Tough Bamboo Temptation! Soft Bones in Xiao Wu's Clothes Does a Pole Dance!

[Countdown complete!]

[The results of this round are in!]

[Yu Xiaogang's performance received 30 million Popularity Votes!]

[Tang San's performance received 60 million Popularity Votes!]

[90 million people across the continent voted; the remaining 10 million abstained!]

[Winner of this round: Tang San!]

[Randomly selecting a reward...]

[Yu Xiaogang, the loser, will now face his punishment!]

[Randomly selecting a punishment...]

[The Fanfiction Livestream's cumulative popularity has reached 231 million. At 1 billion, its level can rise again and new features will unlock! Please cast your Popularity Votes!]

[A lead of 30 million?]

[Looks like we were all thinking the same thing!]

[We don't want Gangzi to suffer, but we don't want him living the good life either!]

[Aw, I suddenly feel kind of sorry for Gangzi...]

[None of the rewards go to him, but all the punishments do...]

[Next time, it probably won't be so easy for him to appear in a fanfiction. Getting a reward will be tough.]

[Isn't this a bit much? What if we really hurt him?]

[Hurt your ass!]

[Who are you trying to fool? Where was that soft heart when you voted?]

[That's different.]

[Haha, we're giving other people a chance, too. The livestream can't keep shearing Gangzi forever, can it?]

[Even the best act gets old eventually!]

[When do we get a gorgeous woman to put on a show worth watching?]

[Liu Erlong: Damn it, these people really know how to kick a man when he's down! Xiaogang's been through so much. That reward should have gone to him as compensation!]

[Tang San: Teacher, I didn't want this either...]

[Yu Xiaogang: It's fine. You're my personal disciple. As long as you get a reward, that's enough. As for me... I'm sure I'll have another chance.]

[Gu Xingzhou: Grandmaster's right. You're so popular now, and no one can match your entertainment value! The livestream definitely won't let you go—ahem, I mean, it'll definitely invite you back to perform!]

[Ning Rongrong: Exactly!]

[Xiao Wu: Looking forward to it, too!]

[Yu Xiaogang: ...]

[Dugu Bo: I wonder what reward Tang San will draw. I'm rather looking forward to it.]

[Ma Hongjun: He won't actually become a god, will he?]

[Gu Xingzhou: Maybe he'll be rewarded with his first Soul Skill, Lone Bamboo Pole Vault?]

[Tang San: ...I'd rather not.]

[Gu Xingzhou: But if he really gets that reward, won't it prove this path can lead to godhood?]

[Tang San: If possible... I'd still prefer a more dignified way to become a god...]

[Dugu Bo: If it really is Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo, then the livestream's rewards aren't worth looking forward to at all.]

[Ning Fengzhi: Indeed. After humiliating himself that badly, if all he gets is a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo he could find anywhere, he'd be better off getting nothing.]

[Ning Fengzhi: Still, I'm curious. What exactly is Tang San's Second Martial Soul?]

[Tang San: ...]

[Random selection complete.]

[Announcing the result.]

[Congratulations, Tang San! Your reward is: Four-Hundred-Year Solitary Bamboo Soul Ring. You may choose whether to absorb it; absorption is not mandatory, but the reward cannot be transferred to anyone else.]

[Whoa, the livestream's serious?]

[It actually gave the protagonist a Four-Hundred-Year Solitary Bamboo Soul Ring!]

[I thought it was just messing around!]

[Does that mean absorbing Eighteen Roots of Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo lets you pole-vault into the Divine Realm?]

[Forget it. Eighteen Roots! You'd need Twin Martial Souls for that. Do you know how rare Twin Martial Souls are? You could probably count them on one hand!]

[Let me put it this way: if I already had Twin Martial Souls, why would I worry about getting a chance to become a god? Have a little ambition!]

[But Eighteen Roots makes you a god. Wouldn't nine make you a demigod?]

[???]

[Nine roots?? Listen to yourself. You think you could cultivate all the way to Titled Douluo with Lone Bamboo??]

[...Well, at least Lone Bamboo would make you tougher, right?]

[Elite Livestream Room]

[Dugu Bo: ...I didn't expect it really would be Lone Bamboo. Still, at four hundred years old, it's not entirely worthless.]

[Ning Fengzhi: True. But was this reward really selected at random?]

[Ning Rongrong: They obviously rigged it for entertainment value!]

[Ning Rongrong: There's no fairness at all!]

[Ma Hongjun: But this proves one thing: the livestream's projected events are probably real... Maybe pole-vaulting really can get you into the Divine Realm?]

[Gu Xingzhou: I don't know if it can, but from now on, whenever I fight Tang San, I'm definitely not letting him get behind me.]

[Ning Rongrong: Ew, gross! Stop talking! I'd finally forgotten about that!]

[Ma Hongjun: Same! Just thinking about it makes my backside go cold!]

[Oscar: I'm scared enough to cry...]

[Dai Mubai: Looks like that's going to become one of the iron rules of combat on Douluo Continent...]

[Yu Xiaogang: ...]

[Tang San: ...Everyone, don't panic. I might not absorb this Lone Bamboo!]

[Gu Xingzhou: Huh? You're giving up your chance to become a god?]

[Tang San: I still want to try other ways... Teacher and I are already in the Soul Hunting Forest. If I really can't find a suitable one, I'll consider absorbing this...]

[Gu Xingzhou: But don't you have Twin Martial Souls? You could absorb this Four-Hundred-Year Solitary Bamboo with your Blue Silver Grass, then find another Soul Ring for your Second Martial Soul.]

[Tang San: ...But if I don't get Eighteen Roots of Lone Bamboo, I won't be able to jump into the Divine Realm...]

[Gu Xingzhou: That's true...]

[Yu Xiaogang: Xiaosan's reasoning is sound. The reward isn't going anywhere, so there's no need to decide yet. I'll take you to find a suitable Soul Ring.]

[Gu Xingzhou: But... Grandmaster, haven't you forgotten you still have a punishment coming?]

[Yu Xiaogang: ...]

[Tang San's reward has been issued.]

[Now announcing Yu Xiaogang's punishment!]

[Yu Xiaogang's punishment: Tough Bamboo Temptation.]

[Use a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo as a prop to perform a pole dance, teaching Tang San the Self-Created Soul Skill: Tough Bamboo Temptation.]