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"Wait a moment."
Without any hesitation, Gu La eagerly sank his consciousness into the reward space. Before his eyes appeared shimmering holograms of stone tablets representing different elemental essences and an array of icons for divine-level items.
His sharp gaze instantly locked onto the Meadow Plate and the Mind Plate in the self-select rewards. As for the remaining divine item rewards, after a quick glance, he found them to be various exclusive items of mythical beasts, which offered limited use to him. Instead, he decided to choose another Flame Plate!
With this, the core attribute essences lacking in Celebi and Groudon would be fully supplemented by these four tablets. This meant that when he evolved his martial soul in the future, he would have the most perfect and abundant pure energy support, free from any energy constraints.
With a thought, three stone tablet holograms radiating vast life and mental fluctuations transformed into streams of light and merged into his body.
Buzz—!
The three elemental essence tablets entered his body and immediately resonated with the already possessed Earth Plate. It was as if four vortexes had opened within Gu La's body, with vast and pure Grass, Psychic, Fire, and Ground energy surging ceaselessly, washing through his limbs and nourishing the essence of his martial soul.
An indescribable sense of comfort spread throughout his entire body, as if his life essence had been instantly elevated.
He couldn't help but exhale deeply, his aura becoming more restrained and profound, yet containing a power akin to splitting the heavens and the earth.
"You..." Gu Yue's voice, filled with astonishment, sounded beside him.
She keenly sensed that something incomprehensible had just happened to Gu La. His presence had become purer, closer to the "world" itself? But what exactly it was, even her keen insight couldn't discern clearly.
Gu La reined in his thoughts. At this moment, his gaze towards Gu Yue carried less calculation and coldness than before, but more gravity and a sense of familiarity.
After all, this was a "Pokémon" worth two self-selected tablets and one divine item.
"What you mentioned earlier, the 'method,' specifically what is it? No need for the Dragon God's recognition?" Gu Yue suppressed her astonishment and returned to the topic, her tone still carrying a hint of doubt.
"That's right." Gu La nodded, his eyes flashing with confidence.
He activated the Divine Appraisal Eye once again to confirm. The information stream about the Silver Dragon King became clearer before him.
The evolutionary path was no different from what Gu Yue originally knew: fusing with the Golden Dragon King's divine core, gathering dragon souls, wielding the Golden Dragon Spear and the Silver Dragon Spear as catalysts, and completing the ultimate transformation in an energy-rich place.
"Essentially, your core conditions remain unchanged: the Silver Dragon King essence, the Golden Dragon King's divine core, immense energy, and..."
Gu La shifted his tone, exuding an arrogant mastery over rules, "A mechanism for forced evolution that disregards the so-called 'will of the Dragon God'—and I possess this mechanism!"
He stared directly into Gu Yue's shocked purple eyes: "As long as you meet the first three conditions, with my help, no recognition or blessing from any existence is needed. I can forcibly elevate you to the position of the Nine-Colored Dragon God!"
"The remnants of the Dragon God's will are insignificant in the face of higher-level rules!"
Gu Yue fell silent. No recognition...forced evolution...this overturned her established understanding. Could the rank of the Dragon God also be forcibly bestowed by external force?
"Hmph," she couldn't resist mocking again, "Sounds nice! What about the Golden Dragon King's divine core? Isn't it still necessary to extract it from Tang Wulin? How do you plan to proceed? Face the divine consciousness of the Sea God and the protection of the plane master? Or do you have a way to make Tang Wulin willingly hand it over?" In her view, this remained an insurmountable knot.
Gu La smiled mysteriously, his eyes gleaming with self-satisfaction: "Who said I'm going to target Tang Wulin? Tang San's divine consciousness, the protection of the plane master, plus Tang Wulin being the chosen son of this world… Killing him? Harder than ascending to heaven. Even if successful, the cost far outweighs the gain."
Looking at Gu Yue's puzzled expression, he revealed the true plan: "You've always been curious about where I come from, haven't you? Are you interested in taking a look at my 'hometown'?"
"There, you'll find what you need—an intact, unclaimed Golden Dragon King divine core. Perhaps there might even be more unexpected 'surprises'."
Gu La's intention was clear: rather than snatching Tang Wulin's divine core under Tang San's watchful eye in Douluo III, he would take Gu Yue to the timeline of Douluo I.
There, the God Realm still existed, and the Golden Dragon King was sealed in the forbidden land of gods. An intact, unclaimed Golden Dragon King divine core could be easily obtained.
Once Gu Yue evolved into a true Dragon God and returned, the trace of Golden Dragon King bloodline within Tang Wulin would pale in comparison, like a firefly against the moon. She could suppress him with ease. If he didn't comply, letting him experience the suppression of his bloodline would be amusing.
