Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

Gu La's lips twitched. "Is our friendship only worth one gold coin?"

"And as far as I know, the Bone-Fortifying Ointment outside is selling like hotcakes, with unit prices reaching eighty or ninety gold coins. With such high profits, you're only giving me this much?"

"Oh, sir, you're joking," the female attendant said coyly.

She smiled sweetly, her chest bouncing slightly as her pale fingers gently slid along the edge of the teacup, fully showcasing her charm.

"We have to expend great effort to preserve the herbs, which requires the work of plant-type soul masters. The costs are quite high."

"Then we hire master alchemists to refine the medicine and distribute it across various regions, requiring significant manpower and resources. In truth, there's not much profit left."

Gu La was speechless. They were treating him like a fool. If he hadn't previously bought herbs at two gold coins per unit, he might have believed them.

And what nonsense was this about "master alchemists"? It sounded like a load of rubbish. Even if there were real master alchemists, the formula had only been out for half a month—there was no way they could have produced an ointment that would impress Gu La.

"Let's cut to the chase. Fifteen gold coins per unit. I'm leaving you some room for profit, but let me earn a bit more too. This is my bottom line. Otherwise, I'll go ask the Seven Treasures Guild—they'll definitely be willing to take my batch of herbs."

The corners of the female attendant's mouth imperceptibly drooped. Another greedy merchant trying to take advantage of the Seven Saints Guild, treating them like fools.

"Fine, deal."

They really were suckers. The Seven Saints Guild hadn't invested much effort in the herb trade before, and now that they needed it, they had to compete with other factions for customers and materials.

Gu La was momentarily stunned. He didn't know the ins and outs behind the scenes. If the other party hadn't agreed, he had planned to use hypnosis to inquire about their bottom price.

"Could it be that I have a natural talent for business?"

Gu La was puzzled, then shook his head. He knew himself well—he was definitely not cut out for business.

"No, there must be something I don't know, or maybe people on the Douluo Continent are just this naive. After all, even tactics like 'burning supplies while bypassing the enemy' can be praised endlessly here."

Gu La nodded, took out an advanced ball, and asked, "Deal. Where do we transfer the herbs?"

"Please follow me." The female attendant was surprised that Gu La had a storage soul tool capable of holding several carts' worth of herbs, but she didn't ask any questions. She led him into the guild's interior and into an empty courtyard.

"Please release the herbs. We'll check them thoroughly, and once everything is confirmed, we'll proceed with the transaction immediately."

"Alright."

Gu La didn't waste words. He released the sorted herbs, and within moments, piles of fresh herbs were stacked in the courtyard, emitting a faint fragrance.

The female attendant called over someone to inspect the herbs carefully for a quarter of an hour. Once they confirmed the herbs were fine, she revealed a gentle smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Here's a gold card worth ninety thousand gold coins. If you have more herbs, feel free to come back to the Seven Saints Guild—we'll offer you a price you'll be satisfied with."

"Alright, I will."

Gu La took the gold card, confirmed the amount was correct, and didn't leave immediately. Instead, he asked, "Do you happen to have whale jelly from creatures over a thousand years old?"

"Whale jelly?"

The female attendant was taken aback, then a flicker of disdain passed through her eyes. She had thought he was above such things, but apparently, he wasn't.

But in business, you encountered all kinds of customers. She was used to it and calmly replied, "Yes, we do. Not only thousand-year whale jelly, but our guild also has two pieces of ten-thousand-year whale jelly in storage. If you need them, they're yours for ten thousand gold coins each."

Whale jelly was rare, mainly because of its unique properties. It was mostly sought after by nobles; soul masters rarely needed it due to their robust constitutions. While it wasn't overly expensive, its aphrodisiac effects ensured it wasn't cheap either.

A piece of thousand-year whale jelly ranged from hundreds to thousands of gold coins. Ten-thousand-year whale jelly held more value as a collector's item than for practical use. No noble would dare use it for stimulation—if their constitution couldn't handle it, they'd likely die from burning desire.

