A few seconds later.

The four of them scattered at lightning speed, leaving behind a disheveled Li Yusong—who was still grinning.

"Today your grandpa's in a good mood. I won't stoop to your level."

"Tonight, drinks and food are on me! Eat all you want!"

Flender snorted.

That's more like it.

Diyi Hong took the opportunity to chime in—

"Teacher Li, I caught a few ten-thousand-year soul beasts on the way here. They're penned up in my spatial ring. Want to take a look and see if any suit you?"

Oh?

Li Yusong's interest was instantly piqued.

"Leftovers from that trip to the Star Dou Forest?"

"Even if this old man's lost his martial soul and the boost from soul rings, I still have a Soul Emperor's foundation. I should be able to handle soul rings up to about 14,000 years."

"Got anything close?"

"No problem!" Diyi Hong said confidently. "I've got everything from ten thousand to ninety thousand years!"

—If you can handle it, even a hundred-thousand-year ring's on the table.

Li Yusong was overjoyed!

"Then this old man will go have a look. I'll catch you a few more next time!"

"A small matter." Diyi Hong waved it off. "Don't resist, Teacher Li—I'll send you in."

He grabbed Li Yusong's hand and transferred him into the Divine Realm Fragment.

Then he turned to Meng Shu and Meng Yiran.

"You two come too. I'll help you digest the effects of the immortal herbs."

Meng Shu was fine.

Acacia Heartbroken Red had already chosen him; no one else could use it anyway.

But Meng Yiran suddenly panicked, hiding her immortal herb behind her back.

No way…

Don't tell me…

Please don't…!

In an instant, her mind was flooded with wild thoughts.

But faced with Diyi Hong, she didn't dare resist. She followed them into the Divine Realm Fragment.

Inside, Li Yusong looked around the vast empty space, puzzled.

"Diyi, where are the soul beasts?"

Since he had the Memory Eraser, Diyi Hong didn't bother pretending.

He directly brought out the Dragon-Marked Staff sphere, five Chrysanthemums, and seven God-bestowed Soul Rings.

Then he briefly explained the process—reforge the Diamond Invincible Body, then absorb the God-bestowed Soul Rings one by one.

And with that, he vanished.

Leaving behind Li Yusong, Meng Shu, and Meng Yiran—stunned, speechless, and mentally blank.

Their minds were buzzing.

Those precious immortal herbs that people fought to the death over outside—he just gave out five of them?

Just to refine the Diamond Invincible Body?

And those God-bestowed Soul Rings… they were really that incredible?

No wonder Diyi Hong had said "everything you could want."

But—

"Teacher Li," Meng Yiran asked cautiously, "can you tell me how you're so close with Diyi?"

Li Yusong scratched his head, dazed.

"Beats me!"

The nicest thing he'd done for Diyi Hong might've been… waiving his tuition?

Outside.

Diyi Hong continued cracking eggs.

Shao Xin's contained a candy bean, which excited him—until he remembered he still had his martial soul.

"It's just a regular candy bean…" Shao Xin said through clenched teeth.

Lu Qibin's had a jug of ordinary wine.

Ma Hongjun's?

A condom.

"Ha!" Ma Hongjun laughed awkwardly. "That thing that fell out of my clothes earlier—I swear I wasn't planning to sneak out tonight!"

Brilliant.

He just confessed everything himself.

Flender's eyes gleamed dangerously as he grabbed Ma Hongjun, ready to beat some discipline into him.

"YESSS!!!"

It was Oscar, who had just finished absorbing his immortal herb, pumping his fist in triumph.

"Dean! Fatty! Boss Dai!"

"My soul power just hit level 39!"

"And I'm just a breath away from breaking into level 40!"

"My body feels lighter too—like I'm about to fly!"

"HAHAHAHA—"

Good thing Tang San wasn't here.

At just level 31, he'd definitely be green with envy.

Nearby.

Chen Xin, who had stepped in earlier to de-escalate things, looked around at the group.

Even the weakest among them—Ma Hongjun—was at level 34!

This tiny Shrek Academy… was overflowing with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

And with Diyi Hong, this walking opportunity generator…

Their future potential was terrifying.

In fact—

They might just lead the next era.

