Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

"Haha, that's my new disciple. Not bad, eh?"

Zhuo Shi burst into hearty laughter. After learning that Tang Wulin was a blacksmith with decent talent and hearing that the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua happened to be in Tianhai City, he shamelessly extended an invitation. With nothing better to do, Zhen Hua decided to humor him by coming to take a look.

Zhen Hua glanced sidelong at Zhuo Shi, knowing full well how unreasonable Shrek Academy's people could be when protecting their own. He nodded in agreement, saying, "A one-ring soul master able to go toe-to-toe in raw strength with a four-ring Soul Elder? That kid's a little monster."

Zhuo Shi grinned like a fool, showing none of the dignity expected of an elder from the Sea God's Pavilion.

On the battlefield, Yu Tianliang panted heavily. The more he fought Tang Wulin, the stronger the suppression on his martial soul became, casting a shadow over his mind.

He glared at Gu La with resentment. If not for that infuriating gravity suppression, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

His fourth soul ring lit up, and electric light condensed into a blue dragon that instantly appeared above Tang Wulin's head.

Wu Zhangkong formed ice crystals at his fingertips, but Shen Yi chuckled softly, "Big Brother's students said they wanted to teach them the lesson that there's always someone stronger. Let them resolve this themselves."

Wu Zhangkong stopped his movements.

At the center of the arena, Gu La used his third soul skill to create a rock sword, swinging it to unleash a sword qi that blocked an attack aimed at Tang Wulin.

Yu Tianliang's pupils contracted sharply. He noticed that every step Gu La took left behind molten lava-like scorch marks. When Gu La came to a standstill, the temperature in the entire stadium began to rise eerily, and the metal railings in the stands groaned under the strain.

"An ultimate martial soul—another genius. But crafting battle armor is incredibly taxing. After reaching the Soul Elder stage, the cultivation speed of those with ultimate martial souls slows down significantly. They have to make sacrifices. It's a pity for this era."

Zhen Hua spoke with genuine regret.

Zhuo Shi shook his head. "That's not necessarily true. This kid is a disciple of Leng Yaozhu—he won't lack resources. His cultivation speed won't slow down much even with an ultimate martial soul. Besides, he has twin martial souls."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. In his view, Gu La's bloodline power was extraordinarily thick, and his unique beast-type martial soul should have been suitable to inherit his ultimate technique, the Crimson (Scarlet) Dragon Nine Forms. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

"The Phoenix Douluo's disciple?"

Zhen Hua's heart stirred. The reason he had come to Tianhai City was because of Leng Yaozhu's invitation. He had heard that Leng's disciple possessed unparalleled talent in forging. To avoid drawing attention, Leng had asked him to meet privately. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come out of mere curiosity.

Not far away, a middle-aged man stared unblinkingly at Gu La and Tang Wulin, his gaze akin to admiring two unpolished pieces of jade.

In the arena, Gu La plunged his longsword into the ground. Dark gold light erupted like a volcanic eruption, spreading across the blade and forming strange patterns.

Just as Yu Tianliang prepared to unleash another soul skill, his body froze. The head of his Blue Lightning Dragon began to twist uncontrollably.

The invisible gravity field merged instantly with Gu La's sword soul, dealing continuous damage to enemies within its range. The only way to evade it was through skills like phasing or elemental transformation—there was no defense against it.

Ye Xinglan gazed at Gu La, lost in thought. Others who didn't practice swordsmanship might not notice, but she could sense that the surrounding attacks were infused with swordsmanship. Yet, this intangible form of attack surpassed even the concept of sword intent.

Could it be…

Before she could think further, the gravity field spread across the entire arena. Invisible sword intent continuously released itself, forcing Xu Lizhi to retreat first, followed by Ye Xinglan…

From the shadows of the stands, Zhuo Shi stroked his fiery red beard and chuckled to the burly middle-aged man beside him, "Brother Zhen Hua, what do you think of this year's batch of talents? My disciple will send all of them to the academy in the future."

