Meanwhile, Yue Guan, standing in the corner, had originally been quietly serving as nothing more than part of the background.
But the instant Wang Lin took out that "piece of candy"—
Yue Guan felt his heart give a sudden, violent spasm. He nearly lost his grip on the broom in his hand.
As one of the finest experts in plants and pharmacology on the Douluo Continent,
Yue Guan's ability to sense medicinal herbs and pills was second to none.
Just then, for the briefest instant, he caught the faintest trace of a delicate fragrance.
Though faint, that scent carried a terrifying vitality that made even his soul tremble.
Yue Guan drew in a deep breath of the lingering fragrance and felt the Soul Power that had just broken through to level ninety-six stir faintly once more.
"Th-then what level of pill was that...?"
Yue Guan's eyes widened as he stared at Little Niu, who was smacking his lips. Inside, he was screaming in disbelief.
That definitely wasn't some little ball of candy!
If all the energy contained within it erupted, it could probably flatten an entire mountain.
Yet Shopkeeper Wang had treated such an unparalleled immortal pill like candy, casually feeding it to a mortal child who didn't even have Soul Power!
Douluo Continent, Shrek Academy.
Tang San had been sitting at the stone table, but his calm expression changed in an instant.
He shot to his feet, his eyes glowing with a brilliant purple light as he stared intently at the scene on the Sky Screen.
His body trembled slightly with excitement.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu was startled by Tang San's reaction and quickly grabbed his arm.
Tang San swallowed, his finger trembling as he pointed at the screen.
"Do you know what that thing the man in the gray shirt took out was?"
Tang San's voice was incredibly hoarse, as though he had a mouthful of sand stuck in his throat.
The teachers and students nearby gathered around, looking at him in confusion.
Tang San took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, but there was no hiding the shock in his voice.
"I once saw many peerless Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
"But even if you extracted all the medicinal power from those herbs and concentrated it a thousand times, ten thousand times over—"
"I'm afraid it still wouldn't compare to that tiny pill!"
Hearing Tang San's assessment, Zhao Wuji's eyes widened. He asked in his gruff voice, "Little San, are you sure you saw right? That was just a Sugar Bean to coax a child."
Tang San gave a wry smile and shook his head.
"Teacher Zhao, my Purple Demon Eye can see the essence of energy."
"That pill was wrapped in a layer of spiritual energy that sealed in its medicinal power. That's why it looked like an ordinary piece of candy."
"The vitality contained within it was enough to transform someone completely, washing and reshaping their body."
"On the Douluo Continent, if an ordinary person ate that pill, they wouldn't even need to cultivate. Its medicinal power could open every meridian in their body and send them straight to the rank of Titled Douluo!"
Boom!
Tang San's words hit Shrek Academy's field like a bombshell.
It wasn't only the people of Shrek. Every Soul Master across the continent who heard his analysis felt their minds go completely blank.
One pill, and you were guaranteed to become a Titled Douluo?
That was beyond the limits of their understanding!
On the Douluo Continent, countless Soul Masters risked their lives in Soul Beast forests just to raise their Soul Power by one level.
Countless geniuses cultivated day and night, only to become stuck at the rank of Soul Douluo and die with their ambitions unfulfilled.
And yet now, a woodcarving shop owner from the Renegade Immortal World had casually taken out an immortal pill capable of making a Titled Douluo, then fed it to a snot-nosed mortal child as candy!
Such a waste of a treasure, such absolute domination in status and resources—
It left every Soul Master on the Douluo Continent feeling utterly powerless and defeated.
Outside Heaven Dou City, in the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The teacup slipped from Ning Fengzhi's hand once more. Scalding tea spilled over his luxurious clothes, but he didn't notice at all.
His refined face had gone bright red.
"What a waste... This is an outrageous waste!"
Ning Fengzhi smacked his thigh in anguish, staring fixedly at the little boy grinning on the screen.
"If a divine medicine like that could be given to a direct descendant of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it might break the limits of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul and let them reach the Eight Treasure or even Nine Treasure rank."
"How could he feed it to a mortal child who doesn't even have a Martial Soul!"
Sword Douluo Chen Xin's hand trembled slightly around the Seven Kill Sword.
He sighed, his voice full of bitterness.
"Fengzhi, this is the difference between our worlds."
"In our eyes, that's a treasure capable of bringing bloodshed to the entire continent."
