Douluo: Live Q&A, Exposing the World (Patreon)

Chapter 3: Answers and Punishments, the Tragedy of Huyan Zhen!

【Yue Guan (astonished): This... the reward for this Q&A is the ability to grant wishes. Is it real or fake?】

【Ning Fengzhi: It should be real. After all, this live broadcast room managed to pull everyone from our entire Douluo Continent. It possesses god-like power! Astonishing!】

【Yu Xiaogang (excited): Unbelievable! Among the wishes that this reward can grant is the ability to evolve one's martial soul to a God Level. Could this mean that I can finally get rid of the name "waste"?】

【Liu Erlong (delighted): Xiaogang! Is that you? Where are you now? Tell me quickly, and I'll come to find you!】

In the dormitory building of the Nuoding Academy, Yu Xiaogang's heart was filled with excitement due to the rewards mentioned in the live broadcast room, and he couldn't help but speak up.

However, when he saw that Liu Erlong was relentlessly inquiring about his whereabouts, Yu Xiaogang's expression froze, and a tinge of pain flashed in his eyes.

【Yu Xiaogang (sighs): Erlong, we are not meant for each other. Please stop looking for me...】

【Flender (angry): Yu Xiaogang, how can you do this? Erlong has been waiting for you for fourteen or fifteen years!】

"I!!"

Seeing Flender's words, Yu Xiaogang was momentarily speechless, and a more profound sense of pain appeared in his eyes.

He didn't want it to be this way, but there was no other choice. It was impossible between him and Liu Erlong.

Seeing the virtual screen in front of him, Liu Erlong continued to ask about Yu Xiaogang's whereabouts, but Yu Xiaogang chose to remain silent.

In the Spirit City, inside the Pope's Hall, Bibi Dong's elegant and cold face showed signs of gloom and anger as she witnessed Liu Erlong's continuous inquiries about Yu Xiaogang's location.

This Liu Erlong was such a harlot; she and Xiaogang were siblings, yet she still pestered Xiaogang like this!

Meanwhile, at Fengche Village, Lin Yu felt somewhat annoyed when he saw Liu Erlong still inquiring about Yu Xiaogang's whereabouts.

In the entire Douluo Continent, apart from Tang San's double standards, the only one he hated was the hypocritical scumbag Yu Xiaogang.

He really couldn't understand how Yu Xiaogang, a waste with no strength, no character, and no face, could capture the hearts of the goddess Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong.

It was truly puzzling!

But the discussion in the live broadcast room continued.

【Tang Xiao (excited): Haodi! Are you here? This reward can actually revive the dead. If we answer correctly, can't we wish to resurrect Third Sister?】

【Ah Yin:... Big Brother, I'm not dead yet...】

【Tang Xiao (dumbfounded): Ah Yin... You're still alive?】

【Tang Hao (sighs): Ah Yin is indeed still alive, but her current condition is not good...】

【Yue Guan (angry): Tang Hao! You dare to appear in the live broadcast room? Back then, you killed the previous Pope under the crown, and now you dare to show up in front of us!】

【Tang Hao (disdainful): We are all in the live broadcast room now. You have no idea where we are, so if you have the guts, come and bite me!】

【Yue Guan (trembling with anger): You!!!】

【Ning Fengzhi (helpless): Alright, stop arguing. Let's all think about the answer to this question: how are Soul Masters born? This question is not easy to answer, and arguing won't help us figure it out!】

Ning Fengzhi's words quieted the entire live broadcast room.

Thinking about the alluring rewards of the Q&A, everyone temporarily put aside their other thoughts.

They began pondering the answer to the question of how Soul Masters are born.

In the Douluo Continent, the existence of Soul Masters was known to almost everyone, and most people had martial souls.

However, no one knew exactly how Soul Masters were born.

But since the so-called live broadcast room showed the scene just now and then presented the question, the answer to this question must be related to the scene they just witnessed.

However, in the scene they just watched, there were two forces present, gods and divine beasts, in what should be the God Realm.

Could it be the gods or the divine beasts that caused the birth of Soul Beasts?

Because the blood-red words and the cold voice in their ears both mentioned that if they answered incorrectly, they would be punished, including the deprivation of martial souls and soul rings.

So, before they figured out the answer to the question, no one dared to answer easily.

