Still Heart Like Water, Meeting a Comrade-in-Arms!

[Douluo I Period]

On the other side, within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ma Hongjun looked at that Grass Chicken, his expression turning incredibly bizarre.

"Fatty, laugh, why aren't you laughing?"

Oscar poked him.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing also wore expressions of suppressed laughter.

"Doesn't this Sky Screen say that Yan Shaozhe's Martial Soul is inherited from yours? So, that means the origin of your Martial Soul is also grass."

"Shut your mouth!"

Ma Hongjun flew into a rage, flames erupting from his entire body.

"I am a Phoenix, a Phoenix! Not some Grass Chicken!"

[Douluo II Period]

Sun Moon Empire, Mingde Hall.

Xiao Hongchen watched the Sky Screen, laughing until he doubled over, tears almost streaming from his eyes.

He grabbed his sister's shoulder beside him, gasping for air as he said, "Meng—Meng, look! The Dean of the Shrek Martial Soul Department has a chicken for a Martial Soul! Hahahaha, from now on, whenever we see people from Shrek, we'll mimic chicken calls to piss them off!"

High atop the Shrek platform, Yan Shaozhe felt the weak and pathetic Martial Soul within his body and heard the unbridled mockery surrounding him; his vision went black, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

"No!"

He let out a roar of absolute despair!

However, it was not over yet.

Above the Sky Screen, cold text appeared once more.

[Reward Two: Still Heart Like Water!]

[Reward Description: Bestows upon the recipient a heart as calm as an ancient well, eliminating distracting thoughts and seeing through falsehoods. From now on, the seven emotions and six desires will be difficult to stir, aiding in cultivation and effectively preventing deviation.]

As soon as this reward appeared, the previously noisy continent fell silent once again.

"Still Heart Like Water? This—this is the supreme state of mind that countless soul masters dream of!"

"Indeed! With this state of mind, cultivation speed will surely advance by leaps and bounds, and there will be no need to worry about inner demons! This—this is a truly massive opportunity!"

"Why? Why give Yan Shaozhe such a reward? Does the Sky Screen really think his merits outweigh his faults?"

First, it turned his Martial Soul into a Grass Chicken, subjecting him to ultimate humiliation.

Then, it bestowed upon him this heaven-defying state of mind—what exactly does the Sky Screen want? A slap followed by a sweet date?

Lying on the ground, the dead-gray eyes of Yan Shaozhe reignited with a faint flicker of something called hope.

Still Heart Like Water?

That's it!

As long as he has this state of mind, he can ignore all the mockery and humiliation!

He can focus on his cultivation and charge toward the Limit Douluo realm at a faster speed!

As long as he can become a Limit Douluo, what does it matter if his Martial Soul is a chicken? By then, who would dare to laugh at him?!

[Reward Dispatched!]

This time, what descended from the sky was not golden light, but a silver radiance as cold as moonlight, gently enveloping Yan Shaozhe. An indescribable sense of peace and tranquility instantly flooded his heart.

The previous overwhelming rage, despair, unwillingness, and resentment—

All negative emotions seemed to be washed away in this moment.

His heart was truly like an ancient well without a ripple, unprecedentedly serene.

He even felt that the surrounding mocking laughter had become less grating.

"Such—such a powerful state of mind!"

A surge of ecstasy rose in Yan Shaozhe's heart.

However, the next second, he sensed something was wrong.

This feeling of "Still Heart Like Water" seemed—too concentrated.

Yan Shaozhe's expression froze instantly.

He discovered with horror that, as the emotion flooded in, only one place on his entire body had reached a true "Still Heart Like Water" state!

There, all thoughts were extinguished, and worldly ties were severed.

There, the ancient well was waveless, without a single ripple.

There, he had completely entered a state of having seen through the mortal world—a state of a sage!

"No, no, no—!"

A fear and despair a hundred times stronger than when his Martial Soul turned into a Grass Chicken instantly engulfed him!

He wanted to fly into a rage, but found his heart was terrifyingly still.

He wanted to roar, but found that all his emotions seemed to be blocked, unable to be vented at all!

This feeling was more agonizing than death itself!

"Pfft!"

Under the assault of sudden fury, a mouthful of blood sprayed out once more. Yan Shaozhe rolled his eyes back and was actually so enraged that he fainted on the spot.

Meanwhile, on the continent, after a brief moment of confusion, the "clever ones" finally reacted.

"I—I think I understand—Still Heart Like Water—holy crap!"

"Hiss—this is too ruthless! This Sky Screen really isn't leaving anyone a way out!"

"Hahahaha! A Beast in Human Clothing, of course, must be prevented from being a beast! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Above the Sky Screen, the golden light shone for the third time!

[Final Reward: Comrades Meet!]

Comrades meet?

What kind of reward was this?

Just as everyone was bewildered, a line of annotations slowly appeared.

[So-called comrades: Those who have shouldered the same rifle, those who have braved the same trench. Considering you are all of the same ilk, this meeting is specially arranged to relieve the pain of longing.]

"Shouldered the same rifle? Braved the same trench?"

People chewed on these eight words, their expressions shifting from confusion to realization, then to suppressed laughter, and finally to uncontrollable hysterics!

These weren't comrades at all!

This was clearly a "cousin" reunion!

[Personnel meeting: Yan Shaozhe, Zhongli Wu!]

[Given the circumstances are overly tragic, specially added: Qian Duoduo!]

Qian Duoduo's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

His face instantly turned the color of liver, and he pointed at the sky, cursing loudly: "Who the hell is overly tragic! Sky Screen, you better explain yourself!"

At the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters.

Zhongli Wu, who had already felt his heart turn to ash, saw his name and his hollow eyes suddenly erupted with endless malice and killing intent!

"Yan Shaozhe!"

"Good nephew, your uncle has come to find you!"

He was going to tear this good nephew of his into ten thousand pieces!

[Reward distribution!]

Hum! Hum! Hum!

Three incredibly thick pillars of golden light ignored all spatial barriers and restrictions, descending precisely from the sky!

One enveloped the unconscious Yan Shaozhe on the high platform at Shrek.

One enveloped the furious Qian Duoduo inside the Sea God Pavilion.

The final one crossed ten thousand miles, descending directly onto the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters to envelop the demon-like Zhongli Wu!

The next second, the figures of the three men vanished from their respective locations.

The scene on the Sky Screen shifted accordingly.

It was an incredibly magnificent arena, filled with an aura of iron-blooded slaughter!

In the center of the arena, three figures appeared out of thin air.

Yan Shaozhe slowly regained consciousness, looking around in a daze.

Qian Duoduo was burning with rage, holding his Wulong Shield, his soul power surging throughout his body.

Zhongli Wu looked like an Asura returned from hell, his body permeated with visible black evil energy.

Three men, three twisted fates, three "comrades," were transported by the Sky Screen onto the same stage, presented before everyone on the entire Douluo Continent across two eras!

They stared at each other, the air thick with hatred, awkwardness, humiliation, and—the impending, life-or-death killing intent!

The entire Douluo Continent was, at this moment, completely boiling over!