Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 443 Survivors

Gula returned to the Spirit Tower headquarters and went straight to Leng Yaozhu's office.

Leng Yaozhu stood by the window, gazing at the lingering dust and smoke in the direction of Shrek City, her brows furrowed with barely concealed anxiety.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around and saw Gula. Forcing herself to remain calm and not letting her negative emotions affect her disciple, she asked in a slightly hurried voice:
"You're back. Can you still contact your 'friends' at Shrek Academy? How are they?"

Gula nodded and calmly reassured them, "Don't worry, teacher. Bai Yuan and the others were sent away by Qingtian Douluo in advance and are currently in a relatively safe place. They will be fine."

"Then... what about Yun Ming?"

Leng Yaozhu couldn't help but press for an answer; this was the question she cared about most.

When the explosion occurred, she immediately wanted to rush to Shrek Academy, but was forcibly stopped by Qian Gu Dongfeng on the grounds that "the enemy is still unknown, and we need to stay at headquarters to protect the foundation of the Spirit Pagoda."

Gula gave a perfectly measured "relaxed" smile and said, "Teacher, you can rest assured. What kind of person is Qingtian Douluo? The strongest person on the continent, how could he be easily harmed? He must have his own plans and backup plans."

Hearing her disciple say this, Leng Yaozhu's tense nerves relaxed a little, but when she thought of the power of the legendary "god-slaying" level cannonball, a trace of uncertainty rose in her heart, and she could only silently pray that Yun Ming would be safe and sound.

After calming the teacher down, Gula left the office, his mind instantly shifting, his gaze and senses connecting with his avatar, Bai Yuan.

……

Inside the underground shelter, the light was dim, and the air was filled with sadness and oppression.

Bai Yuan opened his eyes from his meditation and stretched his somewhat stiff body.

Beside him, Wu Siduo curled up, her face still wet with tears, like a frightened little kitten.

She met and fell in love with Bai Yuan in Shrek Academy's inner courtyard, but strictly speaking, she initially developed feelings for Gula himself. However, because Gula either stayed in the Spirit Pagoda or was rarely seen, she entrusted this vague feeling to Bai Yuan, who had a similar temperament to Gula and appeared frequently, and became his nominal girlfriend.

Gula inwardly marveled at his own irresistible charm, then looked around.

Thanks to a tacit "deal" between him and Yun Ming, Yun Ming did indeed preserve a lot of Shrek Academy's strength before the disaster, allowing most of the core inner court students, including Tang Wulin, to survive.

At this moment, most of the students were still unconscious. Even some senior students at the Soul King and Soul Emperor levels, after withstanding the initial impact of the explosion, were injured in spirit or internal organs by the subsequent terrifying shockwave.

Elder Long Yeyue self-destructed and perished, and the elders of the Sea God Pavilion were almost wiped out. Somewhat surprisingly, Feng Wuyu, who should have died in the original story, actually survived, but he lost an arm and was weak, obviously no longer having much fighting power.

The underground shelter had gathered more than 300 people, more than 100 more than the number of trainees Gula knew in the original story, which was a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

As time went by, most of the students woke up one after another, and those with more serious injuries had their conditions stabilized thanks to the efforts of a few surviving healing-type Soul Masters.

Feng Wuyu's face was ashen; the excruciating pain from his severed arm paled in comparison to the grief in his heart. He forced himself to speak to Wu Changkong:

"Chang Kong, from now on... you're in charge of the arrangements. No matter what, Shrek Academy... must not fall apart!"

Suppressing his immense grief over the passing of his teacher and junior sister, Wu Changkong straightened his back and addressed the assembled students in a deep voice:
"Shrek has suffered an unprecedented attack; the academy is destroyed, and our teachers have perished. But the spirit of Shrek lives on! We will rebuild the academy!"

"However, that is not a responsibility you need to shoulder immediately. Your task now is to survive, cultivate diligently! Find a safe place, endure, and become stronger!"

Tang Wulin struggled to his feet, his eyes still filled with anger and self-reproach for failing to protect the Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Teacher Wu, what's the situation outside...?"

