. Douluo Continent, southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, Fanos Province.
Notting City, Holy Soul Village.
The sun shone brightly, and the warm, sunny weather lasted for a month.
In the mountains, a sturdy, handsome young man lay on the blue-silver grass, gazing up at the azure sky. He murmured,
"A month's enough. The village crops should be drying."
The boy's name was Gula, not a native of Douluo Continent, but from a cerulean planet.
Sunlight illuminated his face, and Gula's expression was melancholic, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Six years."
Before his time travel, he was playing a pirated Pokémon mobile game. He had just clicked the lottery button when, in a flash of red, he arrived in this world.
Unbeknownst to him, half of Gula's soul fell into another world, a world of trainers and Pokémon.
He became Groudon, the Earth God of Hoenn.
This was supposed to be a good thing. Although Groudon was often teased for not being able to fly, he was a true first-level god, wielding power over the earth and possessing immortality.
But with only half his soul, Groudon became a burden.
Gula closed his eyes, his consciousness shifting to his clone.
Originally, there was no hierarchy between the original and the clone, but after reincarnation, Gula's incomplete soul had been completed, naturally giving him dominance.
Deep within the ancient earth, golden eyes opened, revealing an endless expanse of crimson magma. Feeling the exhaustion of his soul, Groudon sighed deeply, drank a mouthful of the magma to moisten his throat, and fell back into a deep sleep.
Douluo Continent.
Gula opened his eyes, his calm gaze regaining the youthful spirit, as if everything had just been an illusion.
He had a feeling he had entered the wrong world, but the facts were set and unchangeable.
Gula could only accept reality.
He turned his head to look at the mountaintop, where Tang San practiced the Xuantian Gong.
For six years, Gula had planned for the future, often helping Tang San, providing him with food and clothing, and instilling in him the principles of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness."
But Tang San showed no interest in teaching him the Mysterious Heavenly Art, foiling Gula's plan to have Groudon learn it and restore his soul.
However, Gula didn't blame Tang San for his ungratefulness.
Tang San had traveled through time, and the Mysterious Heavenly Art was his biggest secret, one he hadn't even shared with Tang Hao, let alone a friend he'd only known for a few years.
If he couldn't obtain the Mysterious Heavenly Art, Gula had a backup plan:
to attain godhood on the Douluo Continent, transform his soul into a divine soul, and then, through the subtle connection between him and his clone, heal the victim.
While netizens in previous lives called the Douluo Continent a fantasy sewer, it did have its merits: the difficulty of achieving godhood was incredibly low.
Anyone with a decent awakened martial spirit could improve their talents through the opportunities of the Douluo Continent, cultivate a good relationship with Tang San, obtain immortal herbs, and then wait for Tang San's godhood to guide them.
Regardless of how disgusting Tang San's later creation of the "Tang Family Continent" was, he was still kind to those who could help him.
Gula hadn't yet awakened his spirit, but he was confident of achieving godhood because he already knew what his spirit was.
If nothing unexpected happened, it would be the "Grawo" spirit.
For the past six years, his clone, Groudon, had spent most of his time sleeping to repair his soul, but even a hint of power unconsciously emanating from it was a profound change for Gula.
As a child, Gula had felt something within him being engulfed by Groudon's energy. If nothing unexpected happened, it was Gula's original spirit.
Based on the faint feedback at the time, Gula's original spirit was relatively mediocre, crumbling under the onslaught of Groudon's essence.
Of course, according to the Douluo Continent's spirit classification, Groudon's spirit was at least a god-level spirit, so consuming Gula's original spirit was perfectly normal.
After that, Gula discovered he possessed the power to control the weather.
With a single thought, he could change the weather to sunny, regardless of whether it was raining heavily or snowing heavily.
This was Groudon's special ability, Sunshine. He could transform the weather to sunny, without any external intervention, and with Gula's training, he had been able to maintain this effect for a month.
For the past two years, Holy Spirit Village hadn't suffered the unfortunate incident of sudden torrential rains that delayed harvesting. This was Gula doing something for the village chief, Jack, who had adopted him.
As the sun rose, Gula felt it was almost time, so he set off up the mountain, finding Tang San training in the morning's purple haze.
"Xiao San, it's time to go! You're awakening your spirit today, don't keep Brother Tao waiting too long,"
Gula called from afar.
"Coming,"
Tang San responded from the top of the mountain, trotting down the mountain with the lightness of a deer in the forest. Gula had barely heard the sound when she saw Tang San approaching.
A flicker of envy flashed in Gula's eyes.
His body had been transformed by Groudon's essence, giving him strength and defense comparable to a spirit master. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to wield it, so he could only throw bricks flying, and his running kicked up dust like a herd of buffaloes.
Tang San pretended not to notice the envy in his good brother's eyes. Gula had influenced him to understand certain life principles, such as gratitude and empathy.
However, the worldview he had established over the past thirty years wasn't so easy to reshape, so he hadn't taught Gula anything.
"Let's go. You can become a soul master by awakening your martial soul. I have long wanted to go out and have a look."
