Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

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Gu La opened his eyes, feeling a sharp pain in his chest and sides. Dark red liquid seeped out, and the shirt he had recently bought turned to ash.

The dark red liquid hardened and solidified upon contact with air, forming orderly molten "scales" the size of an infant's palm. As the liquid flowed across his skin, it shaped itself into a dark red suit of armor.

Flames flickered on the surface of the armor, pulsing with Gu La's breath. The intense heat caused the surrounding grass to lose moisture, dry up, and eventually burn away.

"A soul bone—and not just any soul bone, but an external soul bone second only to those from hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts!"

Tang Hao's heart tightened, a flash of greed and murderous intent flickering in his eyes.

This reaction was normal. Ordinary soul masters might turn on each other over a thousand-year soul bone, let alone an external one that could grow and wasn't tied to the standard six body parts.

Gu La sensed the vague danger lurking in the air and took a few steps toward Tang San's direction, inwardly sighing:

"I underestimated the value of an external soul bone. If Tang Hao decides to attack me, don't blame me for using Tang San as a shield."

Fortunately, Tang Hao quickly regained his composure. He already possessed all six soul bones and couldn't fuse this external bone, which clearly required connection to his torso bones.

Tang San, on the other hand, could potentially fuse it, but fire-attribute soul bones clashed with his Blue Silver Grass martial soul. Forced fusion would likely result in conflict, potentially harming his martial soul—an unacceptable risk.

After weighing the pros and cons, Tang Hao suppressed his greed and inner turmoil, closed his eyes, and returned to his usual dispirited appearance, choosing to avoid further stress.

Though the sense of danger faded, Gu La remained vigilant, his mind alert.

"Compared to Tang San, who has lived two lifetimes, Tang Hao, hailing from one of the upper three sects, is arrogant and looks down on everyone equally. Back in the village, he even treated Jack—the man who cared for him—with disdain."

"On the surface, I seem to have a good relationship with Tang San, even becoming sworn brothers. But in Tang Hao's eyes, it's probably just childish play, insignificant compared to his grand revenge mission."

Outwardly calm, Gu La's sneered in his heart.

"Hmph. Tang Hao's hatred for the Spirit Hall likely stems more from the persecution of his sect than the so-called murder of his wife."

"And now, as a middle-aged man with deeply ingrained beliefs, he won't change easily. Today, he revealed his murderous intent over a soul bone. If I defy his decisions in the future, he'll probably resort to violence, wielding the mighty Hao Tian Hammer."

"He and I are ultimately not cut from the same cloth."

These thoughts flashed through Gu La's mind in an instant. He sighed inwardly: "I'm still not strong enough. A ten-thousand-year spirit beast? I doubt I could withstand even one strike from Tang Hao's hammer."

The fleeting pride from hunting a ten-thousand-year spirit beast dissipated. Gu La glanced at the future, confirming that Tang Hao wouldn't attack him, and quickly devised a plan to counteract him.

"The Spirit Hall can still be strengthened. The theory of martial soul evolution—it's time to publish it."

"Revenge? Dream on!"

For top-tier martial souls like the Hao Tian Hammer, evolution requires the efforts of dozens of generations to have even a sliver of success.

Within the Spirit Hall, there were countless low- and mid-tier martial souls, making up 99% of the total population. Publishing the theory of martial soul evolution would benefit one faction more than any other—it was self-evident.

Gu La was the kind of person who held grudges, no matter how small.

Of course, given the importance of faith power, Gu La wouldn't abandon the vast majority of lower-tier soul masters. He would inevitably publish the theory of martial soul evolution sooner or later.

Tang Hao's actions today merely accelerated the timeline, but they didn't stop Gu La from setting a trap for him along the way.

Unaware of how close he had come to losing his father again in those few seconds, Tang San exclaimed in surprise:

"Big Brother, is this a soul bone? But why does it look like this?"

Xiao Wu leaned closer, reaching out to touch it. Gu La retracted the flames, and the armor turned obsidian black.

"It's so hot," she marveled. "It looks like the Flame Lord's magma armor."

"This is an external soul bone, distinct from the six standard types. It's often connected to the skeleton, exposed externally, and grows alongside the soul master's cultivation."

Gu La explained the soul skills attached to the external soul bone, drawing envious glances from Tang San.

"Dual-element control—it's practically tailor-made for you. By the way, what about the soul ring and its skills? Wouldn't it be a waste if it weren't element control?"

Tang San's envy dimmed slightly. Fire and earth element control wouldn't do him much good even if he could fuse them.

Gu La shook his head and smiled. "It's not element control—it's the Flame Lord's elemental transformation skill. I can transform my body into molten lava. Your hidden weapons will be useless against me."

"Elemental transformation!"

Tang San was startled but quickly regained his composure.

While elemental transformation did counter hidden weapons, not all hidden weapons relied on physical attacks. Tang San had confidence in the Tang Sect's arsenal.

As they conversed, the trio moved toward the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest. The sun had set behind the western mountains, and twilight descended. They spoke softly to avoid disturbing nearby spirit beasts.

"We're all two-ring Soul Grandmasters now. Should we apply for early graduation? With our levels, we can directly enter advanced academies, and they'd gladly accept us."

Gu La suggested.

"The world is so big—I want to see it."

Hearing this, Tang San hesitated. "I asked Teacher about it. He said he hopes we'll go to Headmaster Flender's academy."

"Although Flender's academy is poor, it has two Soul Sage teachers overseeing it. In the future, we won't need to worry about hunting for soul rings, especially ten-thousand-year ones—not all of them can be drowned like the Flame Lord."

"Teacher needs to drink dragon blood every day. Staying at the Nuoding Academy means relying on Headmaster Flender to deliver the blood. That's why he'll also become a teacher at Shrek Academy."

Gu La inwardly rolled his eyes. Only when they needed him did they bother to reach out—it was no wonder they looked down on him.

Should he go to Shrek Academy?

Gu La pondered.

Among the original Seven Monsters of Shrek, he felt some respect for Zhu Zhuqing's resilience, but the others had too many flaws. Their behavior left much to be desired.

Dai Mubai and the other two were nothing short of womanizers. While male attraction to beauty was natural, their conduct was excessive.

They had dated numerous girls since childhood, only to feign deep affection and relentlessly pursue other talented beauties later on.

What was truly suffocating was that teachers like Flender encouraged such behavior, creating opportunities for them.

Then there was the infamous school motto: "Those who fear trouble are mediocre." It seemed designed to cultivate students full of greed, anger, and ignorance.

And yet, such "villains" often lived more freely…

Gu La chuckled wryly. Why think so much about it? If there were things he disliked, he now had the power to change them.

"Dai Mubai can continue wallowing in despair for a few more years. Unless Zhu Zhuqing reaches her breaking point, how can I swoop in and steal her away?"

"As for Yu Xiaogang needing dragon blood, let Flender deliver it if he wants to. I'm not the one trekking through the Great Star Dou Forest to collect blood and rushing back to Nuoding City overnight."

Gu La had made up his mind.

He tilted his head to gaze at the starry sky, twinkling brightly above.

Smiling faintly, he said, "Let's stay at Nuoding Academy until we graduate normally. As for the soul rings we'll need in the future, it's only fair that Headmaster Flender helps us hunt them in advance if he wants to recruit three geniuses like us. Otherwise, why would we bother attending his rundown academy?"

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