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Blue, blue, blue, purple, purple.
Gu La wasn't surprised to see these colors. Though it was supposed to be random, getting a golden-quality result was rare—only one in ten would be lucky enough.
Even with this probability, the distribution of personalities and attributes still depended on luck. Encountering a Ditto with conflicting personality and attribute distributions could render even a golden-quality Ditto inferior to a well-suited blue or purple one.
As for what the colors represented in terms of individual values: 90-119 was blue, 120-149 was purple, and 150-186 was gold.
So, despite Gu La's individual value of 119, he was essentially just a blue-tier Groudon.
Gu La chuckled self-deprecatingly, ignoring the three blue Dittos and focusing on the two purple ones. If their attribute distributions were decent, he could consider swapping them onto himself first.
"Wait, I don't even know if Ditto's personality will affect me. I should test it on someone first."
Realizing this wasn't a game, Gu La decided to be cautious. His first thought was Tang San, but he quickly shook his head.
"Tang San is my good brother. How could I use him as a test subject?"
Gu La felt a pang of guilt for even considering it, but then his thoughts shifted, and his tone softened:
"On second thought, a Ditto that enhances innate talent would be considered a heaven-grade treasure in the Douluo Continent. Wouldn't it be cruel not to let my good brother benefit from it first? What kind of person would I be?"
Reflecting on his thoughts, Gu La stopped overthinking and focused on checking the specific attributes of the two purple Dittos.
The first Ditto had a total individual value of 136, with a "Brave" nature that increased attack and reduced speed. Its attributes were evenly distributed, with no glaring weaknesses.
"The special attack is only 10 points, while attack is 30. This seems suitable for Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul, especially with its Brave nature. I'll hold onto this one for now—it might help fix Dai Mubai's timid personality."
Gu La didn't have any rose-tinted glasses for the male characters from the original story. He viewed them purely as tools to earn points, always seeking maximum efficiency.
With limited points, there was no need to splurge on golden-quality Dittos when usable purple or blue ones were available.
Gu La figured that giving Dai Mubai such a great opportunity would justify taking his "little kitten," right?
In the fanfictions he'd read, Dai Mubai and Tang San (who hailed from the Bashu Region) were often paired together. By offering this benefit, Gu La felt he was being more than generous.
Humming a cheerful tune, Gu La lightly swayed his head, feeling no guilt whatsoever.
Wasn't the point of transmigration to enjoy life? If it weren't for the soul-damaged Groudon urging him on, he'd already be living it up, slowly cultivating at his own pace.
What did Tang San's feud with the Spirit Hall or the continent's peace have to do with him? Lying back as the God of the Earth wouldn't be more comfortable than constant cultivation?
"Alas, born to toil."
Sensing the dissatisfaction transmitted from his split self, Gu La sighed. He and his split self shared one soul, two sides—they trusted each other completely and would never abandon one another.
To heal his split self, he had to keep pushing forward.
He continued examining the next Ditto.
"An individual value of 148—so close to reaching 150 and becoming gold-tier. But alas, almost doesn't count. In everything, regret is the norm."
Opening the Ditto's panel, Gu La let out a soft murmur.
"A 'Generous' nature… If it can influence a soul master, I wonder if it could make Tang San contribute the secrets of the Tang Sect."
Gu La pondered this for a moment, then dismissed the idea as unlikely.
Human personalities were multifaceted, and what people saw was often just a single facet. Even if a Generous nature could influence Tang San, his deep reverence for the Tang Sect's teachings would prevent him from breaking the rules.
Gu La had spent years building rapport and even used an Ultra Ball to impress Tang San before earning the secret of the Xuan Tian Technique. That success likely had an element of impulsiveness that would be hard to replicate.
"Forget it—I won't mess with him. I promised to guide Tang San down the right path, and I can't give up halfway."
After some thought, Gu La decided this nature wasn't suitable for himself either. He was already generous enough—otherwise, he wouldn't be thinking about cultivating others. After all, though the system called itself a Pokémon Trainer system, it didn't forbid him from focusing solely on training Groudon.
He even considered adopting a capitalist strategy: capturing Tang San and the others to make them create value while keeping every reward to himself—no one would know what he gained.
"Reduced defense and increased special attack—this could work for a damage-dealer. Considering the relationship between special attack and soul power, it could also be fused with Ning Rongrong or Oscar. Extra soul power isn't bad for support-type soul masters."
"Well, none of these Dittos are suitable for me. A thousand points down the drain."
Gu La smirked sarcastically. Even after the game became a system, it still retained its exploitative probabilities—he was used to it by now.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock sounded at the door, followed by Tang San's voice.
"Brother Gu, today is the start of the Nuoding Academy term. We should get going."
"I'm coming," Gu La replied.
Quickly scanning the room to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything, he ran out and met up with Tang San.
Tang San wasn't carrying anything—his luggage was stored in a high-grade ball. He looked puzzled. "Why so late today? You're usually never one to sleep in."
"It's nothing—I stayed up late last night thinking about a new thesis." Gu La spoke honestly. He had indeed been contemplating a new paper the previous night, and after tasting the sweet rewards that morning, he was even more determined to publish his research.
The future of the soul master world would be guarded by him, "Professor Oak"!
Tang San didn't understand the intricacies of academic papers and didn't press further.
He simply said, "I've never seen what the Spirit Hall Newspaper looks like. Let's buy a copy when we get to the city."
"Sure. We'll go get our soul master certification and pick up a newspaper along the way." Gu La agreed. After a month of groundwork, he could fabricate some plausible backstory and reveal his thousand-year first soul ring without much trouble.
Besides, if things went south, he could always find a powerful faction to back him up.
Though, chances were it wouldn't come to that. Tang Hao wasn't just for show—he wouldn't let Gu La's talents be exposed to the Spirit Hall.
"Mm."
Tang San nodded lightly, glancing back at the shrinking Saint Soul Village and thinking of unfamiliar Nuoding City. For the first time, a sense of confusion and unease crept into his heart.
"What's wrong?" Gu La asked with concern.
"I'm a bit nervous," Tang San admitted. But oddly, saying it out loud eased his tension, and the unease on his face gradually faded.
"You'll get used to it soon enough," Gu La reassured him. Tang San's discomfort was just resistance to a new environment—he'd adapt quickly.
The two didn't let Old Jack accompany them on the journey, instead traveling together toward Nuoding City.
Gu La was very familiar with the route, and two hours later, they smoothly entered through the city gates.
Their first stop was the Spirit Hall to certify their soul master status and collect their monthly stipend.
Thinking of Su Yuntao's shocked expression upon seeing the thousand-year soul ring, Gu La couldn't help but chuckle. The usually cool and aloof Tao-ge had turned into a flustered mess—what a sight!
Unfortunately, his good mood didn't last long—it was quickly ruined.
Arriving at the gates of Nuoding Academy, an arrogant gatekeeper blocked their way.
"What do you two want? Nuoding Academy isn't a place for beggars like you. Get lost."
The young gatekeeper sneered at the patched clothes on Gu La and Tang San, relishing the act of making life difficult for others.
It made him feel like he belonged to the soul master world—even as a mere gatekeeper, he was guarding the doors for soul masters, placing him above the common folk.
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