Gula was already accustomed to Tang San's taciturnity. After saying hello, he trotted down the mountain. Perhaps due to Groudon's power over the earth, Gula quickly regained his strength simply by standing on it.
Running all the way back to Holy Spirit Village, several kilometers, Gula didn't even break a sweat, leaving Tang San gasping in amazement.
It was precisely this extraordinary quality, combined with a mature personality compared to his peers, that allowed Gula to play so well with Tang San.
In the heart of the village, a thatched hut housed the Holy Spirit Village Spirit Hall. Su Yuntao stood at the entrance, chatting with Village Chief Jack.
Hearing familiar footsteps, Su Yuntao looked up, his stern expression softening. "Little Gu, hurry up. We've been waiting for you."
Gula paused, smiling, and greeted, "Brother Tao, sorry for the wait. Let's get started."
Gula often visited the Notting City Spirit Hall to read books, and through these visits, he became familiar with Su Yuntao. He had even helped him choose his second spirit ring, so Su Yuntao treated Gula like a younger brother.
"Okay, get in line and follow me in." Su Yuntao didn't reminisce. After concluding the Holy Spirit Village awakening ceremony, he had to move on to the next village.
Gula and the children followed him into the thatched hut.
Su Yuntao set up the awakening formation and whispered, "Lone Wolf, possessed!"
"Don't be afraid, stand in the center of the formation."
One by one, the children stepped forward to awaken their spirits, all of them useless, which gradually cooled Su Yuntao's excitement.
"Xiao San, you go first."
Gula made way for Tang San. Tang San, curious about what spirit he would awaken, didn't refuse and stepped forward to stand within the formation.
"Blue Silver Grass, useless spirit."
Su Yuntao shook his head in disappointment.
Tang San's excitement instantly turned cold. He had learned from Gula the importance of spirits. Without them, one couldn't become a spirit master, and the Mysterious Heaven Art couldn't continue to advance.
He lost his composure, "I haven't tested my spirit power yet."
"Then test it..." Su Yuntao said dismissively.
Gula watched all this with a cold eye. Tang San must have twin spirits and full innate spirit power. She was more concerned about herself than him.
"Full innate spirit power!"
As expected, Su Yuntao looked at Tang San in disbelief, his eyes filled with two words: You?
Tang San paid no attention to Su Yuntao, lost in his own world, studying the blue silver grass in his palm.
Su Yuntao suppressed his inner shock and beckoned, "Gula, come here."
Gula nodded and stepped forward. Su Yuntao's spirit power flowed into him, flowing through his meridians.
After a second or two, the spirit power of his martial spirit failed to fill his meridians. Su Yuntao exclaimed in amazement, "Such vast meridians."
He gritted his teeth and continued to inject spirit power. Finally, a blazing red light shone forth, illuminating the entire thatched hut. It was hotter than the midday sun, burning his hands painfully.
Su Yuntao hissed and withdrew his hand.
Behind Gula, a massive red shadow stood silently in mid-air. Its back was covered in lava armor, its sides covered in sharp spikes, its claws and tail ferociously sharp, silently proclaiming its power.
"What kind of martial spirit is this!?"
Su Yuntao stuttered in fear at the terrifying sight of Groudon.
Gula was intoxicated by the surge of power within him, ignoring the inexplicable notification chime in his ear. He spoke frankly, "Grawo."
Su Yuntao's expression was odd. "Did you choose your own name? That sounds a bit strange. Change it, give it a better name. I've discovered an unknown spirit and I need to report it to the Spirit Hall."
Gula looked up. He was speaking the truth.
Never mind. No one would understand.
Unknown loneliness made Gula sigh. "It's called the Lava Beast. Simple and concise, isn't it?"
"Hmm, that's a good name. A fire-attributed spirit, sounds quite powerful."
Su Yuntao wrote it down on a piece of paper and took out the crystal ball. "Test your spirit power."
Gula placed his hand on it, and a warm golden light illuminated the thatched hut. Su Yuntao exclaimed in his ear, "Full innate spirit power!"
"Gula, do you want to join the Spirit Hall? With your talent, you'll definitely be trained as a priority, and becoming a Titled Douluo Elder won't be a problem. Oh, and Tang San, you can come too."
Su Yuntao's expression was filled with excitement, his hands trembling. He had never expected this young man who had always come to the branch hall to study to be such a genius. Gula
waved his hand. "No, Brother Tao, the Spirit Hall has too many rules. It's not for me. If it's all right, I'll go back and familiarize myself with spirits."
More importantly, he had to understand the newly acquired system.
Just then, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes, and a series of notifications echoed in his ears, announcing the awakening of his spirit, but he didn't have time to catch them.
Su Yuntao's excitement suddenly cooled. He uttered a wordless abah, then smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Alright, you've been very sensible since childhood. I won't try to persuade you any more. I hope you'll become a remarkable soul master in the future."
"I will," Gula said confidently.
"You kid." Su Yuntao smiled, put away the awakening stone, pushed open the door, and walked out of the thatched cottage.