Gu La's expression remained neutral, but inwardly, he was thrilled. If the effects of whale jelly were exposed, a ten-thousand-year piece could easily fetch six figures in gold coins.

Strengthening the body, cleansing the meridians, and increasing the limit of soul rings—when combined, these effects were enough to turn an ordinary soul master into a prodigy.

"I'll take both pieces of ten-thousand-year whale jelly."

Gu La handed over the gold card without haggling. Ten thousand gold coins wasn't a small amount, but he figured it was already the bottom price.

The female attendant didn't expect Gu La to be so decisive, completely unlike his earlier haggling behavior. Her contempt grew: 'Men, always willing to spend when it comes to this.'

"Please wait a moment."

She swayed her hips as she went to retrieve the whale jelly. When she returned shortly after, she held two boxes made of nanmu wood. Opening the lids revealed two golden-yellow pieces of whale jelly inside.

Gu La sensed the energy of the whale jelly and was delighted. One piece was around fifteen thousand years old, and the other was close to twenty thousand years old. What a steal!

Deducting twenty thousand gold coins, the ten-thousand-year whale jelly was now his.

With a faint smile on his face, Gu La bid farewell and hurriedly left.

He didn't rush to leave the city, though. He visited the other three major guilds. Sure enough, being the largest hub for medicinal herbs on the continent, he managed to buy three more pieces of ten-thousand-year whale jelly.

One piece of ten-thousand-year whale jelly was enough for a person, but Gu La bought extras for future Pokémon.

After all, ten-thousand-year whale jelly was a rare find. Thousand-year whale jelly could also strengthen the body, but it required quantity to compensate for quality, taking longer and costing just as much as buying ten-thousand-year whale jelly when calculated.

"It's much more worthwhile to strengthen Pokémon with gold coins than spending points. Coincidentally, although Groudon's martial soul doesn't have fire attributes before evolution, it can still use fire-type moves. The temperature approaches Ultimate Fire, so it should be able to melt ten-thousand-year whale jelly."

Gu La used his psychic powers to confirm no one was following him. He left Shenmu City and found an abandoned village site nearby, preparing to refine the ten-thousand-year whale jelly.

In the courtyard overgrown with dry grass, Gu La took out the whale jelly. The golden gel emitted a faint fishy smell.

Sitting cross-legged on the dry grass, Gu La summoned the Groudon martial soul to possess his body.

"My physique is already comparable to a Soul Elder. After fusing the first ring and undergoing gravity training, consuming ten-thousand-year whale jelly shouldn't pose a problem."

"Even if the side effects are severe, there's no one nearby. I can endure it for a while, and the Groudon martial soul will absorb it eventually."

Looking at the whale jelly, Gu La felt a mix of hunger and aversion emanating from the Groudon martial soul. He chuckled inwardly, knowing it was related to Groudon's archenemy, Kyogre.

He opened his mouth and spat out a torrent of flames.

Flamethrower, a powerful fire-type move—the higher the stamina, the greater the power.

A fully intact Groudon could spew molten lava with a single breath, creating vast stretches of land.

The ten-thousand-year whale jelly in Gu La's hands, nearly thirty thousand years old and costing him fifteen thousand gold coins, slowly melted under the crimson flames. It gradually turned into a golden semi-liquid, the fishy smell vanishing, replaced by a pleasant aroma.

Gu La swallowed it down, using his soul power to protect himself from burns. His soul power enveloped the golden liquid, and he gulped it down directly.

His skin instantly turned red, sweat pouring out only to evaporate in the intense heat. His soul power surged under tenfold pressure, and the Xuantian Technique rapidly circulated. A faint fragrance wafted outward with his sweat.

Above Gu La's head, the plane consciousness bestowed fortune surged like ocean waves, rippling outward and triggering reactions in the surrounding people's fortunes.

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

Double Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow

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