The quill in his hand slipped from his stiff fingers with a "clack," falling onto the spread-out pages covered in dense lists of Soul Beast names and analyses of Soul Skills. A glaring blot of ink spread across them.
"E-every... every Soul Beast... has disappeared?"
Yu Xiaogang's voice was dry as sandpaper scraping, each word trembling with disbelief.
He jerked his head up and stared at Flender. His eyes, usually clouded with gloom and contemplation, were now filled with a vast emptiness and a terror that was... almost like the world was crumbling around him.
"Flender... you... you're joking, right? This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
He practically roared, his voice warping with shock.
"What kind of joke is this?! Soul Beasts have existed for millions of years, ever since the Douluo Continent came into being. They disappeared overnight? You're telling me every Soul Beast, even the ones in the sea, vanished into thin air? That's absurd!"
Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved violently, his face swiftly changing from a deathly pale shock to a sickly flush.
If the Soul Beasts were gone, wouldn't that mean the theories he'd prided himself on, the ones that had given his entire life meaning, had lost their foundation?
How could he guide the soon-to-be-assembled Shrek Seven Devils team now?
He'd been waiting to train the Shrek Seven Devils and use them to prove himself!
If the Soul Beasts were gone, it would be the most thorough repudiation of his life's work!
Seeing Yu Xiaogang on the verge of collapse, Flender let out a long sigh. "Xiaogang, I don't want to believe it either! But it really happened."
"Impossible... This is impossible..." Yu Xiaogang staggered back a step, as though all the bones had been pulled from his body, or an invisible hammer had smashed into his soul. His gaze went unfocused as he repeated the words in a daze.
The Soul Ring plans he'd been carefully calculating moments ago flashed through his mind:
For Dai Mubai's fourth Soul Ring, he'd planned to find a powerful tiger- or lion-type Soul Beast with strong offensive abilities...
Zhu Zhuqing needed an agile, cat-type Soul Beast...
For Oscar's third Soul Ring, he'd hoped for a Soul Skill with a powerful support effect...
Most important of all was his disciple, Tang San!
Twin Martial Souls! He'd already planned the best choices for the next few Soul Rings of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. He'd even begun to envision the grand blueprint of adding Soul Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer in the future.
That blueprint depended on powerful Soul Beasts to provide all those Soul Rings!
All of it!
Faced with the six words "all Soul Beasts have disappeared," it had instantly become... nothing but... a complete joke!
Extreme shock, an absurdity he couldn't accept, and the despair of his lifelong beliefs collapsing in an instant surged like a raging tide, battering Yu Xiaogang's fragile heart and mind.
"Pfft—!"
He felt a rush of metallic sweetness surge up his throat. Unable to hold it back, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering it across the pages covered with Soul Beast names like a series of cruel full stops.
"Xiaogang!" Flender cried in alarm, rushing forward to catch Yu Xiaogang as he swayed.
Clap~
Yu Xiaogang reached out and grabbed Flender tightly with both hands. His voice hoarse, he said, "Flender, take me to see for myself. I need to see it with my own eyes!"
"All right, I'll take you right now!"
Flender nodded quickly.
Whoosh~
Flender unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar and soon carried Yu Xiaogang to the nearest place where Soul Beasts had been sighted.
But everywhere they looked, there were only ordinary plants and animals. Not a single Soul Beast was anywhere to be seen.
"No... This is impossible..."
"Flender, let's go check the next place!"
Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth as he spoke.
And so...
"No... This is impossible. There must still be Soul Beasts somewhere!"
"Let's go to the next place..."
"No... This can't possibly be real..."
"Let's go to the next place..."
"Ha ha ha ha..."
"They're gone. They're all gone..."
"All the Soul Beasts are gone, ha ha ha..."
In the end, Yu Xiaogang seemed to lose his mind completely. He laughed maniacally at an empty Soul Beast forest.
"Xiaogang!"
Flender watched Yu Xiaogang, lost in madness, with a heavy heart. He hurried forward, knocked him unconscious, and carried him back.
Tang San, Yu Xiaogang's direct disciple, had no idea that his teacher had lost his mind.
At that moment, he was caught up in the joy of getting back what he'd lost.
"Xiao Wu!"
"This is wonderful. You're finally back!"
Tang San stepped forward and hugged Xiao Wu tightly, afraid she'd disappear again the moment he let go.
He'd spent the past two days hating himself for losing Xiao Wu.
So much so that he hadn't paid much attention to the news that all the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest had disappeared.
"Brother!"
Feeling Tang San's warm embrace, Xiao Wu finally found comfort again after the helpless despair of being unable to find Daming and Erming.
"Phew. At least you're back!"
"Tang San, Xiao Wu, we have to return right away!"
"Something this serious—we have to tell the dean immediately."
Seeing Xiao Wu back, Zhao Wuji also let out a huge sigh of relief before hurrying to speak.
He had no idea that during the two days they'd spent searching for Xiao Wu, many people had already learned that the Soul Beasts had disappeared.
And it wasn't just the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest they'd seen that were gone.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"Fengzhi, it's been confirmed. Whether on land or in the sea, every Soul Beast has disappeared!"
"The Soul Beasts that coexisted with us Soul Masters for millions of years have gone extinct overnight."
Sword Douluo spoke to Ning Fengzhi.
"This is... truly hard to believe..."
Ning Fengzhi managed to open his mouth, his voice full of shock.
He'd already been mentally prepared for this outcome, but even after Sword Douluo confirmed it, he couldn't help being horrified.
"Yes, how could this be possible?"
"Just how did those Soul Beasts disappear?"
Bone Douluo was also stunned. It felt as if this world wasn't the one he knew.
Could Soul Beasts really vanish all at once?
"What's done is done. We should focus on how to respond to the upheaval ahead!"
"Once this news spreads, the Soul Master World is bound to be thrown into unprecedented turmoil."
Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before slowly speaking.
As the sect leader, he had to prepare for the turmoil to come.
"Uncle Jian, could I trouble you to make a trip to Shrek Academy and bring Rongrong back?"
"Now that the Soul Beasts are extinct, there's no need for Rongrong to stay at Shrek Academy."
Ning Fengzhi's first response was to send Sword Douluo to bring his daughter home.
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Sword Douluo answered, then summoned his Seven Kill Sword. He stepped onto it and instantly flew away on his sword.
When Sword Douluo arrived at Shrek Academy, he happened to encounter Zhao Wuji leading the Shrek Seven Devils back.
"Wait... is that..."
Sword Douluo had been about to land at once and take Ning Rongrong home, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the girl behind her.