Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 410 Conversation at the Sea God Pavilion

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the hotel's sheer curtains, casting warm dappled patterns into the room.

Gula woke up first, and looking at Xiao Xiao who was still fast asleep beside her, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

He waved his hand gently, and pure and gentle spiritual energy of light fell like a drizzle, quietly dispelling the slight fatigue left by their intimate encounter the night before.

Xiao Xiao mumbled something in her sleep, unconsciously snuggling deeper into the covers, and mumbled, "I'm not coming... I'm not coming..."

Gula chuckled, then gently rose and dressed.

His body had been fused with the gold of life, making his life essence abundant; even without a deep sleep, he remained energetic.

He quietly left the room and went outside the college to buy some fancy breakfast.

When he returned to the room with the food, Xiao Xiao was already awake, sitting on the bed wrapped in a blanket. Her adorable, slightly chubby face was flushed, and her eyes were still a little hazy, but she asked with forced composure, "Is this... breakfast?"

Gula looked at her feigned composure, his eyes full of amusement, but didn't expose her. He placed the food on the bedside table.

"Hmm, a food science junior from the outer academy made some soul skill snacks, and the cafeteria's signature seafood soup. Let's eat something and rest for a while."

Xiao Xiao nodded obediently, hid under the covers and quietly got dressed before wading out to eat in small bites, like a little hamster stealing food.

Gula sat on the edge of the bed, watching her eat for a while before speaking, "I have to go to the Sea God Pavilion later. The Dean and the others probably have a lot of questions for me. I'll come back to find you tonight?"

"No...no need!" Xiao Xiao quickly shook her head, her cheeks turning even redder. "I...I still have to go help out at the Tang Clan today. Oh, right."

As if remembering something, she looked up and said, "In the two years you were away from the academy, Wang Dong and Senior Bei Bei kept inviting me to join the Tang Sect. I... I couldn't resist and agreed."

Gula paused slightly upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "Fine, then join. The Tang Clan's unique skills, especially the eye-training technique 'Purple Demon Eye' and the footwork 'Ghost Shadow Illusion,' are indeed distinctive. Anyway..."

He paused, then said meaningfully, "I'm only wary of a certain entity. Even if the Tang Sect develops for another hundred years, it won't pose a threat to me." He was referring to Tang San, not the Tang Sect as an organization.

Xiao Xiao smiled and looked down at Gula with undisguised admiration in her eyes: "You're the amazing one... In just two and a half years, you not only broke through to Soul Saint, but also became an eighth-level Soul Master! I was stunned when I heard about it."

Gula spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something ordinary: "It's nothing. My Angel Martial Soul is quite special. When I kill Soul Masters with evil attributes, especially Evil Soul Masters, I can directly absorb and transform a portion of their original power to feed back to myself."

"I set up an ambush in the Sun Moon Empire, eliminating three evil Title Douluos, and my soul power increased by twenty levels in one go. As for soul tools..."

He pointed to his head. "It's related to strong mental power; it makes learning twice as effective. Also..."

He paused for a moment. Now that he had decided to partially reveal his secrets to the Sea God Pavilion, there was no need to hide it from Xiao Xiao any longer. Some things could be made clear: "I still have twin martial souls."

"Twin Martial Souls?!" Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in shock, forgetting to eat the snacks in her hand. "I...I had no idea!"

"Well, I didn't tell you before because I thought it was unnecessary," Gula made up a plausible reason.

"The Angelic Martial Soul of Ultimate Light is already eye-catching and even fearsome enough. Just look at how the Evil Soul Master couldn't wait to send a Title Douluo to kill me. The other Martial Soul is a trump card."

As he spoke, a thought crossed his mind, and behind him, a vibrant green light swirled, and the phantom of Celebi, brimming with life and the breath of nature, quietly appeared.

The vigorous vitality of that ultimate tree made Xiao Xiao, who possessed the Azure Phoenix Martial Soul, feel incredibly comfortable and close; it was an attraction emanating from the very source of her Martial Soul.

"This is... the ultimate wood?!" Xiao Xiao was shocked again.

“Not bad.” Gula nodded.

However, Xiao Xiao's shock quickly turned into understanding, and then, large tears rolled down her cheeks without warning.

"So...so you said you could evolve my martial soul...that drop of 'Ultimate Wood Essence Blood' you gave me..."

Her voice choked with sobs as she suddenly threw herself into Gula's arms, pounding his chest with her small fists. "How could you be so foolish! I don't care at all whether my martial soul is an ultimate attribute or not! You didn't need to hurt yourself to help me!"

