I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: AFKing to Become a God
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The humid sea breeze carried a salty tang as it swept across the rooftop terrace of the hotel. Gu La stepped out of his room and leaned against the gilded, intricately carved railing, gazing at the dark, churning waves in the distance.
Between his fingers, he toyed with a fragment of shattered spirit-forged metal—a product of an earlier, unexpected failure. In the morning light, it shimmered with an eerie blue-purple glow.
"The chosen one of the Legend of the Dragon King era is Tang Wulin. My luck can't compare to his, especially with a Plane Lord as his grandfather. But I've already mastered spirit forging to perfection. How could I suddenly fail?"
Gu La wasn't particularly concerned about how much luck he had. Too much luck wasn't necessarily a good thing—just look at Huo Yuhao and Tang Wulin. Their fates were turbulent wherever they went, gaining much but ultimately losing just as much.
He only cared about the luck he could control.
But this sudden failure in spirit forging troubled him. Carefully sensing the fragment in his hand, he couldn't shake the feeling that this piece of metal was somehow important to him.
Inside the room, the sound of crystal chandeliers clinking echoed. Zhuo Shi, the Crimson Dragon Douluo, stood dressed in a dark red cloud-patterned Tang suit, his fiery beard-like hair fluttering in the sea breeze.
At that moment, Tang Wulin stood awkwardly between the two elders. When Zhuo Shi's intense gaze swept over him, he instinctively straightened his back and greeted him politely:
"Greetings, Master Ancestor."
He extended his right hand, channeling his golden bloodline energy. A layer of faint golden dragon scales appeared on his hand, and the golden aura flowing from his fingertips sparkled brilliantly in the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Golden Dragon Claw!
"What is this!?"
Zhuo Shi's previously indifferent expression changed. He felt an immense pressure, and the crimson dragon shadow faintly visible behind him writhed wildly, as if a pilgrim had encountered a true deity.
This was a bloodline-level aura, yet his Red Scaled Dragon martial soul was already incredibly close to a true dragon!
"Could it be… true dragon bloodline?"
Zhuo Shi's cloudy eyes instantly brightened. He couldn't be mistaken, especially since Tang Wulin was only at the first ring. As his cultivation grew, his bloodline level might become even stronger.
"Child, would you be willing to become my disciple?"
"Huh?"
Tang Wulin was stunned. Wu Zhangkong was a six-ring Soul Emperor, and his teacher came from Shrek Academy—possibly even a Title Douluo.
Without hesitation, Tang Wulin nodded firmly: "I respectfully greet my teacher!"
"Good, good, good! I never thought I, Zhuo Shi, would find a successor. Wulin, remember my name—Crimson Dragon Douluo, Zhuo Shi."
Zhuo Shi nearly shed tears of joy. The inability to find a successor for his life's work had been a thorn in his side for years. Now, finding Tang Wulin, whose bloodline rivaled that of a true dragon, finally brought him relief.
Turning to Wu Zhangkong, he said, "Zhangkong, you've done well. I'll take Wulin with me now, and let those old fellows envy me."
Wu Zhangkong, noticing his teacher's emotional state, felt happy for both him and Tang Wulin. Still, he interjected, "Teacher, Wulin has a match today. The Tianhai Alliance Tournament is a great opportunity for training."
Zhuo Shi frowned, then after a moment of thought, said, "Fine. A small tournament won't take long. The academy isn't busy recently anway—I'll wait for a few days."
"You all go compete. Don't worry about me. Wulin, come to my room after the match, and I'll teach you some basics."
The more Zhuo Shi looked at Tang Wulin, the more he liked him. Even if he didn't have a true dragon martial soul, it only proved how powerful his teachings were.
After giving Tang Wulin a few words of advice, Zhuo Shi disappeared to prepare a gift for his new grand-disciple.
"All right, the venue is at Tianhai Stadium. Don't be late. I won't intervene during the matches—you'll have to achieve whatever ranking you can on your own."
Wu Zhangkong laid out the plan he'd already devised. If they were going to train the students, commanding and coordinating abilities were also part of the exercise.
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On the coastal highway, thirty maglev buses carried the elite students from various academies toward Tianhai Stadium. Atop the massive building shaped like a dragon's head, nine alloy pillars guided lightning into the ground beneath the overcast sky.
From the direction of the stadium came the long wail of a horn. A giant holographic billboard for the "Tianhai Alliance Youth Soul Master Tournament" flashed with dazzling neon lights.
"So many people…"
Xu Xiaoyan suddenly tightened her grip on Gu Yue's arm, startling her out of deep thought.
"Sister Gu Yue, do you think there will be another evil soul master attack in Tianhai City?"
The girl's forehead glistened with sweat, her chestnut curls brushing against Gu Yue's neck as she turned her head. "When we passed through security earlier, the metal detector beeped three times. I almost summoned my ice staff…"
It was the girl's first time leaving home, and after encountering an evil soul master attack, she felt very insecure, sticking close to Gu Yue at all times.
"Don't worry."
Gu Yue flicked a wisp of wind element to brush away the strands of Xu Xiaoyan's hair stuck to her collarbone by sweat.
Wu Zhangkong, overhearing their conversation, reassured them: "The Tianhai officials received news of the evil soul master attack and have increased patrols during the tournament. Focus on the competition—you'll be fine."
Xu Xiaoyan nodded obediently but still clung tightly to Gu Yue, unwilling to let go.
Gu Yue remained expressionless, occasionally responding to Xu Xiaoyan's enthusiasm with a word or two.
Even though she had uncovered the sinister intentions of the god behind Tang Wulin, Gu Yue hadn't left immediately. She realized that her decision to take human form must have been influenced by the plane's consciousness.
Deep within her body, the primal power of the Silver Dragon King resonated. Her memories, altered by the plane's consciousness, were slowly reorganizing. On the eve of her transformation, she should have been recovering in the Lake of Life—but instead, she had suddenly developed a strange interest in human society.
Every time she considered taking extreme measures against human factions, coincidences always seemed to interfere. Reflecting on it now, the hidden moves left by the Sea God in the Doulu Continent likely ran deeper than she had realized.
There was undoubtedly involvement from the Plane Lord. Only an existence of such rank could influence the Silver Dragon King, residing within the "plane."
Otherwise, after recovering from her injuries and possessing the strength of a God King, she would fear no one in the Doulu Continent, where gods no longer existed.
As for the idea of blending into human society to destroy it—now it seemed utterly pointless.
If a God King unleashed their full power, even if they couldn't destroy the continent, they could make the Plane Lord hesitate, freeing the Great Star Dou Forest. Why cripple herself by choosing to transform?
Lately, Gu Yue had been reflecting deeply on her plans and memories. The pride of the Silver Dragon King wouldn't allow her to remain manipulated forever.
After calm consideration, Gu Yue found herself paying less attention to Tang Wulin. Recalling the scene she had witnessed before, a new idea formed in her mind.
"Since someone is targeting Tang Wulin, they must be enemies of the Sea God, Tang San. With the disappearance of the god realm, the means left behind by the Sea God aren't infinite—they'll eventually run out."
"If you want to protect Tang Wulin, let's see how many times you can do so!"
A cold glint flashed in Gu Yue's eyes.
The only difficulty now was that ferocious beasts couldn't act openly. Otherwise, they might attract direct retaliation from the Spirit Pagoda or the Plane Lord, which wouldn't benefit the soul beast race.
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