Wu Changkong shook his head, his tone stern: "Don't look, don't inquire! Until any of you reach the Title Douluo realm, forget about investigating the truth! That will only bring unnecessary sacrifices!"

Tang Wulin clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh, and a strong sense of powerlessness swept over his entire body.

His parents disappeared, his college was destroyed, and his beloved teachers perished... One tragedy after another was like a heavy shackle, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Wu Changkong led the group carefully to meet up with the survivors from another shelter.

Throughout the journey, everyone was immersed in silence and immense sorrow.

However, during the transfer, they unexpectedly found Yunming and Yali unconscious deep in an abandoned tunnel!

"Lord! Your Holiness the Holy Spirit!"

Feng Wuyu was overjoyed and rushed forward to examine the situation. After a moment, he shook his head with a complicated expression and said to everyone, "The Pavilion Master's injuries are extremely severe, and his essence has been damaged... but his life is not in danger! As long as the Pavilion Master can recover, I believe that under his leadership, we will definitely be able to rebuild Shrek Academy!"

This news acted like a shot in the arm, rekindling hope in the eyes of all the surviving trainees.

However, three days passed without Yunming and Yali showing any signs of waking up. Instead, their breaths grew weaker and weaker, leaving everyone anxious and helpless.

On the fourth day, Ya Li's long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was somewhat dazed, and she murmured subconsciously, "Brother Ming...where is Brother Ming?"

The female student in charge of taking care of her exclaimed in surprise, "His Holiness the Holy Spirit has awakened!"

Upon hearing the news, Wu Changkong, Tang Wulin, and others rushed over immediately.

Ya Li struggled to get up and, ignoring everyone's advice, went to the room where Yun Ming was being settled.

Sensing Yun Ming's faint flame of life, like a candle flickering in the wind, Ya Li's face revealed an incredibly gentle yet resolute smile.

She gently grasped Yun Ming's hand and whispered, "Brother Ming, this time... let me save you." Ignoring her own weakness, she rebuilt the life-sharing contract with Yun Ming, sharing her already meager life force and soul power with him without reservation.

Yunming's body showed no resistance to her power, and the contract was successfully completed.

After doing all this, Yali didn't even have time to say anything before she fainted again due to exhaustion.

But this time, Yun Ming's condition clearly began to stabilize and slowly recover, giving everyone the courage to wait.

Staying in the shelter indefinitely was not a long-term solution. After the two shelters merged, there were nearly four hundred people, and their daily food and water were major problems.

Wu Changkong began to send the trainees away in batches in a planned manner, either letting them quietly return to their respective families or recommending them to join the army or other relatively safe and secure places.

Especially for students like Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan, who have made a name for themselves in the competition and are easily targeted, it is even more necessary to hide their identities to avoid being targeted by the mastermind behind the scenes.

However, Wu Changkong said that these core trainees would be the last to leave, and he had important things to tell them and arrange.

Bai Yuan is quite famous, but he has already prepared most of his cultivation resources through the original Gula, and he has no shortage of soul spirits and rare metals.

He privately told Gula that he really wanted to go and see the legendary Blood God Legion, to see if he could devour the life energy of the Abyss Plane there, which might be of great benefit to his Abyss Gluttonous Martial Soul.

Ten days later, Yali woke up again. Although she was still weak, her condition was much better than before.

Yun Ming was still unconscious. She began to use her partially restored soul power to carefully treat him every day, not daring to overdraw her strength like last time, because that would deplete their shared lifespan.

Under her meticulous treatment, Yunming finally opened his eyes slowly after half a month.

His eyes quickly regained their clarity, and he immediately searched for Ya Li's figure, calling out in a hoarse but incredibly gentle voice, "Ya Li..."

"Brother Ming!"

Yali burst into tears instantly and threw herself into his arms.

The two embraced tightly, their joy and deep affection after surviving the ordeal touching everyone present and easing their heavy hearts.

Yunming gently patted Yali's back, his gaze sweeping over the familiar and unfamiliar faces around him, filled with anticipation and sorrow, before finally settling into a deep silence.