She believed that the incredibly precious drop of blood essence was condensed by Gula using up his own life force.

Gula was slightly taken aback, then a warm feeling and a sense of apology welled up in his heart—that drop of blood was actually the condensation of his incarnation.

He held the weeping girl tightly in his arms and gently comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. The vitality of the Extreme Wood is very strong, and it can recover quickly from losing a little essence. Besides, I have my own opportunities, so this little loss is really nothing." He gently patted Xiao Xiao's back.

But Xiao Xiao couldn't stop her tears. At this moment, she didn't care at all about Gula hiding the fact that she had twin martial souls from her. Her heart was filled with heartache and emotion. She hugged him tightly, as if she wanted to melt herself into his body.

After a while, Xiao Xiao's crying gradually subsided. She leaned against Gula's chest, sobbed a few times, and then raised her still tearful eyes, asking curiously:
"Then... then why did you cultivate the Angelic Martial Soul first? Twin Martial Souls mean that the two Martial Souls are of similar quality. Wood-attribute Martial Souls won't attract the attention of evil Soul Masters. Once your Soul Power level is high, wouldn't it be even more... more powerful to add high-age Soul Rings to the Angelic Martial Soul?"

Upon hearing this, Gula gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, a confident yet meaningful smile playing on his lips: "That is indeed the conventional practice. But my situation is rather special."

He patiently explained, "My Angelic Martial Soul can increase the age of my Soul Rings by directly absorbing the source power of evil Soul Masters."

"This means that as long as I keep eliminating evil spirit masters, the lifespan of my first spirit ring can theoretically grow indefinitely, and it is even possible that all of them could reach the 100,000-year level."

He paused, looking at Xiao Xiao's surprised open mouth, and continued, "Imagine if I first upgrade all the spirit rings of the Angelic Martial Soul to an extremely high age, or even make them all 100,000-year level."

"So, when I reach the Title Douluo level in the future and begin to add spirit rings to my second martial soul..."

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up instantly. She immediately understood what Gula meant and blurted out, "At that time, your second martial soul might start with a spirit ring of 50,000 years, or even 70,000 or 80,000 years!"

"That's right, it's a twin martial soul with no weaknesses, and there are plenty of sea spirit beasts in the ocean, so it's not impossible to have a full set of 100,000-year spirit rings."

Gula picked up where she left off, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "In that case, both of my martial souls could eventually reach a full spirit ring age of at least 100,000 years. The gains from that are far greater than cultivating the second martial soul first. It's worth the risk."

Xiao Xiao was completely stunned. Her mouth was slightly open, and she forgot to cry and forgot to be shy.

She then realized that Gula's ambitions and plans were far more grand and astonishing than she had imagined.

“So,” Gula gently stroked her hair, his tone softening, “cultivating the Angelic Martial Soul first, and hunting down evil Soul Masters to increase their Soul Ring age, is paving a path to heaven for the future of the Second Martial Soul. The consumption of a little essence blood is really nothing compared to this goal.”

Xiao Xiao stared at him, her eyes filled with shock, admiration, and deep love. She nodded vigorously, hugged Gula tightly again, buried her face in his chest, and said in a muffled voice, "I know...you...you must be careful...those evil spirit masters are very dangerous..."

"Don't worry." Gula hugged her tightly and promised softly, "I will protect myself for your sake."

So, Gula comforted Xiao Xiao gently for nearly two hours before finally managing to leave the hotel and return to Shrek Academy.

On the way, he happened to meet Xu Sanshi and Beibei, who could be described as "brothers in misfortune".

Xu Sanshi looked utterly dejected, and Bei Bei forced a smile as the two drowned their sorrows in a small pavilion by the lake at the academy.

One girlfriend ran away—Jiang Nannan hadn't fully forgiven him yet, and another girlfriend had disappeared without a trace.

Gula intended to quietly avoid this low-pressure area, but was spotted by the sharp-eyed Xu Sanshi, who insisted on pulling him over and inviting him to have a drink together.

Gula had no choice but to politely decline, saying, "I still have to go to the Sea God Pavilion; the elders are waiting. You should drink less too."

Beibei shook his head with a wry smile: "Junior Brother Gula, you go ahead and get busy. This guy dragged me drinking all night..." He pointed to Xu Sanshi, who was already a little dizzy.

After bidding farewell to the two, Gula went straight to Seagod Island. As soon as he set foot on the island, Yan Shaozhe sensed his presence and personally came out to greet him.