Suddenly, the entire virtual screen had surprisingly few rolling messages.

【Huyan Zhen (disdainful): Why is nobody 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 feel it's better to believe that it exists rather than doubting it.】

【Skydream: Humans, please answer quickly. If anyone can answer this question correctly, I will grant them a wish to save me. I am the million-year soul beast, Skydream Ice Worm. If you can wish for my release, I will willingly sacrifice myself to you, not only granting you a million-year soul ring but also a ice attribute martial soul!】

【Ning Fengzhi (shocked): You... You are a million-year soul beast? Do soul beasts also get pulled into this? I thought it was only humans!】

【Skydream (disdainful): Tsk! I am a million-year soul beast, and my intelligence is not much different from you humans. Why should you be able to enter this live broadcast room, but we soul beasts can't!】

At this moment, in the underground cave at the core of the Star Dou Forest.

Upon finding out that Skydream Ice Worm had spoken in the live broadcast room, Emperor Tian couldn't help but furrow his brow, but he wasn't overly surprised.

After all, since all the humans from the entire Douluo Continent and even soul beasts that should be over a hundred thousand years old were pulled into this live broadcast room, the million-year Ice Silkworm was probably not an exception.

However, Skydream Ice Worm's wish for humans to save it and help it leave was simply too naive! Emperor Tian sneered inwardly.

Compared to these people, whose age probably didn't exceed a hundred years at most, his life span was several hundred thousand years.

He knew very well how Soul Masters were born in the Douluo Continent.

It was all thanks to the magnificent Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena, of the Soul Beast race, who brought the source of the divine beasts that had died in the God Realm back to the Douluo Continent when she tore through space.

This was what allowed humans to possess martial souls and gave birth to Soul Masters.

It had nothing to do with any gods. These humans would never know the correct answer! However, Emperor Tian didn't answer immediately because no one else had responded yet. If he answered first, everyone would know his answer.

He didn't know whether the rewards would be diluted if everyone answered correctly, so he decided to wait and answer later.

【Huyan Zhen (coldly): Million-year soul beast? You say you are, so be it! Do you think we're fools? Even if you are a million-year soul beast, you can only offer us a million-year soul ring and an ice attribute martial soul. But the reward for answering the question correctly is the ability to advance our cultivation to Rank 99. Isn't that much better than your mere million-year soul ring and ice attribute martial soul?】

【Tuoba Xi: It seems so! Admirable, Huoyan brother. You are indeed wise! I'm impressed!】

Seeing Huyan Zhen's response, Tuoba Xi, who was not only Huyan Zhen's good friend but also the head of the Baijia Diliang Sect, couldn't help but admire him.

And upon hearing Tuoba Xi's praise, Huyan Zhen became even more proud. He had already thought of the answer.

In his opinion, with such a rich reward for this question, the answer couldn't be that simple.

If it were related to some gods from that so-called God Realm, it would be something that anyone could think of. How could that be possible?

The God Realm was the God Realm, and the Douluo Continent was the Douluo Continent. The two worlds had nothing to do with each other!

Therefore, in Huyan Zhen's view, the answer to this question must be that Soul Masters were naturally born on their own in the Douluo Continent.

For a moment, Huyan Zhen felt as if he had grasped the truth!

【Huyan Zhen (proudly): My answer is that Soul Masters are naturally born on our Douluo Continent!】

【Tuoba Xi: Admirable! Admirable! Huoyan brother's response was quick and unique! However, my perspective differs from Huoyan brother's. I feel that the birth of Soul Masters on our Douluo Continent is related to the God Realm. This live broadcast room shouldn't be showing useless things.】

【Ning Fengzhi: ... Both of your answers are decisive, but I still think that we need to think carefully about the answer to this question.】

Upon hearing Huyan Zhen and Tuoba Xi's quick responses, Ning Fengzhi expressed admiration on the surface but felt somewhat speechless in his heart.

Because he felt that this Q&A live broadcast room was so mysterious that the rewards and punishments were most likely real. Although he coveted the rewards, he also dreaded the punishments.

Originally, he wanted to wait for others to answer and assess the situation. Since Huyan Zhen and Tuoba Xi had responded so quickly, he decided to let them test the waters first.