He said sorrowfully, "It's my fault... I failed to protect the academy." He looked at Feng Wuyu and Wu Changkong, "How many people are left in the academy?"

Feng Wuyu looked somber and did not answer. He had lost an arm and was seriously injured, his cultivation was greatly damaged, and he was almost crippled. Even if Ya Li recovered, it would be difficult to heal the fundamental injuries that caused him to burn his source and his limbs to be missing.

Wu Changkong answered on his behalf: "Sect Master, I have arranged for some people to leave one after another. There are now less than a hundred people left here, all of whom are inner court students and elites from various departments."

He couldn't help but ask with concern, "Master, what's wrong with your injuries...?"

Yun Ming glanced at the note left by Gula's clone that Ya Li had already given him, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he said frankly:
"In order to withstand the God-Slaying Soul-Guided Cannonball, I shattered half of my godhood and destroyed all my soul rings. Now I only have the soul power foundation of a Limit Douluo, but my cultivation has been sealed by the backlash of the rules, and I can only exert the level of a level ten soul warrior. I am no longer ashamed to serve as the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion. Effective today, I will step down from the position of Pavilion Master."

"Sect Master! This is not your fault!" Wu Changkong hurriedly advised, "The God-Slaying Cannonball is said to be able to kill gods. If you hadn't risked your life to stop it, none of us would have survived!"

The crowd echoed their sentiments, pleading with Yun Ming to retract his decision.

Yun Ming shook his head, his will resolute: "My mind is made up. The position of Sea God Pavilion Master will be passed on to the student who has made the greatest contribution to the reconstruction of the academy. As for me... I will just be a free spirit and do my part in the reconstruction of the academy."

Wu Changkong wanted to persuade her again, but Yun Ming raised her hand to stop her.

At this moment, Tang Wulin suggested, "Sect Master, could we... go to the Spirit Pagoda and purchase a few ten-thousand-year-old soul spirits to help you recover some of your strength as soon as possible?"

"No!" Wu Changkong and Yun Ming objected almost simultaneously.

Yun Ming's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "The Spirit Pagoda played a far from honorable role in this incident! Otherwise, given Shrek City's defenses, it would have been impossible for evil soul masters to transport so many fixed-position soul-guided cannons so quietly, especially those two god-slaying level ones!"

Tang Wulin's face immediately turned extremely ugly. He never expected that the Spirit Pagoda, one of the holy lands of soul masters on the continent, might also be involved in the conspiracy to destroy Shrek Academy.

Wu Changkong turned his gaze to Bai Yuan, who had been relatively silent, and said with a hint of scrutiny, "Bai Yuan, could you please contact Gula and ask him to find a way to send over a few suitable ten-thousand-year soul spirits? Or... could we find a small city and directly 'recruit' a few ten-thousand-year soul spirits?"

Now that things have come to this, he has many unsettling speculations about the mysterious relationship between Bai Yuan and Gula, and this is a test.

Bai Yuan shrugged and said without changing his expression, "If Gula frequently mobilizes ten-thousand-year-old souls recently, it will easily attract the attention of some people with ulterior motives, and will instead expose our location."

“I do have a suggestion. Why don’t we find a way to go out to sea and hunt suitable ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts in the open ocean, and then I can try to create a soul spirit on the spot? Although the process is more troublesome and riskier, it is safer and more discreet, and we won’t leave any clues.”

Wu Changkong remained silent for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Yun Ming, agreeing that this was indeed the most feasible and safest solution at present.

Yun Ming nodded slightly and made a decision: "Okay, let's do it this way. Everyone hurry up and prepare. We'll move as soon as possible and look for an opportunity to go to sea."

The survivors began to move more intently and systematically, preparing for the upcoming, unknown sea voyage and the long road to rebuilding the academy.

Gula withdrew his gaze and began to consider how to use this opportunity to help Bai Yuan find more suitable "nourishment" for his Abyss Gluttonous Martial Soul in the deep sea.

At the same time, the couple Yunming and Yali are also very important to Alice. The love between young people is just beginning to blossom, and their love is more suitable for understanding.

(End of this chapter)