Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 86: The Freeloader
The morning light was dim, and the sky in the east was turning pale.

Gula and Tang San sat cross-legged side by side on the roof of the dormitory academy, a purple halo faintly flowing between their slightly closed eyelids.

When the first golden thread pierced through the clouds, the two men opened their eyes at the same time, and a purple light shone brightly in the depths of their pupils - this was the sign that the Tang Clan's unique skill, the Purple Demon Pupil, had reached a profound level.

Gula tapped his temple with his fingertips, and the azure mental power flooded over his retina like a tide.

After three years of hard training, he relied on his supernatural talents to push this technique to the mustard seed level, able to see through all illusions and fog, and even surpassed Tang San who had been practicing since childhood.

Smoke from cooking rose in the distance. He jumped off the eaves, and the jade box on his waist made a crisp sound when it collided with the other.

On the training ground, Flanders was using a cane to wake up Oscar who was taking a nap.

Ma Hongjun rubbed his sleepy eyes and muttered, "Dean, it's not even daybreak yet."

Before he finished speaking, three carved wooden boxes had already landed steadily on the stone table. Energy cubes—black-gray, scarlet, and moon-white—were shrouded in the ripples of soul power of varying attributes, corresponding to Evil/Fighting, Fire, and Normal, drawing everyone's gaze downward.

Gula fell to the ground from the air. The system had no intelligence and could not answer questions, but fortunately there were specific instructions for each function.

After returning home last night, he carefully read the instructions and figured out how the system judged the rewards.

Among them, Pokémon is recognized as his property by the system, so the Pokémon's money is also his money. He spends money to purchase services, and as long as he is promoted, Gula will receive rewards.

Then Gula will not be polite.

"This is your breakfast. I'll treat you to the first meal. If you want more, it will cost one hundred gold coins per meal."

"It's so expensive, you're robbing me!"

Ma Hongjun's fat face wrinkled into a bun, "One hundred gold soul coins are enough for me to go to the brothel three times!

"

He picked up the red cube and looked at it in the morning sun. The crystal was translucent, and it seemed as if flowing magma was sealed inside. A warm feeling surged in his heart.

Dai Mubai also looked worried. He was not short of money, and the Xingluo royal family was not short of his few gold coins.

But this doesn't mean that he was taken advantage of. A big meal made entirely of soul beast meat only cost a few hundred gold coins, and any meal cost a hundred gold coins. He didn't waste it that much.

"If you can't afford it, you don't have to eat it."

Gula waved his hand and disagreed.

He knew that Oscar and Ma Hongjun came from common families and had little money.

In that case, instead of wasting time looking for a girlfriend, he might as well go about making money, which would be a good way to cure the bad habits he had developed at Shrek Academy.

He was a picky eater in his previous life, but after making money, he no longer complained about this or that. At the end of the month, he would spend all his money and could even swallow fatty meat and green peppers. He would not feel hungry if he did not eat.

Flanders pushed his glasses and saw that the energy cube contained extraordinary energy properties. He opened his mouth, but was too embarrassed to ask Gula to lower the price.

"Hey, you three, what did you say when you came here? Have you forgotten?"

Ma Hongjun curled his lips, picked up his energy cube, grabbed it and put it into his mouth. He took a bite, and rich fire-attribute energy surged out. The spicy and astringent taste filled his mouth, and his soul power spontaneously circulated to digest the energy.

Ma Hongjun's eyes widened. "This stuff is delicious! Boss Dai, Xiao Ao, you two should try it now. This is good stuff."

He never thought that eating could automatically cultivate his soul power.

He couldn't help but think, if there were more red blocks to eat, would he not have to practice so hard?
Seeing Ma Hongjun's thoughts, Gula broke his fantasy, "The energy cube is mainly used to replenish energy and slightly increase the upper limit of soul power. The main thing is to practice on your own."

Dai Mubai ate the energy cube and was amazed at its huge effect. He suddenly realized, "So your soul power level is so high."

Oscar asked as he ate, "I forgot to ask you how old you are yesterday. This thing needs to be taken long-term to be effective."

