Azure Star is also a Pokémon Master!

"I remember that after Teostra was driven away by Nergigante, it flew north, probably to the Elder's Recess to recover from its injuries. Now I should be able to explore for Kulve Taroth's trail without worry."

"And now that I have the help of the Moltres, it's much easier to explore lava areas."

Su Yi sat up abruptly, his curiosity about the whereabouts of the Radiant Dragon rekindled.

It seems that this golden land has relatively abundant gold and mineral reserves, so why would Kulve Taroth abandon it and go deep underground?

The trail of Kulve Taroth points to a deeper part of the New World. So where is it going?

"Let's take this opportunity to search for Kulve Taroth's tracks again and see if we can find a second Golden Country!"

Having had the experience before, Su Yi easily found his way to the Flame King Dragon's cave.

After a careful investigation, Su Yi confirmed that the Flame King Dragon had not returned to this place.

“I remember it was here.” Su Yi arrived at the rock passage from last time and sure enough, he saw the bones protruding from the rock wall.

As Su Yi, Lu Cao, and the Great Ferocious Jackal Dragon carefully excavated, bone fragments were revealed one by one. Fortunately, the fossil was relatively complete, and its body structure gradually became clear as the fossil was unearthed.

Su Yi initially guessed that this was a fossil of a lava dragon, but when he roughly pieced together the skeleton, he found that it seemed to be the skeleton of a sea dragon.

Finally, when the skull with its blade-like mouth was unearthed, Su Yi confirmed the identity of the fossil.

"It's actually a juvenile Flame Dragon, a Lava Beast."

The Flame Dragon is a large sea dragon-like monster that lives in volcanic regions. It can swim in lava and will cover its body with lava to protect itself.

They are very adept at drilling into rock formations, and can even use their strong bodies to leap onto the ceiling of a cave, then use their blade-like indentations to drill into the ceiling, and then emerge from the top of the cave like a rotating drill bit to ambush their target.

They also shoot laser-like magma rays from their mouths to attack their targets.

Furthermore, these large monsters live in groups, making them extremely dangerous and earning them the title of overlords of volcanoes.

"In other words, this was once the bottom of a volcano."

"Let's look for a passage leading outside, or find the tunnel dug by the Kulve Taroth."

Su Yi dug deeper into the rock wall, but found no more fossils.

So he released Moltres and said to it, "Morpho, do me a favor and see if there's a passage leading outside nearby. It might be hidden behind the lava waterfall."

The molten bird surveyed its surroundings, nodded, and then flew off in one direction.

He then searched the surrounding rock walls for the entrance to the cave that had been sealed off by melted rock.

Finally, at the other end of the lava river, they found a rock melting mark resembling a cave entrance. After flying across the wide lava river on a female Rathalos, Su Yi discovered some melted metallic minerals on the melting mark.

"That's right, this should be the mark of Kulve Taroth."

Su Yi immediately ordered the ferocious jackal dragon to use its digging ability to excavate from the bottom.

However, when the ferocious jackal dragon dug through the rock strata and emerged from the cave, what Su Yi saw before him was a sight that greatly surprised him.

The vast space before us contained neither flowing lava nor dazzling gold, but rather a massive rift valley that cleaved the earth from south to north.

Chapter 304 Preparing for Enhancement, the Path of Evolution

The rift valley was as deep as an abyss, and Su Yi dropped a flare, the light eventually disappearing into the boundless darkness.

"How did Kulve Taroth get through this rift? Or was it formed after Kulve Taroth left?"

Su Yi looked across the rift valley, where there was a rock wall with no sign of any passage that had ever existed.

Su Yi guessed, "Did the passage collapse?"

There is no way forward unless we venture deeper into the rift valley to explore.

Su Yi opened the map and found that they had gradually approached the outer edge of the Valley of Miasma. They were now probably below the great canyon surrounding the Valley of Miasma, and the direction of that rift was towards the Valley of Miasma.

"Did they venture deep into the Valley of Miasma, or did they emerge from within it?"

With the trail broken, Su Yi had no choice but to retreat. Digging haphazardly would not only easily lead him astray but also risk causing a collapse.

When Su Yi retreated back into the lava space, the firebird was waiting for him and told him about the passage leading outside.

"Take us out of here." Su Yi and Lu Cao rode on the female Rathalos and followed the Moltres.

The molten bird flew through a complex lava cavern, eventually emerging from a vertical passage above a lava lake.

Upon seeing the scene outside, Su Yi realized that they were near a high mountain outside the Grand Canyon, located to the east of the Anthill Wasteland.

By the light of the moon and stars, one can see that to the east of the Great Anthill Wasteland lies a vast expanse of mudflats, and further beyond that, the ocean.

"Screech?" Moltres cried out in confusion. Where was this place? It was clearly very different from Hoenn.

Su Yi didn't explain further, but instead put away Moltres and returned to the Pokémon world.

"Judging from the direction the Radiant Dragon is heading, it's roughly heading towards the Rotten Vale. Could it have already died of old age?"

Lying on the hotel bed, Su Yi pondered the intelligence he had gathered from tracking the trail.

"And could there be Flame Dragons in the Elder's Recess?"

The Crystal Lands are vast and covered with lava fields, which meet the conditions for the survival of the Fiery Dragon. As for the lava space beneath the Wild Anthill Wasteland, it may have once been a volcano where the Fiery Dragon lived, but it was buried due to crustal movement.

"Would there be a chance to witness firsthand the destruction of a Flamegoth by a Brachydios hammer?"

Su Yi lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

"It's golden gold (meow)!"

The next day, Su Yi brought gold to settle the payment with the Rockets trio, who clung to the gold bars in a daze.

"Then the deal is done. We've had a pleasant collaboration," Su Yi said with a smile.

