Chapter 739: A Moment of Glorious Fame

Shan Ren had a list in hand.

It recorded intelligence on powerful or promising Trainers he had sent his subordinates to collect from towns and villages across the Orei region.

He had never told Baimu about it until two days ago, when the staff assigned to greet visitors from Silicon Beryllium City secretly recorded a match and got caught red-handed.

Baimu was heartbroken.

You don't share something like this with your brother? That's just too much!

Brothers are soulmates—you're playing mind games with me?

Shan Ren, however, confidently claimed that among the collected intelligence, the only Trainers capable of matching him were either in their seventies or eighties, semi-retired; or missing, likely traveling abroad.

The only one whose whereabouts were clearly known was Master Ba Talas of Mount Shan—easy to find in Silicon Beryllium City without any effort.

"I'm worried you'll target those weak Trainers and crush their confidence so badly they'll dare not enter the upcoming Orei League Championship."

Shan Ren's reasoning angered Baimu, but he couldn't find a counterargument.

After all, now that he knew which Trainers in Orei were strong, challenging them was certain and inevitable—and whether they'd suffer spiritual collapse didn't concern him at all.

A Trainer who gave up after losing one battle would inevitably meet his match someday anyway—only the timing differed.

Shan Ren clearly didn't think so.

He believed that when the Orei League Championship officially began, the participation of outsiders mattered, but the participation of sufficiently strong local Trainers mattered even more.

A regional League needed face.

Moreover, during the time until the tournament, some Trainers he favored could still grow—grass is cut in batches; if Baimu uproots them all, how can I harvest?

The Orei League can't have only one champion—the tier below is equally important.

Under Shan Ren's persistent persuasion, Baimu reluctantly abandoned the 【Trainer Assassination List】, but gained the information he wanted.

"Xionghuang Arena… my next target."

The Xionghuang Arena, located west of Silicon Beryllium City, was the largest high-tech arena in the Orei region, built atop Xionghuang Tower, with a main arena capable of holding over one hundred thousand spectators.

Lei Ou had once shattered the first-generation Shadow Team leader Eka's conspiracy against the Phoenix and the Phoenix Guard atop Xionghuang Tower.

Now, it was also the gathering place for Orei Trainers and outsiders alike; so many people traveled to Xionghuang Tower that the Rescue Organization was trending toward building a city around it.

——

The next day.

Inside the wailing Huang Tie Arena, Baimu silently planned the timing of his journey to Xionghuang Tower.

"Boss! Two more!"

Da Zong's voice sounded beside him.

He turned his head and saw first Da Zong's tattered pant legs; behind him stood several well-dressed men and women; further back were two nervous teenagers.

"Mr. Baimu! We've come to…"

The group enthusiastically introduced themselves; Baimu nodded politely, but felt deeply weary inside.

After the exchange match led by Zhengyi with the Silicon Beryllium City youth Trainers ended, his name had spread across both regions in less than half a day.

As a result, before the arena even opened this morning, over ten people had already been waiting outside.

Among them were outsiders seeking to challenge him, former members of old organizations, and wealthy children who had rushed here overnight hoping to join the arena and receive his instruction.

Baimu declined all challenges, mainly because he was too busy in the morning to spare any time.

As for those former members of old organizations, after investigation, they turned out to be honest men who had committed no grave offenses requiring imprisonment in the eastern penal colonies, and were now serving months of tree-planting labor reform.

As for the wealthy children… their parents were enthusiastic, but Baimu simply couldn't accept them.

His personally trained members were already nearing saturation; if he took on more, even with three heads and six arms, he couldn't manage them all, so he had to persuade these earnest, long-distance visitors to leave.

But just as he persuaded one wave, another arrived.

At the very start of the morning training session, over a hundred people had already come seeking this or that, forcing him to send staff out to block them.

Only those who couldn't be stopped were allowed in.

After explaining everything, watching those long-distance visitors depart in disappointment, Baimu felt a complex emotion.

He remembered parents from his past life who pulled strings, begged grandparents and uncles alike, desperate to get their children into elite schools or gold-tier tutoring classes.

"Boss, really not taking anyone? I feel they're genuinely sincere!"

Da Zong couldn't help asking in a low voice.

