Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

The first light of dawn appeared, and the eastern sky began to brighten with a pale glow.

Gu La and Tang San sat cross-legged side by side on the academy's rooftop. Between their closed eyelids, faint purple halos flickered intermittently.

As the first golden ray pierced through the clouds, both opened their eyes simultaneously, their pupils glowing intensely with purple light—a clear sign that they had reached the "Subtle" realm of the Tang Sect's ultimate eye technique, the Purple Extreme Demon Eye.

Gu La gently tapped his temple, and azure psychic energy surged across his retina like a tide.

After three years of arduous cultivation, he had pushed this technique to the "Mustard Seed" realm, surpassing even Tang San, who had practiced it since childhood. He could now see through all illusions and mists.

In the distance, wisps of smoke rose from chimneys. Gu La leapt gracefully from the roof, the jade box at his waist clinking softly.

On the training ground, Flender was using a vine cane to wake up a drowsy Oscar.

Ma Hongjun rubbed his sleepy eyes and grumbled, "Principal, it's not even fully light yet."

Before his words faded, three intricately carved wooden boxes landed steadily on the stone table. Inside were black-gray, crimson, and moon-white energy cubes, each emanating different soul power fluctuations corresponding to Dark/Fighting, Fire, and Normal attributes, drawing everyone's attention.

Gu La landed lightly from the air. The system lacked intelligence and couldn't answer questions, but each function came with detailed descriptions.

Last night, after returning, he carefully read the instructions and figured out how the system judged rewards.

Among other things, Pokémon were considered his possessions by the system, so their money was also his. If he spent money to purchase services and they improved, Gu La would receive rewards.

With that in mind, Gu La didn't hold back.

"This is your breakfast. The first meal is on me, but afterward, it'll cost one hundred gold coins per meal."

"Are you robbing us? That's so expensive!"

Ma Hongjun's chubby face scrunched up like a dumpling. "One hundred gold coins? That's enough for me to visit the red-light district three times!"

He picked up the crimson cube and examined it against the rising sun. The crystal was translucent, as if molten lava flowed within. A warm sensation spread through him.

Even Dai Mubai frowned. While he wasn't short on money—the Star Luo Imperial Family wouldn't skimp on his expenses—he wasn't about to be taken advantage of either. Even extravagant meals made from spirit beast meat only cost a few hundred gold coins. Spending a hundred coins on a single meal was far too extravagant for him.

"If you can't afford it, don't eat."

Gu La waved dismissively, completely unfazed.

He knew Oscar and Ma Hongjun came from humble backgrounds and didn't have much money. 

If that was the case, instead of wasting time chasing girlfriends, they might as well earn some cash—it would help cure their bad habits from being spoiled at Shrek Academy.

In his past life, he used to be picky about food, but once he started earning money, he stopped complaining about what was served. By the end of the month, when funds were tight, he could eat anything—fatty pork or green peppers—if he didn't eat, it meant he wasn't hungry.

Flender adjusted his glasses, recognizing the extraordinary attribute energy contained in the energy cubes. He opened his mouth to say something but felt too embarrassed to ask Gu La to lower the price.

"Ahem, you three—what did you promise when you came here? Forgot?"

Ma Hongjun pouted, picked up his energy cube, and shoved it into his mouth. As he bit down, a surge of fiery attribute energy flooded his senses. The spicy, bitter taste filled his mouth, and his soul power automatically activated to process the energy.

Ma Hongjun's eyes widened. "This thing! It's delicious! Big Brother Dai, Xiao Ao, try it quick—it's amazing!"

He never imagined that eating something could make his soul power cultivate itself automatically.

It made him wonder—if he had more red cubes to eat, would he even need to train hard?

Seeing Ma Hongjun's thoughts, Gu La shattered his fantasy. "Energy cubes are mainly for replenishing energy and slightly increasing soul power limits. The main work still comes from your own cultivation."

Dai Mubai ate his energy cube and was astonished by its immense effect. Realization dawned on him. "So that's why your soul power levels are so high."

