Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

Nuoding Academy

The tall iron gates gleamed with a metallic sheen under the sunlight. Above them hung the faded gilded plaque reading "Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy," its edges long since dulled.

Oscar rubbed his fingertips against the cracked tree resin on the gatepost. The guard glanced at Flender, then turned away, pretending not to notice.

"Principal, are you sure your friend teaches at a place like this?"

He pointed to the words "Junior Academy." Even though their Shrek Academy had fallen on hard times, it still boasted two Soul Sages overseeing an advanced academy. What was this junior academy nonsense?

Flender walked through the gate, the hem of his sun-faded robes brushing against the roadside flowers. He mumbled vaguely, "He has his own principles."

In truth, even Flender felt some confusion, but he respected his friend.

In fact, the emergence of Oak had gradually trampled Yu Xiaogang's 'Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls' into the dirt.

Few people mentioned the name "Master" anymore, and even insults were rare. The ultimate disdain was simply ignoring him altogether.

If it weren't for the future promise of Luo Sanpao's evolution keeping Yu Xiaogang going, his pride would have long since driven him to retreat elsewhere.

"Come in with me. Those kids are younger than you, but their cultivation is no joke. Observe how they train—you can learn something from them."

This was precisely why Flender brought his disciples and the academy's only two students to Nuoding Academy.

Flender was already familiar with the layout of Nuoding Academy. He led the three visitors to the teacher's dormitory, first meeting with Yu Xiaogang, then proceeding together to the training grounds.

As they approached the garden, a muffled boom echoed from the direction of the training field. A faint vibration traveled through the stone slabs beneath their feet.

Ma Hongjun scratched his sweat-soaked red hair and muttered, "What's that noise? Are they tearing down a building?"

When they rounded the corner of the flourishing ginkgo grove, Dai Mubai's heterochromatic eyes suddenly contracted.

Gu La stood shirtless in the center of the training ground, his upper body enveloped in a faint red mist. His fingers were deeply embedded in a massive slab of granite as he balanced upside-down. Dark red veins spread from his spine to his shoulder blades, and each breath generated small soul power vortices. Within his thirtyfold gravity domain, falling ginkgo leaves disintegrated into powder mid-air.

"Is that... a self-created soul skill?"

Oscar's sausage martial soul involuntarily manifested but was immediately dispersed by the overwhelming soul power fluctuations.

Flender's knuckles whitened as he gripped Oscar's shoulder, his gaze behind the lenses fixed on the faint outline of a red giant beast behind the boy.

Yu Xiaogang's expression was complex. "No, Gu La calls that blood essence. It's a natural power derived from pushing physical training to its limits. It coexists with soul power but is far more violent."

Over the past two years, with a steady supply of muscle-strengthening ointments, Gu La's physique had reached a state of effortless mastery. With the aid of Aura, he had refined his blood essence. Beneath his seemingly lean frame lay latent power comparable to a volcanic eruption.

Ordinary medicinal herbs produced weak ointments barely affected Gu La now. Instead, he specially formulated a version infused with thousand-year-old spirit herbs, amplifying its efficacy by a hundredfold or more.

Two years later, nearly all the herbs Xiao Wu had brought from the Great Star Dou Forest had been consumed, but the results justified the cost.

On the eastern side of the training grounds, Tang San continued practicing between four ironwood stakes. Under the pressure of the gravity field, his Chaotic Wind Splitting Hammer technique grew increasingly refined, leaving him just one step away from mastering hammer intent.

When he sensed unfamiliar presences approaching, his Xuantian Gong instantly reversed, and his Hao Tian Hammer transformed into a blacksmith's hammer, slamming down on the ironwood stake. Sparks flew in eerie parabolic arcs under the intense pressure.

Lowering his gaze to conceal the purple glow in his eyes, sweat dripped from his chin onto the heated ironwood, releasing wisps of smoke.

He nodded briefly toward Master Yu, then resumed his training.

Zhu Zhuqing remained hidden in the shadow of the ginkgo trees, her two soul rings—one yellow, one purple—pulsating rhythmically. Her second soul ring came from a two-thousand-year-old Light Devouring Beast, allowing her to consume light and create a dark curtain to hide within, accelerating her training in dark environments.

A flowing shadow-like curtain enveloped her body. As Dai Mubai passed beneath the tree, the amber pupils of the girl flickered momentarily before returning to normal.

Under Gu La's intervention, the faint resonance of martial souls was effortlessly suppressed at its inception.

To Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai was now nothing more than an annoying stranger.

"Take this!"

From the western side, Xiao Wu's scorpion braid stretched taut in the gravity field, resembling a true whip.

Three moonlight clones formed a triangular formation around her real body, attacking with alternating rhythms.

Dodging falling ginkgo leaves while fending off the clones, Xiao Wu moved with calm precision. With a flick of her toes, she sent a half-leaf spinning toward Ma Hongjun's chest: "Keep your eyes to yourself!"

The fan-shaped leaf exploded on impact. Ma Hongjun clutched his chest and stumbled back two steps, the demonic fire within him threatening to erupt.

But amidst the pain, Ma Hongjun regained his composure. Glancing at the two soul rings on Xiao Wu—one yellow, one purple—he forced a sheepish smile and lowered his head, too intimidated to respond.

Gu La flexed his fingers, leaping lightly to land on his feet. Raising a hand in greeting, he called out:

"Principal, Master."

His golden vertical pupils swept across the group. Dai Mubai felt his White Tiger martial soul tremble—it was the gaze of an apex predator atop the food chain.

Ma Hongjun wished he could bury his head between his legs, cursing his demonic fire. Why couldn't he learn to behave?

Flender slapped Ma Hongjun's shoulder hard, the thin layer of soul power stinging like a fiery whip.

"Gu La, forgive the spectacle. My unruly disciple suffers from demonic fire due to his mutated martial soul. I'll trouble you to help train him."

It wasn't surprising that Flender was so polite. Every three months, when he delivered dragon blood, he witnessed the rapid progress of Tang San and the others—a transformation akin to rebirth.

He could confidently guarantee that even if a Title Douluo were to guide them, the results wouldn't compare to Gu La's specialized training.

If Gu La weren't so young, Flender would have tried to recruit him as a teacher for the academy.

"Oh, and these two as well. Push them hard, but leave them alive."

Remembering the other two, Flender smiled and patted them on the shoulder, silently resolving to triple or quintuple his investment by reclaiming it from the Star Luo Imperial Family. The previous funding simply wasn't enough.

Dai Mubai and the others swore they had never seen their principal act so "obsequious" toward anyone—not even the manager of the Suotuo City Great Spirit Arena could elicit such a smile from Flender.

"Since Principal asked, I'll naturally give him face."

The ginkgo leaves continued to fall, but upon reaching the edge of the training field, they suddenly froze in mid-air. The entire area had long been enveloped by Gu La's invisible force field, which he now lifted. Yet, the fleeting glimpse of his crimson martial soul still left everyone feeling immense pressure.

Dai Mubai stared at his uncontrollably activated White Tiger claws, finally understanding why the principal had crossed three provinces to bring them to this remote little town.

------------------------------------------------------

40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow

There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)