Baimu immediately narrowed his eyes at him until the man broke into a cold sweat, then asked: "How many have you taken?"

"N-no one! It's just… someone introduced my sister to a potential match…" Da Zong dared not hide anything, head bowed, trembling.

What the hell kind of matchmaker nonsense!

Baimu nearly choked, then glared at him furiously.

Da Zong mumbled: "My sister's already over twenty—finding a partner is a basic need! You won't marry her, so what am I supposed to do…"

"Da Zong, extra training!"

He gritted his teeth and roared at the several Resting Mane Wolfman in the arena.

Da Zong's face turned pale with fear; before he could beg, Cheng Hong and several others rushed over, joyfully dragging him away to face his second fate of being chased by dogs.

Sensing Baimu's anger, all the arena Trainers exchanged uneasy glances, not daring to breathe.

They now feared performing poorly and being forcibly expelled by Baimu.

The endless waves of visitors had truly made these once-complacent individuals feel the threat.

Those who had previously talked about traveling outside no longer mentioned it.

Whether they could grow stronger outside was uncertain, but growing stronger gradually under Baimu's instruction here was clearly visible.

Outside the arena.

Kendal faintly heard the sounds from within and shook his head sadly at the people before him: "Once the chance is gone, it's gone forever—don't make your brother's job harder."

The few who had once left the arena out of resentment now looked grim; finally, they hung their heads in utter regret.

Since the Silver Monkey refused to see them, the meaning was already clear.

Kendall watched his former subordinates slink away in shame, sighing helplessly, yet grateful he had woken up in time.

Had he persisted in his stupidity, or had Senior Baimu been angered by his inept words, wouldn't these forced departures have included him too?

Kendall's heart swelled with gratitude toward Baimu.

The last person to inspire such feelings in him was the Silver Monkey, who had saved his life.

Baimu had not saved his life, but he had shown him the path forward, allowing his Trainer life to continue—this great favor meant rebirth to Kendall, lost in confusion.

"I must also work harder!"

With high hopes, he returned to the arena; the familiar corridors once again shimmered with brilliant Jin Guang, guiding him toward a bright future.

——

The pursuit of learning and battle continued for three days.

During those three days,

Baimu endured tormenting scenes: people repeatedly gifting him, young girls knocking on his door at midnight, groups of boys kneeling at his door at dawn to show sincerity and determination.

Many, unable to get through his door, turned to his relatives, friends, and neighbors, trying to achieve their goals through indirect means.

Their thinking was simple—they didn't need to handle everyone; just add my one person, and with so many others adding one, the problem surely wouldn't be big.

Other people? What's it to me?

They never considered how many people were pushing at Baimu from every direction.

The climax of this farce came when someone tried to bribe their way in, got scammed, and angrily reported it to the Rainbow Team—Baimu personally launched a pursuit, traveling two hundred kilometers remotely to capture the fraudster.

The man was caught and sent to the eastern prison to plant trees, successfully prompting Shan Ren to issue a public statement from Silicon Beryllium City, strictly forbidding such acts.

That old bastard had always wanted to see him humiliated, and nearly caused a major incident.

While furious, Baimu was also relieved that those people had ultimately not done the one thing he had feared most—

Paying Arena Trainers a price to exchange their slots.

Sometimes people, to achieve their goals, do utterly incomprehensible foolish things; and others, for short-term practical gain, ignore potential future benefits is only natural.

Since the bottom line had not been crossed, Baimu was still glad.

Just as he prepared to head to Xionghuang Tower to learn their situation and see if cooperation with Xionghuang Arena was possible,

Dr. Mu Yin delivered good news.

"The purification device to free Dark Lugia has been built!"

After more than half a year of effort, Dr. Mu Yin had successfully created a new-generation improved purification device, ready in two days to free Dark Lugia entirely from the grip of Dark Power.

He invited Baimu to witness this historic moment, saying it was Dark Lugia's request—and Lugia also wished Baimu to bring Lugia and its offspring.

Of course.

After hanging up, Baimu found Lugia and its offspring, who were bringing rain and clouds, through Hu Pa, and arranged to meet them at the Pokémon Comprehensive Research Institute in northern Oure Region.

He also informed Shan Ren of the news.

