Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 408 The Truth, The Self-Cultivation of a Simp
Long Xiaoyao transformed into a black light and disappeared into the horizon. Seeing that his backer had left, Zhang Peng, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, dared not linger any longer. He immediately transformed into a wisp of black smoke and fled, fearing that if he was even a step too slow, he would be left behind by the Shrek group.

Yan Shaozhe breathed a sigh of relief, but then became tense again and advised Gula, "Gula, let's go quickly. After all, Long Xiaoyao is a Limit Douluo who associates with evil soul masters. He is unpredictable. If he goes back on his word, we will be no match for him."

Huo Yuhao nodded with lingering fear: "Yes, Brother Gu, saving our lives is the most important thing."

Then, unable to suppress his burning gossip spirit, Huo Yuhao asked curiously in a low voice, "Gula, what you just said... is it all true? Who exactly is Senior Long Xiaoyao's son?"

Gula nodded, his tone certain: "My sources are absolutely authentic."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Yan Shaozhe and slowly said, "As for who Long Xiaoyao's son is... Dean, you should know that Senior Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo, traveled the continent with Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui when he was young, right?"

Yan Shaozhe felt a sudden tightness in his chest and nodded, saying, "Yes, the teacher did mention that past event."

Gula continued to reveal the answer in a slow and clear tone: "So, given Ye Xishui's personality, she doesn't want Long Xiaoyao to know that she has given birth to his son, yet she wants to ensure that the child is absolutely safe and can receive the best upbringing and positive education... so who do you think she will entrust this child to?"

Yan Shaozhe's face turned pale instantly, and an extremely ominous premonition gripped his heart.

Among the high-ranking members of the Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, he seems to be the only one of those who is an orphan and fits the age description...

"Ye Xishui's second martial soul..." Gula looked at him and said, word by word, "is the Phoenix of Light."

boom!
These words struck Yan Shaozhe like a thunderbolt, exploding directly in his mind.

All the clues instantly connected—his orphanhood, the Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul, his teacher's meticulous guidance… He staggered back a step, his face drained of color, and murmured, "No… impossible… how could it be me…"

He had always taken it upon himself to eliminate evil spirit masters and uphold justice, but now he was told that his birth mother was actually the leader of the biggest evil spirit master in the world.

This huge change in status and the shock almost made him lose his composure.

Seeing this, Xianlin'er immediately stepped forward to support him, and said with concern, "Shao Zhe, calm down! This is just Gula's side of the story, it may not be true!"

"Even if... even if it's true, you can't choose your birth. Everyone has seen what you've done over the years, and you've always been on the side of justice."

Yan Shaozhe was distraught, forcing out a smile that looked worse than a grimace: "I...I need to calm down...Gula, let's...go back first." He was in a state of utter confusion and just wanted to leave immediately.

"Alright." Gula shrugged, giving the dean, who was usually quite nice to him, some face.

Xianlin glared at Gula with annoyance, her eyes reproaching him for revealing such a shocking secret so directly.

Gula returned an innocent look, indicating with his eyes: I have already laid the groundwork very subtly, and if Huo Yuhao hadn't pressed me, I wouldn't have planned to say it now at all.

Huo Yuhao: "???"

Each of the four had their own thoughts, and they got up and flew back to Shrek Academy.

However, shortly after they left, a plant seed that Gura had quietly dropped quickly took root and sprouted, transforming into an identical clone of Gura, which remained quietly in place, waiting for something.

About half a day later, a dark figure carrying a strong sense of blood and explosion returned; it was Long Xiaoyao.

He looked like he had been through a great battle; his robe was somewhat torn, but his aura remained powerful.

His eyes sharpened as he saw that only Gura's clone was waiting there, and he immediately roared, "Kid, you really ran away! Where's the real one?!"

Gura's clone shrugged, his tone relaxed: "The main body went back, but it's not like I can't tell you the truth. Besides... some people aren't mentally prepared to face you yet."

Long Xiaoyao frowned: "What do you mean? Stop being so mysterious!"

Gula's clone waved his hand: "Where are the things? You promised 'compensation and intelligence fees'."

Long Xiaoyao snorted coldly and threw over a dozen large storage soul tools filled with rare metals.

He wasn't worried that a clone could pull off any tricks right under his nose.

Gula's clone inspected the items and, satisfied, stored the priceless metals into the Senhai Demiplane. Then, he looked at Long Xiaoyao with a teasing expression: "Actually, in the world of Soul Masters, there's a very simple way to confirm the relationship between father and son, or mother and son—look at their Martial Soul. Why don't you guess what Ye Xishui's second Martial Soul is?"

