Douluo: My Clone Is Groudon

After the excitement died down, everyone went their separate ways.

Gu La called out to Tang San. "How's your practice going with combining the Photosynthesis and Blue Silver Energy Ring soul skills?"

Tang San smiled and replied, "I've pretty much mastered it. In my second soul ring, sunlight energy and soul power each occupy half of the space. I can use it to heal wounds or replenish soul power at any time without affecting my other soul skills."

"Mm."

Gu La was confident in Tang San's martial arts talent. He could also see the progress of his Pokémon on the system panel and receive reward points, but he still felt the need to check in.

"You're much more worry-free than Xiao Wu. I've come up with a special training plan over the past few days. Follow me."

Gu La waved his hand, signaling Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing to follow.

Xiao Wu whispered to Zhu Zhuqing from behind, "Zhuqing, what did Gu La do to you earlier? If he dares to bully you, I'll help… Or we can gang up on him! We'll definitely beat him!"

A hint of warmth lingered in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes as she shook her head slightly. "He didn't bully me, don't joke around like that. Besides, even if we teamed up, I doubt we'd be a match for Big Brother Gu."

With that, Zhu Zhuqing fell silent again, her gaze fixed forward—most of the time reflecting Gu La's figure in her eyes.

Xiao Wu secretly pouted. Though immature in some ways, she understood more than she let on. She had noticed something off about the way Gu La looked at Zhu Zhuqing that day—it seemed like he already knew her.

"Hmph, looks like I guessed right."

Xiao Wu felt a moment of pride in her own cleverness, temporarily setting aside her worries as she happily chased after them.

When they arrived at the garden, the group stood on the grass. Gu La got straight to the point:

"Different martial souls mean different combat styles for soul masters. That's why battle experience has a significant impact on a soul master's combat strength."

"There's no big arena in Nuoding City, so we can spar with each other to gain battle experience."

"But more importantly, it's about understanding and developing the strengths of your own martial soul."

Gu La turned to Tang San. "For example, your Blue Silver Grass martial soul has fused with two high-level plant-type spirit beasts, giving it incredible toughness and vitality."

"Tang San, how do you think you should fight?"

Tang San paused, thinking as he spoke. "I'm following a support-oriented path, so my soul skills aren't offensive unless I create my own techniques."

"I believe I should leverage the toughness of Blue Silver Grass to entangle and control enemies."

"Good."

Gu La nodded in satisfaction. It seemed his influence on Tang San had been effective, and Tang San hadn't fallen into Yu Xiaogang's rigid way of thinking.

"One of the key characteristics of plant-type martial souls is entanglement—it's an instinct of plants. You don't need a specific soul ring to master this technique; it can be learned through practice."

"Especially since your Blue Silver Grass is heavily influenced by your soul rings, possessing traits of both Orchid Mantis and Sunflower. Its recovery capabilities are extremely strong."

"Tang San, your next task is to train yourself to master the skill of rapidly growing Blue Silver Grass to entangle enemies. This will increase your self-defense capabilities before you acquire offensive soul skills. Don't slack off."

Gu La added, "Don't be too rigid during training. Pay attention to the details."

"For instance, you can leave behind remnants of Blue Silver Grass and suddenly grow new strands beneath your opponent's feet to catch them off guard. Even if it only stops them for a moment, it can have a huge impact in battle."

Tang San's eyes lit up. He instinctively thought of his hidden weapons—if there was an opening, one well-placed weapon could end the fight.

He was eager to try it out, but quickly calmed himself. He decided to listen to the others' training plans to broaden his understanding.

Next, Gu La turned to Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu immediately straightened up, full of confidence. "Go ahead, tell me what to do."

Gu La felt a headache coming on. Among the three, Xiao Wu's situation was the most difficult.

As a transformed spirit beast, she wasn't lacking in combat experience, but her rash personality often led to injuries—just like in the original storyline. And changing someone's personality was always the hardest part.

Fortunately, Gu La had methods for correcting Pokémon personalities.

"Do you see those ginkgo trees to the south of the garden?"

Xiao Wu nodded. "What about them?"

"Your task is to take the Bone-Fortifying Ointment, and while its effects are active, clear one patch of ginkgo leaves at a time and transport them to the north side of the garden until the area beneath the trees is completely cleared."

Xiao Wu puffed up her cheeks in protest. "Isn't that just a waste of time? What's the point?"

Gu La spoke sternly. "This trains your patience and soul power control. If you think it's too slow, you can release clones to help with the cleanup, which will also improve your precision in controlling them. There'll be a reward if you do well."

Unable to find further objections, Xiao Wu reluctantly agreed, her spirits dampened.

Finally, it was Zhu Zhuqing's turn. She was ready, as if perpetually on edge.

Gu La softened his expression. "When people think of cats, they often recall their astonishing reaction speed. Among spirit beasts, feline-type beasts may be small and not particularly strong, yet they always manage to hunt prey far stronger than themselves."

"One of the secrets to their strength is their extraordinary nervous system response speed. While this ability is partly innate, it can also be enhanced through training."

Gu La pointed to a corner of the garden. "Ideally, the best training would involve catching spirit fish in a river, but we don't have that luxury here."

"Zhuqing, bear with it. I'll prepare bait to attract insects and place it among the flowers. Your task is to kill the insects that are drawn in."

"During training, you must keep your martial soul activated at all times and ensure you kill the insects using your cat claws."

"While Tang San and Xiao Wu train, they can ambush you. You need to stay alert and avoid getting hit."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "I have no issues."

Gu La gave a slight nod and looked around. "That's the training plan. Do you all understand?"

The three nodded together.

"We understand!"

Xiao Wu raised her hand to ask a question. "We all have training tasks. What about you, Gu La?"

Gu La replied, "Of course, I'll be training too. Are you curious?"

Xiao Wu nodded eagerly, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Tang San added, "We know there's a gap between us and you, but at least let us know how big it is. It'll give us motivation to catch up."

He believed his martial arts talent was extraordinary and wanted to preview the second phase of the training plan.

Zhu Zhuqing remained silent, but her shining eyes revealed her curiosity as well.

"Alright, I'll tell you."

Gu La agreed but gave a preemptive warning. "Don't get ahead of yourselves. Master the basics first before moving on to the next stage of training."

Tang San and Xiao Wu quickly assured him they would.

Gu La continued. "From the books I've read, soul masters seem to rely solely on rigidly using their soul skills, focusing only on the speed and timing of their releases or combining them into combos."

"But I don't think it should be like that. Simply releasing a soul skill doesn't fully unleash its potential."

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