Ditto, Changing the Seven Monsters' Natures?

Blue, blue, blue, purple, purple.

Gula wasn't surprised when he saw those colors. It was called random, but if he wanted to randomly get gold quality, getting one out of ten would already be pretty good.

With odds like that, the Nature and stat distribution still depended on luck. If he ran into a Ditto whose Nature and stat distribution worked against each other, then even if it was gold quality, it still wouldn't be as good as a suitable blue- or purple-quality Ditto.

As for the Individual Values represented by the colors, 90–119 was blue, 120–149 was purple, and 150–186 was gold.

In other words, never mind that Gula's Individual Values were 119. In truth, he was only a blue Groudon.

Gula gave a self-mocking chuckle, ignored the three blue Dittos, and focused on the two purple Dittos. If their stat distribution was good, he could switch one onto himself first.

"No, wait. I still don't know whether a Ditto's Nature will affect His own Nature. I should find a test subject first."

Gula realized this wasn't a game, so he had to be cautious. Tang San was the first person he thought of, but then he Shook Head.

"Tang San is my good brother. How could I use him as a test subject?"

Gula was wracked with remorse, ashamed of his own thoughts. Then his mind stirred, and his tone changed.

"But then again, a Ditto that strengthens talent would, on the Douluo Continent, at least count as an immortal-herb-level Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. If I don't let my good brother enjoy it first, am I even human?"

Gula reflected on himself and stopped letting his thoughts run wild. With a thought, he tapped on the Dittos and checked their specific stats.

The first Ditto had total Individual Values of 136, a Brave Nature that raised Attack and lowered Speed, and an even spread across all its stats, with no obvious shortcomings.

"Special Attack is only 10, while Attack is 30. It looks pretty suitable for Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul, especially the Brave Nature. I'll keep it for now and see if it can change Dai Mubai's cowardly personality when the time comes."

Gula had no rose-tinted filter for the male characters from the original story. He purely treated them as toolmen for earning points, so naturally, he pursued maximum benefit.

Points were limited. If a usable Ditto appeared, he might as well use it first. There was no need to bankrupt himself chasing gold quality.

Gula wondered if, after giving Dai Mubai such a huge opportunity, it should be fine for him to snatch Little Kitty away, right?

In the fanfics he'd read, they all directly paired Dai Mubai with Tang San, who was from Shu. He was even giving Dai Mubai benefits, so he was definitely being more than righteous enough.

Gula hummed a little tune and lightly swayed his head, not feeling in the slightest that he was going too far.

Wasn't transmigration supposed to be about having fun? If not for the soul-damaged Groudon urging him on from behind, he would have wanted to go enjoy life right now and cultivate slowly.

What did Tang San's grudges with Spirit Hall and the continent's peace have to do with him? Wouldn't lying flat and becoming the God of Earth be more comfortable than cultivating all day?

"What a shame. I was born with a life of toil."

Feeling the dissatisfaction coming from his clone, Gula sighed. He and his clone were two sides of one soul. They trusted each other the most and were the least likely to abandon each other.

To heal his clone, he had to keep working hard.

He continued checking the next Ditto.

"Individual Values of 148. It was just shy of reaching 150 and becoming gold quality. Unfortunately, if it isn't, then it isn't. In all things, regret is the norm."

Gula opened the Ditto's panel and let out a soft sound of surprise.

"Generous Nature. If it can affect a Soul Master, I wonder if it could make Tang San contribute the Tang Sect Secret Techniques."

Gula thought it over and felt it was a little uncertain.

A person's personality was multifaceted. What people usually saw was only one simplified side of it. Even if the Generous Nature could influence Tang San, given how much he valued the Tang Sect Secret Techniques, he still wouldn't break the rules and pass them on to outsiders.

The fact that Gula had been able to learn the Mysterious Heaven Skill was already the result of several years of goodwill, plus the Great Ball shocking Tang San so much that it moved him. And there had definitely been an impulsive element to it, one that would be very hard to replicate later.

"Forget it. I won't mess with him. I said I'd guide Tang San onto the right path, so I can't give up halfway."

Gula thought for quite a while. This Nature wasn't suitable for himself either. He was already generous enough; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of nurturing other people. After all, while it was called the Trainer System, it had never said he couldn't just focus on training Groudon himself.

He could even borrow a page from the capitalists' playbook: subdue Tang San and the others, make them create value, and never give them a single penny. No one would know what Gula had gained.

"Lower Defense and raise Special Attack. I can consider giving it to a damage dealer. But considering the relationship between Special Attack and Soul Power, it could also be fused with Ning Rongrong or Oscar. There's nothing bad about a Support-type Soul Master having more Soul Power."

"Well then. In the end, not a single Ditto was suitable for me. I can take those thousand points as money thrown down the drain."

Gula gave a mocking laugh. Even after the game had become a system, it had still kept its scammy odds. He was already used to it.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of knocking Rang Out, and Tang San's voice came from outside.

"Brother Gu, Nuoding Academy starts today. We should set off."

Gula answered, "Coming."

He quickly swept his eyes around the room, made sure he hadn't left anything behind, then ran out to meet Tang San.

Tang San's hands were empty, his luggage stored inside the Great Ball. He asked in confusion, "Why are you so late today? Brother Gu never sleeps in."

"It's nothing. I was thinking about a new Thesis last night, so I slept late." Gula was telling the truth. He really had thought about a new Thesis last night, and after tasting the sweetness of his reward this morning, he was even more determined to properly publish papers.

The future of the Soul Master World would be protected by him, "Dr. Oak"!

Tang San didn't understand Theses, so he didn't ask further.

He only said, "I still haven't seen what the Spirit Report looks like. When we get to the city, let's buy a copy."

"Sure. We have to go certify as Soul Masters anyway, so we can buy a newspaper along the way." Gula agreed. After a month of groundwork, if he made up some more nonsense about an opportunity and revealed the First Thousand Year Ring, there probably wouldn't be any major problem.

Besides, if it really didn't work, at worst, he could find a major force as a backer.

But Most likely, it wouldn't come to that. Tang Hao wasn't just for show. He wouldn't let Gula's talent be exposed to Spirit Hall.

"Mm."

Tang San nodded lightly and looked back at the tiny Holy Spirit Village. Thinking of the unfamiliar Nuoding City, a rare confusion and uneasy hesitation rose in his heart.

"What's wrong?" Gula asked with concern.

"I'm a little nervous," Tang San said. But after saying it, he felt less nervous, and the unease on his face slowly faded.

"You'll be fine once you get used to it." Gula did not say much. Tang San's so-called unease was only resistance toward an unfamiliar environment; he would adapt soon enough.

The two of them did not make Old Jack suffer through the journey with them. They set off together for Nuoding City.

Gula knew the route very well. Two hours later, they successfully entered through the city gate.

They first went to Spirit Hall to certify their status as soul masters and collected this month's Soul Master Subsidy.

Thinking of Su Yuntao's shocked expression when he saw the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Gula wanted to laugh a little. Brother Tao had always acted like a cool, aloof guy, yet there had actually come a day when he turned into a Husky.

Unfortunately, his good mood did not last long before someone ruined it.

When they arrived in front of Nuoding Academy, an arrogant gatekeeper stopped the two of them.

"What are you two doing? Nuoding Academy isn't a place beggars like you can approach. Get lost."

The young gatekeeper looked at the patched clothes on Gula and Tang San, his expression disdainful as he enjoyed the feeling of making things difficult for others.

It made him feel as if he, too, had integrated into the world of soul masters. Even if he was only a gatekeeper, he was still guarding the gate for soul masters, becoming someone above ordinary commoners.