Chapter 322: Only Rules Can Counter Rules
“I heard that your Gan Family has a Divine Beast. I wonder if you could introduce me? I’m quite curious about Steel-Attribute Divine Beasts.” Lu Li said with a smile.
Hearing this, Elder Gan and the Gan Family Patriarch exchanged a glance and reached a consensus. Elder Gan then refused embarrassedly: “The Divine Beast we Gan Family worship has a bad temper. To avoid offending a noble guest, it’s better not to meet it.”
“So, you’re refusing me?” Lu Li asked casually.
Elder Gan and the Gan Family Patriarch didn’t speak, but their refusal was self-evident.
Elder Gan slowly changed the subject: “Young Hero, let’s talk about compensation instead.”
But Lu Li had no intention of letting them off just like that. After all, he had come to stir up trouble in the first place, and his current verbal sparring was purely to find a justified cause to lash out.
Although this was a world where power is supreme, some matters still needed a justified cause. After all, he wasn’t yet powerful enough to oppose the entire world.
“Compensation is unnecessary. Do you think I’d lack your Gan Family’s meager resources? Since you claim my Heir of God belongs to you, you should at least let me see that so-called Divine Beast, right?” Lu Li stubbornly clung to the issue.
Elder Gan also knew this matter couldn’t be avoided.
Elder Gan thought with inner conflict.
After hesitating for a moment, Elder Gan ultimately chose to yield.
It was just a meeting. Being careful should avoid disturbing that one.
“Since Young Hero insists, please follow us. But if any accident happens, don’t hold it against our Gan Family.” Elder Gan’s tone carried a hint of helplessness and threat.
Lu Li naturally wasn’t afraid of their threat.
After all, he had brought Gimmighoul this time.
The other elders wanted to speak but hesitated, and in the end, no one dared to stop Elder Gan’s decision.
On one hand, they feared Lu Li; on the other, they had no better way to refuse him.
Led by Elder Gan, Lu Li arrived at the underground base in the Gan Family Ancestral Land.
Lu Li noticed that most noble families seemed to have the habit of building secret bases underground in their family territories.
The Shin Family had been like that before, and the Gan Family was the same.
Lu Li understood this well, as he did the same himself.
Soon, they were led to an underground plaza, where he saw a massive silver Metal Pool.
Seeing this, Lu Li quickly activated his Immortal Spirit Eye.
“Hiss~”
Lu Li drew in a sharp breath.
It really was a Meltan—meaning the Gan Family might have mastered Melmetal’s evolution method.
Thinking of this, Lu Li probed deliberately: “Fusion Evolution? The price for this evolution method is not small.”
Hearing this, Elder Gan nodded in deep agreement.
Could the price not be high? To evolve Melmetal into Meltan, their Gan Family had invested nearly four generations’ efforts.
They had collected almost all Meltan in the world, ultimately creating the Meltan before them with Divine Beast strength.
Elder Gan didn’t realize Lu Li was prying information, as Lu Li had already pointed out how Meltan had evolved.
Hearing this, Lu Li confirmed the evolution route the Gan Family had taken.
Devour evolution… tsk tsk tsk. Lu Li had to admit the Gan Family was truly extravagant.
Elder Gan took the chance to say: “Young Hero must have seen it. Our worshipped Meltan is just a little short of advancing to a Deity. We must have the Meltan in your hands.”
This was also a way of pressuring Lu Li indirectly.
To break through to Deity, Meltan would collect Meltan at any price, putting the Gan Family in a weak position.
Elder Gan’s meaning was simple: It wasn’t that the Gan Family needed the Meltan in Lu Li’s hands, but that the great Divine Beast Meltan needed to reclaim Meltan.
Lu Li naturally heard the implication.
Still, the same old line—he didn’t care!
Forget that Meltan wasn’t a Deity yet; even if it advanced to one, Lu Li wouldn’t be afraid.
Even as a Deity, Meltan would only be a Tier 3 God, while Gimmighoul after Fairy Transformation would be a Tier 2 God. With type advantage, Lu Li didn’t think fighting Meltan would be harder than fighting Ancient Sword Leopard.
“Elder Gan, I want to ask you something.” Lu Li suddenly said.
