[Yue Guan (shocked): This... the reward for this Q&A can grant a wish? Is that for real?]
[Ning Fengzhi: It should be real. After all, this live-streaming room managed to pull everyone on the entire Douluo Continent into it. That's practically divine power!]
[Yu Xiaogang (excited): Unbelievable! The rewards include the possibility of evolving a martial soul to the divine level. Does this mean I can finally rid myself of the label of being a waste?]
[Liu Erlong (overjoyed): Xiaogang! Is that you? Where are you now? Tell me quickly, I'll come find you right away!]
In a dormitory room at Notting Academy, Yu Xiaogang was overwhelmed with excitement because of the rewards offered by the live-streaming room, causing him to speak up in the chat.
But when he saw that Liu Erlong was asking for his location, Yu Xiaogang's expression froze, and a look of pain flashed in his eyes.
[Yu Xiaogang (sighing): Erlong, we're really not meant to be. Please don't come looking for me...]
[Flender (angry): Yu Xiaogang, how can you do this? You can't just say you won't see her! Erlong has waited for you for fourteen or fifteen years!]
"I..."
Seeing Flender's words, Yu Xiaogang was at a loss for words, his expression growing more pained.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he believed that there was no way for him and Liu Erlong to be together.
As he saw Liu Erlong continuing to ask about him on the virtual screen, Yu Xiaogang chose to remain silent.
In Spirit City's Pope's Palace, seeing Liu Erlong still asking about Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong's elegant and cold face darkened with anger.
That Liu Erlong... What a shameless woman! She and Xiaogang are siblings, yet she's still clinging to him!
Meanwhile, in Windmill Village, seeing Liu Erlong still chasing after Yu Xiaogang, Lin Yu felt a bit irritated.
Among everyone on the Douluo Continent, besides the double-standard Tang San, the person he disliked the most was the hypocritical scumbag Yu Xiaogang.
He couldn't understand how someone as weak and unattractive as Yu Xiaogang, who lacked both strength and character, could capture the hearts of goddesses like Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong.
It was truly baffling!
However, the discussion in the live-streaming room continued.
[Tang Xiao (excited): Ah Yin! Are you there? If this reward can truly grant wishes, we could wish to bring our sister back to life!]
[Ah Yin: …Big brother, I'm not dead yet...]
[Tang Xiao (stunned): Ah Yin... you're still alive?]
[Tang Hao (sighing): Ah Yin is indeed alive, but she's in a very bad state...]
[Yue Guan (furious): Tang Hao! How dare you show up in this live-streaming room after you killed our previous Pope! You dare appear before us now!]
[Tang Hao (disdainful): We're all in this live-streaming room. You don't even know where we are. If you have the guts, why don't you try coming after me?]
[Yue Guan (trembling with anger): You!!!]
[Ning Fengzhi (helplessly): Alright, enough arguing. Let's focus on figuring out the answer to this question. How exactly were soul masters born? This isn't an easy question to answer. Bickering won't help us come up with the answer.]
At Ning Fengzhi's words, the entire live-streaming room fell silent.
With the enticing reward on the line, everyone temporarily set aside their other thoughts.
They began to focus on pondering the answer to the question: how were soul masters born?
On the Douluo Continent, the existence of soul masters is something nearly everyone is aware of, and almost everyone possesses a martial soul.
But no one knows for sure how soul masters were originally born.
However, since this so-called live-streaming room played that earlier scene before asking the question, it's likely that the answer has something to do with what was shown.
In the scene, which seemed to take place in the God Realm, two opposing forces were shown—gods and divine beasts.
But which of these led to the birth of soul masters?
Given that the blood-red text and the cold voice had stated that answering incorrectly would result in punishment, including the potential loss of one's martial soul and soul rings, no one dared to answer lightly.
For a moment, the virtual screen became strangely quiet, with very few messages scrolling by.
[Hu Yanzhen (scornful): Why isn't anyone answering? What are you afraid of? It's just an illusion. Do you really believe it can extract our martial souls and soul rings?]
[Ning Fengzhi: ...]
[Xue Ye: ...]
[Yue Guan: ...]
[Ning Fengzhi: I think it's better to believe it might be real rather than risk it...]
[Tian Meng: Humans, answer the question quickly. If anyone gets it right, wish to save me. I'm Tian Meng Iceworm, a million-year-old soul beast. If anyone wishes to free me, I'll offer myself as a sacrifice. Not only can I give you a million-year soul ring, but I can also grant you an ice-type martial soul!]
[Ning Fengzhi (shocked): You... you're a million-year soul beast? Could it be that soul beasts were also pulled into this live-streaming room? I thought it was just humans!]
[Tian Meng (disdainful): Hah! I'm a million-year soul beast, as intelligent as any human. If you humans can be in this live-streaming room, why can't we soul beasts?]
At that moment, deep within a cave in the core of the Star Dou Forest, upon realizing that Tian Meng Iceworm was also speaking in the live-streaming room, Di Tian frowned but wasn't too surprised.
