Chapter 3: The Answer and the Punishment — The Tragedy of Huyan Zhen!
[Yue Guan (shocked): T-This... this Q&A reward can grant a wish? Is this real or fake?]
[Ning Fengzhi: It should be real. After all, this livestream has pulled in everyone from our entire Douluo Continent. This is practically divine power! Astounding!]
[Yu Xiaogang (excited): Unbelievable! One of the possible rewards is the evolution of a martial spirit into a god-level one… Could it be that I can finally shed the title of "trash"?]
[Liu Erlong (surprised): Xiaogang! Is that you? Where are you right now? Tell me quickly, I'll come find you right away!]
At Notting Academy, in one of the dorm rooms, Yu Xiaogang was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the reward offered by the livestream, and couldn't help but speak up.
But when he saw Liu Erlong asking about his location, Yu Xiaogang froze, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes.
[Yu Xiaogang (sigh): Erlong, we're really not suited for each other. Don't look for me anymore…]
[Flender (angrily): Yu Xiaogang, how can you say that? You're just going to walk away like that? Erlong's been waiting for you for fourteen, fifteen years!]
"I—!!"
Seeing Flender's message, Yu Xiaogang was momentarily speechless, his gaze filled with even more sorrow.
It wasn't that he didn't want to be with her, but he couldn't. He and Liu Erlong could never be.
As Liu Erlong continued pressing for his location on the screen, Yu Xiaogang chose to remain silent.
In the Pope's Palace of Spirit Hall, seeing Liu Erlong still chasing after Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong's elegant yet cold expression grew darker with fury.
That Liu Erlong… what a shameless woman. She and Xiaogang are siblings, and yet she still clings to him like this!
Meanwhile, in Windmill Village, seeing Liu Erlong continue to hound Yu Xiaogang also left Lin Yu irritated.
In the whole of Douluo Continent, the ones he hated most were the double-faced Tang San and the hypocritical scumbag Yu Xiaogang.
Seriously, how could someone like Yu Xiaogang—weak, spineless, and shameless—win the hearts of both goddesses Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong?
It was beyond comprehension!
But the discussion in the livestream continued.
[Tang Xiao (excited): Hao! Are you there? This reward can resurrect the dead—if we answer correctly, we could wish for our third sister to come back!]
[Ah Yin: …Big Brother, I'm not dead yet…]
[Tang Xiao (stunned): Ah Yin… You're still alive?]
[Tang Hao (sigh): Ah Yin is indeed still alive, but her condition isn't good…]
[Yue Guan (furious): Tang Hao! You still dare to appear in this livestream? You killed our former Pope—now you dare show yourself again?!]
[Tang Hao (disdainful): We're all in this livestream. It's not like you know where I am. If you've got the guts, come bite me.]
[Yue Guan: Shaking with rage—YOU!!!]
[Ning Fengzhi (helpless): Alright, enough quarreling. Let's all think about the question. How were soul masters born? This isn't easy to answer, and shouting won't help!]
At Ning Fengzhi's words, the livestream fell into silence.
Tempted by the reward, everyone set aside their emotions and began racking their brains for an answer to the question of how soul masters were born.
In Douluo Continent, everyone knew about soul masters and martial spirits. Almost everyone had a martial spirit.
But no one truly knew how soul masters came to be.
Since the livestream had just shown a scene before asking the question, most assumed the answer was related to that.
In that scene—presumably set in the God Realm—two forces clashed: gods and divine beasts.
So was it the gods or the divine beasts who caused the birth of soul masters?
Since the red text and cold voice had made it clear that wrong answers would bring punishments—including the loss of martial spirits or soul rings—no one dared to answer rashly without understanding.
The virtual screen suddenly grew unusually quiet, with very few messages scrolling.
[Huyan Zhen (scoffing): Why is no one answering? Scared? It's just an illusion. You really think it can take away our martial spirits and soul rings?]
[Ning Fengzhi: …]
[Xue Ye: …]
[Yue Guan: …]
[Ning Fengzhi: I think it's better to believe it's real than risk finding out it is…]
[Tian Meng: Humans, hurry up and answer. If someone gets it right, please wish for my rescue. I'm the million-year-old soul beast, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm. If anyone frees me, I'll offer myself in sacrifice. Not only will I give you a million-year soul ring, I'll grant you an ice-attribute martial spirit!]
[Ning Fengzhi (shocked): You… you're a million-year soul beast? Even soul beasts have been pulled into this? I thought it was just humans!]