"Next time you need any machines, just come to us, Meow!" Meow patted its chest.

Kojiro laughed and said, "That's right, I guarantee I'll meet your requirements."

Su Yi smiled and said, "Then I look forward to our next collaboration."

After seeing off the wealthy Su Yi, the trio patted the gold brick with obvious delight, looking as if they couldn't bear to part with it.

Musashi suddenly exclaimed, "We could never have earned this much gold, no matter how hard we worked before!"

"Yeah, meow, Mr. Su Yi is so generous, meow~" Meow meow smiled and thought about what delicious food to eat later.

"This is the reward we earned through our wisdom and hard work! It's what we deserve!" Kojiro emphasized.

Meow Meow exclaimed in surprise, "According to Mr. Su Yi, this is a collaboration, so our invention is so valuable in his eyes, meow?"

"Mr. Su Yi truly has a discerning eye!" Kojiro exclaimed.

Because Fallleaf Town is hosting a Pokémon Contest, the organizers started promoting it early in the town, and some coordinating trainers have already arrived and begun to adjust their condition and train.

In a slightly remote area on the outskirts of town, Su Yi took out his Rotom phone and played an introduction to the Pokémon Contest.

Su Yi asked Feng Piaolong, "So? Interested in participating?"

"Awooo?" Feng Piaolong hesitated as it listened to the rules in the video: it only knew how to fight and kill, could it really complete the performance according to the rules above?

Su Yi encouraged him, "It's okay. The only criterion for winning a Pokémon Contest is to showcase the charm of Pokémon. I will guide you to become a glamorous and dangerous performer!"

"Roar—!" The Wind Dragon flapped its magnificent wings, scattering ice crystals as it roared eagerly.

"Alright, let's begin training. Unlike battles, in a Grand Contest, you should showcase the charm of your moves as much as possible."

Su Yi began to instruct Wind Dragon on how to perform its moves in a gorgeous and elegant manner, and together they discussed how to combine moves to achieve a more stunning effect.

And so, Su Yi's days became full. In the mornings, he accompanied his companions to train at the stronghold in the back mountain. In the afternoons, he prepared for the Grand Tournament with the Wind Dragon. In the evenings, he would dig for gold before going to bed to help him fall asleep.

With the addition of the Moltres, who wanted to improve himself, the atmosphere of competition intensified, and Su Yi also released the Black Wolf Bird, only to have it get a good beating from its companions as usual.

The Black Wolf Bird's daily routine consisted of eating and sleeping when injured, and fighting when awake. When it got too noisy, Su Yi would take it back into the ball, making it a sparring partner for the companion beasts.

At this time, Su Yi discovered that several of his companion beasts had reached a bottleneck. Apart from improving their proficiency in training moves, their other aspects showed little improvement.

This is the growth process of companion beasts. Companion beasts have a long growth cycle, and after reaching adulthood, it is very difficult for them to break through the bottleneck of their species.

Although you can easily farm any kind of monster in the game, such as subspecies, special individuals, and two-star monsters, in reality, very few monsters can actually break through to that level.

However, for individuals who have experienced battles in the New World, it also requires a combination of chance and long-term accumulation.

“So, it’s time for a buff.” Su Yi took out all the enhancement items he currently had: one Life Dragon Vein Fragment and three Life Dragon Vein Stones.

Su Yi's first thought was of his veteran general, the Ferocious Jackal Dragon.

As for his other old friends, Scratcher said that he was fine as he was, and didn't need to participate in the battles against the ancient dragons. He was happy to travel and steal eggs with Su Yi.

The Great Jaw Dragon, however, has a different plan.

Cici has hatched the egg; it's a son. Its current goal is to raise the child to adulthood healthy and happy, and it hopes that Su Yi will build a "base" in the Grand Canyon so that they can live peacefully in the environment of the Coral Plateau.

Of course, it would be there for Su Yi whenever he needed it.

The Tobi-Dragon is just a lazy bum; it doesn't really want to participate in battles.

In the future, we will inevitably have to face Elder Dragons. No matter how much their strength increases, it will be difficult for them to reach the level of being able to contend with Elder Dragons. Rather than trying every means to make them stronger to face Elder Dragons, it is better to let them perform when there is a suitable opponent.

Su Yi found the Great Ferocious Jackal Dragon and said seriously, "Great Ferocious Jackal Dragon, you are the first companion beast I tamed. Among the first batch of companions, you are the most active, the bravest, and the most eager to become stronger."

“I really want to help you, but unlike other companion beasts, you don’t have a path to become stronger that you can follow. So, all I can do is provide you with the best conditions.”

"I cannot predict your future after evolution, nor do I know exactly how far you will go."

"So are you willing to embark on the unknown path of evolution?"

"Awooo!" The ferocious jackal dragon nodded firmly: As long as I can fight alongside you!

Chapter 305 The Path of Evolution: A Long and Arduous One

Seeing the Great Ferocious Jackal Dragon's determination to become stronger, Su Yi slowly said, "Since evolution is unknown, then we just need to use powerful materials to evolve it."

Su Yi sat down in front of the Great Ferocious Jackal Dragon, took out a fragment of the Life Dragon Vein that emitted a faint glow, and then took out the material: the Thorn of the Extinction Dragon.

I wonder if it will become stronger after evolving? Well, all we need to do is bring out the best materials!

"Awooo?" The ferocious jackal dragon looked at Su Yi.

"Don't think about acquiring all sorts of fancy abilities yet. Right now, what you need to strengthen most is your physical abilities," Su Yi explained.

If you use a Water, Fire, or Thunder Stone to evolve other abilities, at best you will evolve into a subspecies with a slightly higher ecological niche.

To climb to the top, you have to take it one step at a time, laying a solid foundation for each step. A strong physique is the basis for monsters to unleash their various abilities.