"So that's it—Lugia is finally being liberated! Once the Dark Power is purified, the shadow cast by Shadow Team over this land will vanish completely!"

Shan Ren sighed with emotion.

The wounds inflicted by Shadow Team on Oure Region had yet to fully heal, but the past was past—historical dust must be swept into the trash.

Baimu asked: "Will you go?"

Shan Ren shook his head: "I don't know Lugia. Why go? Besides, they only invited you, a human… Hey, why not try hard to catch it? Become the first Regional Champion to own a Legendary Pokémon!"

Many Trainers owned Legendary or Mythical Pokémon; online, someone always posted about a Trainer entering a contest with a Legendary.

But no Regional Champion had ever owned one.

If Baimu could catch Lugia, it would greatly benefit the further promotion of the Oure League.

"Forget it. Lugia doesn't seem suited to being caught," Baimu refused. In anime, humans usually catch Secondary Gods and Mythicals; even if a Primary God is forcibly controlled by some technique, it eventually regains freedom.

He felt, to some extent, this might be deeply tied to their symbolism of nature.

Of course, the greater possibility was that the anime producers wanted to preserve the prestige of Primary Gods… even though they're often one-sidedly crushed by human black tech.

Shan Ren had only mentioned it casually; upon hearing this, he said no more.

But.

His words reminded Baimu—he had a bottom-of-the-box Legendary Pokémon clue he'd never used; if it was a Secondary God's clue, perhaps there'd be a chance to catch it.

In anime Pokémon battles, Secondary Gods have high ceilings—Zhu Lan had even lost to the Three Cloud Deities of Unova.

Soon, the day of purification arrived.

Baimu arrived alone at the entrance of the Pokémon Comprehensive Research Institute; Hu Pa dropped him off and returned to guard the saplings it had planted—this thing had recently become obsessed with gardening, treating the saplings it had personally planted like treasures, even hanging wooden plaques with its name on them.

Mei Mei Yali found this strange.

Back in Creation Valley, she and her brother had farmed often—why had Hu Pa never shown interest before?

Hu Pa's thought process was simply incomprehensible.

Pokémon Comprehensive Research Institute.

It was located in the northwestern oasis of Oure Region.

The temperature was considerably lower than in the two desert cities, making Baimu wonder why no one migrated northward.

There weren't even any dangerous terrains?

Unlike the solitary research institute in the game, the Pokémon Comprehensive Research Institute was near a small town, with a population of just over a thousand—similar to Pallet Town.

Baimu glanced around the surroundings.

"Big brother, you're Baimu, right?"

Before he could ring the doorbell, a clear voice suddenly came from beside him—a blue-haired girl, about ten years old, appeared before him.

At her feet cowered a Plusle and a Minun, two rabbit-like Pokémon, timidly looking up at him.

"My name is Man Nai! My mom is a researcher here!"

Man Nai grinned as she introduced herself.

Baimu recognized her—the younger sister of the dragon-man protagonist from the main storyline's Dark Whirlwind—who was naturally mischievous and had caused no end of trouble.

"Hello, I'm Baimu." He nodded in response.

Man Nai opened the metal gate before them and enthusiastically led Baimu inside, winding through a long path until they reached Dr. Mu Yin and several researchers at the back of the institute.

A few steps away from them stood a metallic altar-like structure.

Lugia lay sprawled atop it, looking lazy and utterly unlike its former extreme demeanor—clearly, its life over the past half-year had been quite pleasant.

Sensing someone approaching, Lugia snapped its eyes open, recognized Baimu, and let out an excited cry.

"Chir!"

"Long time no see, Lugia."

Baimu stepped forward, pressed his right hand against its forehead, and soon entered the Heart of the Gods' mental space.

Both shared fragments of their life memories.

From these memory fragments, Baimu learned that Lugia's recent episodes of darkening had grown increasingly rare—he sensed that even without the purification device, Lugia would fully shed its darkness within two years.

Lugia, upon learning of the project involving two of its kind, became eager to join in.

The land of Ou Lei had once brought it endless pain.

Since it couldn't be destroyed, then let it be transformed until not a trace of its former self remained!

"Three Lugia raining down at once—flooding Ou Lei, huh?" Baimu tugged at his lip, feeling uneasy about the land's future.