Gu Yue stared intently into Gu La's eyes, trying to discern the truth of his words. Taking her to another world? Searching for another Golden Dragon King divine core? It sounded like a fairy tale.
But the confidence in Gu La's eyes was so strong, his commanding presence reminded her of the strange change in his aura moments ago. More importantly, the predicament he pointed out—Tang San's protection—was real.
This seemed...to be the only feasible solution currently?
Huge risks intertwined with faint hope. After a brief inner struggle, Gu Yue's desire for power and hope of breaking free from fate overwhelmed her doubts.
She took a deep breath and resolutely said, "Alright! Things have come to this point, I'll go with you! I hope your 'hometown' won't disappoint me."
Just as the two reached a preliminary agreement and were about to discuss the details of their departure—
Boom!!!
A terrifying explosion tore through the night sky without warning, and intense light instantly consumed everything!
The top floor of the luxury hotel where Gu La and Gu Yue were located was precisely hit by a destructive dark red soul-guided beam with a diameter exceeding four meters!
The terrifying shockwave accompanied by tens of thousands of degrees Celsius instantly spread, causing the sturdy alloy structure to vaporize like paper.
The nearly hundred-meter-tall building was completely flattened in less than a second, turning into a massive, lava-burning crater.
A kilometer away, a giant red mech, code-named "Inferno," lowered its cannon, with white-hot gas spewing from its shoulder vents.
Another slightly smaller red mech, but still exuding the energy fluctuations of a Title Douluo level, code-named "Bastion," hovered nearby, vigilantly scanning the surroundings, guarding against possible Shrek Academy elites.
Further away, a completely black mech covered in detection arrays, code-named "Shadow Eye," was fully scanning the life signals of the explosion's epicenter.
Assassination! A meticulously planned, precise, and deadly assassination without any warning!
Zhang Geyang, who had been monitoring Gu La for over a month, finally found the opportunity and contacted the Green Skull to orchestrate such a massive assassination.
Using the Green Skull as a pawn while hiding behind the scenes, his only contribution was helping the Green Skull locate the city mayor and paralyze the city's defense system, allowing the mechs to move freely undetected.
"Cough… cough…" On the edge of the molten pit ruins filled with deathly silence, burnt smell, and high-temperature radiation, Gu La's figure struggled out from a pile of twisted metal and solidified magma.
His clothes were torn, his skin burned black in multiple places, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, looking utterly battered.
Had it not been for his physique far surpassing those of his peers due to the tempering in the Dragon Valley, combined with his last-minute instinctive sensing of the earth's energy, forcibly using Groudon's power to dive underground several dozen meters and avoid the brunt of the explosion, he would have been reduced to ashes.
Even so, the terrifying shockwaves and high temperatures inflicted significant internal injuries on him.
Within a hundred-meter radius, except for him and Gu Yue, there were no survivors. The bustling hotel, along with its staff, guests, and even innocent passersby on the surrounding streets, had all been obliterated in that apocalyptic strike!
The acrid stench of blood and burnt flesh mixed with the sulfuric smell of molten lava, painting a hellish scene.
Those fortunate enough to be outside the epicenter screamed in terror, fleeing in panic, triggering a chaotic stampede.
Anger! Fury capable of burning through the nine heavens exploded within Gu La's chest.
It wasn't because of his own injuries, but because of this merciless slaughter that treated human lives as grass.
"Cover me, don't let Shrek get close."
Gu La's voice was as cold as ice frozen for ten thousand years, carrying unprecedented killing intent, speaking to Gu Yue, who had been protected by Xiong Jun in time and emerged unscathed but with a livid face. "Today, they will pay with blood for their crimes!"
Before his words faded, a blinding red light burst forth from Gu La's body.
Earth and fire forces surged wildly within him, his figure rapidly expanding and transforming amidst the red glow.
Roar—!!!
A roar seemingly from primeval times shook the night sky. A colossal beast over thirty meters long, covered in a dark red magma shell, with jagged volcanic ridges protruding from its back, exuding terrifying heat and heavy pressure—Groudon appeared above the ruins.
The majesty of a mythical beast descended upon the mortal world!
"What?!" In the distance, the pilot of "Inferno" was horrified! That terrifying presence made his soul tremble.
"Precipice Blades!!!"
Without any further words, Gu La's enormous magma claw thrust fiercely into the ground beneath him.
Rumble—!!!
The earth quaked like water, and a moment later, massive magma pillars over ten meters in diameter, burning with core flames and engraved with ancient runes, erupted from the ground beneath "Inferno," piercing toward the mech's cockpit with speed beyond thought.
"No!!!"
The pilot managed only a desperate howl before the mech's energy shield shattered like a bubble.
