T/N: I've decided to change some translations:
Consciousness >>> Divine Sense
Host >>> Streamer
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Diyi Hong got a close-up.
The gods watching the livestream were even more excited!
'If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to tip!' Diyi Hong reminded.
[User "God of Emotions" sent gift: "Emotion Divine Sense" ×10]
[User "Phoenix God" sent gift: "Phoenix Divine Sense" ×10]
All were Divine Senses.
This stuff had basically become the "universal currency" of the livestream—it could be sold for stream points or withdrawn for personal use.
You could never have too many.
But…
It was still far from the "surprise" that the Nine-Colored Goddess and others had promised.
["Rakshasa God": Looks like Tang San has resigned to fate. That won't really torment him. Better to give him some hope to string him along.]
["Rakshasa God": For example, let him challenge that girl once every so often. If he loses, humiliate him as punishment. Then he still has to grit his teeth and come back next time. Rinse and repeat.]
["Phoenix God": Brutal! As expected of an evil god.]
["God of Emotions": Yes! That's it! Humiliate him! Hard!]
["Nine-Colored Goddess": Every time he loses, he'll hate himself more for that one misstep! The stronger the Eight Spider Lances get, the more he'll regret!]
["God of Speed": Great idea! Let's go with that!]
Diyi Hong gave Tang San a pitying look.
This wasn't just psychological warfare anymore—it was full-on corpse beating.
The Rakshasa God truly lived up to the name of an evil god. Utterly malicious.
"You look so pitiful. I'll give you a chance," Diyi Hong said.
"From now on, once a month, you may fight Meng Yiran."
"Tang Sect's top ten hidden weapons are banned. Everything else is fair game."
"If you win, the Eight Spider Lances are still yours. But if you lose, you'll have to do something for me."
And what would that "something" be?
Of course—it would be put up for auction among the gods, sold to the highest bidder.
Meng Shu wanted to object on the spot—this was no good for Meng Yiran!
Luckily, the familiar Chao Tianxiang stopped him with a sharp glance.
Did you already forget Diyi Hong's earlier warning?
Meng Shu was furious—but helpless.
Tang San, who had already given up, suddenly heard he had another chance. Without hesitation, he nodded in agreement.
"Deal!"
"It's just borrowed strength! A momentary flash!"
"I'm a twin martial soul wielder! Born with full soul power!"
"I'll surpass her sooner or later!"
"Diyi Hong, I've calmed down now. Can I get up?"
Seeing how enthusiastically Tang San jumped into the trap, Diyi Hong lifted the suppression.
Tang San got up, dusted himself off, and gave Diyi Hong a friendly smile.
All traces of his earlier madness were gone.
Such a fast emotional shift…
It made the Shrek crew wary.
A straightforward villain was fine—but a hypocrite?
Smiles on the outside, but stabber in the back?
Who could handle that?
Only Xiao Wu remained the same—concerned, she approached.
"Stop!" Tang San quickly said. "Xiao Wu, every time you get close I get flung back—what's going on?"
Xiao Wu stopped mid-step and instinctively glanced at Diyi Hong.
Was that something she could say?
Diyi Hong rolled his eyes.
Was there even a difference between saying it and not saying it?
Sure enough—
Tang San looked over too. Realizing it was Diyi Hong, he fell silent.
He can't afford to provoke him.
"This isn't urgent," Tang San changed the subject. "Oscar and the others haven't gotten their spirit rings yet. Let's move on."
"I've already absorbed my third spirit ring," Oscar said. "So has Boss Dai. We came across suitable beasts on the road. Time was tight, so Teacher Zhao helped catch them."
"I've absorbed mine too," Xiao Wu added.
Which meant only Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were left.
"Perfect," Diyi Hong smiled. "While chasing earlier, I found two soul beasts suitable for Zhuqing and Rongrong. They're stored in my spatial ring."
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up!
If Diyi Hong approved of them, they were surely top-quality.
"In that case…" Flender said, "That just leaves you, Diyi Hong. You need to hunt your fourth ring?"
"No need." Diyi Hong shook his head. "I also found a suitable one. Let's just head back."
Flender blinked.
That efficient?
Then he thought back to his own efforts—accomplished nothing but flying around randomly.
He immediately lost confidence.
"All right, shall we… return to Shrek?"
"Yeah, let's go," Diyi Hong nodded.
And so, the group set off for home.
Absorbing spirit rings could wait until they were out of the Star Dou Forest.
Diyi Hong checked the livestream, where the gods were still passionately discussing Tang San's recent humiliation.
They looked busy.
But in the group chat, the gods were actually betting—on when Diyi Hong would finally bring up the topic of tips.
Whoever guessed right would provide this round's "grand prize."
Each submitted a prize:
Nine-Colored Goddess: Three divine skills!
God of Speed: A divine dagger!
Phoenix God: The trial ground of the Fire God!
How was this even different from choosing your own reward?
Clearly, not revealing his "admin privileges" earlier was the right move!
After comparing, Diyi Hong picked the prize from [God King of Destruction 002], who had guessed "after reaching Shrek."
A safe choice.
After all, it would take days to return. How could Diyi Hong hold back that long?
Well…
Under normal circumstances, yes.
But he had admin privileges.
So there was no rush at all.
"Oh right," Diyi Hong asked, "Oscar, what's your new spirit ability?"
Oscar chuckled.
He summoned his sausage martial soul and shouted quietly—
"My sausage is invisible!"
A red sausage formed. Oscar swallowed it whole.
Then his figure slowly faded—vanishing from sight!
A voice echoed from the void:
"Third Spirit Ability: Invisible Garlic Sausage. Made from an 8,820-year-old Crystal Chameleon. Grants one minute of invisibility, including body, soul power fluctuations, and mental waves."
"Unfortunately, detached martial souls can't be concealed."
"Also… you've probably smelled it by now?"
Smelled?
Diyi Hong took a sniff—and was assaulted by a pungent wave of garlic.
"Yep. Garlic." Oscar sighed. "Tests show that even breathing releases a strong garlic odor. It can expose your position, so you have to hold your breath and shut up while invisible."
Sounds like a big drawback—but hey, it's invisibility!
For a support-type soul master, this was a life-saving skill! Any battle-type soul master could become a stealth assassin!
Among Shrek's students, only Tang San's Blue Silver Grass couldn't fully benefit since it was a detached ability.
"Nice ability," Diyi Hong praised. "What's your level now?"
At that, the invisible Oscar couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Haha!"
"I'm level 36!"
"That immortal herb was amazing!"
Nearby.
Dai Mubai added, "I'm at level 42 too. Saved me at least three years of cultivation."
"But since you weren't around, I didn't dare choose a ten-thousand-year beast for my fourth ring."
"It's from the same beast as my third—9,100-year-old Vajra Tiger."
"Fourth Spirit Ability: White Tiger Demon God Transformation."
An evolved form of White Tiger Vajra Transformation—tripling all enhancements.
"If I activate Diamond Indestructible Body, I can barely go toe-to-toe with a Soul King with five rings."
Tsk.
You've got cross-rank combat power now, and you're still complaining?
Both of them looked fired up.
Good.
'Nine-Colored Goddess, God of Speed—they're starting to enjoy this, aren't they?'
["Nine-Colored Goddess": Gotta enjoy the process. When he finally turns into a masochistic Buddha-like god, we'll just swap him to a laid-back cultivation method.]
["God of Speed": Exactly. The more uncomfortable, the better.]
["Phoenix God": Ahem! Streamer, haven't you forgotten something?]
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