Oscar asked while eating, "I forgot to ask yesterday—how old are you? Does this stuff only work if eaten long-term?"

Gu La chuckled and answered honestly, "We're all nine years old."

"Nine years old?"

Dai Mubai froze, thinking he'd misheard. "You're level thirty, Tang San and Xiao Wu are twenty-nine. You've only had your martial souls awakened for three years—you broke through twenty levels? That means you averaged less than two months per level!"

"That's right. The three of us have full innate soul power. What's wrong with cultivating quickly?"

Xiao Wu ate her energy cube, feeling proud of Gu La.

"These energy cubes are only a hundred gold coins per meal—I think that's dirt cheap. Even if I charged a thousand gold coins per meal, Gu La wouldn't want to bother making them."

Oscar looked at his energy cube and fell silent. "A thousand gold coins per meal…"

At that price, he'd have to sell hundreds of thousands of sausages just for one meal.

Somehow, the energy cube in his mouth tasted even better now.

Flender picked up one of Ma Hongjun's cubes and sniffed it. "No meat scent. These are made from spirit fruits!"

Compared to spirit beast meat, fruits that birth soul power were rarer and harder to cultivate artificially, making them even more precious.

"Exactly. Do you still think it's expensive?"

Flender shook his head repeatedly, "Not expensive at all. Not one bit."

Ma Hongjun understood the value of the energy cubes and ate with even more enthusiasm. He quickly finished the one Flender had taken, feeling about forty percent full, yet his body strangely didn't feel hungry.

He tried to act cute, but his chubby face held no trace of charm.

"But we don't have that kind of money! The Spirit Hall only gives us one gold coin per month in subsidies, and we can barely earn anything ourselves."

Gu La listened to the complaints and enjoyed his meal even more.

The energy cube in his hand was five times larger than the others. After swallowing it, he immediately activated his blood qi force to accelerate digestion and absorption.

He raised an eyebrow lazily: "What does that have to do with me? If you want to get stronger, how could you not pay the price?"

"One hundred gold coins per meal is already a discounted price thanks to Principal Flender. Consider it a favor."

"Earning money is also a form of training."

Gu La tossed a newly made box of energy cubes to Tang San. "You can bet on arena battles, gather herbs and hunt spirit beasts in the Spirit Forest, or even work as a temporary guard for merchants."

For each suggestion, he bent a finger. "It's better than some people throwing their money away in brothels."

Ma Hongjun instantly wilted. Forget visiting brothels—even buying gifts for his girlfriend occasionally left him unable to save any money.

"Teacher~"

Ma Hongjun whined, trying to appeal to Flender's sense of care for his students and ask for financial support.

But Flender was the kind of tough guy who would advertise on Shrek uniforms. He worried daily about the academy's expenses and wore the same robe for over a decade—how could he possibly have spare money?

His expression twisted awkwardly. "Hongjun, the academy only charges you a hundred gold coins per semester for tuition."

The implication was clear—he didn't have any money either.

Ma Hongjun lost all hope and turned to Dai Mubai with a pitiful face. "Big Brother Dai, you're my only hope. Can you lend me some money? I'll pay you back slowly later."

Oscar coughed lightly, suppressing his embarrassment. "Big Brother Dai, and me too."

Dai Mubai's expression remained unchanged as he said generously, "I still have tens of thousands of gold coins. I can lend them…"

"Whoa, there's a rich guy here. Triple the price for your energy cubes. Just so you know—no credit allowed."

As soon as Gu La finished speaking, Dai Mubai's expression shifted. Why the sudden price hike?! He wanted to argue, but the lingering taste of the delicious cube and the noticeable boost in his soul power made him hesitate. 

Fearing another price increase, he apologized and shook his head. "Fatty, Xiao Ao—I'm powerless to help."

"What?! No, please!"

Ma Hongjun clung to Dai Mubai's leg, but Dai Mubai saw through Gu La's intentions and firmly rejected Ma Hongjun's persistent pleas.

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