Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 364 Scavenging Opportunities
Having completed today's soul forging, Gula left the forging room, preparing to go to the Soul Battle Zone to relax.

A fierce competition is underway. Yan Shaozhe, Qian Duoduo, and other high-ranking officials are personally overseeing the event.

On the arena, Huo Yuhao's opponent was a powerful attack-type battle spirit master with a soul power of level 32.

The opponent's offensive was fierce, and their soul skills were wide and powerful, forcing Huo Yuhao, who only had two ten-year soul rings and seemed weak, to retreat repeatedly and face constant danger.

"Hmph, trash, can't even kill a first-ring Soul Master instantly."

Below the stage, Dai Yueheng crossed his arms, his eyes filled with malice as he watched Huo Yuhao's disheveled figure, a sneer playing on his lips.

Although his younger brother Dai Huabin was publicly crippled and expelled from the family, which was his own fault, Dai Yueheng still transferred his hatred to Huo Yuhao.

After all, in his view, if it weren't for this lowly commoner, how could his brother have ended up like this? How could the White Tiger Duke's mansion have suffered such a humiliating disgrace?!

If he weren't more shrewd and aware of the importance of Shrek Academy to Dai Hao and the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, he would definitely have sought revenge.

However, Huo Yuhao's actions also solved a problem for him. Dai Huabin's talent was comparable to his, but he had Zhu Lu, a person with whom he could fuse martial souls. Originally, he was the biggest threat to his inheritance of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, but now all of that was gone.

So Dai Yueheng didn't actually hate Huo Yuhao that much; he was just saying it to show his own people.

On the arena, Huo Yuhao was once again struck by the aftershock of his opponent's soul skill, staggering backward with a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

He kept his head down, and no one could see his expression at that moment.

"Admit defeat, you're no match for me. Who gave you the courage to challenge me!" the opponent shouted triumphantly, gathering his soul power once more, preparing to deliver the final blow.

at this time.

"hiss--!"

A roar, seemingly from the coldest place, filled with endless pain and a desire for destruction, suddenly burst from Huo Yuhao's throat; the sound was completely unlike that of a human.

Huo Yuhao suddenly raised his head.

His eyes were no longer the purple of a spiritual eye, but had turned into a terrifying emerald green, like ancient ice that had frozen the soul.

An indescribable chill, as if it would freeze and crush the entire world, erupted from his body like an out-of-control nuclear explosion.

Click!Click!
Centered on Huo Yuhao, the solid arena floor was instantly covered with a thick layer of blue ice that emitted a chilling white aura.

The terrifyingly low temperature made the air groan under its own weight. The opponent who was about to attack was the first to be hit. Before he could even scream, he was instantly frozen into a lifelike ice sculpture, his face still frozen with a smug expression.

The chill did not stop; like a tide of death, it rapidly spread throughout the entire Soul Fighting Zone. The weaker students in the audience instantly felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, their teeth chattering, and their soul power circulation becoming extremely sluggish.

"Ultimate Ice?! Twin Martial Souls?!"

On the high platform, Yan Shaozhe suddenly stood up and exclaimed in shock. He stared intently at Huo Yuhao's strange heterochromatic eyes, his face filled with extreme shock and disbelief.

That seemingly frail boy with only ten years of spirit rings actually possesses such terrifying talent!
"No, it's impossible!"

The mockery on Dai Yueheng's face instantly turned into hidden horror and fear. As if he had seen a ghost, he took a step back uncontrollably, knocking over the chair behind him.

Ultimate Ice! Twin Martial Souls!
How could Huo Yuhao possess such heaven-defying strength talent? Thinking of his younger brother's miserable state and the family's disgrace, a chill instantly shot from the soles of Dai Yueheng's feet to the top of his head.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, I have no conflict with him, I just need to avoid provoking him in the future."

Despite saying that, Dai Yueheng's expression was still not good.

The entire Soul Fighting Zone was plunged into a deathly silence, chilling atmosphere, and utter shock.

Only Huo Yuhao stood in the center of the frozen arena, radiating a destructive chill, his emerald eyes sweeping across the entire arena, like a vengeful king returning from hell.

A knowing and amused look flashed in Gula's eyes. "He took leave to go to the far north. It seems that crippling his lower body was a big blow to him."

……

Within Shrek Academy, the storm stirred up by Huo Yuhao's earth-shattering burst of extreme ice was far from subsiding.

Yan Shaozhe stood at the window of the Sea God Pavilion, gazing at the calm Sea God Lake outside, but his heart was filled with turmoil.

Extreme fire, extreme ice!
The simultaneous appearance of two geniuses with the most extreme attributes in the spirit system he controls is nothing short of a condensation of Shrek Academy's ten thousand years of good fortune.

In particular, Huo Yuhao's ultimate ice is simply the perfect key given to him by heaven to solve the hidden danger of his disciple Ma Xiaotao's evil fire phoenix. As long as it is properly guided, Shrek Academy will have two ultimate Douluo who are enough to suppress an era in the future.

