Morning, Nuoding Academy, Back Mountain.
Lin Yu sat quietly on a grassy patch beneath a large tree on a small hill, waiting for the tenth livestream to begin. Of course, he wasn't sitting on the hill where Ah Yin was buried. However, since Xiao Wu often took his Upper Purity Clone to visit Ah Yin to keep her company, the clone was currently sitting with them, preparing to be pulled into the livestream.
Although Lin Yu was in the back mountain, he wasn't worried about being discovered. He had already used the external soul bone, Pearl of the Mirage Dragon, to release a veil of mirage dragon energy around him, making it difficult for others to notice his presence.
Finally, at exactly 10 o'clock, an invisible wave swept across the entire Douluo Continent. In an instant, everyone's vision went black. When their sight returned, they found themselves in a vast, starry, and deep space—an all-too-familiar sight by now. At the same time, a screen appeared before them, and one by one, messages began to pop up.
[Dai Tianfeng]: "Haha! After waiting fifteen days, the livestream is finally starting again! This time, the rewards will go to the Star Luo Empire!"
Seeing Dai Tianfeng's words, the Heaven Dou Empire's Emperor Xue Ye and his ministers, including Prince Xue Xing, Dream God Machine, Zhilin, and Bai Baoshan, were filled with annoyance.
[Heaven Dou Empire Marshal, Ge Kong (sneering)]: "What's there to be so proud of, Dai Tianfeng? Last time was just dumb luck! The mountain the livestream asked about happened to be within your Star Luo Empire's borders. If it had been in our Heaven Dou Empire, we could have answered it correctly too!"
Well said! Emperor Xue Ye and the ministers of Heaven Dou Empire cheered silently as Marshal Ge Kong put Dai Tianfeng in his place.
[Davis (mocking)]: "Luck, huh? Luck is part of strength too. If your Heaven Dou Crown Prince didn't have that kind of luck, you should just admit it! I bet you're all just bitter."
[Zhu Xuanfeng]: "Haha! Well said, Davis! Luck is also a form of power. Otherwise, why do some Soul Douluo masters get stuck at rank 89 their whole lives while others break through to rank 90 and become Titled Douluo? It shows that sometimes, luck matters, and complaining won't help!"
Hearing the Star Luo Empire's Crown Prince Davis and his future father-in-law, Duke Zhu Xuanfeng, bantering back and forth, subtly mocking them, Emperor Xue Ye and his ministers grew even angrier.
[Ning Fengzhi]: "Everyone, please don't argue. There's no need to harm relations over this. Livestreams will continue, and one win or loss won't decide everything."
Trying to ease the tension, the head of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Ning Fengzhi, intervened with a gentle tone.
[Xue Qinghe]: "@Xue Ye @Ge Kong. Father, Marshal Ge, don't get angry. My teacher is right—one win or loss doesn't decide anything. The livestream will continue, and we'll have our chance to answer correctly."
Prince Xue Qinghe, who was the disguised Qian Renxue, also spoke up in the livestream. Deep down, Qian Renxue was quite relieved. She had two accounts on the live stream—her real identity as Qian Ren Xue and her current persona as Xue Qinghe. If she didn't, she wouldn't dare speak at all for fear of being exposed.
Her only worry now was whether the live stream would reveal scenes of her future rebellion in the Heaven Dou Empire. If that happened, all her years spent undercover would be for nothing!
As Ning Fengzhi and "Xue Qinghe" finished speaking, the livestream began buffering, and the virtual screen disappeared. The vast, starry space morphed into something else entirely. Suddenly, the dark, endless space turned into a dense forest that stretched as far as the eye could see, like a boundless ocean of greenery.
This forest was massive, resembling a primeval wilderness from ancient times. The towering trees seemed to pierce the clouds, their sheer size and height making them seem almost otherworldly.
As the camera panned across the dense forest, massive soul beasts began to appear, one after another. But the most striking thing wasn't the soul beasts—it was the overwhelming number of dragons. Many of these dragons were species thought to be extinct, such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Spiked Armored Dragon, the Golden Earth Dragon, and the Storm Flying Dragon.
Many dragon species had never been documented, completely unknown to even the most learned scholars. The soul masters watching the live stream were left in stunned silence.
"How can there be so many dragons? Is this a world ruled by dragons?" they wondered.
But they were wrong. This was still the Douluo Continent—just the Douluo Continent from tens of thousands, or even millions, of years ago, during the age of the dragons!
The massive creatures seen in this livestream weren't modern-day soul beasts either. These were primordial beasts of the wild, akin to the Ten-Headed Sun Snake in the Slaughter City. But compared to the ancient era's countless other beasts, the Ten-Headed Sun Snake would have seemed like a small fry.
As the livestream continued, more and more ancient beasts appeared, including pure-blooded Titans, Behemoth Beasts, and even Phoenixes! After showcasing the endless forest, the camera shifted to the boundless ocean, revealing the gigantic sea creatures of this ancient era.
There were titanic creatures like the Xuanwu Turtle and the massive sea dragons, as well as whales so large they rivaled islands, and octopuses with suction cups the size of dinner plates. There were even merfolk, a species no one had seen for many years.
Everyone watching the live stream was dumbstruck by what they saw, especially the soul masters. However, those ancient beings who had lived through these times—like Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, Di Tian, and the Deep Sea Demon Whale King—weren't surprised. They had all lived through this era nearly a million years ago.
Finally, after sweeping over the vast ocean, the camera paused on the serene blue waters. A line of blood-red text appeared before everyone's eyes, and at the same time, a cold voice echoed in their ears:
[Ding! The playback has ended. The question phase will now begin!]
[Question: In the ancient era, who were the Nine Dragon Kings of the Dragon Clan?]
[This question's reward: One Dragon Essence!]