Long Xiaoyao's patience was almost exhausted, and black energy swirled around him: "My patience is limited!" If it weren't just an avatar in front of him, he would have already made his move.

The clone shrugged: "Alright, alright, you really have no patience. Here's a hint: Ye Xishui's second martial soul is—the Phoenix of Light."

"Isn't it ironic? Even the previous leader of the Holy Spirit Cult didn't know about her martial spirit, and she's never cultivated it, yet she's willingly allowed herself to continue in this degenerate state..."

"Heh, what's there to talk about whitewashing? Ye Xishui has never been manipulated or brainwashed. She was born evil to the extreme. Once an evil soul master, always an evil soul master!"

"Light... Phoenix?" Long Xiaoyao murmured repeatedly, trying to search his memory for someone who possessed this martial soul.

He had lived in seclusion for many years and knew little about the outside world. He had only seen some information about the Holy Spirit Cult, but he couldn't recall it at the moment.

Gula's clone clicked its tongue, seemingly unable to bear watching him ponder so deeply, and directly revealed the answer:
"That's Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Spirit Department at Shrek Academy. He possesses the Radiant Phoenix Spirit and was adopted and raised by Senior Mu En."

Seeing Long Xiaoyao's expression freeze instantly, the clone slowly added another sentence, as if dropping another bomb:
"Also, here's some extra information for you. Ye Xishui has actually liked you from the very beginning. Well... it's just that her 'liking' is a bit twisted; she wants to possess everything about you."

"So, under the arrangement of the previous Holy Spirit Cult leader, she approached you, instigated you brothers to turn against each other, outwardly showed goodwill to Mu En, but secretly climbed into your bed... Tsk tsk, what an extremely vicious woman."

After saying all this, before Long Xiaoyao could digest the huge amount of information, Gula's clone turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared on the spot with a "poof," leaving Long Xiaoyao standing there like a stone statue in the desolate mountain forest.

Long Xiaoyao stood there for a long time, his handsome and resolute face displaying a complex mix of emotions: shock, anger, disbelief, a hint of secret ecstasy, and endless pain... a multitude of emotions intertwined and washed over his more than two hundred years of mental defenses.

Just as they were finally managing to piece together this explosive information, a violent fluctuation of soul power and a howling sound came from afar—the soul master pursuers and elite soul master legions dispatched by the Sun Moon Empire had finally caught up with them following the clues.

Long Xiaoyao, who was feeling extremely irritable and had nowhere to vent his anger, turned cold and, without bothering to say anything, went straight to meet him.

An unequal massacre erupted instantly!

...otherwise, you could split yourself up and run faster.

How could an ordinary Soul Master legion withstand the wrath of a Limit Douluo?
Long Xiaoyao didn't even bother using too many soul skills. Relying solely on his terrifying physical strength and dark soul power, he was like a tiger among sheep. Wherever he went, people and horses fell, and soul tools shattered one after another.

Finally, the commander of the Sun Moon Empire, enraged by the attack, unleashed his ultimate weapon—several level-eight fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells!
Rumble, rumble!

Amidst the deafening explosion, an area equivalent to the entire Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was completely reduced to scorched earth, filled with smoke and dust, resulting in heavy casualties.

Long Xiaoyao withstood the impact of the explosion; although somewhat disheveled, he was not seriously injured.

He glanced coldly at the devastated land he had created with his own hands, his pent-up anger eased slightly, and ignoring the remaining enemies, he turned into a black light and sped towards the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters.

He was in a state of utter confusion and desperately wanted to confront Ye Xishui face to face.

But halfway through the flight, he hesitated again... He was afraid that if he really met Ye Xishui, he would be easily persuaded and coaxed by her words, just like he had been for the past two hundred years.

He also wanted to see his "son" Yan Shaozhe, but felt unworthy. Knowing of his existence was perhaps enough... In the end, Ye Xishui was more important.

It must be admitted that when Long Xiaoyao heard from Gula that "Ye Xishui has actually liked you from the very beginning," an indescribable, even despicable, ecstasy welled up in the deepest part of his heart.

This not only means that he never truly "betrayed" his brother Moon, but also that his more than two hundred years of unwavering loyalty and aiding and abetting evil seem to have a somewhat absurd meaning of being "worth it".

Time cannot be reversed, and the obsession has already taken deep root. Just as the world can never truly understand the thought process of a "simp."

Unfortunately, when he rushed back to the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters, he remembered that Ye Xishui was in seclusion in a secret room, focusing all her efforts on creating that terrifying level 10 soul tool—the Death God Tower, and strictly forbade anyone from disturbing her.

Long Xiaoyao's heartfelt desires, his many questions and struggles, were destined to be suppressed once again, and he would continue his hopeless and long wait.

(End of this chapter)