No one could have imagined there'd suddenly be a punishment, too.
Whoa~
Quite a few of the contestants were stunned, and they started talking among themselves:
"Good grief, this Q&A Game even has punishments? Is this some hidden mechanic?"
"It says Yu Xiaogang provoked the Q&A Game multiple times, so it's lowering his level by five! Hey, what level was he to begin with?"
"I think he was level 29. What a loser! The Light Screen exposed his dirty secrets, and he started picking a fight with it?"
"Does he have something wrong with his head? No wonder someone who plagiarizes thinks differently. He blames the Light Screen when it's his own fault?!"
In an instant, Yu Xiaogang became a laughingstock to almost everyone.
How many times had he provoked the Q&A Game for it to finally lose patience and punish him?
In the distance.
When Yu Xiaogang saw the message, he was utterly horrified.
"What?"
"Wait, I insulted you a couple of times, and now you're punishing me? You're lowering my Soul Power Level?"
"No, you can't do this! I cultivated my Soul Power Level myself. How can you..."
Before he could finish, a terrifying surge of energy shot out of the Q&A Game and rushed straight into Yu Xiaogang's body.
"Ah!!"
"My Soul Power! My Soul Power! No, don't!"
"I was wrong! I'll never provoke the Q&A Game again. I know I was wrong!"
"Don't take my Soul Power! I can trade my theoretical knowledge for it!"
"I'm the Theory Master! You can't disrespect knowledge!"
"You're all picking on me! You're all jealous of my talent!!!"
The process of extracting his Soul Power was far more painful than he'd expected. Yu Xiaogang started wailing and apologizing on the spot.
Too bad that if apologies worked, what would the police be for?
In less than ten seconds, part of the Soul Power that had merged with every cell in Yu Xiaogang's body was extracted right there.
His level instantly dropped to 25, and he was powerless to resist.
He'd only just managed to feel happy about his hard-won improvement, but his own arrogance had cost him several levels instead.
After the Q&A Game finished draining his Soul Power, Yu Xiaogang could no longer bear the pain. He collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale.
Feeling his body grow weaker by the moment, he even found himself wanting to die.
"No..."
"No! My Soul Power! The Soul Power I've cultivated for all these years!"
"You damn Light Screen! You damn Q&A Game! Give my Soul Power back!"
"You're all jealous of me! You're all picking on me!"
"I bet you're jealous of my talent too, you Light Screen! You all... Sob..."
By the end, Yu Xiaogang was so furious that he burst into tears, lying on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.
Now, not only had his title as the Theory Master disappeared, but his Soul Power had also fallen.
In an instant, he'd become a rat everyone wanted to beat.
Yu Xiaogang still didn't know that Tang San was looking for him next door, ready to take revenge.
The Pope Palace.
From the moment Bibi Dong saw the answer, she had gone completely blank.
Even now, she couldn't manage to say a single word.
Unlike Liu Erlong, she couldn't fall apart and scream. She couldn't, because she was the Pope of the Spirit Hall.
At that moment, Bibi Dong was in more pain than anyone could imagine.
Her right hand gripped the Pope Scepter so tightly that her nails nearly dug into her palm.
"How could this... How could this happen..."
"So all of Xiao Gang's theories were plagiarized? What about his talent? His wisdom?"
"And most of them came from the Spirit Hall. Could it have been when he was with me back then?"
"Could it be that even his feelings for me were..."
"No, that can't be. That's Xiao Gang. He's the most talented person there is."
"It can't be!!"
Bibi Dong kept murmuring those same few words.
But facts spoke louder than words. No matter how unwilling she was to believe it, could she change the cruelty of reality?
Even the Ju and Ghost Douluo behind her, along with Hu Liena and the others, were worried now.
Hu Liena was about to ask her something, but Song Ye stopped her with a gesture.
"Don't," Song Ye said coldly. "Let your teacher have some quiet."
Hu Liena froze and looked at Song Ye nervously.
Frowning, she asked, "Did you know Yu Xiaogang had a problem all along?"
Song Ye sneered. "I only believe in logic and patterns."
"Yu Xiaogang is only level 29, yet he published so many theories spanning every level. Do you think that makes sense?"
"It's just like the earlier questions. You got them wrong because you ignored logic and patterns and didn't pay attention."
"Only idiots would believe a fool like Yu Xiaogang!"
"You—you're calling my teacher, the Pope, an idiot?" Hu Liena said coldly.
Song Ye replied, "Hey, I didn't say that. You said it yourself."
"Your Holiness, your disciple just called you an idiot!"
Unfortunately, Bibi Dong no longer cared about any of that. She was still in shock.
Hu Liena was startled too, then immediately snapped, "Song Ye, don't make things up!"
"That's slander, shameless slander! You're slandering me! I never said that!"
Song Ye smiled faintly. "You didn't?"
"If you didn't, then be quiet. This is only the beginning. The next four questions are all about Yu Xiaogang."
"You'd better think about how heartbroken the Pope will be by the end!"
"Th-this..."
Hu Liena no longer cared about the Q&A either. At this point, she was only worried about her teacher.
Sigh, Yu Xiaogang really was useless. Who could have guessed?
Just then, the next question appeared.
[As everyone knows, most of Yu Xiaogang's theories were plagiarized and repurposed, then tweaked a little before he published them as his own!]
[In truth, Yu Xiaogang faced difficulties not only with his theories. His poor abilities also made his love life anything but smooth!]
[Back then, just as Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong were about to marry, Liu Erlong's father intervened!]
[Question: How did Yu Xiaogang respond when an elder tried to stop them?]
[A: He fought back against the elder but lost, so he was forced to separate from Liu Erlong!]
[B: Because of the elder's status, he tried to reason with him, but failed to gain his approval!]
[C: He promised the elder he would prove himself one day, then left for the time being!]
[D: He didn't care what happened to his lover. He simply left, abandoned her, and kept running away!]
As soon as the question appeared, the discussion about Yu Xiaogang heated up all over again.
No one had expected that Yu Xiaogang's problems weren't limited to his theories. His love life was a mess too.
Many people hadn't known much about him before and had assumed no one was interested in him.
Who would have thought that a Soul Saint like Liu Erlong would fall for him? They'd even been about to get married.
Still, since Gangzi hadn't managed to marry her, her parents had probably looked down on him. Who knew what Yu Xiaogang had chosen to do?
Quite a few people speculated, puzzled.
Only Liu Erlong and Flender stared at the question as if they'd seen a ghost, exchanging glances.
Was this question about to expose yet another huge stain on Yu Xiaogang's reputation?!
Before you continue