Pokémon, you're not allowed to expel me from human form!

"This is the Heavenly Martial Killing Path? The strongest martial art in the era of the various kingdoms?"

“Yes, I have witnessed the skills of all warriors during the era of the kingdoms, and this Heavenly Martial Killing Path was invented by a man named Blue Sky Path. The principle is very simple: concentrate your own strength to attack the opponent’s weakness.”

"But even with such a simple core, the methods he summarized are incredibly ingenious and detailed. They are not only recorded by humans, but also by many elves in this Heavenly Martial Killing Path, such as the little sea lion before."

"Human strength is not great... well, apart from you, the strength of humans is not great."

"But if they are trained and improved, and then use their skills to concentrate their power in battle, then a considerable number of Pokémon will not be happy if their weaknesses are exploited."

"This situation, combined with the routine summarized by this person called Blue Sky Path, such as first inflating the valve and then stimulating the baby sea lion's swimming instinct to make its nostrils close, allows humans to fight against a small number of Pokémon."

"I think Ditto is very effective at using this Heavenly Martial Killing Path, so I taught it to it."

"Besides that, there are a few other martial arts techniques that I think are decent, and I'm currently teaching them to it. If it fights in your form, these techniques can still be quite effective."

Upon hearing Necrozma's words, Rocco nodded slightly.

He was well aware of Ditto's current problems.

In other words, Ditto's inherent strength allows it to replicate only a portion of its own stats. Therefore, it may not be able to overcome problems that it could solve using its stats alone.

Thus, Ditto's fact that it only has three special moves becomes a disadvantage.

So at this stage, it's good to learn some combat skills and such—just a little transition, and once the stats improve, many things will become simpler.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Necrozma."

"It's alright, we're comrades."

"Hey, that's true."

Hearing Necrozma say that, Rocco relaxed even more, becoming more languid, as he lay in the rocking chair.

He has completely given up.

Previously, his team had Victini, a little bunny who was sensitive to numerical values, passionate about training, and had all sorts of targeted training plans in his head. Roco estimated that most trainers could not compare to it in training Pokémon.

All Rocco needs to do is suggest which part of the exercise would be most effective, and Victini can finish the rest of the work.

Luo Ke felt completely inferior to it in this respect, so of course he would not do something like an amateur instructing an expert.

Now we have Necrozma, this old relic who's a master of all weapons.

He doesn't need to worry about training the Pokémon at all, since he's an outsider to that.

After all, he couldn't possibly force Ditto to learn his own 'Strengthening Fist' instead of the top combat techniques of the Kingdoms era just to get involved.

Let's save our breath...

Compared to these things, Luo Ke tilted his head and gazed at Tiangang, which was not far away.

"Eight Treasures Tofu, Braised Fish, Stewed Pork Belly, Pan-fried Pork Brisket, Braised Pork Strips, Three Ways to Cook Lobster, Silver Fish and Purple Crab Hot Pot... Hehe, which restaurant should we eat at first after arriving in Tiangang?"

......

34. As long as you don't interfere with his eating.

"Mmm...delicious—if I had to say, it's delicious."

Looking at the pork knuckle sprinkled with white sesame seeds in front of him, Luo Ke gave it an absolutely simple yet extremely high evaluation.

"It doesn't have many complex layers, leaning towards braised to red-braised. The savory sauce flavor is strong while carrying a hint of sweetness and a touch of spiciness. The overall flavor is well-blended, and all the flavors will be revealed with one bite. The impact is something you can feel as soon as you eat it."

"The highest level of deliciousness is the kind that you can appreciate without needing to taste or understand it."

Luo Ke picked up a tissue and wiped his mouth. At this moment, the bowls of rice, the wooden basin of sesame cakes, the large plate of braised pork knuckle, and the small plates of stir-fried dishes and rice cakes in front of him were all emptied. A natural but heartfelt smile appeared on his face.

'Tini~'

Bictini, standing to the side, nodded repeatedly in agreement with Rocco's assessment.

Even though it prefers sweet things, it still gave the dishes a high rating.

Aside from Ditto, Twin Scabbards, and Fairy King's Sword... the Rocco team, who usually argue endlessly about what to eat, have surprisingly reached a consensus on their tastes.