"But in that senior's eyes, it might truly be nothing more than a piece of candy he casually used to cheer up a child."
Inside the woodcarving shop.
After finishing the pill, Little Niu licked his lips, still wanting more.
Soon, the pill's effects began to take hold.
Little Niu's face, which had been purple with cold, instantly turned rosy.
He let out a loud burp.
The moment he opened his mouth, a dense cloud of white mist billowed out.
The mist didn't dissipate. Instead, it circled around Little Niu's body.
Within it, the faint outline of a Spirit Crane could be seen dancing gracefully, radiating a peaceful and pure spiritual energy.
The cold around them vanished at once.
Little Niu felt as though he had endless strength, and as warm as if a stove were burning in his belly.
"Grandpa Wang, your candy's delicious! I'm not cold at all now!"
Little Niu giggled and bounced twice on the spot.
His once-ordinary body was now undergoing a profound transformation, nourished by the pill's vast medicinal power.
His bones grew more resilient, his meridians widened, and wisps of pure spiritual energy began quietly reshaping his constitution.
Wang Lin watched Little Niu bouncing around and smiled gently, waving a hand.
"Go play. Take it slow on the way, and don't fall."
Little Niu answered, turned, lifted the door curtain, and dashed out into the snowstorm like a little ball of fire.
The curtain fell back into place, shutting out the cold wind.
In the corner, Yue Guan gripped the wooden handle of his broom tightly.
He looked at the wood shavings on the floor, then at Wang Lin behind the counter.
A wild thought took root in his mind and began growing beyond his control.
"If I do a good job in this shop and sweep the floor spotless..."
"Would this unfathomable senior Wang be happy enough to reward me with a piece of candy like that, too?"
At the thought, the mighty Titled Douluo Yue Guan's eyes blazed with unprecedented determination.
He took a deep breath, bent down, and began sweeping the dust from between the floorboards with even greater zeal.
Outside the woodcarving shop, the snowstorm grew fiercer.
Someone flung open the heavy cotton curtain, and a gust of cold wind swept in with a great flurry of snow.
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a burly man strode into the shop.
It was Daniu, who had just run off earlier.
A layer of snow dusted Daniu's head, and the cold had turned his bronze-colored face bright red.
As soon as he entered, his bell-like eyes swept over to the charcoal brazier.
When he saw the little clay jar warming over it, his brows knitted into a deep frown.
"Uncle Wang! Why are you drinking again?"
Daniu strode up to the counter, his loud, rough voice brimming with displeasure and reproach.
"Doctor Li from the west side of town examined you just last month. He warned you over and over that your health was frail and you couldn't handle the kick of this Burning Knife Liquor. He told you not to touch even a drop!"
As he scolded him, Daniu reached out with his rough hand and unceremoniously took the clay jar off the brazier.
"That little brat Little Niu must've snuck it over to you! When I get home, I'll tan his hide!"
His vigorous scolding echoed through the quiet woodcarving shop.
Beyond the Sky Screen, the billions of beings on the Douluo Continent were all stunned by Daniu's actions.
The field at Shrek Academy was dead silent.
Ma Hongjun sucked in a sharp breath, the fat on his face trembling.
"That big guy... Is he tired of living?" Fatty swallowed, his voice trembling.
Oscar was so frightened that he drew his head into his shoulders.
"That's a strange old monster who can make someone age to death with a wave of his hand, and casually take out an immortal pill that guarantees someone becomes a Titled Douluo!"
"That mortal actually dared to point at him and yell? He even dared to snatch his liquor?"
A sheen of cold sweat appeared on Tang San's forehead.
He had seen with his own eyes that seemingly kindly, skinny old man turn Wang Laoshi into a pool of blood.
In the cultivation world, offending a reclusive expert like that meant you wouldn't even have a corpse left behind.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the Sky Screen without blinking, waiting for the moment Daniu was reduced to ashes.
Inside the woodcarving shop, Yue Guan was sweeping in the corner when he heard Daniu's scolding. His heart instantly leapt with joy.
"What an ignorant mortal, who doesn't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth!"
Yue Guan was ecstatic. He had been fretting over how to make a good impression on the senior.
Now this vulgar mortal dared to shout at him. It was practically heaven itself handing Yue Guan the perfect chance to prove his loyalty!