[Tian Meng (disdainful): Tch! I'm a million-year soul beast, just as smart as you humans. Why should you be in this livestream and not us soul beasts?!]
At that moment, deep beneath the core of the Star Dou Forest—
Seeing Tianmeng Ice Silkworm speaking in the livestream, Di Tian frowned slightly but wasn't too surprised.
After all, if all humans from Douluo Continent and soul beasts over 100,000 years were being pulled in, it made sense that this million-year ice silkworm wouldn't be exempt.
But Tianmeng asking humans to wish for his escape? That was just too naive.
Di Tian sneered inwardly.
Compared to these humans, who might be at most a hundred years old, his own lifespan reached into the millions.
He knew perfectly well how soul masters came to be.
It was thanks to the great Silver Dragon King who, upon tearing through space from the God Realm back to Douluo Continent, brought with her the essence of deceased divine beasts—allowing humans to awaken martial spirits and thus giving rise to soul masters.
It had nothing to do with the gods. These humans would never guess the real answer.
But Di Tian didn't answer immediately. No one else had answered yet, and if he did, they might copy him.
He wasn't sure if the reward would be shared among correct answers, so he decided to wait.
[Huyan Zhen (mocking): A million-year soul beast? Says who? And do you think we're stupid? Even if you are, you'd only give one million-year soul ring and an ice martial spirit. But if we get the question right, we could wish for Rank 99 straight up! That's way better than what you're offering.]
[Tuoba Xi: Makes sense! As expected of Brother Huyan—so clever! I'm impressed!]
Seeing Huyan Zhen's response, Tuoba Xi—his friend and fellow sect leader from the Earth Dragon Sect—praised him sincerely.
Encouraged, Huyan Zhen felt even more pleased. He believed he had found the correct answer.
In his mind, if the reward was that generous, the answer couldn't be so simple.
If it were related to the gods, anyone could guess that. No way!
The God Realm was the God Realm. Douluo Continent was Douluo Continent. They were separate worlds!
So clearly, soul masters had to be born naturally on Douluo Continent.
At that moment, Huyan Zhen felt he had grasped the truth!
[Huyan Zhen (proudly): My answer is—soul masters were born naturally from humans of Douluo Continent!]
[Tuoba Xi: Impressive! Your answer is fast and original! But I have a different view. I think soul masters were created due to the gods. Why else would the livestream show us that scene?]
[Ning Fengzhi: …Both of you answered decisively. But I still think we should think carefully.]
Seeing them answer so quickly, Ning Fengzhi outwardly praised them, but inwardly sighed.
He found the livestream miraculous. With rewards and punishments so severe, they were likely real. Though he desired the rewards, he feared the consequences.
He had planned to wait and observe, but now that Huyan Zhen and Tuoba Xi had stepped up, they could serve as test cases.
After Tuoba Xi and Ning Fengzhi spoke, others began sharing their views too.
Many disciples of the Earth Dragon Sect believed the answer was tied to the gods and the God Realm.
Some in the Elephant Armored Sect agreed with Huyan Zhen, believing humans developed soul powers on their own.
A rare few, including Di Tian, answered that it was related to divine beasts.
Di Tian carefully hid his answer among the crowd, stating that the birth of soul masters came from Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena and the essence of deceased divine beasts.
Still, most people continued to wait and observe—wanting to see whether the punishment for wrong answers was truly real, and how severe it would be.
If the punishment was serious, many would hesitate.
After all, if someone lost their martial spirit because of a wrong answer, there'd be no time to cry!
[Yu Yuanzhen: Sigh! I wonder who will get it right. If this reward is real, our world may change forever!]
[Ning Fengzhi: Let's wait and see! Now that someone's answered, we'll find out soon enough. Just watch.]
As Ning Fengzhi finished speaking, the livestream's reward and punishment began.
[Notification: Huyan Zhen's answer—soul masters were born from humans themselves. Incorrect answer!]
[Punishment: Stripping of the eighth soul ring from his Diamond Mammoth martial spirit!]
[Notification: Tuoba Xi's answer—soul masters were created by gods of the God Realm. Incorrect answer!]
[Punishment: Loss of three soul power levels!]
...
In that instant, as the cold mechanical voice echoed, lines of blood-red text appeared before everyone.
"What?!"
At the Elephant Armored Sect near Heaven Dou City, Huyan Zhen had been confident in his answer.
But when he heard his response was wrong, and that his punishment was to lose his eighth soul ring—
His face changed dramatically and he shot to his feet in shock.
But before he could resist, the punishment was already underway!
(END CHAPTER)
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