After Tuoba Xi and Ning Fengzhi spoke, others also expressed their opinions.

Among the disciples from the Baijia Diliang Sect who answered the question, most of them believed it was related to the gods from the God Realm, causing the birth of Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent.

In the Xiujia Sect, there were also some who agreed with Huyan Zhen's view that Soul Masters were born naturally from humans.

And a very few people answered that it was related to the divine beasts, including Emperor Tian.

Emperor Tian mixed his answer among everyone else's responses, concealing his true answer.

While people were answering, most of them were still waiting to see if there would be any punishments for wrong answers and how severe they would be.

If the punishment was severe, many people would probably hesitate.

After all, if they answered incorrectly and were punished by losing their martial soul, it would be too late to regret it!

【Yu Yuanzhen: Sigh! I wonder who will answer correctly. If this reward is real, the Douluo Continent might undergo a major upheaval!】

【Ning Fengzhi: Let's watch the situation unfold! Some people have already answered, so we should soon know whether their answers are correct or not. Let's see how it goes.】

Just as Ning Fengzhi finished speaking, the rewards and punishments of the live Q&A began.

【Prompt: Huyan Zhen's answer: Soul Masters are born naturally from humans. Answer is incorrect!】

【Punishment: Stripping off the eighth soul ring of his Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul!】

【Prompt: Tuoba Xi's answer: Soul Masters are born due to gods from the God Realm. Answer is incorrect!】

【Punishment: Stripping off three ranks of soul power!】

...

For a moment, with a cold voice, lines of blood-red text appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

"What!"

At this moment, near the Tian Dou Imperial City, inside the Xiujia Sect, Huyan Zhen thought he had answered correctly.

However, upon hearing that he had given the wrong answer and would be punished by losing his eighth soul ring, Huyan Zhen's face changed drastically, and he abruptly stood up from his seat.

But before Huyan Zhen could resist, the punishment began!

Chapter 4: Random Punishments Countdown, Everyone is in Panic! (Everyone, comment and leave your messages!)

At that moment, Huyan Zhen suddenly felt an invisible force acting on his body, forcibly immobilizing him in place.

This force was extremely powerful, and no matter how angrily Huyan Zhen resisted, his body remained motionless.

His Diamond Mammoth martial soul involuntarily emerged from behind him.

At the same time, eight soul rings of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, and black rose from under Huyan Zhen's feet and surrounded him.

In the next moment, a strong sense of pain instantly spread throughout Huyan Zhen's body, as if an invisible force was trying to extract the flesh and bones from his body.

"Ah!!"

In intense pain, Huyan Zhen clearly saw his eighth soul ring beginning to loosen.

And the next second, the eighth soul ring suddenly detached from his body and disappeared without a trace.

【Huyan Zhen (shocked and angry): No! How is this possible? My soul ring! My soul ring!!】

In the live broadcast room, Huyan Zhen's shocked and angry words appeared on the virtual screen, leaving many people in confusion.

Was Huyan Zhen's eighth soul ring really taken away?

In the Seven Treasure Glass Sect, Ning Fengzhi looked somewhat horrified. He didn't know if the stripped-off eighth soul ring could be recovered.

If it was possible, perhaps this punishment could still be used to his advantage. But if not, it would be disastrous!

Regardless, for a Soul Douluo, finding a suitable eighth soul ring was not easy. Having it suddenly stripped away, even if it could be recovered, finding another soul beast that satisfied both its species and cultivation level was extremely difficult.

As Huyan Zhen received his punishment, the others who had given wrong answers, including Tuoba Xi, Emperor Tian, and others, also received their punishments.

For a moment, messages containing fear, terror, anger, and various emotions flashed rapidly on the virtual screen in front of everyone.

This made many people who had not answered yet feel uneasy.

Because inside those messages, it wasn't just Huyan Zhen who had lost his eighth soul ring.

Some had their third soul power stripped away, while others lost their martial souls and even their lifespan.

Who could ignore such punishments?

【Huyan Zhen (angry): I don't accept this! Why did we all answer incorrectly, but I lost my eighth soul ring, and Tuoba Xi only lost three levels of soul power!】

After the eighth soul ring was stripped away, Huyan Zhen's indignant words flashed on the virtual screen.

Indeed! Why were the punishments different? Could it be random punishments? Many people couldn't help but wonder in their hearts.

