Lin Xia withdrew his hand, and the glow on the crystal ball quickly faded.
He picked up Bulbasaur at his feet. It stood proudly with its head held high, the seed on its back still emitting a faint light. Lin Xia gently rubbed its smooth forehead, then calmly nodded to the testing teacher and the stunned onlookers.
"It's all thanks to Bulbasaur. Thank you, teacher."
Before the commotion could die down, a vigorous, commanding voice rang out from outside the crowd.
"What are you all gathered here for? Hm? Lin Xia?"
The crowd parted like a tide, and Yue Hongsheng appeared at the entrance.
He glanced at the recorded result in the testing teacher's hands, then at Lin Xia holding Bulbasaur with a composed expression. In his deep eyes, extreme joy erupted first, followed by realization—and then a feverish desire to explore.
"Level ten! Good! Good! Good!"
Yue Hongsheng strode over, saying "good" three times in a row, his face filled with undisguised excitement.
"Little fellow, your partner's talent and potential far exceed my original estimates!"
His gaze toward Bulbasaur carried an indescribable eagerness.
"Come with me."
Without giving Lin Xia a chance to respond, Yue Hongsheng grabbed his wrist and led him straight out of the crowd, heading toward his private courtyard deep within the academy.
He pushed open a simple wooden door covered in green moss.
With a soft creak, the world before Lin Xia's eyes changed instantly.
An aura completely different from the Sunlight Hall and the Emerald Black Soil surged toward him—cool and sweet at first, but beneath it lurked a heart-pounding pungency and bitter, fishy undertone.
Under the dim light, Lin Xia clearly saw the scene inside. His steps halted unconsciously, and his pupils shrank.
There was no lush grass or fragrant ornamental flowers here—only a bizarre and dangerous landscape.
Dark purple datura bloomed silently in the corners. Vivid scarlet ghost poppies swayed gently. Ink-jade vines saturated with toxins crawled across the stone walls, their leaves shimmering with a metallic sheen. The air was filled with a faintly visible lavender mist, speckled with tiny colored particles that refracted a strange glow.
Poison.
Everywhere he looked were rare and exotic plants—yet every single one was a deadly toxic species.
"Hiss…"
Lin Xia sucked in a breath, subconsciously tightening his hold on Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur also reacted to the environment. The seed on its back closed slightly, and its bright red eyes sharpened with alertness. A faint fluctuation of purple poison-type energy radiated from its body as it instinctively resisted the toxins in the air.
"Heh, scared?"
Yue Hongsheng's voice carried a hint of amusement and understanding. He walked to a cluster of pitch-black plants whose leaves resembled twisted ghost claws and extended a withered finger.
A strand of eerie purple aura—identical in nature to the surrounding poison mist—swirled around his fingertip.
The ghost-claw poison plant seemed nourished, its leaves spreading open as darker ink-like patterns appeared on their surface.
Yue Hongsheng turned back. The light cast sharp contrasts across his face, revealing both fervor and solemnity.
"Don't be surprised, Xiao Xia. This is my cultivation ground. My Spirit isn't an ordinary plant type—it's the Evil Shadow Poison Chrysanthemum."
As he spoke, a powerful and chilling wave of spirit power spread outward.
Above his palm, a phantom chrysanthemum the size of a fist slowly took shape.
Its petals were long, thin, and twisted, nearly transparent in an eerie purple hue. The stamen was pitch black, continuously releasing wisps of deep violet poison gas. The gas swirled like a living thing under Yue Hongsheng's control, carrying intense corrosiveness and a chilling aura.
The poison mist filling the courtyard seemed drawn to it, gradually gathering toward his palm.
"In my life, I haven't only studied the mysteries of plant vitality," Yue Hongsheng said slowly. "I've also pursued the ultimate principles of 'poison' in this world. To most people, poison represents destruction and pain—but to those who are compatible, it is also supreme energy, capable of tempering life and stimulating hidden potential."
His gaze snapped toward Bulbasaur, which was instinctively releasing a faint purple mist to resist the toxins around it.
"I've been observing you in secret these past few days."
His tone grew grave.
"At first, I brought you in because I valued your Spirit's miraculous photosynthesis and Ingrain abilities—qualities aligned with the orthodox path of plants. But I soon discovered that your Bulbasaur's talent on the 'path of poison' is far more brilliant and innate than its talent in ordinary plant cultivation."
He pointed lightly at Bulbasaur.
The pale purple poison gas swirling around the seed on its back contracted for an instant, then churned even more violently—faintly carrying excitement.
"Its Toxic instinct isn't something acquired later. It's a talent rooted deep within its bloodline. When releasing poison, its purity and control far surpass those of poison-attribute Spirit Masters of the same age. More importantly…"
A sharp gleam of insight flashed in Yue Hongsheng's eyes.
"It can actively absorb and refine toxins through direct contact or by remaining in highly toxic environments!"
"The poison-attribute spirit power within its body grows exceptionally fast under such stimulation. This is completely different from other poison-type Spirit Masters, who must carefully control and passively resist toxins."
"It isn't resisting poison at all. It's more like… enjoying it. Devouring it. Transforming it. Turning external 'poison' into nourishment for itself!"
Yue Hongsheng's voice was firm, filled with certainty.
"This is absolutely not something an ordinary Spirit can do. More than half of its potential lies on this 'Path of Poison'!"
He gestured around the courtyard.
"My poison garden concentrates the essence of rare toxins I've gathered throughout my life. It's a perfect sanctuary for cultivating the Path of Poison."
"Xiao Xia—Bulbasaur needs this place. Only here can its poison-type talent truly be stimulated and refined, reaching heights that may rival or even surpass its grass-type abilities."
"It will be of immeasurable benefit to your future spirit ring absorption."
Yue Hongsheng fixed his gaze on Lin Xia.
"So, Lin Xia—ask your partner as well. Is it willing to begin its 'poison path' cultivation here, in this courtyard of rare toxins?"
"To let the poison of this world become the cornerstone of its road to power?"
The air seemed to freeze.
The heavy, dangerous fragrance, the faint chirping of poisonous insects, and the cold aura emanating from the phantom poison chrysanthemum all combined into an invisible pressure.
Yue Hongsheng's words were like a thunderbolt, exposing allowing a terrifying talent in Bulbasaur that even Lin Xia himself had yet to fully comprehend.
Lin Xia lowered his head and looked at the Bulbasaur in his arms.
Those bright red eyes showed no fear.
Instead, they shone with a familiar light—an eagerness to try, to grow stronger.
Lin Xia recalled the moment Bulbasaur first demonstrated its skills: Poison Powder, Sludge Bomb, Venom Shock… The smoothness and power of its poison-type moves had far exceeded that of its still-immature grass-type Vine Whip.