Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 383 The Inspiration Born Ahead of Schedule—The Soul

Mu En successfully led Huo Yuhao and Gu Tong back to Shrek Academy.

Upon returning to the academy, Huo Yuhao immediately began to fuse with the Ice Explosion Technique Soul Bone from the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan. Although the process was fraught with twists and turns, he ultimately succeeded with the secret protection of the Ice Emperor.

He then entered the Golden Tree promised by the Sea God Pavilion to meditate.

The pure and abundant life and light energy beneath the golden tree not only greatly purified his soul power and strengthened his foundation, but also propelled his cultivation, which had already reached a bottleneck, to break through level thirty naturally.

He needs to acquire his third spirit ring.

During this period, Jing Hongchen arrived at Shrek Academy as scheduled to negotiate the details of the "academic exchange".

Confident in his top-tier concealment soul tools, he actually had the idea of ​​investigating the Sea God Pavilion. However, as soon as he entered the Sea God Island area, he was instantly locked onto by Mu En's abyss-like spiritual power.

"Master Hongchen, the Sea God Pavilion of Shrek Academy is not a place where just anyone can come and go as they please." Mu En's calm voice rang directly in Jing Hongchen's mind, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Jing Hongchen was horrified. His proud level-nine concealment soul tool was useless in front of the person in front of him.

He had no doubt that if Moon had intended to kill him, he would already be a dead man by now.

He immediately appeared, adopting an extremely humble posture, repeatedly apologizing, and reluctantly took out several extremely precious and rare soul tools, which could even be considered the foundation of Mingde Hall, as "apologies," which barely calmed Mu En's displeasure.

Finally, the arrangements for the exchange were finalized. Mu En added casually at the end, "Master of the Red Dust Hall, if any of my Shrek Academy students are injured while traveling to Mingdu, regardless of the reason, I would not mind personally going to the Sun Moon Empire to have a 'good talk' with you."

Jing Hongchen's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat; he clearly felt the chilling killing intent contained in those words.

He repeatedly assured them that he would never allow the Shrek Academy's geniuses to suffer any mishap in Mingdu. Filled with immense frustration and heartache, Jing Hongchen left Shrek Academy; he had suffered a crushing defeat in this confrontation.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that this threat from Moon was one of the few things he could do before he died.

As per the reward, Xuanzi personally led a team to escort Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, who needed to obtain their third spirit ring, to the Star Dou Great Forest. Accompanying them was Wang Dong, who was inseparable from Huo Yuhao.

Meanwhile, Gula asked for leave from the academy under the pretext of needing a quiet environment to forge the next batch of evolution tables for the Star Luo Empire. He secretly followed and also entered the Star Dou Great Forest.

His goal was clear—the power of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's destiny.

This powerful energy, which involves destiny, must be of an extremely high level. Although it is impossible to judge whether it is superior to the power of faith, it is definitely a huge help.

To ensure absolute success, he did not use Groudon's spirit or the spirits of his avatars. Instead, he donned his three-word battle armor and switched to Celebi's spirit, preparing to use the power of spacetime to seal and capture the elusive power of destiny.

Xuanzi placed Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao at the edge of the mixed zone, calling it "training," while he hid to the side, focusing his attention on searching for delicious bird eggs.

The three proceeded cautiously through the forest. Gura, hidden within the phase space, watched them like a silent observer.

One night, they encountered a powerful thousand-year-old soul beast, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

This kind of soul beast has extremely terrifying attack power, far exceeding that of ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts, and Xuanzi disappeared at the crucial moment.

The three were locked in a fierce battle. Huo Yuhao's newly acquired Ice Explosion Soul Bone proved incredibly effective, creating an ice mist explosion that interfered with and injured the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

At the crucial moment, Xiao Xiao remembered the gift that Gula had given her, an evolution chart made with a ten-thousand-year-old plant-type soul bone as its core.

She activated the watch, and a vibrant, life-giving light instantly enveloped her entire body.

Her Azure Phoenix Martial Soul emitted a high-pitched and clear phoenix cry, its quality instantly improving and temporarily evolving into the ultimate wood attribute.

