As the live broadcast began, the dark and deep virtual space abruptly transformed into a lush and ancient forest. The virtual screen cut off abruptly.
Once the broadcast started, the camera panned up to the sky, giving a panoramic view of the entire ancient forest.
From the camera's perspective, it was clear that this was a forest inhabited by soul beasts. The footage showed numerous soul beasts—both herbivorous and carnivorous—running and foraging in the forest.
However, due to the limitations of the camera provided by the live broadcast, it was impossible to determine exactly what type of forest this was. It could be an ancient forest like the Star Dou Forest or the Sunset Forest, or a more common one like the Soul Hunting Forest.
One thing was certain: since the broadcast featured this ancient forest, it was highly likely that the live broadcast questions would be related to soul beasts.
Realizing this, many viewers quickly began to consult their family members or subordinates, retrieving any books related to soul beasts in preparation for possible questions.
The broadcast continued. After the camera moved across the ancient forest, it began to focus on various soul beasts—such as Wind Baboon, Gale Demon Wolf, Wood Bud Deer, Mandala Snake, Nether Wolf, Ghost Leopard, Terrifying Jaw Wolf, Cave Spider, Rodent Weasel, Gold Devouring Rat, and Boulder Turtle.
Whenever the camera encountered a soul beast, it would briefly pause, capturing the entire beast in the frame to allow viewers to see its details.
The camera eventually focused on three specific soul beasts: a Man-Faced Demon Spider, a Diamond Tiger, and a Phoenix-tail Crown Snake.
The time was frozen on the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
Then, a line of red characters appeared on everyone's screens.
At the same time, a cold voice echoed:
[The live broadcast event has ended. The Q&A session begins now!]
[Question: What is the age of the Man-Faced Demon Spider shown in the previous broadcast?]
[Reward for this Q&A: One Soul Weapon Evolution Opportunity!]
With the system's announcement, the live broadcast room exploded with excitement.
During the broadcast, each soul beast appeared only once, with the Man-Faced Demon Spider being the third-to-last. It was unexpected that correctly answering the age of the Man-Faced Demon Spider would grant a Soul Weapon Evolution Opportunity.
This seemed incredibly simple!
Compared to previous Q&As, this question was considered the easiest by soul masters and nobles knowledgeable about soul beasts.
Excitement surged among many as they frantically recalled the specific appearance of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, trying to determine its age.
Among the most excited was Yu Xiaogang from Nuoding Academy.
As a former weakling, Yu Xiaogang had spent most of his life searching through various books for methods of soul weapon evolution. Although he ultimately failed, he accumulated vast knowledge about soul masters, soul weapons, and soul beasts.
Upon seeing the Man-Faced Demon Spider during the broadcast, Yu Xiaogang immediately identified its age.
The reward for this Q&A was a Soul Weapon Evolution Opportunity, and Yu Xiaogang was thrilled beyond measure.
He couldn't believe that this time the reward was a Soul Weapon Evolution Opportunity, and the question was right in his field of expertise!
This opportunity was his!
Haha! It seems he would finally be able to evolve his soul weapon and shed his reputation as a weakling!
Overcome with excitement and joy, Yu Xiaogang quickly submitted his answer on the virtual screen.
[Yu Xiaogang (excited): The age of the Man-Faced Demon Spider shown in the previous broadcast is 2,300 years!]
As a master of soul beast knowledge, Yu Xiaogang knew that the age of a Man-Faced Demon Spider was related to its size. A Man-Faced Demon Spider that is one meter long has an age of 1,000 years, with an additional 1,000 years for every meter of length.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider in question was approximately 2.3 meters long, so its age was naturally 2,300 years!
After submitting his answer, Yu Xiaogang eagerly awaited the results.
Since few people on the Douluo Continent specialized in soul beast knowledge, many only consulted soul beast information when needed for hunting. Thus, despite the simplicity of the question, most people struggled to answer immediately.
Many factions scrambled through books about soul beasts, trying to find information on the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
Despite some major factions, like the Tiandou Royal Family, Star Luo Royal Family, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and Blue Electric Overlord Sect hiring specialized scholars, these scholars were mostly not soul masters and thus lacked knowledge of soul beasts.
Moreover, these scholars had focused more on historical knowledge rather than soul-beast information due to previous Q&As.
Compared to these scholars, Yu Xiaogang had a significant edge in this field, so he was the first to provide an answer.
Seeing that his answer was the first and that he was confident in its accuracy, Yu Xiaogang felt certain that the Soul Weapon Evolution Opportunity was his.
After all, he had obtained this knowledge from the Spirit Hall.
As he envisioned his bright future, Yu Xiaogang imagined evolving his soul weapon into the Blue Electric Overlord Dragon and then winning numerous rewards from the live broadcast.
Ultimately, he saw himself becoming a Title Douluo-level powerhouse, shedding his weakling label and becoming a legend across the Douluo Continent!
Yu Xiaogang was overcome with excitement.
As Yu Xiaogang fantasized about his bright future, the answer from Sword Douluo Chen Xin appeared shortly after Yu Xiaogang's.
Chen Xin's answer had been given by Ning Fengzhi. If Chen Xin had answered himself, his speed would have matched Yu Xiaogang's.
[Sword Douluo Chen Xin: The age of the Man-Faced Demon Spider shown in the previous broadcast is over 5,300 years!]
Soon after, several other answers appeared.
However, after Yu Xiaogang and Sword Douluo Chen Xin's answers, all major factions gave up responding.
Their answers either matched Yu Xiaogang's or Chen Xin's, and there was no chance for them to be correct.
[Liu Er Long (excited): @Yu Xiaogang, Xiaogang, this is your area of expertise! The reward is yours. I'm so excited for you. Will you finally evolve your soul weapon?]
Seeing that Yu Xiaogang was the first to answer, Liu Er Long, who had complete confidence in him, quickly congratulated him.
[Yu Xiaogang (smiling): Er Long, thank you. While my answer may be more accurate, there's still a chance that Sect Master Ning's answer could be correct. Everything is yet to be revealed!]
Yu Xiaogang, confident in his answer, humbly boasted on the live chat, though his words conveyed that he was sure his answer was correct.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's confidence, his friends, including Flander and the dean of Nuoding Academy, also congratulated him.
After all answers were submitted and no further responses came in, the live broadcast finally announced the results.
A line of red text appeared on everyone's screens, accompanied by a cold voice.
[Notice: Yu Xiaogang's answer: The age of the Man-Faced Demon Spider shown in the previous broadcast is 2,300 years. The answer is incorrect!]
Note: In the Douluo Continent, knowledge is very closely guarded. In the original story, when Zhao Wuji took Tang San and the others to the Star Dou Forest, Tang San's ability to state the age of the Phoenix-tail Crown Snake amazed others. This demonstrates that in the Douluo Continent, most people don't specifically study soul beast knowledge unless needed for hunting.
Although many people, like Yu Xiaogang, are knowledgeable, the vast majority do not have the conditions for specialized study. It's common to see only a few individuals like Yu Xiaogang answering such questions.
It's pointless to argue based on modern standards; the Douluo Continent is an ancient world with different norms.