A glint of killing intent flashed through Yue Guan's eyes as the Soul Power he had just raised to level ninety-six began circulating through his meridians.
He dropped the broom. A sharp golden light shimmered over his right hand as he prepared to strike, smash the man who had offended the senior into a pulp, and win Wang Lin's favor.
Just as he stepped forward to attack—
Wang Lin, behind the counter, raised his eyelids slightly.
His deep eyes flicked casually toward Yue Guan.
That single glance made Yue Guan feel the space around him freeze solid.
An indescribably terrifying pressure locked directly onto his soul.
The scene before Yue Guan's eyes changed.
He could no longer see the snowstorm or the shop.
All he saw was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with countless wailing spirits howling in the sky.
And the man in the gray shirt stood atop that mountain of corpses, like a demon god who ruled over slaughter, looking down at him as though he were an ant.
"Thump."
Yue Guan's legs gave way, and he fell to his knees on the floorboards, drenched in cold sweat.
The Soul Power in his body was completely sealed. He couldn't move even a little finger.
Only then did he realize that the senior had his reasons for living here as an ordinary man.
How foolish of him to try to interrupt the senior's ordinary life!
Daniu didn't notice anything strange about Yue Guan.
He assumed the odd-looking man had slipped and fallen.
Daniu held the liquor jar tightly against his chest and continued grumbling.
"Uncle Wang, please, just listen to me."
"You're all alone in this town. I've always thought of you as my own father."
"If you fall ill, who'll carve all those lovely things for the neighbors?"
Faced with Daniu's reproach, the demonic pressure in Wang Lin's eyes vanished in an instant.
He became once more the weathered owner of a woodcarving shop.
Wang Lin stood up, a helpless, wry smile on his face.
There was a hint of embarrassment at being scolded by a younger man, and seven parts heartfelt warmth.
"Daniu, it's so cold today. Your Uncle Wang just wanted a hot drink to warm his stomach."
Wang Lin rubbed his hands together, his voice almost pleading.
"Just one little sip. It won't hurt."
"Don't go home and beat Little Niu, either. He meant well."
Seeing Wang Lin admit his fault, Daniu's anger faded by more than half.
He sighed, went to the wooden cabinet nearby, and took a small liquor cup.
He carefully poured a shallow measure from the clay jar and slid the cup over to Wang Lin.
"All right. It's snowing hard today, so you can have this one little sip."
Daniu put on a stern face and held the remaining liquor tightly against his chest.
"I'm taking the rest home. Don't even think about having another drop!"
Watching this warm, homely scene unfold on the Sky Screen,
the billions of beings on the Douluo Continent fell into a long silence.
Spirit City, Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong watched Wang Lin lift the little wine cup and slowly savor the tiny amount of inferior rice wine, her eyes full of disbelief.
Everyone had seen Yue Guan being subdued by a single glance just moments ago.
That man clearly possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth. A single look from him could make a Titled Douluo's soul collapse.
And yet, when faced with a mortal's scolding, he wore that awkward, ingratiating smile.
He would even bargain with a blacksmith just to have a sip of crude mortal wine.
Qian Daoliu stood in the middle of the great hall and let out a long breath.
At that moment, a light of realization gleamed in the eyes of this Peerless Douluo.
"I understand..."
Qian Daoliu's voice trembled slightly.
"This is what it truly means to return to simplicity. This is what it truly means to be a sage who has attained the Dao."
"He isn't pretending to be a mortal. He is truly experiencing mortal joys and sorrows, experiencing the worldly emotions of birth, aging, sickness, and death."
Qian Daoliu turned to look at Bibi Dong.
"It seems the cultivation system of the Renegade Immortal World has long since surpassed the mere accumulation of power."
"They cultivate the heart."
"They temper their state of mind amid the mortal world, bringing their souls to a flawless state."
"Our people on the Douluo Continent are far, far behind in breadth of mind and realm."
It wasn't only Qian Daoliu. Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the Heaven Dou Empire, and Da Ming and Er Ming of the Star Dou Great Forest, were all deeply impressed by Wang Lin's realm of becoming mortal.
This was the foundation of a higher-dimensional world.
Not only decisiveness in killing, but also a heart that embraced all things.
Just as the people of the Douluo Continent were still marveling at Wang Lin's realm,
the scene on the Sky Screen suddenly shifted in a strange way.