"God bless Shrek!"

Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but whisper, his eyes gleaming with excitement. But amidst the excitement, a hint of worry crept into his heart.

He thought of his teacher, Dragon God Douluo Mu En... He remembered the passionate love triangle that Mu En had in his youth, which ultimately turned into enmity and led to the death of his best friend.

Top geniuses, especially those with ultimate martial souls, are rare, and it's almost inevitable that feelings will develop between them when they spend a lot of time together... Gula, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong, the equally talented disciple of the Clear Sky Sect who is disguised as a man...

“Two men and one woman… extreme attributes…” Yan Shaozhe frowned, “What if we repeat the same mistakes…” He could almost foresee the possible bloodshed in the future.

However, when his thoughts turned to Huo Yuhao's peculiar "injury," his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, even showing a strange sense of relief.

“Cough…at least, the possibility in some aspects…has been greatly reduced.” He shook his head, shaking off this untimely thought.

In any case, talent must be retained.

He immediately signed an order promoting Huo Yuhao from a prospective core disciple to a core disciple, granting him the highest level of resources and privileges.

Gula naturally also received the "benefits" of a core disciple - a Shrek Gold Card with an astonishing credit limit.

He remained unmoved by this, and immediately poured the "huge sum" back into the Treasure Pavilion, sweeping up a batch of high-quality rare metals.

Upon hearing the news, Yan Shaozhe specially sought him out and earnestly advised him not to be distracted by the soul tool, but to focus on cultivating the ultimate fire, and not to give up on himself just because his speed slowed down after becoming a Soul Master.

Gula simply stated calmly, "I know my limits when it comes to my interests," and easily brushed it off.

Time flows like the waters of Poseidon Lake, calm yet swift, and the first semester's vacation arrives.

Gula showed no hesitation, his goal clear: to head to the far north.

His destination was not the vast ice plain itself, but the treasure hidden within the Heavenly Soul Empire, beneath the forbidden land of the Earth Dragon Gate—the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow and the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal!
The Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow is the supreme treasure of ice-attribute soul masters. It can not only greatly enhance cultivation, but also temper ice-attribute martial souls, causing them to undergo a qualitative leap.

While the effect is halved for other attribute Soul Masters and cannot improve the quality of their Martial Soul, for Gula, his Soul Emperor-level Soul Power foundation has been tempered to a level comparable to a Title Douluo, being incomparably pure. He desperately needs this rare treasure of heaven and earth containing immense pure energy to forcefully propel his breakthrough; otherwise, his cultivation speed would be even slower than that of an Ultimate Martial Soul.

The Ice Crystal is also Gula's biggest goal on this trip.

This naturally formed, top-grade rare metal, possessing extreme ice properties and spatial stability, is strong enough on its own to serve as the core framework of a level 10 soul tool without any forging process.

Gura plans to use it as a framework to build the mechs he envisions.

Its extreme cold properties not only prevent the mech core from overheating and collapsing under extreme operation, but also significantly improve combat endurance, making it the perfect mech gem.

Earth Dragon Gate is a sect primarily composed of female Soul Masters who inherit the "Rouge Dragon" Martial Soul, possessing rare annihilation attributes.

Deep within the sect's forbidden grounds lies a "Body Tempering Cold Pool" that perpetually exudes a terrifying chill. Gula's target lies beneath this cold pool.

He switched to the Celebi Martial Soul, a green-gold aura enveloping his entire body. With a single step, his figure instantly merged into the phase space, ignoring all the defensive soul tools and guards of the Earth Dragon Gate.

Like an invisible ghost, he pierced straight through the thick rock layers and the soul-guiding barrier set up by the sect, silently arriving at the bottom of the cold pool.

What lay before them was a breathtaking sight: several crystal-clear, translucent strands of ancient ice marrow, radiating a deep blue glow, and resembling giant ice stalagmites, were deeply embedded in the earth's veins.

Scattered around it are countless sharp-edged ice crystals, each seemingly containing a flowing icy blue galaxy. Extreme cold condenses here, making even space seem frozen.

Without any hesitation, Gula used his telekinesis to transform into an invisible giant hand, precisely and efficiently stripping and collecting all the visible Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Mystic Ice Marrow and Ice Extreme Divine Crystal from the rock strata.

With the disappearance of these ice-type treasures, the bone-chilling low temperature of the Cold Pool began to drop at a visible rate.

When the local elder guarding the Dragon Gate noticed that the cold air in the forbidden area had weakened abnormally, he rushed in in a panic to check. He only saw that the temperature of the cold pool had returned to normal and that there were obvious signs that the bottom of the pool had been dug.

This is actually a good thing for them, at least they don't have to worry about the temperature of the Cold Pool continuing to drop, making it impossible for the younger disciples to use the Cold Pool.

Meanwhile, Gula had already fled dozens of miles away in the phase space.

"The harvest is good."