The robust soul-refined alloy armor crumbled like butter against the magma pillar infused with the essence of the earth.
Bang—!!!
"Inferno" was instantly pierced, torn apart, exploding into a massive fireball, along with the pilot, vanishing into ashes in a deafening explosion.
Instant kill!
The pilots of "Bastion" and "Shadow Eye" were terrified, immediately attempting to flee at maximum power.
"Hundredfold Gravity Domain!!"
Gu La's enormous magma eyes locked onto the targets, and an invisible, terrifying gravity instantly enveloped the two mechs.
Like two invisible mountains pressing down, "Bastion" froze in motion, its engine emitting a mournful whine.
"Shadow Eye" was even worse; sacrificing structural integrity for detection capabilities, its engine sparked instantly, and the mech was forcefully pressed to the ground.
"Desolate Land! Sun Domain!"
Gu La roared to the sky. Centered around him, the earth instantly turned into a sea of scorching magma.
Simultaneously, a blinding sun-like light erupted above his head, overlapping the dual domains.
"Ahh—!!!"
The two mechs were instantly submerged halfway into magma, the terrifying heat penetrating through the armor.
The cockpits instantly turned into furnaces, the pilots emitting piercing screams as their protective soul power evaporated rapidly, their skin charred and carbonized.
Gu La's massive form appeared beside the struggling mechs, his enormous magma claw imbued with destructive force.
Effortlessly tearing apart the sturdy armor of "Bastion" and "Shadow Eye" like opening a can, revealing the inside pilots, already roasted into charcoal, unrecognizable.
Puff! Puff!
Without a shred of mercy, the massive claw crushed the two charred bodies into dust like squashing insects. Blood debts must be repaid with blood!
After finishing this, Gu La's rage subsided slightly.
He dispelled the Groudon form, reverting to human shape, his face still pale but his eyes icy cold.
He waved his hand, collecting the core components of the three mechs, especially the priceless soul-refined metal skeletons and power cores, storing them into the system space.
At the same time, he attempted to compress and imprint the Precipice Blades divine technique he had just used, storing it in the Forest Sea Space as a trump card.
However, he soon discovered that with his current strength and the capacity of the Forest Sea Space, he could barely store this move, and its duration would be greatly shortened. Nevertheless, it remained a terrifying ace up his sleeve in critical moments.
Switching martial souls, the phantom of Celebi appeared.
"Rain Dance!"
Pure raindrops sprinkled down, extinguishing the burning flames, cooling the molten lava, and cleansing the air of blood and burnt odors. Above the ruins, a hazy mist rose.
Only then did two streaks of sound break the distance, and the figures of Zhuo Shi and Cai Yue'er finally arrived.
The two looked at the huge crater resembling a meteorite impact, the solidified magma, residual high-temperature radiation, and the terrifying energy fluctuations and thick smell of blood still lingering in the air. Their faces changed dramatically.
"Gu La, what happened here?!" Zhuo Shi asked in shock and anger.
Gu La wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice icy and weary: "Green Skull organization... three mech attacks... I relied on the life-saving trump card given by Master... barely countered and killed..." He pointed to the scorched ruins being washed by the rain.
"Counter and killed? Three mechs? Including a red mech?!" Cai Yue'er exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes filled with incredulity.
Even with the trump card given by Leng Yaozhu, instant-killing two red mechs and one black mech? How powerful must this trump card be? Not even Leng Yaozhu herself could match this!
She subconsciously looked at Gu La, her gaze filled with scrutiny and shock.
Zhuo Shi's eyes were fixed on the direction where Gu La had just stored the mech wreckage, incredibly heated. Those were the remains of a red mech.
The soul-refined metal required for its construction was extremely valuable, and even a portion of the core skeleton was worth enough to drive any faction mad.
Not even Leng Yaozhu, an Ultimate Douluo, owned a red mech. One reason was that he didn't need the mech's combat power, and the other was the excessive resource consumption—enough to make the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda wince!
Zhuo Shi swallowed hard, about to speak.
But Gu La, as if he hadn't seen his gaze, coldly said, "I'm injured and need rest. Leave this to you two."
With that, without waiting for their response, he dragged his weary but still upright figure and walked towards a safe area. Gu Yue silently followed behind him.
Zhuo Shi and Cai Yue'er exchanged glances, watching Gu La's figure disappear into the rain, then looked at the battlefield resembling hell before them. Their hearts were stirred by tumultuous waves.
Why did the Green Skull launch a frenzied attack on Gu La? What was the unfathomable "trump card" Gu La used? Why was there no reaction from the Star Luo Empire? And those mech remains of incalculable value...
Everything that happened tonight exuded an eerie and unfathomable power, casting a shadow over their minds.
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