Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

"Thank you." Ash finally smiled.

Next up, let's make some dragon-fire stew with dragon teeth and start making soup!

Chapter 567 Inkstone Dojo, Before the Challenge

After much persuasion from the elder, Ash finally managed to borrow the Dragonfire from the Dragon Clan.

He also knew that this was probably because the Grand Elder was worried that the family would continue to weaken and wanted to take a desperate gamble to make some changes.

After the deal was settled, a series of preparations naturally began. Such a big matter could not be kept secret, so Xiaozhi simply chose to go public.

So the entire Dragon Clan knew that Ash was actually going to use the Dragon God's Fang to make soup, and he was even using their clan's Dragonfire!

In an instant, the entire Dragon Sanctuary was thrown into an uproar.

A large number of people condemned or tried to stop him, believing that Ash's behavior was blasphemous and that he would be struck by lightning at any moment.

Finally, the Grand Elder stepped in and explained that the dragon tooth was a gift from Xiao Zhi, obtained through a 'sparring' session with the Dragon God, and was offered free of charge for the Dragon Clan to enjoy together. Only then did these people relent and express their gratitude to Xiao Zhi.

Ash doesn't criticize the Dragon Clan's change of attitude; every clan that reveres legends would find it hard to accept his unconventional behavior.

He could only marvel at how the Grand Elder was truly a seasoned veteran, managing to deduce the approximate origin of the Dragon Fang based on his attitude towards it!

The old man boasted about his fighting prowess in front of his clansmen, and in the end, he relied on the irrefutable evidence of Dragon Fang and his authority within the clan to successfully portray Xiao Zhi as a super strongman who was undefeated despite his toughness and brute force!

As a result, the Dragon Clan all believed in the superstition, which made Ash famous within the clan. Every day, all sorts of people would surround him, ostensibly to express their gratitude but actually to watch, and some even directly blocked his way with autograph books.

As for scenes like a young girl's first love and secret flirtations, he was unwilling to go into detail.

In short, he and Xiao Lan, among others, are now treated as honored guests by the Dragon Clan.

Xiao Zhi has finally drafted a rough plan for the preparation and distribution of the dragon tooth broth.

He plans to pull off a big heist and completely dismantle Dragon Fang!

In addition to the Dragon Clan and Ash's family and friends, the core leadership of Kanto and Johto also received an equal opportunity to strengthen themselves!

So, besides Ash and his friends who belong to the Dragon Clan, Ash's best friend Gary, his long-lost friends Rika and Sabrina, his solo traveler Bea, and his elusive Silver were all on Ash's guest list.

In addition, there is the Kanto-Johto Champions League, led by Lancelot, which includes Kona, Kiku, Shiba, and Aki!

And the dragons of Dragonite Island and the Pokémon of the Dragon Sanctuary—sharing the joy is worse than enjoying it alone!

That's roughly how the guests were entertained. As for the important task of making the soup at the end, it naturally fell to Xiao Gang.

"I...I'll cook it?" Xiao Gang could hardly believe his ears.

Those were teeth broken off from the mouth of a divine beast; how could a mere mortal like him handle them?

"Xiao Gang, don't you know... high-end ingredients must be prepared by the best chefs." Xiao Zhi patted Xiao Gang's shoulder with a look of trust. "Among the people I know, you are the best cook. You'll definitely have to work harder."

"Well... I'll do my best." Xiao Gang was a little apprehensive at first, but he couldn't resist Xiao Zhi's constant persuasion and finally agreed.

"I knew you'd be reliable." Ash was practically beaming. "Oh, and remember to prepare a condiment station before the party. Everyone has different tastes, so let them mix whatever they want... Also, Charizard loves spicy food, so don't forget to prepare ketchup for Pikachu!"

"I... will remember this." Xiao Gang wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This arrangement left him a bit bewildered, but Xiaozhi's casual attitude did make him less nervous.

With everything finally ready, the Dragon Clan, guided by Xiao Gang, built a large stove inside the burned-down Dragon Shrine, which conveniently surrounded the base of the Dragon Fire.

They somehow found a huge, sealed jar, the kind that can hold hundreds of bowls of water at once, and they filled it with all the ingredients needed for making soup.

When it was time to take the pot off the heat, in order to prevent the dragon fire from burning the pot to ashes, Ash contacted Lugia to create a localized downpour around the stove. With the help of his Sea King power, he managed to barely suppress the restless dragon fire.

After the dragon's tooth was thrown into the pot, everything finally returned to calm.

The dragon fire gathered into tiny flames, and the dragon's tooth was quietly submerged in the water. The two forces seemed to be restraining and wearing each other down, and guided by Lugia's power, they were transformed into nutrients dissolved in the soup.

"That's about it. The soup will take about three days to simmer. I'll have to keep an eye on it during that time, Xiao Gang," Xiao Zhi instructed.

Three days was the estimate given by the management elf. If Reshiram's flames were not used, the dragon tooth might not be effective even after stewing for several years.

"What I'm about to say... Strange, I haven't seen Miss Tsubaki lately?" Ash looked around, but among the crowd of Dragon Clan members watching the spectacle, he couldn't find the person he was looking for.

