Chapter 166

After the Giant Stone test,

Now it was time to distribute the Rainbow Feather!

Ash casually took out two Precious Balls and opened them,

Red light burst forth,

A streak of fire sliced through the gloom as the Flame Dragon descended into the air, its two-meter-tall body unfurling wings like blazing flames, as if to ignite the very space, its tail blazing like a comet's tail, wild and unrestrained, lighting up every upturned face.

Compared to the flamboyant Flame Dragon,

the other that appeared alongside it seemed overly quiet, yet the scorching heat emanating from the Blazing Monkey's head, as if from a flame crown, already showed it was no ordinary creature.

As soon as it appeared,

the Flame Dragon opened its maw, condensing a scorching fireball within, its gaze locked onto Ash,

but upon seeing the others beside Ash, it could only suppress the Mind's agitation and spew the scorching flame into the sky.

Seeing this, Ash nodded in satisfaction,

and at the same time took out the feather given by the Phoenix King.

"These two feathers are the Phoenix King's origin feathers; they will greatly benefit your strength,"

As he spoke,

feeling the scorching gazes of the two elves, their pleading, pitiful looks, Ash found he could not continue speaking.

"Here you go."

As Ash distributed the Rainbow Feather to the Flame Dragon and the Blazing Monkey,

the two creatures hardly hesitated, directly swallowing the feather into their mouths.

As the Rainbow Feather derived from the Phoenix King's origin, it was not truly a feather but merely a manifestation of law energy.

Thus, upon entering the mouth, the Rainbow Feather transformed into a strand of exceedingly pure fire energy that entered the bodies of the Flame Dragon and the Blazing Monkey, spreading throughout their limbs and bones.

Crimson flames suddenly rose from the surfaces of the two creatures,

the scorching heat twisted the air, and the ground beneath began to char, dry out, and gradually crack.

Xiluona pulled Serena and Keerni, among others, silently retreating more than ten meters.

Only Ash remained guarding the two creatures, checking their latest stats.

After consuming the Rainbow Feather, the two creatures, which had long seen no level increase, finally began to change again and rapidly rose.

Compared to the Skin God that had reached level 105 by consuming Dark Stone Fragments,

the Flame Dragon and Blazing Monkey instead progressed further, achieving a level reversal, both reaching level 108.

At the same time Ash discovered that Charcoal had lost its effect,

unlike the exclusive item Electric Ball, which still worked even after the Skin God became a level‑two god,

the system panel clearly stated that Charcoal's boost for the Flame Dragon was now ineffective.

Fortunately, after a round of testing, only the usual attribute‑move power‑boost items were restricted.

Ash equipped the Blazing Monkey with an aura‑cloak that perfectly matched his demeanor,

ensuring that upon receiving a lethal strike it would retain one hit point, reliably triggering the final layer of the Ultimate Blazing Fire and transforming into the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

As for Fire Dragon, after all it needs to use Mega Evolution; besides, in official battles, using Mega Evolution means you cannot carry items. Now Charcoal cannot carry items, so it's just right to switch to the Mega Evolution battle system.

……

While Ash was strengthening Fire Dragon and Blazing Monkey,

Da Wu came over smiling.

「Everyone, the Milotic Cup will be held in Cinnabar City tomorrow; welcome to participate or serve as a judge! 」

Upon hearing this, Ash and Xiluona exchanged a smile.

The invitation to compete is a pretense; they probably came to have the two of them serve as judges to boost traffic, right?

Da Wu's current predicament is clear to both of them.

Although the Battle of the Gods broke out in the waters outside Cinnabar City, the aftermath of the attacks still dealt heavy damage to Cinnabar City.

Especially some underground structures,

Under the tsunami's impact, they were all submerged, suffering huge losses.

Although emergency drainage is underway and the disaster should be resolved by tonight, the property loss is real and substantial.

To stabilize morale,

Da Wu used the tax revenue of the Sinnoh Alliance to compensate for the people's property losses.

