Chapter 358: Clash with Ya Ke Nuo Mu

He stepped across the spatial tunnel, and the surrounding light and shadow instantly twisted and vanished; what entered Huo La's eyes was a hazy void, and at the center of the void stood quietly a Pokemon with a blue triangular head and a faint blue aura surrounding it.

"Ya Ke Nuo Mu!" Huo La recognized the figure at a glance, his tone carrying a hint of resolve.

He indeed was not mistaken: the three Lake Legendary Pokemon each set a Trial, separating him completely from Xiao Zhao and Ming Yao, and the test assigned to him was the Ya Ke Nuo Mu that grants humans the power of will.

Ya Ke Nuo Mu turned its triangular head, its gaze calmly fixed on Huo La; after a long moment, a clear, steady male voice rang out in the void, without any ripple yet bearing undeniable authority: "Huo La, if you wish to pass my Trial, then complete my test."

Huo La gave a slight nod, his expression becoming solemn, and without further words, responded crisply, "Fine!"

As that "Fine" fell, the scene before Huo La abruptly changed; the hazy void instantly faded, replaced by a spacious, dry Plain Cave.

The cave walls glimmered with a faint stone sheen, and the floor was scattered with many small fragments of stone; the surroundings were silent, and only he and Ya Ke Nuo Mu's figures stood distinctly clear within the cave.

Ya Ke Nuo Mu's voice sounded again, still cool: "Your test is simple; no matter the method, as long as you can hit me, that's enough."

Huo La was slightly startled, a flash of surprise in his eyes, and instinctively asked, "Just hitting you is enough? No other restrictions?" He had expected a difficult trial concerning will, but did not anticipate it being so simple.

"Yes," Ya Ke Nuo Mu nodded lightly, its tone still even, "No need to employ Pokemon, no need to use special abilities; just touching me counts as passing the test."

Huo La's gaze subconsciously swept over the scattered stones on the cave floor, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes; he bent down, picked up a suitably sized stone, lifted it toward Ya Ke Nuo Mu, and tentatively asked, "Anything works? For example... this one?"

He silently calculated that, with the accuracy honed over years of throwing Pokeballs, using a stone to throw at Ya Ke Nuo Mu gave him a very high chance of hitting.

"Yes." Ya Ke Nuo Mu's reply remained concise, without extra explanation, simply standing still, waiting for Huo La's action.

"Fine!" Huo La no longer hesitated, clenched the stone in his hand, his gaze locked on Ya Ke Nuo Mu's figure, adjusted force and angle, and with a slight flick of the wrist, hurled the stone straight out.

The stone traced a smooth arc in the air, not fast but precisely heading toward Ya Ke Nuo Mu's body, appearing ready to solidly strike its triangular head.

At that moment, Ya Ke Nuo Mu's figure suddenly emitted a faint blue light, and the next second it vanished into thin air at the same spot, as if it had never been there.

"Pat—" a light sound rang, the stone landed heavily on the ground, rolled a few turns and stopped.

Meanwhile, Ya Ke Nuo Mu's figure had already appeared several meters behind its original position, still calmly watching Huo La, without any movement.

Huo La lowered his head to glance at the fallen stone, a helpless smile tugging at his mouth corner, and murmured softly, "So it's not that simple... Instant Teleportation, huh?"

Then he bent down again, picked up the stones on the ground, cupped them in his palm, his gaze fixed on Ya Ke Nuo Mu's location, flicked his wrist, and scattered all the stones he held.

Countless stones poured down like raindrops, densely bombarding Ya Ke Nuo Mu, with considerable force.

But Ya Ke Nuo Mu's surrounding blue light flickered continuously, its figure darting left and right amid the stone rain, moving lightly and calmly; those dense stones ultimately fell to the ground, never touching its aura at all.

Huo La fully realized: it seemed the core of this test had never been about throwing accuracy. If Ya Ke Nuo Mu always relied on Instant Teleportation to evade, his chance of reaching it would always be zero.

He slowly clenched his fist; Ya Ke Nuo Mu holds the will of all things, and this seemingly easy "hit" test, at its root, is to trial his patience, perseverance, and the original resolve that refuses to bow down or give up despite repeated setbacks.

Thus, he bent down again, picking up the stones one by one from the ground, his gaze constantly locked on Ya Ke Nuo Mu's figure, his wrist continuously flicking, throwing stones again and again.

"Pat—" another stone skimmed Ya Ke Nuo Mu's aura, slammed heavily against the cave wall, scattering fine debris, sounding especially clear in the silent cave.

One, two, three… Huo La lost count of how many stones he had thrown.

An unknown amount of time passed; his fingertips had turned pale from prolonged exertion, the pads reddened from the rough stones, his arms ached from repeated swings, yet his gaze never wavered.

At that moment, Ya Ke Nuo Mu's cool voice quietly echoed in Huo La's mind, with a hint of probing and admonition: "You've thrown dozens of times, not a single hit; will you continue? Perhaps give up."

Huo La gave no reply, only silently bent down and picked up another stone.

Ya Ke Nuo Mu's voice sounded again, its cool tone now carrying a barely perceptible looseness: "You are already exhausted; persisting like this will only drain all your strength, and you will never hit me. Perhaps give up, and I'll count it as half the test passed."

Huo La slowly shook his head, his voice hoarse from heavy breathing, yet each word rang firm: "I won't give up; as long as there's even a sliver of chance, I will keep trying."

As the words fell, he again hurled a stone with force.

The stone traced a faint arc in the air, still skimming Ya Ke Nuo Mu's figure, landing heavily on the ground with a slight sound.

Ya Ke Nuo Mu stood quietly in place, its triangular head turning slightly, its cool gaze falling on Huo La, its tone softening a bit: "You have persisted this far; this unyielding perseverance deserves recognition."

Another throw, the stone still failed to touch Ya Ke Nuo Mu at all.

At that moment, Ya Ke Nuo Mu suddenly moved.

It no longer used Instant Teleportation to evade; instead it slowly stepped a few paces toward the direction of Huo La's thrown stones, moving forward to meet them.

"Pat—" the stone, with a weak yet firm force, lightly struck Ya Ke Nuo Mu's triangular head, producing a crisp, light sound.

Huo La jerked his head up sharply, seeing Ya Ke Nuo Mu rub its head with its tail where the stone had struck, its tone full of praise: "You have passed the test."

Huo La was momentarily stunned, then slowly recovered, smiling: "It seems my persistence and will have earned your approval."