A Huge Thank You and Welcome To Our New Patron: bwuooq!
----------------------
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the hotel room's gauze curtains, casting warm patches of light across the floor.
Gu La woke first, looking at Xiao Xiao still sleeping soundly beside him. His lips unconsciously curved into a gentle smile.
He waved his hand lightly. Pure, gentle light soul power fell like fine rain, quietly dispelling the lingering fatigue from their intimate night together.
Xiao Xiao murmured in her sleep, unconsciously burrowing deeper under the covers, mumbling indistinctly: "No more... no more..."
Gu La chuckled softly. He rose gently and dressed quietly.
Having merged with Life Gold essence before, his life source was abundant. Even after a night without deep sleep, he remained energetic.
He left the room quietly and went outside the academy to buy some exquisite breakfast.
When he returned with the food, Xiao Xiao had already woken up. She sat on the bed wrapped in blankets, her cute face with baby fat flushed red. Her eyes were still drowsy, but she forced composure as she asked: "Is... is that breakfast?"
Gu La looked at her pretending to be calm, his eyes full of amusement. He didn't expose her pretense, placing the food on the bedside table.
"Hmm, soul skill pastries made by a food-system junior sister from the outer court, plus the cafeteria's signature seafood soup. Eat something, then rest a bit more."
Xiao Xiao nodded obediently. She rustled under the covers, dressing quietly before emerging to eat small bites like a sneaky hamster.
Gu La sat on the bed edge, watching her eat for a while before speaking, "I need to go to the Sea God Pavilion later. The dean and others probably have a pile of questions for me. I'll come find you tonight?"
"No... no need!" Xiao Xiao shook her head hurriedly, her face redder. "I... I have to help at the Tang Sect today. By the way."
As if remembering something, she looked up. "You weren't at the academy these two years. Wang Dong and Senior Bei Bei kept inviting me to join the Tang Sect. I... couldn't resist, so I agreed."
Gu La was slightly stunned, then smiled: "Joining is fine. The Tang Sect's unique skills, especially the eye cultivation technique 'Purple Extreme Demon Eye' and that stepping technique 'Ghost Shadow Perplexing Steps,' truly have their merits. Anyway..."
He paused meaningfully, "I'm only wary of a certain existence. Even if the Tang Sect develops for another hundred years, it won't threaten me." He referred to Tang San, not the Tang Sect organization itself.
Xiao Xiao smiled down at her lap, looking at Gu La with undisguised admiration: "You're the amazing one... in two and a half years, not only did you break through to Soul Saint, but you also became an Eighth-grade soul engineer! I was completely stunned when I heard."
Gu La's tone was flat, as if discussing something ordinary: "This isn't much. My Angel martial soul is quite special. Killing evil-attribute soul masters, especially evil soul masters, allows me to directly absorb and convert part of their origin power to feedback to myself."
"In the Sun Moon Empire, I set a trap and eliminated three evil Titled Douluos. My soul power jumped twenty levels in one go. As for soul engineering..."
He pointed to his head, "It's related to strong spiritual power—learning comes with half the effort. Also..."
He paused. Since he'd decided to partially reveal his cards to the Sea God Pavilion, there was no need to hide from Xiao Xiao anymore. Some things could be explained clearly: "I also have twin martial souls."
"Twin martial souls?!" Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in shock, the pastry in her hand forgotten. "I... I never knew!"
"Hmm, I didn't tell you before because I didn't think it necessary." Gu La made up a reasonable explanation.
"The Ultimate Light Angel martial soul already draws enough attention and even fear—as you can see from how eagerly evil soul masters sent Titled Douluos to kill me. The other martial soul is more of a trump card."
As he spoke, his mind stirred. Emerald green light flowed behind him, and the phantom of Celebi—radiating life and natural energy—silently materialized.
The vigorous life force of Ultimate Wood made Xiao Xiao, with her Azure Phoenix martial soul, feel incredibly comfortable and close to him. It was an attraction from the origin of their martial souls.
"This is... Ultimate Wood?!" Xiao Xiao was shocked again.
"Correct." Gu La nodded.
However, Xiao Xiao's shock quickly turned to realization. Then, large tears rolled down from her eyes without warning.
"So... so when you said you could help my martial soul evolve... that drop of 'Ultimate Wood essence blood' you gave me..."
Her voice choked. She threw herself into Gu La's arms, her small fists pounding his chest. "Why are you so silly! I don't care if my martial soul has Wltimate attributes! You didn't need to hurt yourself to help me!"