Gula weighed the heavy spoils in his storage soul tool, his eyes gleaming. "Ice Extreme God Crystal... Next, I will focus all my efforts on forging it. The day I break through to the Heaven Forging stage will be the day the mecha is born."

With ample time during his vacation, Gula didn't return immediately. He immediately infiltrated the Star Luo Empire again. His target was clear: the Soul-Devouring Carving Blade!

This murderous blade, which was purified by Huo Yuhao in the original story and contained immense golden energy of living beings, is still lying quietly in the storeroom of the Starlight Auction House.

For Gura, acquiring it was a piece of cake; he bought it for twice the price of 100,000 gold coins in the original story.

In his avatar form, he used the power of the Death God's scythe to easily dispel the vengeful spirits and curses accumulated within the carving knife, revealing its core—a piece of emerald green living gold radiating a powerful aura of life.

"The immense vitality... is perfect for strengthening the 'Forest Sea Space'!"

Gula looked at the pure gold of life in his hand, and a plan had already been made in his mind.

His third soul skill, "Forest Sea Space," has a powerful time-stopping effect, but its space is limited and it lacks growth potential.

He planned to emulate Electrolux's method of opening up the spiritual sea for Huo Yuhao, using the vast life essence contained in the life metal to forcibly expand and stabilize the forest sea space, transforming it into a life-stopping space that could accommodate more soul skills and even store living beings.

At the same time, this pure life energy is also an excellent tonic for the soul of the Golden Ancient Tree, which can greatly nourish the soul's origin and accumulate a more solid foundation for its future evolution.

"Wait a minute..." A thought flashed through Gula's mind, "Since we're going to use life energy... why not take this opportunity to collect some endangered rare plant seeds? Ten thousand years have passed, and many unique plants have long since disappeared."

"These seeds can not only enrich the 'gene pool' of the golden ancient tree and enhance its biodiversity, but also provide top-quality 'seed' materials for creating new plant incarnations with special abilities in the future."

With a clear idea in mind, Gula immediately took action.

He returned to Shrek City and, leveraging his status as a core disciple and Shrek Academy's vast network of connections, posted a high bounty in the mission hall:
We are seeking all known or unknown plant seeds, those with unusual shapes or those that are endangered. Compensation will be generous!

This bounty was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, quickly causing ripples in the academy and even the surrounding Soul Master circles.

Professor Song, who was in charge of managing the college's economics and intelligence, naturally also received the news.

"Collecting rare plant seeds?" Old Song looked at the report, raising an eyebrow and a hint of inquiry in his eyes. "What is this little guy up to now? Alchemy? Herb cultivation? Or is it just one of his hobbies? He has quite a variety of interests."

She pondered for a moment, then finally shook her head. "Fine, as long as it doesn't harm the academy or involve any taboos, let him do as he pleases. This is a trivial matter, not worth interfering with." She waved her hand, indicating to her subordinates that they didn't need to investigate further.

The bounty was far more effective than Gula had anticipated.

Shrek Academy's extensive reach across the continent and the allure of its generous rewards have drawn countless adventurers and Soul Masters to its fold.

When the holiday ended and the new semester began, Gula was presented with three pleasantly surprising gifts:

The first type, the Netherworld Flower Seed, consists of three rice-grain-sized seeds, entirely black, with a faint purple glow flowing across their surface.

Intelligence indicates that this flower grows only in the deepest, most yin and filthy places, blooming for only one week each year, and its petals wither instantly upon direct contact.

However, it is a legendary top-tier healing medicine, said to contain a glimmer of hope to reverse life and death.

Guram caressed the cool seed, his eyes shining brightly: "A core material that embodies perfect healing and support, containing the secret of life and death transformation... with limitless potential."

The second type is a mutated Bodhi seed, consisting of five longan-sized, warm and smooth jade-like, milky-white seeds that exude a faint sandalwood fragrance and a cool aroma.

It can significantly enhance mental strength after consumption, but excessive use will cause the user to completely lose all emotions and desires, becoming like a withered tree.

Gula held it in his palm: "It won't significantly improve my mental strength, so it's useless to me. But it's a good opportunity to store up genes, then nurture them to sprout, and use them as a soul spirit for Qing Liuli, strengthening her mental perception and telepathic communication abilities."

The third and biggest surprise was the Time Flower seeds, a small bag of tiny, dust-like particles that shimmered with a faint silvery starlight.

Each "seed" contains an extremely weak force of time, and a single one can only affect the flow of time in an area the size of a thumb, with a weak and short-lived effect.

Intelligence refers to it as the "Sands of Time," but Cooler prefers to call it the seed form of the "Flower of Time." Quantity is key to its value.

Although the individual losses are small, the sheer number of them makes up for it, and the future looks promising.

Gula looked at the small bag of silver sand and said, "It fills the Golden Ancient Tree's gene pool and improves its time attribute... Accumulating sand into a tower might help me generate a powerful time soul skill."

Gula put away the three rare seeds with satisfaction.

This holiday was much more fruitful than I expected, and I hope to gain even more in the new semester.

(End of this chapter)