Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 233, Section 232: Yuan Enhui and Yue Zhengyu
"Brother, you'd better be careful, don't let Gula fool you. He doesn't seem like a good person," Na'er whispered to Tang Wulin, her fork unconsciously stabbing at the cake.

Tang Wulin looked up from the pile of food, glanced at Gula's departing figure, then at his sister's slightly puffed cheeks, and couldn't help but smile: "Yeah, I know. But you seem to care a lot about him?"

"No way!" Na'er quickly denied, her silver hair swaying gently as she shook her head. "I hate pretty boys like him the most."

In the distance, Gula sat opposite Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan. Although his back was to Tang Wulin and his sister, the smile on his lips deepened.

The evolved martial soul granted him not only physical strength, but also a more powerful spiritual force. The two people's telepathic communication was only three meters away from him—too easy to eavesdrop on.

"Gula, are you going to the forging room again today?" Xie Xie asked curiously. "I heard you were the star of the day before yesterday, and everyone in the class is talking about you."

Gula gently stirred the concentrated medicine in the cup, his pale golden pupils reflected on the surface: "It's just basic operation. If you need any forging commissions, you can come directly to me, and I'll give you a 50% discount."

"Really?"

Xie Xie suddenly looked up, and the braised pork on his chopsticks fell back onto the plate with a thud. He had heard that Gula was already a level six blacksmith, and if it weren't for the limitation of his soul power level, he would have broken through to the Saint Craftsman realm long ago.

For such a master forger to offer a discount is like a windfall.

But the next moment, Xie Xie's shoulders slumped again, and he poked at his rice with his chopsticks: "Forget it, with Wu Lin in our group, there probably won't be any extra forging tasks."

After saying this, he felt his face burning – it was clearly his and Xu Xiaoyan's secondary profession levels that were dragging them down, as they were still at the level of first-level manufacturers and designers, and they couldn't consume all the metal that Tang Wulin forged, resulting in a metal overcapacity in the group.

Gula raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two: "Speaking of which, what's going on with you two? Have you been so focused on carrying out missions since joining the Tang Clan that you haven't bothered to learn a secondary profession?"

He took a sip of the medicine and continued, "Your family background is much better than Tang Wulin's. You should know the importance of secondary professions for Battle Armor Masters. Three years have passed, and you shouldn't still be at level one."

Gula subjected the two to a brutal "torture," speaking without any mercy. Xu Xiaoyan's face instantly turned bright red, and she lowered her head, almost burying her chin in her food.

Her slender fingers nervously twisted the hem of her clothes, and she felt a chill run down her spine as she thought of the pile of recently unpacked design textbooks in her room.

Xie Xie clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He wished he could shut Gula up immediately, but every word the other said was true. It wasn't that the two of them didn't understand; it was purely laziness that got the better of them.

Over the past three years, he has indeed followed Tang Wulin on many Tang Sect missions, but he always feels drowsy whenever he picks up the Manufacturing Manual, let alone pay a teacher for guidance.

Xu Xiaoyan is the same; she would rather stay at home and be a shut-in, indulging in youth romance novels. If it weren't for not wanting to fall behind her teammates, she wouldn't even meditate.

Tang Wulin, as the team leader, didn't say these things because he was busy all day and didn't have much time to pay attention to his teammates. Gula did it for him, satisfying his desire to lecture.

"We..." Xie Xie opened his mouth, but couldn't find any excuse to defend himself.

Gula's voice wasn't deliberately lowered, and Tang Wulin, who was not far away, could hear it clearly.

His strong appetite vanished almost instantly. He wanted to turn back and help his teammates out, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only silently lower his head and mechanically stuff food into his mouth, eating without tasting it.

"Sigh." Gula suddenly sighed softly, a hint of genuine envy showing in his golden eyes. "Sometimes I envy you guys."

Unaware of future crises, living happily, unlike him who seems to always have a sense of urgency about being chased.

Xie Xie took this as mockery and immediately flew into a rage: "Don't go too far—"

"Dangdang!"