Thinking Lu Li was scared into yielding, Elder Gan’s lips curved up slightly as he asked somewhat smugly: “Young Hero, please speak.”
Elder Gan had already imagined Lu Li having to yield.
“If the Gan Family had no Divine Beast backing it, would you still dare to oppose me?” Lu Li asked meaningfully.
Hearing this, Elder Gan’s facial expression changed, and he glared angrily at Lu Li. He already knew what Lu Li wanted.
“You want…” Before the shocked and furious Elder Gan could finish, an indescribable fear descended.
A bizarre spatial fluctuation suddenly enveloped the Metal Pool, and the entire basement was instantly devoured.
This secret realm wasn’t the Thousand Faces Secret Realm but a secret space specially opened by Gimmighoul using Secret Power.
With its strength, fighting in reality posed too great a risk, so Gimmighoul chose to move the battlefield elsewhere.
This sudden change instantly woke the sleeping Meltan. By the time it reacted, it was already in another world.
Gimmighoul slowly appeared.
As a Champion Level Trainer, Elder Gan instantly saw Gimmighoul’s true strength.
“Tier 3 God… no, this should be a Tier 3 Deity!” Elder Gan thought in terror.
Though he had long heard Lu Li could control Deities, Deities and Divine Beasts weren’t comparable—at least he hadn’t heard of any Deity fully commanded by a Trainer.
But today he witnessed it.
Elder Gan asked in terror: “You… what exactly do you want?”
“Can’t you tell?” Lu Li countered, arms crossed.
Elder Gan, with a grim facial expression, gritted his teeth and nodded: “I can tell.”
Elder Gan of course knew what Lu Li wanted; he just didn’t want to admit it.
This madman before him wasn’t targeting their Gan Family but the Divine Beast they worshipped.
This needed clarification.
Meltan didn’t belong to the Gan Family; the Gan Family was Meltan’s vassal.
After the anger subsided and he calmed down, Elder Gan had to face reality.
“This is between you and my Deity. Can you let me out? I don’t even have the qualification to watch this battle.” Elder Gan asked sincerely.
A war between Deities and Divine Beasts—was something a Champion Level Trainer like him could intervene in?
As for commanding Meltan?
Don’t joke! There was no bond between him and Meltan. How could he command it? Not dragging it down would be thanks enough.
Lu Li had considered leaving Elder Gan here, but without Meltan, the Gan Family would be a fangless snake.
Such a Gan Family posed little threat, and considering they had held back in the previous battle, Lu Li had no intent to exterminate them.
Still the same old line.
He, Lu Li, practiced cultivation, not demonic cultivation.
The “kindhearted” Lu Li nodded to Gimmighoul beside him.
This old man was still useful. When extorting the Gan Family later, after seeing Gimmighoul, they should obediently play guide.
As for not cooperating?
Destroying the Gan Family would be easier for Gimmighoul than stepping on an ant.
At this moment, the awakened Meltan sensed a same-level existence invading its territory.
“Meltan~”
Meltan roared angrily, and the hundred-meter-tall humanoid giant charged at Gimmighoul.
Meltan lacked combat experience. As a straightforward Steel-Attribute Divine Beast, it believed heavier meant stronger!
Meltan opened with Million Ton Punch.
At the Divine Beast stage, fancy secret techniques were no longer important. This level followed the principle of simplicity.
Though everyone used the same skill, power and essence could be two different concepts.
Seeing the steel giant that seemed capable of world destruction, Elder Gan was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
He felt that even if he summoned his Pokémon now, he might not survive under Meltan’s Million Ton Punch.
Just as Elder Gan prepared to summon his Pokémon, Gimmighoul, following Lu Li’s order, directly sent the aged human out.
Back in the real world, Elder Gan still wore a look of lingering fear.
“I… I survived.” Elder Gan swallowed hard with difficulty.
Having escaped death, Elder Gan didn’t hesitate and shouted to those outside: “Quick! Gather all family members and prepare to execute the Kindling Plan.”
The Gan Family Patriarch waiting outside felt the sky collapsing upon hearing this.
What was the Kindling Plan?
It was a plan activated only when the family faced existential disaster, with the core goal of leaving a family kindling and not letting the lineage end here.