Her sensitivity and control over the surrounding plants surged. With a thought, the thick vines around her seemed to come alive, frantically binding and restraining the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. At the same time, a rich life force poured down, quickly healing her companions' injuries.

With the assistance and control of the Ultimate Wood, the three of them were able to easily defeat this powerful thousand-year-old soul beast together.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear fell to the ground, a large hole blasted in its abdomen, but it was not dead yet, though it was on the verge of death. Its attributes were not suitable for Huo Yuhao, so it was decided that Xiao Xiao would absorb it. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's gold attribute was undoubtedly a good match for the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron.

With the dagger plunged into his eye socket, a deep purple soul ring appeared on the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, and Xiao Xiao began to fuse with the soul bone.

Just then, Xuanzi, who had heard the news, appeared instantly. Looking at the spirit ring and corpse before him, a glint of light flashed in his eyes. After searching for a while, he found a piece of dark gold dinosaur claw bear's right palm bone, coughed lightly, and said to Huo Yuhao:

“Yuhao, this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is extremely rare. Its soul ring and the soul bone it produces come from the same source. If one person can absorb it, the benefits will be the greatest, as it can greatly strengthen the body and resonate more deeply with the martial soul.”

"Xiao Xiao's martial soul is now geared towards support and control, and this Dark Gold Terror Claw is perfect for her. How about... we give this soul bone to Xiao Xiao? I'll definitely find you a top-grade ice-attribute soul bone as compensation later!"

Yes, similar to the original story, Xuanzi had secretly taken the talented Xiao Xiao as his disciple at some point, and now he naturally wanted to secure benefits for his disciple.

Gula glanced at her from the shadows, and considering that Xuanzi was indeed working for Xiaoxiao's benefit, she didn't bother to argue. In any case, Xuanzi would most likely let Xiaoxiao grow up on her own, which wouldn't have a big impact on her.

Huo Yuhao looked at the powerful external soul bone, feeling reluctant to part with it, but Xuanzi spoke up, and Xiao Xiao was both a companion and a classmate, so he finally nodded:
"Elder Xuan, I agree. There's no need for compensation; it's enough that Xiao Xiao can become stronger." Although he said this, he still felt a little disappointed. Xuanzi's promise of compensation made him feel a little better.

When Xiao Xiao woke up and learned what had happened, she was extremely grateful to Huo Yuhao.

Then, under Xuanzi's protection, she began to fuse with the dark gold dinosaur claw-shaped external soul bone.

The domineering dark gold dinosaur claw soul bone reshaped the meridians in her hand. The process was extremely painful, as if her bones were being torn apart and reshaped. However, the powerful regenerative ability brought by the near-ultimate wood attribute continuously repaired the damage, allowing her to finally complete the fusion without any major incident. Her right palm bone turned dark gold, containing terrifying power.

Xuanzi smiled with satisfaction, "With the Dark Gold Terror Claw external soul bone, Xiao Xiao, you no longer need to worry about insufficient attack power."

"The Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron focuses on control and defense, while the Azure Phoenix Martial Soul is specially equipped with wood and life attribute soul rings. With the evolution chart of that little guy Gula, the chance of evolving into the ultimate attribute in the future has greatly increased!"

He was clearly very satisfied with his plan and never expected that if Xiao Xiao's martial soul hadn't evolved, she wouldn't have been able to fuse with the Dark Gold Terror Claw.

"Evolutionary chart? The old one?"

Huo Yuhao asked Xiao Xiao about the amazing changes in her martial soul during the previous battle.

Xiao Xiao then explained the function of the "evolution chart" to him, which surprised Huo Yuhao greatly. He never expected that a soul tool could develop the potential of a martial soul to such an extent.

But then he thought of the fragmented soul bone and wondered, "But is it really worth it to split up a complete soul bone to make a soul tool? The soul bone itself can directly enhance a soul master's soul power and physique."

Xiao Xiao replied earnestly, "It's worth it. Soul rings and soul bones that suit my Azure Phoenix Martial Soul are very rare."

"Without the evolution chart to help me develop the potential of the ultimate wood in advance, I might have cultivated to the level of a titled Douluo, but my martial soul might not have been able to evolve to its ultimate attribute naturally."