After all, if the entire human population of the Douluo Continent and the ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts had been pulled into this live-streaming room, then a million-year-old iceworm wouldn't be an exception.
But the idea of this million-year-old Tian Meng Iceworm asking humans to wish for its freedom was laughably naive!
Di Tian sneered inwardly.
Compared to these humans, who at most had lived a century, his lifespan stretched into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years.
He knew very well how soul masters came to be.
Human soul masters existed because their great Silver Dragon King, after tearing through space to return to the Douluo Continent from the God Realm, brought with her the essence of dead divine beasts, giving humans martial souls and leading to the birth of soul masters.
It had nothing to do with the gods. These humans would never know the correct answer!
However, Di Tian didn't answer immediately, as no one else had responded yet. If he answered first, everyone would know the answer.
He wasn't sure if the reward would be diluted if everyone answered correctly, so he planned to answer later.
[Hu Yanzhen (sneering): A million-year soul beast? You expect us to believe that? Even if you are, what's the point? You can only offer a million-year soul ring and an ice-type martial soul. But the reward for answering this question correctly can directly elevate our cultivation to level ninety-nine. That's far better than a measly soul ring and martial soul!]
[Tuoba Xi: That makes sense! As expected of Brother Hu Yan, you're truly clever! I'm impressed!]
Seeing Hu Yanzhen's response, Tuoba Xi, a good friend of Hu Yanzhen and the leader of the White Armored Earth Dragon Clan, one of the lower four clans, couldn't help but express his admiration.
Hearing Tuoba Xi's praise, Hu Yanzhen grew even more confident. He believed he had figured out the answer.
In his mind, since the reward for this question was so generous, the answer couldn't be simple.
If it were just related to the God Realm, anyone could guess that. How could it be that easy?
The God Realm is the God Realm, and the Douluo Continent is the Douluo Continent—two separate worlds with no connection!
So the answer must be that soul masters naturally originated on the Douluo Continent.
For a moment, Hu Yanzhen felt as though he had grasped the truth!
[Hu Yanzhen (proudly): My answer is that soul masters naturally originated from the people of the Douluo Continent!]
[Tuoba Xi: Impressive! Impressive! Brother Hu Yan's answer was quick and unique! But I have a different opinion. I believe that the birth of soul masters on our Douluo Continent is connected to the God Realm. This live-streaming room wouldn't show us something irrelevant.]
[Ning Fengzhi: ...The two of you answered so decisively, but I still think we need to carefully consider the answer to this question.]
Seeing Hu Yanzhen and Tuoba Xi answer so quickly, Ning Fengzhi expressed polite admiration but felt a bit exasperated internally.
He believed that this live-streaming room was so extraordinary that the rewards and punishments were most likely real. While he was tempted by the rewards, he also feared the punishments.
He had intended to wait for someone else to answer to gauge the situation. Now that Hu Yanzhen and Tuoba Xi had answered, they could serve as the test.
After Tuoba Xi and Ning Fengzhi spoke, others also began to share their thoughts.
Among those who answered, most of the disciples from the White Armored Earth Dragon Clan believed that the birth of soul masters was likely due to the gods or divine intervention.
Some from the Elephant Armored Clan agreed with Hu Yanzhen, thinking that soul masters naturally originated from humans.
A few, including Di Tian, speculated that the birth of soul masters was related to divine beasts.
Di Tian blended his answer with the others, hiding it in the mix.
His answer was that the birth of soul masters was linked to Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena and the deceased divine beasts.
However, while some answered, most people were still waiting, wanting to see if the penalties were real and how severe they might be.
If the punishment was severe, many would hesitate even more.
After all, if the wrong answer resulted in the loss of one's martial soul, there would be no time to regret it!
[Yu Yuanzhen: Sigh! Who knows who will get it right? If the reward is real, our Douluo Continent could undergo drastic changes!]
[Ning Fengzhi: Let's wait and see. Some have already answered, so we should know the outcome soon. Let's watch and learn.]
Just as Ning Fengzhi finished speaking, the live-streaming room announced the results.
[Notification: Hu Yanzhen's answer, "Soul masters naturally originated from humans," is incorrect!]
[Punishment: The eighth soul ring of his Diamond Mammoth martial soul will be removed!]
[Notification: Tuoba Xi's answer, "The gods of the God Realm caused the birth of soul masters on the Douluo Continent," is incorrect!]
[Punishment: Three levels of soul power will be removed!]
...
As the cold voice echoed, lines of blood-red text appeared before everyone's eyes.
"What!"
At that moment, near the Heaven Dou City, in the Elephant Armored Clan, Hu Yanzhen, who had been confident in his answer, turned pale when he heard that he was wrong and that his punishment would be the loss of his eighth soul ring.
Hu Yanzhen's face changed drastically, and he shot up from his seat.
But before he could react further, the punishment began!