If they were to choose their favorite shop right now, it would be 'Bai Kee Martial Arts School', even if it's not the best in terms of individual items, because it's a good all-around choice.

Yes, a martial arts school!

When Luo Ke first saw it online, he thought it was a mislabeled place. But when he arrived here and smelled the aroma of the food, he learned that this place was originally the canteen opened by Bai Linglong, the current owner of Bai Ji Martial Arts School, for her disciples.

It was only because of the excellent location of this martial arts school, which was right next to the street, that the food in the cafeteria often attracted passersby. After being asked about it so many times, the owner of the school, Bai, took into consideration the school's financial situation and eventually opened the cafeteria.

"She probably didn't expect the business to be this good."

Luo Ke looked down the wooden railing to the first floor and saw that every table was full. Every now and then, people dressed in kung fu costumes would carry huge food boxes and pack up large amounts of food to take away.

Even online, this store with monthly sales of over 9999 and a positive review rate of over 99% is the first of its kind that Luo Ke has ever seen in this world.

Perhaps it's because there's no such thing as fake positive reviews in this world. In any case, the best I've ever seen is a product with high monthly sales but a low positive review rate, less than 95%.

"Okay, let's come to this restaurant for the next few days. We'll talk about other things after we've tried everything on the menu."

Rocco looked at Bictini and the others and made this decision.

Normally, Victini and the others would be up to no good by now, but they hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing to the shop.

This made Luo Ke reveal a somewhat smug smile.

Because he was the one who chose this store.

However, just as Luo Ke and his group had decided what dishes they wanted for their next meal and were about to get up to pay the bill, a commotion broke out on the first floor. A loud voice, which could be heard even on the second floor, drowned out all other noises and rang out from the doorway.

"I'm not here to eat, I'm here to challenge them!"

“If your Baiji Martial Arts School were to turn into Baiji Restaurant, I would turn around and leave. But you are still a martial arts school, and you have had a bad relationship with our Yangji Martial Arts School since the previous generation. It’s time to resolve these issues!”

"So Bai Linglong, you fight me. If you win, all grudges will be settled. If you lose, then move out and stop occupying such a good spot!"

At the main entrance on the first floor, a burly man about two meters tall, bald, with a thick beard and a body full of fat, looked down at the petite girl in front of him. She had her black hair tied into two buns on top of her head and looked somewhat like a little girl.

He actually issued a duel challenge!

This made Luo Ke, who was standing on the second floor, frown slightly.

Even though he liked the restaurant, he didn't know the specifics and didn't take any further action, only glancing at Bictini.

'Tini.'

Bictini knows Rocco all too well.

In the blink of an eye, its mental energy connected with Luo Ke's, and then the voices of the entire restaurant, and even the onlookers outside the restaurant, were collected and transmitted to Luo Ke.

"It's Yang's Martial Arts School again! This is outrageous! They even said the previous generation had a bad relationship with Bai's Martial Arts School, but wasn't it Yang's Martial Arts School that caused trouble in the previous generation?"

"That means, now that Linglong's father is gone, the martial arts school is entirely up to her. She's been running a restaurant to keep it afloat, and it's only recently started to recover. Then, these people from Yang's Martial Arts School show up."

Even if we manage to get through this, things will be very complicated.

"Damn it! They're taking advantage of the fact that Tianwu Martial Arts Academy, which used to manage the school, has stepped down because of the previous generation's issues. Otherwise, if Tianwu Martial Arts Academy were still in charge, this Yang Family Martial Arts Academy would have been taken care of long ago!"

"Difficult. This Yang's Martial Arts School may seem rough, but they're actually quite clever. Look at their leader, Yang Wen. He has a loud voice, a lot of men, and he blocked the door, but other than that, he didn't even try to bang on it. He only proposed a martial arts competition and stated from the beginning that he was challenging the school... Unless someone from Bai's Martial Arts School can teach him a lesson, it won't work. Others can't easily get involved in this."

'Isn't this even worse?!'

'Tsk, it's just that my spirit and I aren't skilled in martial arts, otherwise I'd join the White Martial Arts School right now and take on a fight!'

Such a large amount of information flooded into Luo Ke's mind.

Out of a hundred people, all one hundred are aligned with Bai's Martial Arts School!

