[Xue Beng: @Gu Xingzhou, then you really need to think about this carefully. You should know what the consequences of rejecting Grandmaster are!]
[Ning Rongrong: Notting Academy: Oh no, this wave is targeting me!]
[Ning Rongrong: o(╥﹏╥)o]
[Yu Xiaogang: @Gu Xingzhou, I am being serious. Although the live stream's rewards broke my theories, the live stream cannot keep rewarding you with soul rings forever. You still need a teacher.]
[Yu Xiaogang: Take your current first soul ring, which is already a ten-thousand-year one. Such a great starting point-if you choose the wrong subsequent soul rings and take the wrong path, that would be a terrible waste of natural resources.]
[Dugu Bo: What shameless arrogance. What kind of soul ring are you going to pick for him? A Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo or becoming the God of Farts? I haven't even spoken up to take him as a disciple yet, so who do you think you are?]
[Tang San: Please show some respect to my teacher! The comedic effect in the live stream isn't real.]
[Tang San: The moment Teacher first met me, he saw through my Twin Martial Souls at a single glance, something no one else knew. Just on that point alone, it's enough to prove that his research into martial souls is thoroughly profound.]
[Dugu Bo: Hehe, kid, I am the dignified Poison Douluo. Do I need to show respect to two pieces of trash like you?]
[Yu Xiaogang: Xiaosan, don't engage in these pointless arguments.]
[Yu Xiaogang: @Gu Xingzhou, take me as your master, and there is one more crucial point-not just guidance on martial souls. You also know my current popularity; no one in the entire Douluo Continent doesn't know of me, and there are definitely quite a few people who want to see me make a fool of myself again.]
[Yu Xiaogang: Xiaosan is my personal direct disciple, and by following me over the past two days, he has already participated in multiple secondary creations in the live stream. If you also become one of my personal direct disciples, you will inevitably have more opportunities to take the stage. Although it might be socially excruciating, once you're used to it, it becomes second nature, and you now know how enticing the rewards of this live stream are.]
[Liu Erlong: Xiaogang's reasoning is indeed very sound.]
[Flender: Indeed. With rewards like these, it's really hard not to feel tempted.]
[Zhao Wuji: It's a pity I probably won't have any more skits, otherwise I'd want a soul ring too!]
[Oscar: +1.]
[Dai Mubai: +1.]
[Xiao Wu: What if it's a four-hundred-year Solitary Bamboo?]
[Tang San: ...]
[Ma Hongjun: @Xiao Wu, you've got it all wrong there. Why can't you think optimistically? Why couldn't it be a ten-thousand-year soul ring? No, wait, who's to say there couldn't even be a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!]
[Xiao Wu: In your dreams! There aren't even that many Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings in the entire Douluo Continent, are there?!]
[Xue Beng: If you were asked to act out an episode of Artificial Respiration with Gangzi, wouldn't you blow your top?]
[Xiao Wu: Exactly, exactly!]
[Ma Hongjun: Ahem, let's treat each matter separately.]
[Xue Qinghe: Hehe, actually I think this proposal is pretty good. I'd quite like to see Gu Xingzhou perform in an Emergency Rescue Theater with Yu Xiaogang, or with Tang San.]
[Xue Beng: Oh? Big brother has this kind of hobby too?]
[Xue Qinghe: What? You don't want to watch?]
[Xue Beng: Haha, how could that be? I love watching the drama most of all.]
[Xiao Wu: Xue Qinghe? Are you and Xue Beng brothers?]
[Xue Beng: Of course, we both carry the surname Xue, isn't that obvious?]
[Xiao Wu: Speaking of which, why hasn't Qian Renxue been seen speaking at all?]
[Ning Rongrong: You can tell just by looking at her appearance-she's definitely that kind of aloof, cold girl, especially since she's His Holiness the Pope's biological daughter.]
[Yu Xiaogang: @Gu Xingzhou, what is your decision?]
[Gu Xingzhou: Well, Grandmaster, I think we'll pass. It's not that I doubt your standards, and the rewards are indeed very tempting, but I really don't want to keep acting anymore. Besides, your scripts are all too bizarre...]