"But now, with the guidance of the evolution table, the possibility of my attributes evolving completely in the future has greatly increased. This is a shortcut to a higher level."

"Now that we have the external soul bone to supplement our abilities, we don't need to rely on offensive soul skills in the future, which gives us a greater chance." Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that this was indeed the case.

He himself is the epitome of ice, limiting his cultivation speed, but his starting point is extremely high. For other Soul Masters, improving their Martial Soul quality is as difficult as ascending to heaven. This evolution chart undoubtedly opens a shortcut; it may not be very useful to him, but it is not the case for his companions.

The evolution chart is of great significance to them, as it may be the opportunity for their martial spirit to evolve and their bloodline to awaken.

Thinking about it this way, he also became very interested in the evolution chart that Gura had created, and said to Xiao Xiao, "Xiao Xiao, can I borrow your evolution chart? I'm very curious about its structure."

Thinking that Huo Yuhao had just given up an extremely precious external soul bone, Xiao Xiao really couldn't refuse, so she took off her wristwatch and handed it to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao took the Evolution Watch, his eyes flashing with a pale golden light, and activated his mental detection at full power, delving deep into the watch's interior.

Suddenly, an incredibly complex and sophisticated soul-guiding array structure, far beyond his current comprehension, appeared before his "eyes," making him dizzy and horrified: "Gula's soul-guiding device level has actually reached this level?!"

At the same time, he also "saw" the cleverly divided fragments of the soul bone used as an energy source, as well as an energy liquid that he could not understand at all and which emitted a strange seven-colored halo.

Just then, Electrolux in his spiritual sea was disturbed.

The old man observed Huo Yuhao through his senses for a moment, then let out a soft exclamation: "Hmm? This energy... is quite interesting."

"It is not a product of the laws of this world, but is full of the meaning of 'evolution' and 'stimulation', like a highly purified catalyst of the life essence."

"It seems your classmate has also had his own extraordinary experiences. However, this energy seems to be very gentle, only temporarily stimulating potential, and there are no hidden dangers."

Huo Yuhao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and at the same time understood part of the reason for Gula's strength. He then spoke to Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and Ice Emperor in his spiritual sea:
"I see. It is said that Gula's original martial soul was just a mutated fire spirit. It seems that he had some amazing adventure that allowed his martial soul to evolve to its current state."

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm: "Wow, your luck is no worse than Yuhao's!"

Hyotei snorted coldly: "A fortuitous encounter is also part of strength. Dual extreme attributes are indeed terrifying."

No one understands the terror of extreme attributes better than her, especially since Cooler's two extreme attributes complement each other, making his combat power absolutely terrifying.

Huo Yuhao returned the evolution chart to Xiao Xiao, his curiosity about Gula growing even stronger.

Meanwhile, Gula, who was hiding nearby, took in all of this, a slight smile playing on his lips, and paid no attention to Huo Yuhao's probing.

Without the super evolution energy liquid, even if you know the principle and structure of the evolution table, you cannot stimulate the potential of your martial soul.

However, Gura was also quite curious whether Electrox could use his world's magical knowledge to replicate magic with similar effects.

Similarly, Huo Yuhao had similar thoughts.

Somewhere in the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao's consciousness sank into the Sea of ​​Spirit during night watch or a short rest.

Huo Yuhao's consciousness asked the gentle yet profound gray sphere of light, "Elder Yi, do you see it? The structure of this evolution chart is so ingenious, especially that strange energy... With your vast knowledge of magic, could we try to replicate a similar effect? ​​Even just a tiny part of it?"

The gray orb rippled slightly, emanating a thoughtful, aged voice: "Yuhao, the grandeur of magic lies in its near-infinite possibilities."

"However, magic is also divided into different categories, which are extremely profound. I believe I have some expertise in soul magic, but this involves the activation of bloodline potential and the guidance of the life source, which is more inclined towards ancient bloodline magic or life alchemy, and is not my forte."