Like Leng Yaozhu, though his faction already had an eighth-rank sacred smith, why not learn from the best? Naturally, he schemed to have Zhen Hua personally instruct Tang Wulin in forging.

However, Zhen Hua's gaze remained fixed on Gu La.

He recognized Gu La's sword soul, and the shock in his heart defied description.

"Not only is he a forging prodigy, but his comprehension is also astonishing. Even Yun Ming at this age couldn't grasp the essence of the spear soul, yet he has achieved it."

"If even half of this comprehension were applied to forging, he could become a Divine Craftsman!"

Zhen Hua's heart trembled. He finally understood the weight of Leng Yaozhu's words when referring to this heaven-sent genius.

If such a genius couldn't become a Divine Craftsman, then who could?

Under the overwhelming brilliance of Gu La's comprehension, even Tang Wulin's extraordinary physical strength seemed less remarkable.

Zhen Hua regained his composure and laughed heartily. "I knew your tea wasn't free for nothing. So you want me to guide your disciple? Don't worry—I'll be present at the finals of the forging competition."

One match, two favors. Zhen Hua felt like he'd struck gold.

Zhuo Shi was overjoyed. His rival in the academy, Feng Wuyu, was an eighth-rank blacksmith. He couldn't wait to see the look on Feng's face when his disciple reached the rank of an eighth-rank sacred smith!

"Good, good, good! I've brought a bottle of Dragon Blood Drunk. Let's have a proper drink later."

Zhen Hua glanced sidelong at Zhuo Shi. Dragon Blood Drunk was brewed using the blood of dragon-type spirit beasts over fifty thousand years old—it was a holy grail among wines, exceedingly rare in this era.

But the fact that Zhuo Shi only brought it out after securing his agreement… this old fox…

The situation in the arena was now crystal clear. The sword soul realm perfectly fused sword intent with the martial soul, allowing Gu La to tap into the essence of the martial soul—a feat normally reserved for those who had reached the True Body stage.

This was the prerequisite for creating original techniques. Every move carried the essence of the martial soul. Defeating a group of Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors posed no problem.

If Gu La went all out, combining his spiritual power at the Spirit Abyss realm with pure sword intent, he could briefly hold his own against Wu Zhangkong at full strength—even without telekinesis.

Gu La swung his sword, knocking Yu Tianliang flat. Sheathing his sword, he sighed, "All that remains are my weaknesses in soul power and blood vitality. Both require time to accumulate. Relying on shortcuts isn't as stable as cultivating on my own. It's time to consider returning."

After mastering the sword soul through his clone, Gu La had fully assimilated the space-time energy within his body, enabling him to prepare for another temporal leap.

"My past experiences in this timeline are the anchor points for my return to the original timeline. But this timeline can't be abandoned either. I need to establish stable and clear anchors here."

"Less than a year here isn't enough to ensure stability. It would be best to use a person as an anchor."

Gu La glanced at Gu Yue out of the corner of his eye. The Silver Dragon King had lived on Douluo Star her entire life—she would make a suitable anchor.

But setting aside whether she'd agree, Gu La himself wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea.

His backup option was Xu Xiaoyan. There was a girl in the original timeline with the same name and martial soul. By establishing a connection through space-time, she could serve as his anchor.

But Xu Xiaoyan was too weak. An unforeseen incident could easily destroy the anchor he set.

Gu La shook his head. He needed to think it over. The identity he had cultivated in this timeline was invaluable. He wouldn't abandon it lightly. Better to delay leaving temporarily than depart without preparation.

"Victory goes to the Donghai Team."

Shen Yi announced the end of the match. Despite her team's loss, she wasn't the least bit disheartened. On the contrary, she was thrilled for her senior brother. Cultivating such geniuses ensured that he wouldn't rest easy until they returned to the academy.

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