Thus, holding the competition came naturally,

One, to alleviate the public's despondent mood after the disaster; two, to conveniently collect some ticket money from the big spenders.

「Milotic Cup? Is it a Grand Festival! 」

Serena was keenly interested, her face showing strong curiosity.

「Yes, the top three will also get a chance to choose a Sinnoh starter Pokémon, Miss Serena, would you like to join! 」

Da Wu's eyes lit up as he gently persuaded.

Before coming, he already knew he had to rely on Serena to get Ash to join.

But unfortunately,

Serena, however, did not directly agree, but instead looked at Ash.

「Can I? 」

Although this disappointed Da Wu a little, what relieved him was that,

Ash, who had gained the advantage regarding the boulder, decided to lend Da Wu a hand.

「Sure, when the time comes I'll go back and serve as your judge—remember to perform well. 」

Although the words were said to Serena, Da Wu knew they were meant for himself, and his face immediately showed joy.

However, the Surprise Ash gave Da Wu was far from over.

"I won't take money!"

"What? You're acting as a judge and still not taking money?"

Now not only Da Wu, even Xiluona was somewhat surprised.

After all, at their level, participation fees in public events are inevitably not small,

The result of having less is that a series of endorsements afterward, or other commercial activities, will also see their pay reduced.

Therefore, even if they advertise a high appearance fee, in practice they take nothing, but they still have to put on a show.

Ash's move is undoubtedly very unwise.

"That's right."

Ash nodded calmly, meeting Xiluona's doubtful gaze,

Ash smiled and said what follows.

"Da Wu, have you ever thought about hosting a Master Open Tournament?"

"Huh?!" Da Wu was first stunned, then upon thinking his eyes instantly lit up.

He, Zufuqi Da Wu, plus Mikeli who possesses champion-level strength, as well as Ash and Xiluona, their traffic, fame, and gold content are not lacking,

Plus Ailan and the Abundant Source Elite Four.

Indeed, this lineup can put together a Master Tournament.

If it can really be held, the traffic and ticket revenue it brings will far surpass the Mikeli Cup.

It can even boost ticket sales for the Mikeli Cup; this is indeed a good plan.

Da Wu seemed to see handfuls of banknotes waving toward the Abundant Source Alliance.

If this is accomplished,

This time, not only would there be no loss, there might even be a surplus.

However, thinking of Ash's decision to take no money, Da Wu suddenly had a bad feeling.

Surely, the next moment Ash's words directly confirmed this.

"My proposal, plus having the most traffic, asking for 30% of the Master Tournament's ticket revenue is not too much, right?"

"What? Only 30%?!"

Da Wu was stunned; shouldn't it be all taken?

"Well, I mean it's not excessive, not excessive!"

Da Wu was overjoyed; he never expected Ash to be so generous, truly he is Da Wu's good brother!

Seeing Da Wu happy, Ash also smiled.

Proposing to hold the Master Tournament was mainly to give the recently power-upgraded Blaze Dragon and Blaze Monkey some practical combat opportunities.

As for saying 30% profit, it's purely just a symbolic token taken on the side.

At the same time, it's also leaving funds for Da Wu to invite others.

As expected, Xiluona, who received Ash's hint, also put forward her own participation request, for 20% revenue.

Da Wu agreed without hesitation,

With Ash's help, Xiluona is now not only number one among women, but also number one in the world, and even number one in popularity!

Now Xiluona's appearance fee, twenty percent is definitely worth it.

It's even a bargain for Da Wu.

Because it was confirmed that the Mikeli Cup and Master Open Tournament would be held simultaneously, the official side properly released news to build hype.

Now not only people from Abundant Source will come to compete.

Even trainers and spectators from other regions interested in the competition have come.

Even the current world runner-up, the Galar Alliance Champion Dandi, as well as the few girls traveling to United and Xiao Ju er all decided to come over to join the fun.