She thought that precious drop of blood was condensed by Gu La consuming his own origin.
Gu La was slightly stunned, then warmth and a hint of guilt surged in his heart—that drop of blood was actually condensed by his avatar.
He held the crying girl tightly, comforting softly: "Don't cry, don't cry. Ultimate Wood's life force is strong. Losing a bit of essence blood recovers quickly. Besides, I have my own opportunities. This consumption really isn't much." He gently patted Xiao Xiao's back.
But Xiao Xiao's tears didn't stop. She didn't care at all about Gu La hiding his twin martial souls anymore. Her heart was filled only with heartache and love. She hugged him tightly, as if wanting to merge herself into his body.
After a while, Xiao Xiao's sobs gradually subsided. She leaned against Gu La's chest, sniffled a few times, then lifted her tear-filled eyes curiously:
"So... why did you cultivate the Angel martial soul first? Twin martial souls mean both souls are of similar quality. A wood attribute martial soul wouldn't attract evil soul masters' attention. Wouldn't it be better to wait until your soul power level is high, then add high-year soul rings to the Angel martial soul? Wouldn't that be more... powerful?"
Hearing this, Gu La gently wiped away her tears, his lips curling into a confident, slightly profound smile: "Conventional wisdom would say so. But my situation is special."
He explained patiently: "My Angel martial soul can directly absorb evil soul masters' origin power to enhance soul ring years when I kill them."
"This means that as long as I continuously eliminate evil soul masters, my first martial soul's soul ring years can theoretically grow infinitely—even... all reaching hundred-thousand-year level isn't impossible."
He paused, watching Xiao Xiao's surprised, slightly open mouth, and continued: "Think about it. If I first raise all my Angel martial soul's soul rings to extremely high years—even all to hundred-thousand-year level."
"Then, when I reach Titled Douluo level in the future and start adding soul rings to my second martial soul..."
Xiao Xiao's eyes instantly brightened. She immediately understood Gu La's meaning and blurted out: "Then your second martial soul could start with fifty-thousand-year, or even seventy-thousand, eighty-thousand-year soul rings!"
"Exactly. A twin martial soul without weaknesses. And the ocean has no shortage of sea soul beasts—having all hundred-thousand-year soul rings isn't impossible."
Gu La took over her words, ambition flashing in his eyes. "In this way, both my martial souls could eventually reach at least hundred-thousand-year soul rings across the board. This gain far exceeds cultivating the second martial soul first. It's worth the risk."
Xiao Xiao was completely stunned, her small mouth slightly open, forgetting to cry, forgetting to be shy.
Only now did she realize Gu La's ambition and planning were far more grand and astonishing than she had imagined.
"So," Gu La gently stroked her hair, his tone returning to warmth, "cultivating the Angel martial soul first, hunting evil soul masters to enhance its soul ring years, is paving an open road for my second martial soul's future. The consumption of a drop of essence blood, compared to this goal, really isn't much."
Xiao Xiao gazed at him dazedly, her eyes filled with shock, admiration, and deep love.
She nodded firmly, hugging Gu La again, burying her face in his chest. Her muffled voice came: "I understand... you... you must be careful... those evil soul masters are all very dangerous..."
"Don't worry." Gu La held her tightly, promising softly, "For you, I'll protect myself well."
Thus, Gu La spent nearly two more hours gently comforting Xiao Xiao before finally freeing himself, leaving the hotel to return to Shrek Academy.
On the way, he happened to meet Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei, who could be called "brothers in misfortune."
Xu Sanshi wore an expression of lifelessness, while Bei Bei forced a smile. The two were drinking away their sorrows in a small pavilion by the academy lake.
One had lost his girlfriend—Jiang Nannan hadn't fully forgiven him yet. The other's girlfriend was nowhere to be found.
Gu La wanted to silently slip past this low-pressure zone, but the sharp-eyed Xu Sanshi spotted him and dragged him over to join their drinking.
Gu La sighed helplessly, politely declining: "I still need to go to the Sea God Pavilion. The elders are waiting. You two should drink less too."
Bei Bei shook his head with a bitter smile: "Junior brother Gu La, go attend your matters. I was forced to drink all night by this guy..." He pointed at Xu Sanshi, who was already somewhat dizzy.
After bidding farewell to the two, Gu La headed directly to Sea God Island. The moment he stepped onto the island, Yan Shaozhe sensed his presence and came to meet him personally.
"Gu La, you came just in time! I was about to send someone to find you."
