[Douluo II Period]
Shrek Plaza. Huo Yuhao stood there quietly. He didn't break down and roar like Qian Duoduo, nor did he react with the shock and uproar of the students around him.
He looked at the Sky Screen, at the figure he had once admired so deeply. The last trace of warmth in his eyes slowly faded.
So the so-called kindness had all been charity with strings attached.
The so-called cultivation had merely been polishing him into a handy tool.
The so-called regard for him was just an appreciation of the value of his Ultimate Ice Martial Soul.
From beginning to end, Huo Yuhao had never been a student in Yan Shaozhe's eyes. He had only ever been a tool to solve problems and pave the way for Yan Shaozhe's granddaughter.
In that moment, the last of Huo Yuhao's illusions about Shrek's upper ranks shattered completely.
Above them, all the images of Yan Shaozhe on the Sky Screen slowly disappeared.
The enormous golden screen fell briefly silent.
But the colossal waves it had unleashed had only just begun to sweep across the Douluo Continent.
"Hahahaha! This is hilarious! Shrek Academy, the greatest academy on the continent? More like the continent's greatest academy of hypocrites!"
"The Martial Soul Department's dean secretly had a child with an Evil Soul Master, toyed with female students, covered up for a murderer, suppressed geniuses, and sucked up to the powerful. Tsk, tsk. Just how many more people like him are hiding in Shrek's Sea God Pavilion?"
Soul Masters from countless factions—the Sun Moon Empire, the Body Sect, the Star Luo Empire, and more—looked toward Shrek Academy with glee and scathing mockery.
Today, the once-dazzling name of Shrek Academy had been utterly smashed to pieces by Yan Shaozhe, the "traitor" within its ranks!
Inside Shrek Academy, things had already been turned upside down.
Yan Shaozhe, who Xuan Zi had tossed onto the high platform like a dead dog, had given up struggling completely.
He stared blankly at the sky, like a soulless corpse.
His reputation was ruined, and everyone condemned him.
At that moment, his life had come to a complete end.
Amid this suffocating atmosphere, the final chapter of the Sky Screen's judgment finally arrived.
[The exposure of all the deeds of Yan Shaozhe, ninth on the Hypocrite Ranking, is complete.] [Final judgment and reward-punishment settlement now underway.]
At that moment, the Sky Screen shone with golden light, showing a live image of Yan Shaozhe.
[Sky Screen punishment: simultaneous live broadcast across both timelines—]
Everyone's heart leapt into their throat once more!
Under the gaze of the masses, four lines of poetry, steeped in endless scorn, slowly appeared on the Sky Screen.
[Commentary:] [Gold and jade without, rotten stuff within; a false hero with a righteous mien.] [Upright in appearance, evil within—his true face revealed; a Phoenix in vain, with nothing to show!]
These four short lines perfectly captured the hypocrisy and disgrace of Yan Shaozhe's entire life!
Beneath the poem, an even larger line of gilded text slowly took shape.
Below the commentary, a title slowly formed.
[Title awarded: Beast in Human Clothing!]
"Pfft!"
Yan Shaozhe could no longer endure such extreme humiliation. He spat out a mouthful of blood and crumpled completely.
Beast in Human Clothing!
That title would be forever branded onto his name, making him infamous for all eternity!
Then, something even more unexpected happened.
[Overall assessment complete. Determining rewards and punishments.] [Upon assessment, Yan Shaozhe's conduct was vile and his virtue unworthy of his position. He caused immense reputational damage to Shrek Academy. His crimes deserved death, and his actions deserved punishment.] [However, given that Shrek Academy itself is rife with corruption, his deeds outweigh his misdeeds.] [The decision is to grant him—] [A reward!]
A reward?!
When they saw that word, the minds of more than ninety-nine percent of people across both timelines of the Douluo Continent instantly short-circuited.
"D-did I read that wrong? It says 'reward'?"
"Why?! This scum should be ground to dust, and instead he's getting a reward?! Has the Sky Screen gone mad?!"
"And what does 'his deeds outweigh his misdeeds' mean?"
On Shrek Plaza, the students whose friends and family had died because of Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao's indirect actions were especially furious.
"Why?! This isn't fair!"
"Sky Screen! Are you blind? Why are you rewarding someone like him?"
No matter how loudly they shouted, the Sky Screen remained cold and merciless.
Even Yan Shaozhe, sprawled on the ground, lifted his ashen face. Confusion and a flicker of—hope he hardly dared to believe—showed in his eyes.
A reward?
Could there still be a way to turn things around?
Amid the deafening cries of protest, the first reward slowly appeared on the Sky Screen.
[Reward One: Martial Soul Ancestral Reversion!] [Reward description: Awaken the deepest source of the recipient's bloodline, returning their Martial Soul to its original form.]
The reward sparked another uproar across the crowd!
"Martial Soul Ancestral Reversion?!"
Th-this was an incredible opportunity!
A Titled Douluo cried out in shock. "Most Martial Soul lineages on the continent weaken with each passing generation. To return a Martial Soul to its ancestral form, restoring its most powerful state—that's practically defying fate!"
"Does that mean Yan Shaozhe's Radiant Phoenix will revert into something even more powerful?"
"Th-this isn't fair!"
Countless people turned green with envy.
Yet among the crowd, a handful of highly knowledgeable elders seemed to realize something. Their expressions grew exceedingly strange.
And in their eyes as they looked at Yan Shaozhe, there was even a trace of—sympathy?
[Reward being granted!]
At the Sky Screen's cold announcement, a thick pillar of golden light descended from above, instantly enveloping Yan Shaozhe on the high platform!
"Caw—"
A piercing, resounding phoenix cry rang through the sky!
The Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul appeared behind Yan Shaozhe, beyond his control!
Under the golden beam, the sacred golden flames on the Radiant Phoenix began to change at astonishing speed!
The gold faded, replaced by even hotter, more violent crimson flames!
The Radiant Phoenix's holy aura disappeared as well, replaced by a pure, overwhelming aura of fire!
"It's a Fire Phoenix! It's reverted into a Fire Phoenix!"
Someone cried out, "It lost its light attribute, but a pure Fire Phoenix is an Ultimate Martial Soul!"
But this was only the beginning!
The reversion continued!
Under the gaze of the masses, the mighty Fire Phoenix Martial Soul began changing rapidly.
The blazing flames covering it gradually dimmed and thinned.
Its magnificent tail feathers began to fall out, leaving it bare.
Its massive body kept shrinking, smaller and smaller—
At last, the light faded.
Behind Yan Shaozhe stood—
A grass chicken with a red comb, flapping tiny wings and craning its neck. It tilted its head in confusion and let out a—
"Cluck—cluck?"
The entire crowd fell silent.
Everyone was frozen in shock.
Yan Shaozhe's Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul had reverted—reverted into a chicken?!
Three seconds later—
"Pfft—hahahahahaha!"
Someone finally burst out laughing.
Then, a tidal wave of laughter rang across the entire Douluo Continent!
"A grass—grass chicken?! The dean of Shrek's Martial Soul Department, a ninety-fifth-level Super Douluo, and his Martial Soul has reverted into a grass chicken?!"
"Cruel! The Sky Screen really went for the jugular! This has to hurt more than killing him outright!"
"I hereby declare that the first Grass Chicken Douluo in the history of the Douluo Continent has been born! Today! Hahahaha!"
Before you continue