His sudden movement to stand up showcased the explosive power of an agility-type Soul Master. His shoulder slammed solidly into the plate in the hands of a passing girl. The metal plate arced through the air, spilling food all over the floor.

Yuan Enhui stood rooted to the spot, her slender figure accentuated by her all-black outfit. She glanced down at the spilled food, then raised her unwavering eyes to stare at Xie Xie:

"Compensation." These two simple words carry an undeniable weight.

Xie Xie's anger hadn't subsided, but he wasn't unreasonable: "How much? I'll pay you back." His tone still carried a hint of impatience. Yuan En Ye Hui expressionlessly quoted a number: "10 contribution points."

"You're robbing me!" Xie Xie's exclamation drew the attention of students at several nearby tables. He pointed to the food on the ground: "Isn't the food in the cafeteria free? At most, we'll give you some Federal Coins in return, why would we need contribution points!"

Yuan Enhui remained expressionless, looking at Xie Xie as if he were a monkey jumping around. But she still calmly explained, "I'm a work-study student, so the meals aren't free."

Xie Xie's anger abruptly ceased, and he awkwardly scratched his head, his hand still raised in mid-air. He turned to Xu Xiaoyan and Gula, his voice lowering slightly: "Shrek Academy has work-study students?"

Gula nodded, tapping the glass lightly with his fingertips. "Indeed, there is. It's said to be a system specifically preserved to hone the trainees' willpower. If you feel your willpower is insufficient,"

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "You can take the initiative to apply and try to hone your willpower."

Yuan Enhui turned her gaze to Gula, deeply impressed by this man who had once defeated her in a one-against-ten battle. Her dry, well-like eyes seemed to say: What deep-seated grudge do you have against this kid?
The noise of the restaurant seemed to fade away at that moment. Xie Xie stood there, feeling everyone's eyes were on him.

He took out his student card and swiped it on Yuan Enhui's terminal, consuming 10 contribution points with a stiff motion, as if he were carrying out some kind of punishment.

Be careful next time.

Yuan Enhui put away the terminal, turned and left, her short black hair swaying gently with her steps.

Xie Xie sat back down heavily, feeling incredibly frustrated during the meal.

Xu Xiaoyan stole a glance at him, then quickly lowered her head. Tang Wulin's figure appeared exceptionally silent in the distance. Only Gula calmly sipped the medicine, his pale golden eyes reflecting the different expressions of the three.

Xie Xie had barely sat down when a commotion suddenly broke out at the restaurant entrance.

A blond boy strode in, sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and bathing him in its glow, as if gilding him.

Lok Jung-woo, the heir of the Holy Angels family, always carries that innate air of arrogance.

"Oh, isn't this our café maid? Still won't give me your contact information?"

Le Zhengyu immediately spotted Yuan Enyehui, who was clearing away the dishes. A mocking smile appeared on his lips, and his eyes were filled with deep wariness and disgust.

Yuan Enhui paused for a moment, but quickly continued tidying up without even lifting her eyelids.

This dismissive attitude clearly angered Yue Zhengyu, who strode over and stepped on the plate that Yuan Enhui was about to pick up.

The metal plate emitted a harsh, creaking sound.

"I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me?" Le Zhengyu looked down at her condescendingly. "You really are a born evil guy, all of you are so ill-mannered?"

The noise in the restaurant gradually subsided, and everyone's attention was focused on the two people.

Gula put down the glass, his pale golden pupils slightly contracting, and upon closer inspection, there was a hint of barely perceptible joy in his eyes—the look of someone seeing a fat sheep.

Xie Xie frowned. Although he had just been arguing with Yuan En Ye Hui, Le Zheng Yu's blatant provocation made him very uncomfortable. Xu Xiao Yan nervously grabbed Xie Xie's sleeve.

Yuan Enhui finally raised her head, a dark red light flashing in her dark eyes: "Get out of the way."

"What if I don't allow it?" A faint white light began to appear on Yue Zhengyu's body, and three purple spirit rings rose from his feet. "Let me see how you'll stay at Shrek Academy after you expose your true identity as an evil spirit master!"

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

(End of this chapter)