Luo Ke wasn't stupid, so he narrowed his eyes at this moment.

"It seems that Bai's Martial Arts School has offended someone. Otherwise, the people at Yang's Martial Arts School aren't stupid. Doing something that would make them so disliked would be a complete loss."

"They did things that only dogs would do, but I don't know who owns this dog."

Luo Ke completely understood the issues involved and also gained a deeper understanding of the local customs in Tiangang.

Compared to the cities he had visited before, this one definitely had a more warrior-like feel to it.

Even in this era of leagues, it seems there are still some people who prefer to let their fists do the talking.

"me..."

On the first floor, Bai Linglong looked up at Yang Wen, pursed her lips, and stammered.

If it were just a simple martial arts competition, she would accept it. Losing would have a negative impact on Baiji Martial Arts School, but it wouldn't be completely unacceptable.

But if you lose, you have to move out, which won't work.

So Bai Linglong held back for a long time before finally whispering this sentence.

"...I disagree. The conditions are not equal. Your grudges with us are not our problem. We would not benefit from winning. We cannot accept this kind of competition."

Although she was very scared, she still made a relatively rational decision.

But Yang Wen was clearly prepared.

He raised his eyebrows and once again unleashed his loud voice.

"Then you can forget about keeping the shop open!"

“We will apply for dispute resolution with Anwu Association, which currently manages the martial arts school. Until the dispute between our two families is resolved, everyone will be closed.”

"Our Yang Family Martial Arts School can afford to wait, but can your Bai Family Martial Arts School handle it?"

"If all the disciples leave, you should take down this sign when the martial arts school is inspected next time."

"Besides, this place was applied for by you years ago as a martial arts school. If the signboard is removed, the land will be taken back."

"So if you fight us, at worst you'll lose this land, but you still have a chance to win. If you don't fight us, you'll lose both the land and the signboard—choose."

Upon hearing Yang Wen's words, Bai Linglong's face turned even paler.

But as Yang Wen said, land can be lost, but the ancestral brand cannot...

Just as she was bracing herself to fight Yang Wen, a voice came from the second floor.

"Master Bai, I'm applying to join the martial arts school. Please approve my application."

"Then I'll fight him!"

......

35. The value of Necrozma is as follows:

"Who dares to tell me what to do..."

Following the sound, Yang Wen looked directly at the second floor, and then he saw a figure stepping on the wooden railing, leaping down from a height of several meters above the first floor, crossing almost the entire lobby, and landing precisely next to Bai Liuli.

Snapped!

Even without making any move to mitigate the impact, he remained perfectly steady.

At this point, Yang Wen had clearly seen the man's face.

That's why he abruptly stopped speaking halfway through his sentence, and his face visibly darkened.

because...

He recognized Rocco.

"Phantom Trainer... Alright! Old man... I'll give you face, I'll go to the Anbu Association's arena and wait for you right now!"

After uttering a remark that could hardly be considered a threat, Yang Wen turned and decisively led the disciples of Yang's Martial Arts School away. The onlookers applauded and praised Luo Ke's appearance.

Bai Liuli's eyes were somewhat dazed when she saw this scene.

She remained silent until Luo Ke finished dealing with the onlookers and looked at her, at which point she finally reacted.

"Mr. Luo Ke, thank you so much for getting me out of that predicament!"

"I know you mean well, so I'll give you a name here at the martial arts school. If you need anything for the upcoming competition, just let us know. We'll also prepare a reward for you after you win this competition."

Bai Linglong didn't take advantage of Luo Ke's kindness; she was very open-minded about Luo Ke's help and took the initiative to explain some things clearly.

"Okay... but I don't need anything. First of all, I don't know where the arena is. I'll rely on Master Bai to take me there. On the way, I also hope that Master Bai can explain the process of the competition to me."

"To be honest, this is my first day in Skyport, and I haven't even found a place to stay yet. So I'm not familiar with the rules of Skyport—I heard that these kinds of duels seem to require elves? Could you tell me more about that?"

While Luo Ke was speaking, Bai Linglong's gaze remained fixed on him.

She could tell that what Luo Ke said was true, but even without any understanding of the rules, his confidence did not waver in the slightest, as if no matter what the rules were or what the conditions were, he could not imagine what it would be like to fail.