[Yu Xiaogang: Very well, I won't force it. However, if you ever change your mind, you can still look for me.]
[Dugu Bo: Hehe, as if you could force him! Once he finishes absorbing the ten-thousand-year soul ring, he should advance directly to level 20. Although he doesn't have a second soul ring, what does a level 29 Luo Sanpao have to match wits with a genius whose first soul ring is a ten-thousand-year one?]
[Yu Xiaogang: Both his practical combat experience and his theoretical knowledge are far inferior to mine. Furthermore, his martial soul hasn't been revealed yet and might not necessarily be suited for combat. I am admittedly not strong, but Your Excellency Poison Douluo, aren't you looking down on people a bit too much with that remark?]
[Bibi Dong: @Gu Xingzhou, regarding the matter of the live stream, I know you tried your best. You also followed my requests in choosing the script and had no say in the matter, so I don't blame you. I have also looked into your background-you are indeed an orphan with neither father nor mother. Being dragged into this live stream with such a life story is truly helpless and deeply sympathetic.]
[Bibi Dong: Since I am the Pope, I should be all the more magnanimous and possess a heart of universal love. As for the matter of the script, I will let bygones be bygones. Now that you possess this level of talent, I also harbor a desire to cherish talent.]
[Bibi Dong: Now, in my capacity as the Pope of Spirit Hall, I formally take you as my adopted son and bestow upon you the title of Honorary Holy Son. Are you willing?]
[Yu Xiaogang: ???]
[Ning Fengzhi: ???]
[Xue Qinghe: ???]
[Xue Beng: Whoa, Gu Xingzhou, you've really done it! You've actually won the appreciation and recognition of His Holiness the Pope!]
[Xiao Wu: ...]
"Xingzhou, are you going to accept?"
Xiao Wu asked anxiously and with reluctance.
She hated Bibi Dong and regarded her as a sworn enemy, but she also knew this had nothing to do with Gu Xingzhou.
It was just that if Gu Xingzhou accepted, she would have to part ways with him. If she stayed by his side, her identity as a Soul Beast would inevitably be discovered by Bibi Dong.
Yet Gu Xingzhou's unquestionably optimal choice right now was to follow Bibi Dong. Not only would this secure better resources and a cultivation environment, but he would also obtain Bibi Dong's protection.
Most importantly, since Bibi Dong held no grudge, if Gu Xingzhou were to rebuff her kindness or defect to another faction, he might very well incur her wrath.
"...Given my current situation, I suppose I have no choice but to accept. You know as well that I was originally afraid she would harbor anger and come kill me. Now, not only does she bear no grudge, but she even wants to nurture me. If I don't accept, it wouldn't make sense either."
Gu Xingzhou sighed helplessly.
Inwardly, however, he was ecstatic. Bibi Dong's choice was just as he had guessed-the underlying code of Douluo Continent was still functioning. Even so, he wasn't so confident as to think it was absolute; there was still a certain probability that Bibi Dong might kill him. After all, that was the Thirteen Needles of Gangmen...
Therefore, Gu Xingzhou had also made backup preparations, utilizing the rules of the live stream and the penalties to force Bibi Dong to protect him.
He just hadn't expected things to be this much easier now.
As for whether this could be a ruse by Bibi Dong to trick him into coming over to kill him, that possibility was virtually zero.
First of all, there was no need; killing him would be as easy as stepping on an ant, so she wouldn't need to make such a superfluous effort.
Secondly, Bibi Dong had specifically emphasized conferring upon him the title of Honorary Holy Son, which would inevitably be proclaimed to the entire world.
If she truly wanted to kill Gu Xingzhou, she wouldn't need to stoop to such tacky methods.
Furthermore... he had now acquired a ten-thousand-year soul ring and the first soul skill Perfect Mask, making it no easy task for even Bibi Dong to kill him.
Since I've gained Bibi Dong's trust, the upcoming punishments will need to be altered!
Gu Xingzhou thought to himself.
Before you continue