Gula chuckled and answered truthfully, "The four of us are all nine years old."

"Nine years old?"

Dai Mubai paused, suspecting he had misheard. "I remember you were level 30, Tang San and Xiao Wu were level 29. You awakened your spirits at the age of nine, three years ago, and you broke through to level 20!? Doesn't that mean you break through a level every two months on average?!"

"That's right, the three of us are born with full soul power, so what's wrong with practicing faster?" Xiao Wu ate her energy cube and felt proud of Gula.

"The energy cube only costs you 100 gold coins per meal, and I still feel it's too little. Even if the price is 1,000 gold coins per meal, Gula still won't do it."

Oscar looked at his energy cube and fell silent: "One thousand gold coins for one meal..."

At this price, he would have to sell hundreds of thousands of sausages to exchange for a meal of energy cubes.

Why does the energy cube in my mouth feel more delicious?

Flanders picked up an energy cube from Ma Hongjun and sniffed it. "It doesn't smell like meat. It's made from spiritual fruit!"

Compared to soul beast meat, the fruit that produces soul power is rarer and more difficult to cultivate artificially, so it is more precious.

"Not bad. Do you still think it's expensive?"

Flanders shook his head repeatedly: "Not expensive, not expensive at all."

Ma Hongjun knew the value of the energy cube, so he ate it even more happily. He quickly finished the piece that Flanders had taken away. He felt four-tenths full, but his body strangely did not feel hungry.

He tried to act cute, but his chubby face wasn't cute at all.

"But we don't have that much money. The Spirit Hall only gives us a subsidy of one gold coin every month, and we can't earn much on our own."

Gula ate even more happily after listening to the complaints.

The energy cubes in his hand were five times as many as those of other people. After he ate them, he immediately circulated his Qi and blood to speed up digestion and absorption.

He raised his eyelids: "What does that have to do with me? If you want to become stronger, how can you do it without paying a price?"

"One hundred gold coins per meal is the reserve price given to Dean Flanders."

“Making money is also a form of spiritual practice.”

Gula threw a newly made box of energy cubes to Tang San, "Betting on souls in the Soul Fighting Arena, gathering herbs and hunting souls in the Soul Hunting Forest, and even acting as a temporary guard for the Chamber of Commerce."

Each time he mentioned something, he raised a finger and said, "It's better than some people throwing money into prostitution."

Ma Hongjun suddenly became depressed. Not to mention going to a brothel, he had to find a girlfriend and occasionally buy her some gifts, so he had no money to save at all.

"Teacher~"

Ma Hongjun stretched out his voice, trying to awaken Flanders' love for his disciples and support them with some gold coins.

But Flanders is a ruthless person who can use Shrek team jerseys for advertising. He worries about the expenses of the academy every day. He has worn the same robes for more than ten years. How could he have money?

He looked troubled. "Hongjun, the academy only charges you one hundred gold coins for tuition per semester."

The implication is that he has no money either.

Ma Hongjun completely lost hope and looked at Dai Mubai with a sad face, "Boss Dai, you are the only one who can help me. Can you give me some money? I will pay you back later."

Oscar coughed lightly, suppressing his embarrassment, "Boss Dai, and me."

Dai Mubai's expression remained unchanged as he said, "I still have tens of thousands of gold coins on me, I can lend them to you..."

"Hey, there's a rich guy. I'll triple the price of your energy cube. But first thing's first, no credit allowed."

As soon as Gula finished speaking, Dai Mubai's face changed. Why did they raise the price so suddenly? He was about to argue, but the delicious taste still lingered on his tongue, and his soul power became much more active.

He was afraid that Gula would raise the price again, and then he wouldn't be able to afford it. He shook his head apologetically.

"Fatty, Xiao Ao, there's nothing I can do."

"Ah, no!"

Ma Hongjun hugged Dai Mubai's thighs, but unfortunately Dai Mubai saw through Gula's deep meaning and simply rejected Ma Hongjun who was pestering him.

(End of this chapter)