Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 257 The Mysterious Fruit Merchant

"Junior, are you kidding me?" He picked up a blue-skinned fruit and weighed it in his hand. "Didn't they take away your soul tools during the first-year assessment? You didn't steal these fruits from somewhere, did you?"

"They even advertise it as a Soul Power Fruit. Don't they know there aren't many primeval forests left on the continent? This must be an artificially cultivated variety. It's all flashy and smells really good. Did they add some technology to it?"

Gula raised his eyes and calmly looked at the other person: "Buy it or not, it's a limited edition, first come, first served."

"Hey, you little brat..." The older boy's face darkened. Thinking of the hardships he endured for exams in his first year, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and a cruel smile spread across his face.

"Fine, I'll buy one. If it's not worth it, I'll wreck your stall!"

Gula's face broke into a warm, merchant-like smile: "Pick whatever you like."

The boy casually picked up the blue-skinned fruit, and as soon as he touched it, he felt a strange attraction emanating from within the fruit, causing his soul power to stir slightly. This unusual feeling made him frown, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"One million Federal Credits," Gula said, making his offer.

"You're robbing me!" The boys, who hadn't heard Gula's explanation, almost threw the fruit away upon hearing this, but thinking that they might be extorted, they held on and didn't let go.

Gula shrugged and ignored him.

At that moment, a senior student wearing a light blue dress stepped out from the crowd. She had long, flowing, light blue hair, and her eyes were like clear lake water. She wore a badge indicating she was a fourth-year student.

She had been watching the show from the sidelines. One million Federal Credits was nothing to Shrek Academy students, but using it to buy a single piece of fruit was indeed too extravagant.

However, she was naturally very curious, and Gula caught her eye. Besides, it wasn't spending contribution points, so...

"One million, right? I'll take one." She took out a gold-rimmed card and looked at Gula with great interest. "Junior, can you tell me about these fruits?"

Gula sensed the strong water-attribute soul power fluctuations emanating from her, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes: "Senior, you have a water-attribute martial soul?"

"That's right, my martial soul is the Azure Swan." The senior smiled slightly. "What, do you need to check martial soul attributes when buying fruit?"

She assumed that Gula had heard of her, and looking at Gula's handsome face, she couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Gula didn't answer, but instead took out a crystalline seed from his robes. As his soul power surged, a jet-black soul ring rose from beneath his feet, eliciting gasps from those around him.

"A black spirit ring! And he's only a first-year student!"

"A four-ring Soul Master? How is that possible!"

Ignoring the commotion around him, Gula focused intently on placing the seed in his palm. As he infused it with his soul power, the seed quickly sprouted and grew, transforming into a miniature fruit tree within seconds, producing a translucent, light blue fruit, much to the astonishment of the onlookers.

"Please try it." Gula picked a fruit and handed it to her senior. "This is the Azure Crystal Fruit, specially cultivated for water-attribute soul masters."

A hint of amazement flashed in the senior's eyes. To the boys, Gula's behavior seemed like showing off his strength, but to the girls, it was more of a romantic sentiment.

She didn't immediately take the fruit, but looked at Gula meaningfully: "Junior, do you have a girlfriend? I'm currently single."

She winked playfully, which drew a chorus of cheers from the boys around her.

Gula's forehead creased with a few black lines: "Sorry, I perform, but I don't sell my body."

"Tch." The senior student curled her lip, took the fruit, and muttered under her breath, "I should have just not paid..."

She held the fruit up to her eyes and examined it closely. Sunlight shone through the peel, refracting a dreamy blue halo, and it seemed as if liquid was slowly flowing within the flesh. She parted her lips slightly and carefully took a bite.

The next moment, the senior's expression froze. The fruit melted in her mouth, transforming into a cool surge of energy that flowed into her body.

This energy was incredibly pure, transforming directly into her soul power almost without any refining. Even more astonishingly, as her soul power increased, some impurities were subtly eliminated, making it even purer. "This…this is equivalent to half a month of my arduous training!"

The senior student opened her eyes and looked incredulously at the remaining fruit in her hand.

To her even greater surprise, the fruit was far more delicious than she had imagined. Every bite was like tasting the finest dessert, yet it was not cloying at all, and instead, it invigorated her.

She finished the fruit in a few bites, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "Junior, I'll take care of your whole stall!"

These words were like a fuse, instantly igniting a frenzy among the students who had been observing. Several quick-thinking individuals pulled out their gold cards and scrambled to grab the fruit from the stalls.

"I want the red one!"

"Leave me one of the green ones!"

"I'll pay double the price!"

The older boy who had initially questioned the fruit stood frozen in place, looking at the blue-skinned fruit he had once rejected. After a moment's hesitation, he cautiously took a bite.

His eyes widened suddenly. The energy contained in the fruit perfectly matched his lightning-attribute martial soul. A tingling sensation spread from the tip of his tongue to his entire body, and his soul power increased at a visible speed.

What shocked him even more was that some hidden injuries accumulated in his meridians over a long period of cultivation showed signs of healing under the cleansing effect of this energy.

"Give me another one..." He looked up abruptly, only to find the stall completely empty.

The other trainees weren't fools; they snapped up all of Gula's stock in just a few minutes. Gula was leisurely tidying up his stall, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Sold out, goodbye everyone."

He waved his hand, pocketing a stack of gold cards. A rough estimate suggested he'd earned nearly 100 million Federal Credits that morning. The wealthy scions of Shrek Academy truly lived up to their reputation.

"Wait! When will you have more stock?"

"Junior, could you leave me your contact information?"

Can I make a reservation?

Despite the shouts coming from behind, Gula waved his hand without turning around, and his figure quickly disappeared into the academy's path.

But what he didn't know was that the legend of the "mysterious fruit merchant" had already spread like wildfire at Shrek Academy.

As Gula walked out of the academy gate, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He never expected that the fruit he cultivated casually would be so popular among the Shrek Academy students.

Of course, this means that Shrek Academy students are not short of money and are extremely enthusiastic about improving their strength; otherwise, it would be impossible to sell them for so much money.

"An unexpected delight. The hybridization of the tree fruit and native plants has increased its growth rate and made it exceptionally sensitive to my catalysis."

Gula looked at the large number of fruits and seeds that had accumulated in the Senhai space under the thirty times the time flow rate, and had a new idea.

"Perhaps Arceus could become a seed company in the future?"

Anyway, the seeds left behind by the specially cultivated fruits don't have any special effects, and they grow slowly, only producing ordinary fruits. There's no need to tamper with the seeds; they can be sold directly.

that is…

As a child of nature, wouldn't it be strange for him to become the owner of a seed company?
(End of this chapter)