He silently mounted his sword and flew off—he had to get Fengzhi moving, and quickly recruit some of these talents into the sect.

At that point—

All the eggs had been opened.

Diyi Hong glanced at the Divine Realm Fragment.

Li Yusong had already finished absorbing everything and was now sparring fiercely with Meng Shu.

Seven soul rings danced around him, all starting at black.

—Thanks to the five immortal herbs and six God-bestowed Soul Rings, breaking into level 70 was effortless.

In fact—

"Interesting."

Diyi Hong dove into the fragment again. The two immediately halted their fight and turned their sharp gazes on him.

"Diyi!" Li Yusong laughed heartily. "I've never felt this good before! Truly, thank you!"

Diyi Hong returned his smile.

Old Li was a decent guy. This much reward was well-deserved.

Wait—!

After consuming five Chrysanthemums and undergoing the transformation, Li Yusong had rejuvenated back to his prime.

Meng Shu, after eating Acacia Heartbroken Red, had also rebuilt his physique and returned to a middle-aged state.

So technically… they couldn't be called old men anymore.

As for Meng Yiran…

Fairer, more delicate than ever—though her age hadn't changed much.

"I've hit level 40 too!" Meng Yiran said, bouncing with excitement. "I just got my soul ring, and I'm already bottlenecked again?! This is amazing! I love you so much!"

"I… I'm level 89 now," Meng Shu grinned. "And I feel completely invigorated. Just need a bit more soul power to break through to level 90!"

Meng Shu had originally been at level 85—so a four-level jump.

And that's at the Soul Douluo level!

Just showed how powerful Acacia Heartbroken Red really was.

Diyi Hong then made a few adjustments to their memories.

For Meng Shu and Meng Yiran, he erased everything except their cultivation experience.

But for Li Yusong…

He hesitated.

Then chose not to erase anything.

He even pulled out two more God-bestowed Soul Rings and tossed them to him.

Nine-Colored Goddess and the Phoenix God had gifted him 18 of these rings.

They weren't that valuable, so there was no need to hoard them.

"More?" Li Yusong fumbled with the rings. "Seven was already—"

"Quit the whining," Diyi Hong waved. "Just don't go around blabbing. I'm off."

The four of them exited the Divine Realm Fragment and returned to the real world.

Meng Shu and Meng Yiran blinked in confusion—the memory gaps from deletion made them feel like their heads were filled with sudden cultivation insights.

Li Yusong, on the other hand, looked perfectly normal.

But—

Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the others were absolutely stunned!

Wait a minute—

Who were these two handsome middle-aged guys?!

"Old Li?" Flender ventured cautiously.

"Don't recognize me anymore?" Li Yusong said smugly. "Ever heard of reversing aging? Jealous?"

Flender: "…"

Zhao Wuji and the others gritted their teeth, itching to beat him up again.

"You want another beating, don't you?"

Li Yusong summoned his martial soul, the Dragon-Marked Staff, and pointed it at them.

"Someone come spar with me. Let's see who beats who!"

BZZZZZZT—

Seven soul rings gleamed one by one.

Black, black, black, black, black, red, red!!!

Everyone—except Diyi Hong—was wide-eyed in disbelief!!!

Those last two rings…

Were they red?!?!

Hundred-thousand-year soul rings?!

Two of them?!

What kind of madness was this?!

Even ignoring whether Diyi Hong actually had two 100,000-year soul beasts in his spatial ring—

Could Li Yusong's body even handle them?

Even with ten-thousand-year rings as a baseline, most people couldn't jump straight to 100,000 years for the sixth ring!

Li Yusong took in all their shocked expressions, his heart surging with pride.

He stabbed the Dragon-Marked Staff into the ground and asked with thunderous arrogance—

"Who dares fight me?"

Most people assumed his challenger would be Zhao Wuji, the 78th-level Power Attack specialist.

But—

Meng Shu, with no memory of recent events, was itching for action after his own power-up.

He immediately stepped forward: "Allow this old man to test your mettle!"

He summoned his martial soul, the Dragon-Headed Cane, and faced Li Yusong head-on.

Causing Li Yusong, who had been basking in the glory of showing off to his old friends, to momentarily short-circuit.

What the hell?!

I was basking in my moment here—why are you stealing my spotlight?!

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