Once Diyi Hong finished his explanation.

Dai Mubai, ranked first, didn't hesitate to pick the Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid.

As for the Acacia Heartbroken Red, he had some self-awareness—he couldn't use it at all.

The Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone was similar to the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass in effect—redundant.

This one was simply the best choice.

The second-ranked Chao Tianxiang looked at Meng Shu.

"Old man, you give it a try."

Meng Shu stepped forward solemnly. Soul power shaped into a blade, he cut his fingertip, letting fresh blood drip onto the Acacia Heartbroken Red.

The flower bloomed and wilted instantly—smooth as silk.

Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang exchanged a knowing smile, then handed the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone to Meng Yiran.

"Now that you've finished distributing them, it's time for me to open the prizes."

Diyi Hong concentrated gravity at his fingertip, compressing soul power.

Finger Cannon!

A variant application of the soul bone technique Titan Sky Cannon.

With high spiritual power, there was no need to rigidly follow the formula—some innovation was allowed.

Meng Yiran, Meng Shu, and the others who had received the immortal herbs gathered around to watch.

First up was Flender.

A beam of soul power shot forth, shattering the outer shell of the giant egg.

Inside was…

A bronze soul coin?

"Flender, you stingy bastard!" Zhao Wuji complained.

"Heh heh! It's random, not under my control," Flender said with relief.

His Martial Soul wasn't extracted, his soul power was intact, and—oh.

Wait.

He never had a soul bone to begin with.

Whoosh—

Zhao Wuji's egg was shattered next, revealing a yellow soul ring floating inside the sphere.

Zhao Wuji summoned his Martial Soul with glee as the soul ring lit up.

Yellow… gray…

His second soul ring was gone!

"Hahaha! Luck's finally turning my way!" Zhao Wuji laughed proudly. "With my physique, anything under eighty thousand years is no problem. This should at least boost me by a level, right?"

Flender was envious.

Also stuck at level 78—why didn't he get that lucky?

Whoosh—

Inside Li Yusong's egg, the ball contained… a dragon-patterned staff?

Huh?

A dragon-patterned staff?!

Wasn't that his Martial Soul?!

Li Yusong was stunned, closing his eyes to sense.

Soul power surged wildly through him, and then—

Whoosh—

White, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black!

Six soul rings rose from beneath his feet, pulsing around him.

But…

No sign of his Martial Soul forming.

He opened his eyes, completely baffled.

"My… my Martial Soul is gone?"

"But my soul power's the same… my soul rings are all here?"

"It's just… my soul skills won't activate."

Huh?

Everyone looked dumbfounded and instinctively turned to Diyi Hong.

Diyi Hong was equally confused and looked toward the livestream.

Even the all-knowing god [God King of Destruction 002] went silent for several seconds.

Then finally posted:

["God King of Destruction 002": Hey, you over there—quit peeking and go check the rules! What the hell is going on?]

["God King of Destruction 001": Tch! Already on it! Hold your horses!]

A few seconds later—

["God King of Destruction 001": Found it. The original rule set defined Martial Souls as exclusive to humans, and soul rings as produced by soul beasts—meant to curb the rise of soul beasts.]

["God King of Destruction 001": Both are required to unlock higher cultivation tiers, but they aren't bound to each other—they're independent systems.]

["God King of Destruction 002": So that's it. Back when we set the rules, no one expected someone could extract a Martial Soul.]

["God King of Destruction 002": Wait—wasn't there a clause saying that soul rings without a host Martial Soul would dissipate in one hour?]

["God King of Destruction 001": Exactly. So this human can wait for his soul rings to disappear, obtain a new Martial Soul, and absorb new rings—not limited by the original soul beast types.]

["Phoenix God": Holy crap! Is Teacher Li about to ascend?!]

["Nine-Colored Goddess": Who would've thought Shrek's weakest teacher would be making a massive comeback!]

["God of Speed": Streamer, streamer! Give Teacher Li a Divine Bestowed Soul Ring—I wanna see him become OP!]

[User "God of Speed" has gifted: Divine Bestowed Soul Ring ×9]

[User "Phoenix God" has gifted: Divine Bestowed Soul Ring ×9]

["Phoenix God": Tch! A step too slow!]

["Nine-Colored Goddess": Hmph! I can't fall behind either!]

[User "Nine-Colored Goddess" has gifted: Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum ×10]

["Nine-Colored Goddess": Give five of these to Teacher Li first. Streamer, unlock that Diamond Body talent for him—aim for a hundred-thousand-year soul ring!]

Diyi Hong scratched his head.

Huh?

He looked at Li Yusong again.

Was this guy blessed or something? Everything lined up perfectly: soul broken, right experts around, and even god-level students handing out resources like candy.

Could he really not be the protagonist?

Was he just the delivery guy handing out cheat codes?

Was this secretly an old-man shonen anime?

"Don't worry, Diyi," Li Yusong said with a wry smile. "Just tell it to me straight. This old man can take it."

He saw Diyi Hong's "weird look" and assumed he was about to be hit with bad news.

"Old Li, don't be afraid," Flender thumped his chest. "Even if you're crippled, Shrek won't abandon you!"

"That's right, Old Li! If anyone dares bully you in the future, I'll be the first to object!" Zhao Wuji declared.

"You've always wanted to try that vintage jar of mine, right? We'll dig it up tonight!" Lu Qibin said, comforting him.

Shao Xin said nothing, but gave Li Yusong a firm pat on the shoulder.

No words needed.

As one of Shrek's founding elders, their bond ran deep.

Li Yusong was genuinely moved.

He looked to Diyi Hong.

"Say it. I can handle it!"

Diyi Hong's look grew even weirder. Slowly, he began explaining…

Moments ago, still swearing eternal brotherhood, Flender and the others' faces began to twist.

Regret, joy, surprise, shock, jealousy…

Until finally they all wanted to slap themselves!

Comforting Li Yusong?

Li Yusong should be comforting them!!!

They say you fear your brother being too miserable—and also fear him becoming the boss.

Li Yusong, you bastard, how dare you!!!

Li Yusong's mind also went blank.

Huh?

He thought the sky had fallen…

But it turned out he'd hit the jackpot?!

This… this…

Colored lights flashed everywhere.

Those who hadn't opened their eggs yet rushed to summon their Martial Souls—hoping to be the next lucky one.

But they were all disappointed.

This snapped Li Yusong back to his senses. He pinched Shao Xin's big belly—making him leap three meters high in pain!

Landing, Shao Xin howled—

"Old Li, if you want to know whether it's a dream—pinch your own damn flesh!!!"

"HAHAHAHA!!!"

Li Yusong burst into uncontrollable laughter.

He never imagined that at his age, such a golden opportunity would land in his lap.

"Drinks tonight!" Li Yusong shouted gleefully. "Old Lu's jar of—"

"What jar?" Lu Qibin grimaced. "No jar! Buy your own!"

Li Yusong didn't care—he kept laughing.

He was too happy to argue.

Zhao Wuji and Flender exchanged a look.

—This guy's laughing way too much. If we don't beat him up, it just doesn't sit right!

The two reached a silent agreement and began to close in on Li Yusong.

Lu Qibin and Shao Xin also moved, sealing the other two angles.

—If we don't beat him now, we might never be able to!

Li Yusong was still laughing—

Until he noticed it suddenly got dark. Looking up, he realized it wasn't night…

He was surrounded.

"You gu—"

WHAM!

SMACK!

AAAH!

OOF!

"YiyayaYO~!!"

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