Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

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Golden rays of light filtered through the canopy, slanting into the Life Lake. Gu Yue gazed at Gu La as steam rose from the lake, condensing into a mist.

When she raised her eyes again, silver radiance flowed within them like a cascading galaxy. She asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time: "What exactly is the relationship between Tang Wulin and the Golden Dragon King?"

"A good question, right to the heart of the matter."

True to his word, Gu La answered honestly: "When the God Realm was caught in a temporal turbulence, the Golden Dragon King took the opportunity to break free from his seal and wreak havoc. He was defeated by a coalition of God Kings. On the verge of death, he channeled all his energy into the newborn son of the Sea God, intending to explode him from within as revenge against the Sea God."

"So Tang Wulin is a vessel," Gu Yue said.

"Exactly." Gu La nodded approvingly, his expression unusually solemn. "As the God Realm collapsed, Tang San made a decisive move to send his infant son to the mortal realm. Lacking divine energy, the mortal realm prevented the Golden Dragon King from regaining his strength, making him an unwitting ally to his own son."

He suddenly sneered. "Ironically, the mighty half-body of the Dragon God has become another's tool."

Gu Yue's delicate hands clenched tightly, her face darkening. What Gu La said aligned with her suspicions, but one thing puzzled her—why hadn't the Golden Dragon King simply self-destructed?

A God King's self-destruction could devastate half the God Realm. With enough power to protect himself, such an act would leave most gods below rank one dead or injured. Moreover, the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, originating from the Dragon God, wouldn't disappear—it would likely reincarnate in the mortal realm.

This was originally Gu Yue's suspicion about Tang Wulin's identity. She hadn't expected the Golden Dragon King to act so recklessly, just as chaotic as she remembered.

"You can't figure out why he didn't go down in flames?" Gu La seemed to read her thoughts, a faint green glow flickering at his fingertips. "Who can fathom the mind of a madman? Perhaps he hated the Sea God so much that he chose to forsake revenge on others, ensuring Tang San would suffer the pain of losing his son."

A sudden thunderclap echoed through the forest, followed by a downpour. As Gu Yue stared at the flickering golden pupils through the rain curtain, she felt all her careful plans dissolve into nothingness.

Turning around, her wide sleeves billowed like clouds, and the silver radiance in her eyes solidified into tangible pressure. "One last question—since you can wield your true power, taking human form wouldn't weaken you. What do you seek?"

The boy tilted his head thoughtfully, his ears twitching involuntarily. "If I must say…"

He leapt onto the surface of the lake, standing steadily on the clear water. "I desire freedom—to roam the vast world without restraint, never again forced to do what I don't want."

Gu Yue's eyes flickered. Gu La's answer was unexpected yet reasonable. Who didn't yearn for freedom and contentment?

But in this world, most things were beyond one's control.

"One final question—what is your conflict with the Sea God? Why help me?"

Gu La raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to ask this?"

"I am," Gu Yue replied firmly. Without clarity on this point, she couldn't collaborate with peace of mind.

"To be precise, I hold no personal grudge against him. I simply detest how these so-called gods treat sentient beings as puppets."

He suddenly teleported to the lakeside, leaning close to Gu Yue's ear. His warm breath scattered strands of her silver hair. "Don't you think it's amusing to tear apart the Sea God's script?"

Silver scales erupted across Gu Yue's skin as if thunder roared in her ears.

"Pleasure working with you."

"Pleasure working with you."

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As twilight painted the horizon of Donghai City like molten gold foil, an orange glow shimmered outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Spirit Pagoda's top floor.

Leng Yaozhu sat in a chair engraved with the pagoda's intricate patterns, golden curtains swaying gently behind her. The hum of soul-guided hovercrafts taking off and landing on the distant observation deck added to the serene atmosphere of the office, its star-blue carpet muffling all sound.

"Teacher."

Two voices spoke simultaneously at the sandalwood door. Gu La pressed a hand on the silver-white door handle, his green-gold hair illuminated by the corridor's soul-guided wall lamps.

Beside him, Gu Yue wore a moon-white dress, her slender figure rippling in the airflow created by the ventilation system.

Compared to before, the atmosphere between the two had grown significantly more harmonious.

As Leng Yaozhu turned, crystal earrings dangling from her ears cast tiny specks of light across her neck.

She looked at her two disciples standing side by side, her gaze sweeping over their faces. Suddenly, much of the frustration caused by Qiangu Dongfeng dissipated.

"Sit."

She tapped the malachite desktop with her finger. Gu La stepped forward to pour her a cup of Yunwu tea, then sat beside Gu Yue.

Leng Yaozhu noticed the Fifth-rank Blacksmith badge on her disciple's chest—a subtle boast—and couldn't help but smile inwardly.

"The hybrid spirit soul you requested is ready." She turned the holographic screen toward them. In the three-dimensional projection, a magma-constructed bear slumbered within an energy field. "You can try fusing it in the lab shortly."

Gu La's face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected success before entering Shrek Academy. It seemed his luck wasn't just for show—spending vast resources often yielded results.

Leng Yaozhu reminded them, "Creating hybrid spirit souls is already advanced technology within the Spirit Pagoda. Both of you should pay close attention. To become a Spirit Envoy, you must master artificial spirit soul technology."

The four Spirit Envoys held the highest positions after the Tower Master and Vice Tower Masters. Inheriting such a role wouldn't be easy.

Especially since only becoming a Spirit Envoy qualified one to ascend to Tower Master.

After saying this, Leng Yaozhu led them to the laboratory, located on the seventh underground level of the Spirit Pagoda. As the elevator descended through a three-meter-thick alloy protective layer, Gu La caught the familiar scent of sulfur.

This was the seventh laboratory, specially designed for fire-attribute experiments. The walls were lined with meteorite bricks capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Celsius, now glowing faintly red.

A group of white-coated researchers bustled about. Though they technically fell under Gu La's jurisdiction, he rarely visited.

"Tower Master Leng, Supervisor Gu."

Researcher Yang jogged over in protective gear, data streams projected onto his face via a holographic visor. As the lab supervisor, he had already received news of Gu La's arrival.

Behind him, twelve circular soul-guided devices surrounded a central sealed chamber. Within the pale golden restraining field lay the curled, sleeping magma beast.

"The spirit of the Earth Fiend Bear is here. We combined three bloodlines, including non-bear species, making it extremely challenging. Ultimately, we stabilized its state using spiritual energy. It must quickly fuse with a soul master to stabilize its bloodline through the martial soul's power. Otherwise, it will collapse within two weeks."

"Our current technology isn't perfect for fusing different beast bloodlines. Countless previous failures resulted in bloodline regression or depletion. This is our only successful specimen."

Researcher Yang hesitated, reluctant to part with such a rare experiment. They all wanted to keep it for further study, but they knew better than to waste massive resources on reckless experiments. Reluctantly, they let it go.

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