Yan Shaozhe's face showed complex emotions—concern mixed with inquiry. "Yuhao has roughly told us about their experiences in the Sun Moon Empire, but regarding you... especially the later encounters with Long Xiaoyao and those evil soul masters, we need you to explain in detail."
Gu La nodded, following Yan Shaozhe into the Sea God Pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, over a dozen elders including Elder Xuan, Elder Lin, Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo, and others were already seated. Their gazes all focused on him.
Huo Yuhao was also present, giving him a curious look.
Gu La remained calm, repeating the explanation he had given Xiao Xiao—emphasizing that his Angel martial soul could feedback sacred power by killing evil soul masters to enhance cultivation and soul ring years. He displayed again those terrifying four black and three red soul rings.
"Your Angel martial soul can actually enhance soul ring years by killing evil soul masters?!"
Yan Shaozhe, despite having some guesses, was still immensely shocked to hear it firsthand. This ability was simply heaven-defying!
Gu La nodded calmly.
"Yes, Dean. This is the reason for my changed soul ring configuration."
This was the most reasonable explanation he had found for his changing soul rings, and it best explained his rapid power growth.
The Sea God Pavilion elders exchanged low voices. Though it seemed unbelievable, they had no more reasonable explanation—could they say Gu La had found a divine inheritance?
Next, Elder Xuan Zi coughed and got to the main point.
He took out a luxurious letter and tossed it on the table: "This is the final rules for this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, just sent by the Sun Moon Empire."
"This time, it allows sect forces to register for competition. After negotiation and agreement between the original three Douluo nations and the Sun Moon Empire, the competition will be more complex, with fiercer competition. Winning the final championship will be extremely difficult."
His tone shifted as he looked at everyone: "However, when Elder Mu was alive, he left a final command—to vigorously support the Tang Sect's revival."
"Therefore, we of the Sea God Pavilion have decided that for this tournament, Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong'er will represent the Tang Sect in competition."
Then he looked at Gu La: "Gu La, since you haven't joined the Tang Sect, you will form a team representing our Shrek Academy to compete."
Hearing this, Gu La inwardly felt speechless.
With him there, wouldn't Shrek Academy be guaranteed to win?
But then he thought about his team of seven avatars—the "mysterious team"... if he didn't use Battle Armor and those over-standard abilities, the outcome really wasn't certain.
"Alright, I have no problem." He nodded in agreement.
This was also good. Since the Three-Eyed Golden Lion hadn't transformed and intervened, Wang Qiu'er's position was filled by him, maintaining a certain "balance."
"So who will be my teammates?" Gu La asked.
Yan Shaozhe replied: "We'll select several main team members from inner court disciples, and choose several excellent disciples from the outer court as substitutes."
"Of course, as captain, you'll also need to participate in selection and observation, trying to build some rapport with them before the competition."
Gu La nodded on the surface, but inwardly he was as clear as a mirror.
Huo Yuhao had probably already recruited all the suitable-age, high-strength inner court students into the Tang Sect. What was left for Shrek Academy were likely at best Soul King-level, average students.
They wouldn't drag him down too much, but it would be hard for them to shine. In the end, the pressure would still fall on him as captain.
At this moment, Martial Soul Department Vice Dean Cai Meier suggested.
"Yuhao and the others still need to obtain their fifth soul rings. Gu La, after you select your team members, see if anyone else in the team also needs soul rings."
"If there are one or two, we might as well organize a soul hunting expedition to the Great Star Luo Forest. We can conduct practical combat training at the same time—the effect will be much better than fighting in the academy."
Gu La thought for a moment. This was indeed a good idea. He could observe the team members and build rapport. "Vice Dean Cai is right. Let's do it this way."
Huo Yuhao also nodded in agreement. He didn't mind delaying a few more days.
Going to the Great Star Luo Forest with more people was safer, especially with Gu La there—this twin Ultimate attribute Soul Saint whose strength rivaled Titled Douluos.
But thinking about other academy teams having to face such a monster in the tournament, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but silently mourn for them for three seconds.
The Sea God Pavilion meeting ended. Gu La stood up to leave.
He now needed to see what teammates the Sea God Pavilion had "assigned" to him.
Their strength could be ordinary, but at least... they shouldn't drag him down too obviously. His gaze turned toward the inner court dormitory area, his pace steady and determined.
------------------------------------------------------
Join my Patreon to read an exclusive novel – 'Douluo: Rebuilding Hao Tian Sect'
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)