely dull after its spirit ring fused into Bai Mu's body. However, its two enormous tusks still gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight, reflecting a diamond-like luster.
"Absolutely beautiful. Like a piece of art."
Bai Mu reached out and lightly brushed his fingers over them, then took out a short knife and swung it down hard at the base of one tusk.
Clang!
The blade fell cleanly. The tusk snapped off in an instant, the cut surface smooth as a mirror.
"If these are used to forge weapons later, they'll definitely be terrifyingly strong."
Bai Mu couldn't help but think of the classic diamond equipment from Minecraft.
"I'll keep them for now."
With a wave of his hand, he stored the tusks in his spirit tool.
Just as he was considering how to deal with the massive corpse, something strange happened—
The Tusk Hunter's body began to wither and age at a visible speed, eventually turning into fine dust that scattered into the forest with the breeze, leaving nothing behind.
"How fascinating."
Bai Mu shook his head and chose not to dig deeper. Spirit Beasts with time attributes were mysterious by nature, so odd phenomena like this weren't worth overthinking.
"Time Roar."
Before leaving, he turned his gaze toward the devastated valley.
"Roar!"
As the third pitch-black spirit ring beneath his feet lit up, a roar that seemed to shake time itself burst forth like a cannon of light, striking the mountain wall dead-on.
Boom!
The mountainside exploded as rocks flew everywhere. A crater roughly five meters wide was carved into the wall.
"This power… it's even stronger than Zygarde's Thousand Arrows was before!"
"If anyone ever tries to pull a decapitation strike on me again, I'll catch the opening and blast them with this roar!"
Bai Mu was thrilled, but his entire body went rigid.
He couldn't move at all—for three full seconds.
"A decisive ultimate move like this can't be used recklessly. Until I overcome the backlash, I could easily get myself killed and ruin everything."
The moment he regained control of his body, Bai Mu left the valley and found a secluded clearing to sit down and meditate.
Several hours later, as evening approached—
"Ooh…"
Zygarde stirred, slowly waking up, then shook its body vigorously.
"How do you feel, Little Soft?" Bai Mu asked with concern.
'I slept really well. I'm mostly recovered.'
Zygarde replied via telepathy, its voice still carrying a hint of drowsiness.
"How many cells were you able to split off this time?" Bai Mu asked eagerly.
With the accumulated growth over this period, plus the massive energy from the ten-thousand-year spirit ring, he was curious just how big the harvest would be.
'I think… quite a lot.'
Zygarde shook itself, regaining the dignified bearing of a Dragon Hound. Green light surged around its body—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One, two, three…
New Z-Cells flew out and scattered around them.
Eight in total.
"Eight! An eight-level jump all at once!"
Bai Mu's eyes lit up. He didn't even need to count carefully—he knew he now had forty-nine Z-Cells.
And that meant only one thing.
Zygarde could finally unlock a new form.
"Are you ready, Little Soft?"
Bai Mu clenched his fists, blazing excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Woof!"
Zygarde let out a low bark in response.
Bai Mu raised his hand, releasing the required number of Z-Cells.
"Zygarde—Body Integration, transform!"
"Aooo—!"
Zygarde howled toward the sky as its body erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant green light.
The thirty-nine Z-Cells responded as if answering a supreme command, turning into streaks of green light that rushed toward Zygarde and completely engulfed it.
The light expanded, twisted, and reorganized at high speed.
Bai Mu held his breath, staring unblinkingly at the blazing sphere of light.
A few seconds later, the glow slowly faded.
Standing before him was no longer the 1.2-meter-tall Dragon Hound.
In its place was a colossal serpent, nearly five meters tall, majestic and imposing, as though it had stepped straight out of ancient mythology.
Its body was covered in black and green scales. Behind its head were black, frill-like structures resembling those of a frilled lizard, giving it the appearance of a strange, regal cobra. An aura of solemn order radiated from its entire form.
Zygarde—50% Form.
The Ecological Watcher had arrived.
'I am unbelievably strong now.'
'If I faced a Time Hunter again, I could defeat it with ease.'
Zygarde's deep, majestic voice echoed directly within Bai Mu's mind.
"So cool…"
Bai Mu walked forward in a daze and reached out to touch the serpent's cold, solid body, instinctively sensing the raw beauty of power itself.
At this moment, Zygarde's aura far surpassed that of its Dragon Hound form.
Its eyes—formed by four green hexagons—looked as though they could see through everything.
"So, have you mastered a new ability?" Bai Mu asked.
That was what he cared about most. "Can you summon giant plants to attack enemies?"
In the anime, Zygarde's 50% Form, after being controlled by Team Flare, had triggered a massive afforestation event that affected an entire region—countless gigantic plants erupting from the ground, attacking and destroying everything indiscriminately.
That had been a berserk state under mind control. Bai Mu wasn't sure whether a normal Zygarde could use the same power.
'Of course I can.'
The great serpent raised its head, green light flashing in its eyes.
The next instant, Bai Mu felt a faint tremor beneath his feet.
Rumble—
Not far away, a vine as thick as a water bucket burst out of the ground. With a simple swing, it snapped a giant tree that three people couldn't have wrapped their arms around.
"Looks like the power is pretty solid."
Bai Mu observed carefully. It wasn't as efficient as a standard combat move, nor was it suitable for ambushing and killing top-tier experts.
But if he couldn't kill the strongest enemies…
Couldn't he wipe out everything else first?
"This ability is called Ecological Manipulation. It can summon plants to attack and can also adapt based on the situation. However…"
The serpent's voice carried a hint of regret.
"Although the power is acceptable, ecology cannot be perfectly controlled. Whether plants or other elements, precise control is difficult, and there's a risk of losing control. Once summoned, it can't be easily dismissed."
Bai Mu looked at the massive vine, lost in thought.
No wonder that, in the anime, the plants summoned by Zygarde while it was out of control couldn't be canceled even after it regained awareness, forcing Greninja to leave Ash and travel across Kalos cutting down trees to restore balance.
The risk of losing control certainly existed, but—
"If I ever have to use this ability, as long as it's deep in enemy territory, losing control doesn't matter."
A cold glint flashed in Bai Mu's eyes.
"In fact… losing control might be even better."
With this ability, he was now a weakened version of Poison Douluo.
And in the future—
He would become Super Poison Douluo Pro+.
-----------Author---------------
There should be 10 advanced chapters by time this chapter is uploaded
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