After Huyan Zhen's words, blood-red text suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

At the same time, a cold voice echoed in everyone's ears.

【Ding! Friendly reminder: Although the punishments are random, the more outrageous the incorrect answer, the heavier the punishment, and vice versa!】

It turns out that's how it is! Everyone suddenly understood.

But didn't this mean that Tuoba Xi's answer was already very close to the correct one? Should they provide a more specific answer based on Tuoba Xi's response?

For a while, many people's minds began to churn, trying to come up with a more refined answer based on Tuoba Xi's response.

On the other side, in Windmill Village:

【Ding! Reminder: Live broadcast room member Huyan Zhen answered incorrectly and has been stripped of his eighth soul ring, stored in the system space, and can be retrieved at any time by the host!】

【Ding! Reminder: Live broadcast room member Tuoba Xi answered incorrectly and has been stripped of three levels of soul power, stored in the system space, and can be retrieved at any time by the host, converting it into pure soul power injected into the body!】

...

【Ding! Reminder: Live broadcast room member Emperor Tian answered incorrectly and has been stripped of ten thousand years of soul power, stored in the system space, and can be retrieved at any time by the host, converting it into pure soul power injected into the body!】

...

As many people received punishments for answering incorrectly, Lin Yu's mind was constantly filled with the cold prompts from the system.

This made Lin Yu ecstatic.

He would now get all the punishments that everyone received, which was really great!

Even if he couldn't become a Soul Master now, with the extracted soul power from these punishments, after being converted by the system, he could become one!

However, after the excitement, Lin Yu became somewhat troubled.

Because just now, he also answered the question, and his answer was the same as Emperor Tian's, stating that the birth of Soul Masters was related to the Silver Dragon King and the deceased divine beasts, including the Dragon God.

But he unexpectedly gave the wrong answer.

However, based on the setting he had seen in his previous life and the plot of the original work, this answer should not be wrong!

Because whether it's a soul beast or a Soul Master, they definitely aren't naturally born.

If all the creatures born on the Douluo Continent were soul beasts, then Tang San wouldn't have encountered the Ten Thousand Year Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent in the City of Slaughter.

Moreover, after the Ten Thousand Year Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent was killed, there wouldn't be any soul rings left.

But if not, or not just related to the Silver Dragon King and the deceased divine beasts, including the Dragon God, could it also be related to the gods of the God Realm? Lin Yu started to ponder deeply.

Wait! During the God Realm Cataclysm, many gods seemed to have died in the battle led by the Dragon God and the divine beasts. Perhaps it could be related to the gods as well? Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to Lin Yu's mind, and he couldn't help but think.

With this in mind, Lin Yu immediately gave another answer.

As the room host, Lin Yu could hide his answer from everyone's virtual screen.

So, his answer did not appear on the virtual screen in front of everyone.

【Lin Yu: The birth of a Soul Master should be related to the gods of the God Realm, the Silver Dragon King, and the divine beasts, including the deceased Dragon God!】

After answering, Lin Yu anxiously awaited the system's response.

However, a few seconds later, the cold prompt from the system sounded in his mind again, informing him that his answer was wrong.

【Ding! Incorrect answer!】

Lin Yu was dumbfounded.

How could it still be wrong! He was sure he remembered it correctly!

It should be because the Silver Dragon King tore through space and crossed over to the Douluo Continent, causing the leakage of the divine power from the dead divine beasts and gods. This led to the birth of Soul Masters and soul beasts. How could it be wrong again!

As Lin Yu gave another wrong answer, many others also tried to answer the question, refining their answers based on Tuoba Xi's response.

Unfortunately, they were all wrong, and some received even heavier punishments!

This made everyone in the live broadcast room hesitant, and no one dared to answer the question anymore.

However, as time passed and no one else answered, the system's countdown began.

In an instant, blood-red characters appeared again in front of everyone.

At the same time, the cold voice of the system echoed in everyone's ears.

【Reminder: Last one minute for answering. If no one can give the correct answer, a Soul Master's martial soul will be randomly stripped away, or the cultivation of a soul beast above ten thousand years, or the life of an ordinary person will be taken away!】

Damn! These punishments are too severe! Upon hearing the system's punishment, everyone was in a panic.