"Miss Tsubaki is at the gym." "Yes, Ash-sama, you can just go find her." "She's probably waiting for you too~"

A group of onlookers, always eager for drama, chattered amongst themselves, their faces displaying expressions of mockery and ridicule that truly exhausted Xiao Zhi.

People from large families like this have an unusually high level of acceptance of certain things and are very enthusiastic about gossip.

Especially given Ash and Chloe's identities, it's easy for people to have all sorts of wild ideas, plus the fact that they rode Dragonite back together that day... The gossip within the Dragon Clan has really been spreading quite a bit lately.

But Xiao Zhi was really wronged.

He was just in a hurry that day, so he let Dragonite give Tsubaki a ride. There were no details or interactions between them at all!

Besides, it only lasts two seconds, what details could there be?

He wanted to find Tsubaki today for no other reason than to have a gym battle!

That pot of broth takes three whole days to simmer. Does he expect him to do nothing and just jump to three days later?

Of course, he had to rush to the Inkstone Gym, defeat Tsubaki, and successfully obtain his eighth badge!

So, ignoring the nonsense of others, Ash informed his friends, including Brock, and headed to the Inkstone Gym alone.

Upon arriving at the gym, Ash confirmed with the receptionist that Tsubaki was indeed there.

However, as he gradually walked towards the battlefield, he suddenly heard a crisp cracking sound of a whip.

Crack!

The sound became clearer and clearer, and each note grew louder than the last!

"This is... uh, did I come at the wrong time?" Upon arriving at the battlefield, the scene before him made Ash hesitate and want to give up.

Xiaochun seems to be practicing, but the way she practices is undeniably frightening.

She was holding a black leather whip, which she was rhythmically wielding. The whip cracked in the air before striking the ground hard, leaving a deep mark at Xiaochun's feet.

In sync with her rhythm, a majestic Spiny Dragon King also kept spitting out water bullets from its mouth, riddling the distant target with holes!

"Oh, it's you." Just as Ash was about to leave, Tsubaki suddenly called out to him, "You're here for a gym battle, right... You've come at the perfect time~"

"Is it…"

Xiao Zhi felt uneasy, sensing that the other person's gaze was extremely dangerous...

Chapter 568 VS. Kotsubaki, a brutal crushing defeat!

It came at just the right time…

Judging from this situation, it's less about time for a challenge and more about time for a beating.

Facing Tsubaki's face, which was clearly smiling but looked menacing no matter how you looked at it, Ash felt a sudden pang of fear.

"I heard you've become quite popular in the tribe lately," Xiao Chun said casually, lightly toying with the slightly damaged tip of her whip.

"That's not true, everyone's just making things up," Xiaozhi vehemently denied. "Miss Xiaochun, could you put that thing down while we're talking...?"

"Heh, quite modest." Xiaochun completely ignored Xiaozhi's protest. "You're really amazing. You actually managed to get the Grand Elder to stand up for you, and my cousin also speaks highly of you... I heard that you almost took over me and the entire Dragon Clan?"

"Who told you all this?" Xiao Zhi was speechless for a moment.

"Of course it's my cousin, I got everything out of him... including that ridiculous joke!"

After being questioned with a whip, Xiao Zhi felt utterly hopeless.

Mr. Watari is good in every way, except he has a mouth...

Of course, Ash was completely wronging Lance.

The matter arose from gossip within the clan, which naturally reached Xiao Chun's ears. Not understanding the situation and feeling rather uncomfortable, she naturally went to Yu Long Du to verify the information.

Lance knew all too well that his cousin had always been the type to keep asking questions until she got to the bottom of things and wouldn't give up until she got to the end... In order to avoid getting into trouble, he naturally told her the truth about the conversation between the elder and Ash.

As for that joke, the Dragon Champion said it was just a slip of the tongue and he couldn't stop himself.

Regardless of whether Lance was innocent or not, Ash had already determined that Chloe's emotions were off, and the reason was himself!

Could it be that she thinks she's too powerful and has stolen the limelight from me, the princess of the main family...?

"Do you think I'm just upset that you stole the limelight from the princess of the main family?"

"Uh... I wouldn't dare think that way." Suddenly having his thoughts exposed, Xiao Zhi hurriedly waved his hands in defense.

"Then I'll keep thinking that way!" Xiaochun angrily brandished her whip. "Let me tell you, it's not like that at all! I don't care about the title of princess of the main family at all! But... I will absolutely not give up the title of the future world's number one dragon master!!"

"Um... Miss Tsubaki, the holder of this title should be your cousin..." Xiaozhi weakly reminded him.

Big sister, don't get the challenger wrong. I'm just a newbie trainer who's been training for less than two years. Your brother is the world's number one Dragon Master, Dragon Champion, and Dragon Capitalist.

Go ahead and use whatever you want, like the tiger bench or pepper spray, on him!

"But he said it himself, he's no match for you!" A shout brought Xiaozhi back to reality, while Xiaochun on the other side was already incredibly excited.

She stared intently at Xiaozhi, her chest heaving violently.

"I've been waiting for you for so long!" Tsubaki raised her whip and pointed it at Ash. "I will prove with the upcoming battles that I am the one who can surpass my cousin and become the world's number one Dragon Master!!"

"I'm really not interested in being a Dragon Master or anything like that..." Ash shook his head helplessly.

That's the truth; what he wants to do now is simply to become stronger.