After a pause, his voice shifted to a researcher's interest and the pride of a necromancer:

"However... the ingenious design and unique energy of this soul tool have indeed piqued my interest. That seven-colored energy contains the pure power of 'evolution' and 'activation' rules. Although it cannot last long, it is safe and efficient."

“Replicating all of its effects is extremely difficult, but if we only simulate some of its ‘activation’ characteristics, combined with the power of the soul and the contract… perhaps we can try. But this will take time, a lot of experimentation and deduction.”

A hint of excitement flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes, but he quickly calmed down: "Even if it can only simulate part of the effect, it will still be of great use. Thank you, teacher."

Electrolux replied, "If I teach you magic, I will naturally teach you the logic of learning. You possess a rare talent for mental strength, making you an excellent candidate for cultivating magic."

"However, Yuhao, observing this evolution chart, and the form you described of that Gulaqi's martial spirit fighting outside its body, has given me a grander inspiration that is more suitable for you."

Huo Yuhao asked curiously, "An even grander inspiration? What is it, Elder Yi?"

Electrolux's voice carried a hint of creator's excitement: "Hunting soul beasts to obtain soul rings has been a method that has continued for thousands of years, but it is bloody and inefficient, and is limited by the age and attributes of the soul beasts. Why can't there be a more harmonious and sustainable way?"

“Look at Gula’s martial spirit. It seems to have sentience and can fight autonomously, like an independent life form, yet it is closely connected to its body. And look at this evolution chart, which can guide the power of the martial spirit’s origin… So, can we combine the two?”

"Imagine this: we don't aim to kill, but rather communicate with soul beasts using powerful soul energy, and forge an equal contract with them after their death."

"Soul beasts voluntarily separate their soul power and soul skills to form a new kind of energy life form with a certain degree of intelligence, capable of growth, and able to assist soul masters in battle. We may call it a soul spirit!"

"Soul spirits can not only bestow soul rings upon soul masters, but also leave their bodies to assist in battle, and may even retain some of the intelligence of soul beasts in life. The soul beasts themselves may not die, but their power may be temporarily weakened. This will completely change the relationship between soul masters and soul beasts."

Huo Yuhao was so shocked by this unprecedented idea that he was speechless, his eyes filled with disbelief:

"Forming a contract... a soul spirit... obtaining a soul ring without killing a soul beast... and even having a battle partner? This... this is unbelievable! If it could really be achieved..."

Electrolux affirmed, "This will be a revolution, Yuhao. And your path should perhaps not be fixated on the evolution of the Martial Soul itself."

"After all, your Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Scorpion are already at their peak, making further evolution difficult. Your future lies in developing your powerful spiritual strength and in deeply studying my soul magic!"

"Only by mastering the power of the soul can one understand the consciousness of soul beasts, establish an equal contract, and ultimately turn the concept of 'soul spirits' into reality!"

"This will be your unique path. You need to systematically learn my magical knowledge, cooperate with me, and together we will research, refine, and ultimately realize this Soul System. Are you willing?"

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, his eyes becoming incredibly determined, without the slightest hesitation:

"Elder Yi, I am willing! Absolutely willing! To live in harmony with soul beasts, gaining power without causing further bloodshed... this is far more meaningful than simply evolving a martial soul. Please teach me soul magic. I will do my utmost to cooperate with you in completing this research!"

Electrolux nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. From today onwards, in addition to cultivating your soul power, your primary task will be to learn the basics of magic with me, especially the perception, communication, and contract runes at the soul level... We have a long way to go, but the future is incredibly bright."

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm curiously peered closer: "Wow! That sounds amazing! Is it a concept similar to yours, brother?"

Hyotei snorted coldly but did not refute it. She seemed to be interested in the idea as well, since she occasionally wanted to leave the Sea of ​​Spirit for some fresh air.

Huo Yuhao's consciousness withdrew from the Sea of ​​Spirit and looked into the dark forest in the distance. His eyes were no longer filled with confusion, but with a longing for a new power and a sense of mission to create history.

Gula didn't know that he had only slightly thwarted Huo Yuhao's opportunity, but it had given Electrolux inspiration. The soul contract in this life would surely be more perfect, and might even give him a surprise.

(End of this chapter)