“Elder Gan, what happened?” The Gan Family Patriarch rushed in anxiously.
Elder Gan roared furiously: “That damned Rainbow Hero wasn’t here to negotiate—he came to kill Meltan.”
“What? Actively hunting a Divine Beast?” The Gan Family Patriarch was stunned hearing this.
He hadn’t expected this generation’s Rainbow Hero to be so insane. Divine Beast Trainers, whether ancient or modern, all reached a consensus.
That unless life and death were at stake, they should avoid letting their Divine Beasts clash with other Divine Beasts.
On one hand, battles between Divine Beasts were too large-scale; a slight mishap could affect a continent or even the entire world.
Secondly, they were reluctant to risk it.
In wars between gods, even with type advantage, the stronger side rarely killed the weaker. If the Divine Beast Trainer fled and then retaliated against the entire family, there would be endless trouble.
“It was our carelessness. Divine Beasts and Deities are ultimately different levels after all.” Elder Gan sighed.
He regretted it now. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have coveted those few Meltan.
He hadn’t expected Lu Li to be so serious. It was just a few Meltan—non-evolving Meltan were cheaper than Pseudo-Legendaries.
Elder Gan said with utter despair: “First, let some clansmen escape. I’ll wait here for the battle result.”
The Gan Family Patriarch nodded. He had no mood to comfort the dejected Elder Gan now.
………..
In the secret space, Gimmighoul grinned at the charging Meltan.
“Power Whip, send it flying.” Lu Li commanded confidently.
Gimmighoul nodded, its Ivy Cudgel transforming into a long Vine Whip.
The flame-covered Vine Whip lashed heavily on Meltan’s calf.
“Boom!”
A burning whip mark instantly appeared on Meltan.
But this didn’t stop Meltan’s charge.
“Spiky Shield.” Lu Li sneered.
He loved these close-combat Pokémon.
“Rumble!!”
The massive collision echoed through the space as Gimmighoul retreated several steps under the terrifying punch force.
In terms of power, Meltan held an absolute advantage.
“Gimmighoul, use Vine Whip to trip it.” Lu Li continued commanding.
Seeing this, Gimmighoul countered with Grass Knot.
Lu Li realized Meltan also lacked combat experience and probably hadn’t received the full inheritance of the God of Steel.
It made sense—Lu Li even suspected it had never left the Gan Family’s underground base.
Grass Knot’s effect was simple and brutal: entangle and trip the opponent with grass. The heavier the opponent, the greater the power.
And Meltan was a heavyweight contender, even enlarging its body to boost Million Ton Punch’s power.
“Boom!”
With its legs tripped, Meltan crashed to the ground.
Bent on beating a drowning dog, Lu Li ordered: “Whip it! Like a spinning top.”
Gimmighoul’s Vine Whip, covered in flames, lashed at Meltan like a storm.
Meltan truly spun like a top, the Vine Whip making it rotate faster and faster.
Too bad Meltan’s color was wrong; black would have been perfect.
After all, a hundred consecutive draws right from the start.
Just as Gimmighoul was whipping enthusiastically, the constantly spinning Meltan suddenly exploded.
Exploded in the literal sense.
Like disassembly, Meltan instantly split into thousands of Meltan, each nearly at Tier 3 God strength.
“Shadow Clone Technique?” Lu Li shouted in surprise at the sight.
“Meltan!!!”
Countless Meltan cried out together, then merged seamlessly into an endless metal ocean.
Silver-white towering waves crashed toward Gimmighoul.
Seeing this, Lu Li was dumbfounded. Meltan was using Surf?
“Gimmighoul, use Protect.”
Gimmighoul nodded, a transparent shield instantly enveloping human and god.
The silver-white waves crashed on the transparent shield. Though no real damage was done, the silver ocean swallowed them too.
Gimmighoul commented: “This Steel-Attribute Divine Beast has already touched the edge of the Power of Rules.”
“So what do we do next?” Lu Li asked.
“Looks like I’ll have to use the Power of Rules too. After all, only rules can counter rules.” Gimmighoul said helplessly.
“Then I’ll trouble you.” Lu Li nodded.
The Power of Rules was a blind spot in his knowledge; this battle ultimately had to be handed back to Gimmighoul.