"Gula, you've come at the perfect time! I was just about to send someone to find you."

Yan Shaozhe's face showed a complex expression, a mixture of concern and inquiry. "Yuhao has already given a general account of their experiences in the Sun Moon Empire, but regarding you... especially your later encounter with Long Xiaoyao and those evil soul masters, I need you to explain in detail."

Gula nodded and followed Yan Shaozhe into the Sea God Pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, more than a dozen elders, including Elder Xuan, Elder Lin, Xian Lin'er, and Qian Duoduo, were already seated, their eyes all focused on him.

Huo Yuhao was among them, casting a curious glance at him.

Gula remained calm and repeated the same explanation he had given Xiao Xiao earlier—emphasizing that the Angelic Martial Soul could gain divine power by killing evil soul masters, thereby increasing its cultivation level and the age of its soul rings, and once again displaying its terrifying seven soul rings, four black and three red.

"Your Angelic Martial Soul can actually increase the age of your Soul Rings by killing Evil Soul Masters?!"

Although Yan Shaozhe had some suspicions, he was still incredibly shocked to hear it with his own ears. This ability was simply heaven-defying!

Gula nodded readily: "Yes, Dean. That's why my spirit ring configuration has changed."

This is the most reasonable and best explanation he could find for the changes in his spirit rings, which explains his sudden surge in strength.

The elders of the Sea God Pavilion exchanged opinions in hushed tones. Although they found it unbelievable, it seemed that there was no more reasonable explanation than to believe it—could it be that Gula had found a divine inheritance?
Then, Elder Xuan coughed and got down to business.

He took out an ornate letter and tossed it on the table: "These are the final rules for this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, just sent by the Sun Moon Empire."

"This year, sects are allowed to register for the competition. With the agreement reached between the original Douluo Three Kingdoms and the Sun Moon Empire, the competition will be more complex and the competition will be more intense. It will be extremely difficult to win the final championship."

He changed the subject and looked at everyone: "However, Elder Mu left a will to vigorously support the revival of the Tang Clan."

"Therefore, our Sea God Pavilion has decided that Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong'er will represent the Tang Sect in this competition."

Then he looked at Gula: "Gula, you haven't joined the Tang Sect, so you will represent our Shrek Academy in the competition."

Upon hearing this, Gula remained silent to himself.

With him around, wouldn't Shrek Academy be guaranteed to win?
But then he thought about it again, and his own "mysterious team" composed of seven avatars... if they didn't use their battle armor and those extraordinary abilities, the outcome would really be hard to say.

“Okay, no problem.” He nodded in agreement.

This is for the best. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not transform and intervene, and Wang Qiu'er's position was taken by him, which can be considered as maintaining a certain "balance".

"What about my teammates?" Gula asked.

Yan Shaozhe added, "We will select a few regular team members from the inner court disciples and a few outstanding disciples from the outer court as substitutes."

"Of course, as the captain, you also need to participate in the selection and observation, and try to develop some tacit understanding with them before the competition."

Gula nodded outwardly, but inwardly he knew exactly what was going on.

Huo Yuhao has probably already recruited all the students from the inner academy who are of suitable age and have outstanding strength into the Tang Sect. What's left for Shrek Academy are probably just some average students at the Soul King level.

He won't be a major liability, but it's also unlikely he'll have any standout performances. Ultimately, the pressure will fall on him as the team leader.

At this moment, Cai Meier, the vice dean of the Martial Soul Department, suggested, "Yuhao and the others still need to acquire their fifth spirit ring. Gula, after you select your team members, you can check if anyone in the team also needs a spirit ring."

"If there are one or two, why not organize a Soul Hunting Operation in the Star Dou Great Forest? It would be a great opportunity for practical training, and the results would be much better than fighting souls in the academy."

Gula thought about it for a moment, and it was indeed a good idea. It would be a good opportunity to observe the team members and also to build rapport. "Vice Dean Cai is right, let's do it that way."

Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement, not caring about taking a few more days.

It's safer to go to the Star Dou Great Forest with a large group, especially with Gula, a dual-level Soul Saint whose strength is comparable to a Title Douluo.

However, thinking about how other college teams might have to face such a monster in the competition, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but silently mourn for them for three seconds.

After the Sea God Pavilion meeting ended, Gura got up and left.

He's going to see which team members Poseidon has "assigned" to him.

His strength may be average, but at least... he can't be too obviously a drag on the team. His gaze was fixed on the direction of the inner courtyard dormitory area, his steps steady and firm.

(End of this chapter)