Chapter 339: Walking Through the Snow

"Testing, huh, is a prudent judgment, but unfortunately I won't let you achieve it so easily," Huo La said, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, his tone carrying a tactical composure.

He gave a deep command to the Fireburst Beast in the flame vortex, "Fireburst Beast, control your power within the flame vortex, use Flare Blitz, drive the flame vortex, and charge at the Muck Bird!"

"Ah!" Xiao Zhao froze in shock, eyes wide and round, face full of bewilderment; she completely didn't understand Huo La's intention.

Before Xiao Zhao could react, the Fireburst Beast in the flame vortex immediately carried out the order.

Its surrounding flames surged instantly, Flare Blitz unleashed, its scorching body enveloped in raging fire, forcefully propelling the massive flame vortex, and it surged toward the Muck Bird in the sky.

With the speed boost from Flare Blitz, the rotation speed of the flame vortex also accelerated, spinning faster and faster, generating a strong suction that instantly drew in the surrounding wind and snow, and the flames grew even more ferocious.

The powerful rotating airflow tightly trapped the Muck Bird in the air; the bird panicked, beating its wings faster and faster, straining with all its might to break free from the airflow, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not escape the scope of the flame vortex.

Gradually, the Muck Bird's figure was devoured by the raging flames, vanishing completely within the blazing flame vortex.

"Muck Bird!" Xiao Zhao's face turned pale, finally regaining composure, she shouted urgently, her voice full of panic and anguish, instinctively wanting to rush forward.

After a moment, the Fireburst Beast gradually withdrew its power, Flare Blitz ceased, and the rotating flame vortex slowly dissipated.

In the center of the field, the Muck Bird lay helplessly on the ground, its body covered with obvious flame burn marks, feathers charred black, looking very disheveled, eyes tightly closed, having lost all combat ability.

"Ah, Muck Bird!" Xiao Zhao could no longer hold back, rushed forward, crouched and gently lifted the Muck Bird, fingertips lightly brushing its charred feathers, and her eyes instantly reddened.

The Fireburst Beast took two slow steps back, turned its head toward Huo La, its gaze carrying a clear questioning tone, as if saying, "Did I go too far? Could I have hurt the Muck Bird?"

Huo La gently shook his head at it, indicating it need not worry, then stepped over to Xiao Zhao, speaking in a gentle tone, "Don't worry, the Muck Bird is not seriously injured, just some surface burns. The Spray I gave you earlier has healing properties for burns; a quick spray will make it fine."

After Huo La's reminder, Xiao Zhao suddenly remembered, hurriedly pulled the bottle of Spray from her backpack, trembling hands, carefully spraying it onto the Muck Bird's burn spots.

The moment the medicine touched the Muck Bird's body, the lingering Fire-type energy began to slowly dissipate, the scorching pain seemed to ease considerably, and the Muck Bird let out a faint low whine.

Huo La watched the scene, let out a soft sigh, his tone becoming serious and sincere, "Sigh, that's enough; this duel need not continue. Xiao Zhao, I must say, just watching the battle between Double-Edged Orb and the Muck Bird, your combat awareness is quite good; you understand how to devise tactics based on the Pokemon's traits, and you react quickly."

He paused, then continued, "Your only shortcoming is that your Pokemon's strength is not yet powerful enough. If you truly wish to become an excellent Trainer, then catching more suitable Pokemon, training them earnestly, and boosting their power is the most urgent task you have right now."

Xiao Zhao cradled the Muck Bird, whose breath was gradually returning, gently stroked its feathers, then carefully placed it back into a Pokeball.

Turning to Huo La, she nodded firmly, her voice solemn, "I understand. From now on, I will train them properly and won't disappoint you again."

Huo La looked at her resolute demeanor, gave a slight wave, then pulled out a Pokeball, recalling the Fireburst Beast from the field, his tone tinged with fatigue, "After today's two duels, I'm a bit tired; I'm heading back to rest."

After speaking, he turned his head toward Shan Kui, his expression turning serious, "Shanbei Owner, that's all for today. Tomorrow morning, I want to go to the Warrior Male Eagle King's nest; I wonder if that's okay?"

Shan Kui, hearing this, instinctively looked up at the TianQiong, his gaze landing on the still‑spinning golden‑purple dark spot, then turned his head toward the direction of the Snow Peak Temple.

After a moment of contemplation, he lightly nodded, his tone upbeat, "No problem! Tomorrow's weather will be similar to today, no strong wind or snow, perfect for heading to the nest."

At dawn the next day, as the sky was just lightening, Huo La, Xiao Zhao, and Shan Kui were already prepared to set out.

Outside the tent, the Blizzard raged unabated, gale‑force winds whipping goose‑feather snow past, the view blurred by endless white snow, making even the distant Snow Peak hard to see.

Huo La stepped forward, gazing at the Blizzard before him, his mouth twitching twice involuntarily, then turned to Shan Kui, his tone full of helpless sarcasm, "Shanbei Owner, is this the 'no strong wind or snow, suitable for the nest' you mentioned yesterday?"

Shan Kui's smile froze instantly, awkwardly scratching his head, eyes evasive, his tone a bit guilty as he defended, "Well... that was just a guess; yesterday I was guessing blindly too, who could have known a huge Blizzard would suddenly fall at night."

Seeing Huo La furrow his brow and about to complain again, Shan Kui quickly waved his hand, swiftly changing the subject, his tone feigning cheerfulness, "Oh, it's nothing! The Temple isn't far; let's head to the Snow Peak Temple first! After all, to enter the Warrior Male Eagle King's nest we must pass through the Temple; once we get through, the Blizzard might have stopped!"

As she spoke, without waiting for Huo La and Xiao Zhao to react, she tucked her chin, tightened her clothing, and hurried into the Blizzard, fearing Huo La would question her.

Huo La watched Shan Kui's hurried retreat, sighed helplessly, shook his head, then turned to Xiao Zhao beside him and said, "Let's go. Since everything's ready, let's check the Temple first; we can't waste our effort."

Xiao Zhao nodded, tightly following Huo La's steps, and the two walked together into the raging Blizzard, heading toward the Snow Peak Temple.