Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 250 Na'er's Heart-to-Heart Talk
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's already the eve of the final exams.

Inside the forging room, the blazing furnace illuminated Gula's focused face, and the sweat on his forehead evaporated rapidly in the high temperature.

With a crisp metallic clang, Gula let out a long sigh of relief, slowly lowering the forging hammer in his hand. At this moment, he finally broke through to level 48 in soul power.

"Finally finished." Gula wiped his sweat and looked at his avatar "Mu Yi" who was organizing the metal beside him.

This academic year, they devoted almost all their spare time to forging. From initial unfamiliarity to current proficiency, the two have become increasingly coordinated.

The number of college contribution points flashed a satisfying light on the terminal—a six-digit figure.

This was the result of countless sleepless nights that Gula had worked so hard to achieve. He meticulously converted all of these contribution points into rare metals that were hard to obtain elsewhere: Star Gold, Deep Sea Silver Mother, Golden Crystal... Each one brought him one step closer to his mecha dream.

"The forging of Wu Siduo's dark silver alloy is complete."

Mu Yi's voice came from the other end of the workbench, as he adjusted the thermometer.

Gula nodded, deliberately leaving the orders from several key customers for last. These metals had extremely high requirements and had to be processed to perfection.

At the same time, it also preserves some forging capabilities, since even if they hand over the metal, their secondary profession level will not be able to manufacture battle armor.

At this moment, Gula is forging a piece of "divine base alloy" that shimmers with seven-colored light. The material comes from the gift of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; the treasures accumulated over millennia in the Starry Sky Forest's treasure room are still awe-inspiring. If it weren't for the lack of certain types of metals, he wouldn't need to work so hard to earn contribution points.

The forging hammer was raised again, and Gula hammered the metal with complete concentration. Each strike landed precisely on a node, and the internal structure of the metal underwent subtle changes guided by his soul power. Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door, interrupting his work rhythm.

"Brother Gu, I've brought you two new customers!" Xu Xiaoyan poked her head in, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Gula turned his head and saw a striking silver figure.

Na'er stood there quietly, the sunlight gilding her with a golden edge. Her eyes were particularly complex, but the hostility in them was less than when they first met.

Since reuniting with Tang Wulin, the siblings should have been enjoying a rare time together, but everything changed on the day Gu Yue revealed Tang Wulin's identity as the "Son of the Sea God".

The unexpected events that occurred when the Silver Dragon King transformed, his encounter with the son of the Sea God, and the scheming hidden behind these coincidences were like a thorn stuck in Na'er's heart.

Even if Tang Wulin doesn't know any of this, what if the mastermind behind it all wants Tang Wulin to use his true feelings to move her?
Na'er isn't stupid. If she stays with Tang Wulin any longer, she won't be able to maintain her carefree state. She can only focus on cultivation and numb herself to stop thinking about it.

Tang Wulin knew that Na'er had something on her mind, but he was so busy every day that he had no time to take care of her. He could only offer a few words of comfort occasionally, but he didn't have a chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.

Gu Yue successfully achieved her goal. Once the seed of doubt in Na'er's heart sprouts, sooner or later she will sever her bond with Tang Wulin. At that time, she will be able to naturally merge with Na'er and return to her complete form.

The boy standing next to Na'er was dressed in black, with deep, unfathomable eyes. He complained to Gula in a telepathic message that the Sea God Pavilion didn't treat him like a human being and that the training was killing him.

It was Bai Yuan, the incarnation of Gula, who entered Class Zero as a transfer student along with Na'er. He did not summon his martial soul, and no one recognized him.

The three had known each other for a long time, but rarely interacted in class, which led to the misunderstanding that Xu Xiaoyan brought the two to the forging room. The Sea God Pavilion had held a meeting regarding his training, and after exploring the abyssal power and devouring essence he had mastered, they decided on a training plan that was roughly the same as the Gura Project.

However, it includes some resources controlled by Shrek Academy, such as special resources like Devil Island in the far north.

"welcome."

Gula put down his forging hammer and looked up at the doorway. Sunlight streamed in through the open door, gilding Na'er's pure white dress with a golden edge.

She stood there like a delicate white porcelain doll, her once lively purple eyes now veiled in mist, and the signature playful smile on her lips gone, replaced by a heart-wrenching sense of brokenness.

“I’d like to speak with you privately.” Her voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable firmness.

Xu Xiaoyan was sitting at her workbench organizing metal parts when she heard this and looked up in surprise. Sunlight streamed through Na'er's silver hair, enveloping her in a hazy glow.

Xu Xiaoyan unconsciously held her breath—she had never seen Na'er like this before. Her fragile beauty made her want to reach out and catch her, as if she would vanish like morning dew in the next second.

"Huh? You two know each other?" The parts in Xu Xiaoyan's hand clattered onto the table. She stared wide-eyed at the two of them. "But I've never seen you two talk before."

Gula nodded slightly, his metal gloves gleaming coldly in the sunlight. When he turned to Xu Xiaoyan, his gaze softened: "Xiaoyan, please sit down first, I'll be out for a bit."

“Oh…” Xu Xiaoyan nodded blankly, watching the two walk out of the forging room one after the other.

The moment the door closed, she suddenly noticed that Na'er's back looked much thinner than usual, as if some heavy burden was pressing on her slender shoulders.

Outside, the midday sun was scorching and blinding. Gula followed Na'er across the training ground, the shadows of the trees dappling their feet.

The sounds of other trainees laughing and joking drifted from afar, only making the silence between the two seem even more heavy. Finally, they stopped in front of a secluded bench by the lake.

As Na'er turned around, the wind blowing across the lake lifted the hem of her skirt. Her amethyst-like eyes looked directly at Gula: "Gu Yue told me everything."

This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating invisible ripples in the air.

Gula leaned against the willow tree, dappled sunlight shifting across his face: "So?"

"First of all, thank you for telling us my...brother's identity."

Nar unconsciously twisted the hem of her skirt, her knuckles turning white. Although the truth pierced her heart like a knife, she had to admit that if Gula hadn't pointed it out, she might have lived forever in a carefully woven lie.

She took a deep breath, the wind carrying the moisture from the lake filling her lungs: "You're in the same boat as us, I want to ask you..."

Her voice suddenly became very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something, "What are your views on soul beasts and humans?"

A willow leaf drifted down and landed on the bench between the two. Na'er didn't brush it away, and continued, "After your reincarnation, did you consider yourself human or a soul beast?"

(End of this chapter)